The notion that zombies are a symbolic embodiment of society’s afflictions is not a revolutionary one. Tracing back to George A Romero’s Living Dead movies, the masses of brain-eating creatures represent the problems sustained by unchecked capitalism. This old concept has now been refreshed by British expert of low-budget production, Ben Wheatley, with ravenous elderly folk pitted against smartphone-dependent youngsters in his show Generation Z (Channel 4, Mondays and Tuesdays, 9pm).
Wheatley, whose previous endeavour was a glaringly blatant reimagining of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, transforming it ultimately into a flaming heap of psychological horror, brings the same blunt approach to Generation Z. The series includes scenes of elderly women feasting on intestines and teenagers more fearful of online harassment from their friends than the infectious aged population pursuing them.
The story unfolds in Dambury, an unimpressive small British town, where a military vehicle transporting a toxic substance experiences a crash and releases its fatal contents. It’s not long before an infection evolves – but it exclusively affects the elderly residents of local care homes, starting with characters portrayed by Sue Johnston, Garrick Hagon, and Anita Dobson.
On the whole, the life of a zombie offers a mixed bag of experiences. The characters are bewildered due to their sudden craving for human meat, yet they’re thrilled at their rejuvenated youth. The consideration of their actions’ repercussions never bothers them. Subsequently, they begin to hunt and murder their neighbours – a presumably intentional metaphor for older voters who supported Brexit and, as a result, disadvantaged future generations.
The senior actors perform impressively, but their young counterparts who flee through the woods lack depth. The characters consist of Stef (Lewis Gribbin) who is well-meaning but naive, influenced by Andrew Tate-style TikToks, his love interest Kelly (Buket Kömür), and her ex-boyfriend Charlie (Jay Lycurgo). All are broadly sketched and fail to come across as believable characters.
Generation Z strives to symbolise more than just living-dead characters. There is merit in the perspective that boomers represent the greatest exploitative generation – inciting environmental chaos and feasting on increasing property values, all while neglecting their grandchildren. Concurrently, Wheatley attempts to bring forth the societal tinge of guilt associated with sending elderly individuals to nursing homes, a place where they are expected to appreciate being gently sidelined. The production is filled with contrasting depictions of the elderly that result in overall confusion.
Now in his fifties, Wheatley seemingly perceives both the younger and older generations as enigmatic and self-obsessed. The younger lot are too immersed in their personal affairs to acknowledge the impending doom of the world, while the elders seem content to wreak havoc on society if it means relief from painful hips. It is noticeable that Wheatley represents his own generation as the most sensible, navigating our sympathies towards Johnny Vegas and Suzanne Ahmet’s characters – a pair of beleaguered Gen Xers craving solitude.
In its essence, Generation Z pushes the boundaries for gore as far as the standards of Channel 4 would allow – copious amounts of gushing blood and protruding innards cater to those with a taste for it. It certainly succeeds as an enjoyable Halloween thrill, perhaps a good thing considering Wheatley’s introspection into generational discord that seems to wander aimlessly in the world. It’s rather ironic that a drama featuring hordes unsatisfiably devouring brain matter could benefit from a bit more thespian intellect.