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‘The Walking Dead: 400 Days’ Review: Missed Connections
Telltale’s first season of The Walking Dead: The Game ended up being one of the best video games of 2012. It set a new standard for storytelling in games, all while sending us on an intense and often emotional roller coaster ride. As we all patiently wait with twiddling thumbs and sweaty palms for season two to arrive, Telltale has generously offered a (painfully brief) reprieve from the Walking Dead withdrawal so many of us are currently enduring.
The Walking Dead 400 Days is a transitional episode that bridges the gap between the first and second seasons of their fantastic episodic series. It promises more of what we loved from the first game, only this time it’s been divided up into five easy-to-digest tales of survival.
Read on to find out if 400 Days is worth surviving.
As soon as you boot it up you’ll see a missing persons board with five photographs tacked on it. This is the hub, and you’ll be returning to it after each episode. The photos are of the five playable survivors in 400 Days — Shel, Bonnie, Russell, Wyatt and Vince. Because 400 Days is divided into five short stories, you’re given the ability to choose what order you play them in.
I kicked things off with Shel, a woman who’s trying her best to protect her younger sister after the zombie outbreak turns their lives upside down. I’m glad I chose this one first, because of all the stories, this one shares the most thematic connections with the first season of The Walking Dead: The Game.
You’re protecting a girl named Becca, a girl who is a little older than Clementine from season one. She’s tougher than she looks — this becomes evident later on — but even still, Shel is trying her best to keep as much of the bad out of Becca’s life as she can. They’re members of a small group of survivors, including a few familiar faces from the cancer support group Lee met in episode 4.
It doesn’t take long before Shel’s thrust into a difficult decision, this is The Walking Dead after all, and tough choices are a staple of this series. If you enjoyed the diplomatic bits from the first game, where one decision can turn half your group against you, you’re going to love this.
After Shel’s story, I jumped into Bonnie’s. Her’s was immediately more interesting to me, because it introduced a new element into the mix: forbidden love. All right, not really, but there’s definite chemistry between Bonnie and Leland — who, I might add, is totally married.
It’s a little dialogue heavy in the beginning, but things quickly ramp up as an intense chase begins and Bonnie is injured. A mysterious group of survivors armed with guns and flashlights chase Bonnie, Leland and his wife into a corn field where they’re split up. This was absolutely terrifying, and in a way, it felt like a homage to the scene in Alan Wake where our favorite author is being chased by police with flashlights into the woods at night. Only this time, the people doing the chasing aren’t afraid to shoot first and ask questions later.
The anxiety I felt during this sequence led me to do something a little… unfortunate. Overall, I really enjoyed this story. Where Shel’s tale shared themes with the first season of The Walking Dead: The Game, Bonnie’s adventure felt different. It was genuinely frightening, I only wish it would’ve lasted a little longer.
The third story I picked followed a young man named Russell, who’s in the middle of a lengthy journey to find his family when he — I — decides to accept a ride from an obviously unhinged stranger. Apparently, hitchiking is a bad, bad idea, because it doesn’t take long for things to go south.
There’s a bit of gunplay in this story, but it doesn’t overstay its welcome as quickly as it did in season one. Overall, this was an above average story that wasn’t become really interesting until the very end.
I chased this with Wyatt’s story. Honestly, I’m still a little torn on this one. On one hand, I really enjoyed the banter between Wyatt and his amigo, Eddie. On the other, the ending was horrible, and left me feeling completely unfulfilled.
It begins with the two being chased by Nate (you never see him, but it’s obviously him) — the guy who picks up Russell in the previous story — after Eddie murders his friend. There’s a short chase, an even shorter bit of gunplay, then Eddie runs into someone, or something, because it’s foggy and he’s spending far too much time not looking at the road.
Since it’s a zombie game, it’s decided they need to investigate. Naturally.
Because I lost the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors — after a humorous minute where we chose the same thing five times in a row — I had to leave the car to see who it was Eddie hit with it. Because it’s dark and foggy out, and leaving the relative safety of a vehicle for any reason is entirely stupid, stuff goes down and the episode ends. Abruptly.
The final episode I played followed Vince. He did something bad to help his brother and this act landed him a bit of jail time. You can tell he’s a decent enough guy, and his story is a little reminiscent of Lee’s, as he finds himself in the rear of a police vehicle at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. He and several other inmates are trapped on a prison bus when things start to go terribly wrong, as they do in zombie games. A little man-bonding happens, then Vince is faced with a gruesome decision to make before he can escape. This is another episode that’s driven mostly by dialogue, with little action.
That’s not a bad thing. In fact, Telltale did a wonderful job in balancing the action with the storytelling, I only wish I would’ve been given more time to really care about these characters before I was forced onto the next.
If you’re paying close attention and you’re still very familiar with the events and characters from the first season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, you’ll notice subtle references and nods to that in 400 Days. Even with that loose connection, this is still very much it’s own story, and the way it’s presented makes it feel like the beginning of a brand new adventure, mostly disconnected from Lee and Clementine’s adventure.
Outside of how short 400 Days is — it took me a little over an hour to complete — my biggest problem with it is that it lacks any real impact. There are tough decisions to be made, sure, but the entire episode lacks any real emotional punch. I wasn’t given enough time to develop any real connections with these characters since each of them had about 15-20 minutes of screen-time. I’m not ashamed to admit I had to whip out the Kleenexes at least twice during my time with the first season of TWD, but this episode, while intense, lacks any of that impact.
The Final Word: It’s not the best episode in Telltale’s stellar series, but it’s still more engaging than most games, and for $5, it’s certainly worth your time. The emotional impact is gone, but much of that has been replaced by some incredibly stressful scenes that prove equally as unforgettable. This is something you’ll want to play more than once, too, if even to catch all the subtle threads that tie one story to the next.
We are now one full month into Spring 2024, which kicked off on Tuesday, March 19 and comes to an end with the start of Summer on Thursday, June 20. This year’s summer movie season has a whole bunch of exciting horror highlights, including A Quiet Place: Day One, MaXXXine, and Alien: Romulus, but let’s hold that particular thought until June rolls around.
We’re here today to talk about Spring 2024 and the many horrors we still have left before the weather gets warmer and we find ourselves in the heat of one hell of a spooky summer.
Here are 12 horror movies you don’t want to miss in Spring 2024!
STING – April 12
Two words: SPIDER HORROR. Writer/Director Kiah Roache-Turner (Wyrmwood) hopes to induce eight-legged terror with his brand new horror movie Sting, only in theaters April 12.
Of particular note, Sting features practical spider effects from 5-time Academy Award Winner Weta Workshop, with the spider in this one inspired by H.R. Giger’s Xenomorph!
In Sting, “One cold, stormy night in New York City, a mysterious object falls from the sky and smashes through the window of a rundown apartment building. It is an egg, and from this egg emerges a strange little spider. The creature is discovered by Charlotte, a rebellious 12-year-old girl obsessed with comic books. Keeping it as a secret pet, she names it Sting.
“But as Charlotte’s fascination with Sting increases, so does its size. Growing at a monstrous rate, Sting’s appetite for blood becomes insatiable.”
BLACKOUT – APRIL 12
Indie darling Larry Fessenden is back with new horror movie Blackout this Spring, Fessenden’s third movie – following Habit and Depraved – to put his own spin on classic monsters.
While Habit was centered on vampires and Depraved was a fresh take on Frankenstein’s Monster, Larry Fessenden’s Blackout is the filmmaker’s contribution to werewolf cinema.
The film follows Charley, an artist whose drinking binges blur with his sneaking suspicion that he might be a werewolf. He distances himself from those he loves and sinks deeper into solitude, his flashes of memory of his nighttime grisly acts manifested through his artwork.
ARCADIAN – APRIL 12
If Nicolas Cage is covered in blood, you better believe we’re going to be watching. Cage gets his own A Quiet Place with Arcadian, a new creature feature coming to theaters April 12.
In Arcadian, which also comes to Shudder later this year, “After a catastrophic event depopulates the world, a father (Nicolas Cage) and his two sons must survive their dystopian environment while being threatened by mysterious creatures that emerge at night.”
Jaeden Martell (IT 2017) also stars in the post apocalyptic monster movie.
ABIGAIL – APRIL 19
If you’re bummed about Melissa Barrera being fired from the Scream franchise, you’ll definitely want to get out to your local theater this month to support Abigail, the new VAMPIRE BALLERINA horror movie from Scream and Scream VI directors Radio Silence.
Barrera stars alongside fellow horror favorite Kathryn Newton (Freaky) in Abigail, which is actually the latest horror movie in Universal’s relaunched Universal Monsters Universe.
In the film, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”
LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL – APRIL 19
One of the most talked about horror movies of Spring 2024 has been the Halloween 1977-set Late Night With the Devil, which has been playing in theaters since its premiere on March 22.
Late Night with the Devil will begin streaming at home on April 19, 2024, less than one month after arriving in theaters. Shudder will be the exclusive streaming home of the movie.
David Dastmalchian (Dune, The Suicide Squad) stars as the host of a late-night talk show that descends into a nightmare in Late Night with the Devil, set on Halloween 1977.
In the found footage-style film that captures a period aesthetic, “A live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.”
INFESTED – APRIL 26
Spring 2024 is all about SPIDERS – sorry, arachnophobes! – with the previously mentioned Sting being followed by the French creature feature Infested (Vermines) later this month.
What’s particularly exciting about Infested is that its director, Sébastien Vaniček, has been hired to direct the next installment in the Evil Dead film franchise, so this will be our first taste of what Vaniček is capable of within the genre. And the buzz for this one is strong.
In his review out of Fantastic Fest last year, for starters, Bloody Disgusting’s own critic Trace Thurman raved that Infested is “one of the best spider attack movies in years.”
In the upcoming horror film, “Fascinated by exotic animals, Kaleb finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap.”
HUMANE – APRIL 26
The daughter of horror master David Cronenberg, Caitlin Cronenberg is making her own mark in the genre filmmaking space with IFC Films’ Humane, coming to theaters this month.
The film is described as “a dystopian satire taking place over a single day, months after a global ecological collapse has forced world leaders to reduce the earth’s population.”
The wild premise? 20% of the world’s population must VOLUNTEER TO DIE!
“In a wealthy enclave, a recently retired newsman has invited his grown children to dinner to announce his intentions to enlist in the nation’s new euthanasia program. But when the father’s plan goes horribly awry, tensions flare and chaos erupts among his children.”
I SAW THE TV GLOW – MAY 3
Fresh off the haunting and singularly creepy indie We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, Jane Schoenbrun is back with A24‘s I Saw the TV Glow, releasing only in theaters this May.
Meagan Navarro wrote in her Sundance review for BD, “I Saw the TV Glow offers a layered and authentic portrait of identity, wrapped in ’90s nostalgia and surreal imagery that embeds itself deep into your psyche.” Meagan continues, “Schoenbrun delivers a singular vision of arthouse horror that entrances for its fevered dream style and insanely cool imagery.”
In A24’s latest, “Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.”
TAROT – MAY 3
Originally titled Horrorscope, a much better title if you’re asking me, Screen Gems returns to the big screen with studio horror movie Tarot this Spring, a Tarot-card themed spookshow.
When a group of friends recklessly violates the sacred rule of Tarot readings – never use someone else’s deck – they unknowingly unleash an unspeakable evil trapped within the cursed cards in the upcoming Screen Gems horror movie Tarot. One by one, they come face to face with fate and end up in a race against death to escape the future foretold in their readings.
The hook for this one? Artist Trevor Henderson designed the film’s eight monsters!
THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 – MAY 17
Bryan Bertino’s 2008 home invasion classic The Strangers spawns a brand new reboot trilogy this year, with first film The Strangers: Chapter 1 kicking things off in theaters on May 17.
The Strangers: Chapter 2 is expected to follow in Fall 2024.
Madelaine Petsch is the lead of the new reboot trilogy, playing a character who drives cross-country with her longtime boyfriend to begin a new life in the Pacific Northwest.
When their car breaks down in Venus, Oregon, they’re forced to spend the night in a secluded Airbnb, where they are terrorized from dusk till dawn by three masked strangers.
IN A VIOLENT NATURE – MAY 31
Slasher fans who have been hungry for a new Friday the 13th movie won’t want to miss In a Violent Nature, which plays out like a Friday movie… entirely from Jason’s perspective!
IFC Films will release In a Violent Nature exclusively in theaters on May 31.
In the film, “When a locket is removed from a collapsed fire tower in the woods that entombs the rotting corpse of Johnny, a vengeful spirit spurred on by a horrific 60-year old crime, his body is resurrected and becomes hellbent on retrieving it. The undead golem hones in on the group of vacationing teens responsible for the theft and proceeds to methodically slaughter them one by one in his mission to get it back – along with anyone in his way.”
Meagan Navarro wrote in her Sundance review for Bloody Disgusting, “In a Violent Nature may offer slasher thrills and a delightfully gory rampage across the wilderness, but the approach captures the carnage through ambient realism. It results in a fascinating arthouse horror experiment that plays more like a minimalist slice-of-life feature with a grim twist.”
THE WATCHERS – JUNE 14
M. Night Shyamalan returns with the new thriller Trap this coming August, but the road to that film’s release will be paved by the feature debut of his daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan.
Ishana Night directed The Watchers, in theaters from WB/New Line on June 14.
The film follows Mina, a 28-year-old artist, who gets stranded in an expansive, untouched forest in western Ireland. When Mina finds shelter, she unknowingly becomes trapped alongside three strangers who are watched and stalked by mysterious creatures each night.
Which Spring 2024 horror movies are YOU most looking forward to?
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