ZombieDog’s rating: I’m going to rate this one as my first, “Do not miss!”

ZombieDog’s review: I was 10 years old when Star Wars came out. I honestly can’t think of a better age to see that movie. During this time though, there was also Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Alien (1979), Animal House (1978), Blade Runner (1982), and Terminator (1984). These films arguably set the tone for the next 50 years. Certainly, this isn’t the end of the list of influential films from this period, but what I learned as a kid was that the adult stuff was better. Kids movies were few and far between, however even at this young age I knew what I was interested in.

I absolutely love creativity, and having been exposed to this burst of originality in my youth, I became all that more disappointed when I started to see repetition in the entertainment industry. That being the case, if anything defines the last 15 years of cinema, it has to be rehash, reboots, and remakes.

Which explains why I am excited, bordering on ecstatic to tell you of Scavengers Reign. This is a 12-part series that was produced for the streaming service HBO Max. The show is a sci-fi drama about survivors who crash land on a planet and are just trying to survive. The story is pretty straightforward, however that’s not what makes the series good. The sheer level of effort that went into animal design and planet design is nothing short of amazing. The artists who worked on the show poured immense creativity into creating entire ecosystems and alien animals that inhabit them.

The space freighter Demeter crashes with a competent but not exceptional crew. What follows are the struggles that average people have to undergo to survive. The crew is able to bring down a larger rescue ship by remote — however the location where it landed is an unknown distance away. So it isn’t so much “get to the ship” as it is “survive the unknown alien planet.”

As I mentioned already, the planet is incredibly beautiful, but it is also a complete mystery. It’s neither good nor evil, and that’s the problem. You never know what’s going to trying kill you.

The show itself was inspired by a short film (Scavengers) on Vimeo. That independent film is only seven minutes long, yet it puts a level of thought that into the initial concept that was outstanding. The short film and the series does sometimes feel like a complex Rube Goldberg machine.

If anything this could be a minor criticism because it seems like the crewmembers’ understanding of the planet is comprehensive bordering on all-knowing regarding how to utilize alien life. It kind of made me wonder if the deckhands were required to take a class “How to explore and exploit an extraterrestrial worlds.” This was a risky choice on their part because the knowledge that they would have to gain would take a considerable amount of time. On the other hand, it’s mesmerizing to watch and I will just suggest letting go of that question if it persists in your mind.

Scavengers is so incredibly refreshing that I’m willing to forgive a few minor points of contention. The massive amount of superhero, secret agent, and fast car movies being churned out one after another in series made me realize just how much I am truly longing for something different.

It’s extremely important to point out that those ’70s and ’80s movies where the initial formulation of those storylines (more or less). I just can’t help but to wonder why that level of originality that was present in those two decades hasn’t progressed at the same rate. It’s just even from a financial argument, it would be much better to be in control of an intellectual property than to license it repetitively.

It might also be the perception that creativity at the level that I’m talking about is rare. I do believe creativity is rare. I also know that entire studios have been built around embracing new ideas and producing great films. Collaborative groups such as Pixar and Studio Ghibli have produced works that have been nothing short of masterpieces. Flashing back to the ’80s once again to show this level of design has been undertaken before. Fantastic Planet (1973), Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), Gandahar (1987). Simultaneously being reinforced by print media such as Heavy Metal magazine and illustrators like Jean Giraud (AKA Moebius) who was responsible for designs and concepts used in Aliens, The Fifth Element, Tron, and The Abyss to name a few.

All this praise has to come with just a tad bit of criticism. At roughly a five-hour running time, they probably could’ve shaved off about two hours. I personally didn’t mind because I found every second of screen time pleasurable. Secondly, the animation style made it somewhat difficult to tell genders and ages under certain situations. Normally I wouldn’t even bring it up, except that aspect made it slightly confusing in some areas as the story progressed.

Rotten Tomatoes rates Scavengers Reign at a hundred percent. IMDb rates it at 8.8 and I have to say, “Yeah, that’s about right.” This isn’t the only series that I’ve been enjoying. For the past 10 years or so the format of series-based entertainment has been improving dramatically. I totally understand this, from a writer’s perspective they simply have more room to define characters and settings along with situations, the director isn’t pressured to condense the story into 90 minutes and the actors are empowered to fully explore a character.

I understand that animation may instantly turn off some viewers, if this is the case, I would say do your best to get over it. Five hours is a long time, and I would also suggest spreading this out over a couple of days. I truly think if you binge-watch it you will lessen some of the enjoyment. Take your time soak it in. This is good stuff folks and I certainly hope that it’s the beginning of a new trend in embracing creativity.

Left: Heavy Metal magazine cover. Right: Movie poster for Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Center Top: Mobius print. Center Bottom: Movie frame from Gandhar