Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Seventh Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Nuke it.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 13, 2023

In some ways, it's difficult to fathom that Fear the Walking Dead has emerged as a serious hit spinoff of the original The Walking Dead. For one thing, those are massive shoes to fill. For another, Fear's first season was uninspired and didn't bode well for the future of the show. But over time, the show has slowly evolved to take on the identity of its predecessor: a fearless and bold march through the nasty world of the living dead where society has crumbled and humanity has collapsed along with it. Recent seasons have performed a fair bit of redemptive work, and while little in Fear has topped The Walking Dead at its peak (i.e. all of the early and middle series run), it has certainly gained some traction, and some admiration, along the way. Does that upward trend continue in season seven?

Nope.

Newcomers are encouraged to start back at the beginning (which wasn't very good) and work their way through subsequent seasons (which improve only to drop off again) and return to a lower standard in season seven. Every season is available on Blu-ray and linked below:

• Season One
• Season Two
• Season Three
• Season Four
• Season Five
• Season Six

Official synopsis: Teddy (John Glover) brought about his vision of 'The End' when he detonated nuclear warheads across the Texas landscape, but it will be up to those who survived to decide what 'The Beginning' will look like. And they’ll have to do it in a world devoid of light and hope, where the outside air is just as deadly as the walkers they face, the ones who lived will find out who they really are and what they’re really made of. Some will rise to the occasion, some will find new purpose. Still others will redefine themselves — even if it comes at a terrible cost to those they once considered family.

Some spoilers for the series appear below.

So here is season seven, a season that follows a literal bang of an ending in season six with a whimper. The season is illogical, oftentimes incoherent, and narratively and structurally irradiated. The season efforts to string together some high yield story elements but it's mostly just as toxic as the world in which the characters live, a world which, as it happens, may be poisonous to humans but apparently not too much else, and not much to humans, for that matter, who conveniently remove protective gear with some frequency so the camera can show a face. The season is much of the same, and the nuclear fallout backdrop seems to be little more than window dressing that never adds much of anything but a hazy cloud over the frame.

Strand's full turn as villain is often handled with aplomb; Colman Domingo lavishes the screen with a delicious balance of suave acting and over the top embrace of his role, and he's rather enjoyable, at least when the script gives reason to enjoy the character's arc. Sadly, there's not much else. Franchise stalwart Morgan Jones valiantly tries to carry the show but can't; the character lacks Strand's charisma and the script offers Lennie James precious few opportunities to break from the character mold and the franchise constraints. Fear simply drops him into the maelstrom for another round of same old, same old. The season plods through the new landscape and some new villains with no new ideas and no fresh perspectives. This is easily one of the worst seasons in the Dead universe.

Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Seventh Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Aesthetically, season seven is every bit the gritty beauty that defines The Walking Dead universe, and Lionsgate's 1080p transfer captures that look with grace and accuracy. The picture has a certain rawness about it, which is reflective of the nuked and zombie infested landscapes. It's meant to look grim, and grim it does indeed look. As such, colors lack flavor and boldness. There's a dull gray look to the season, and even when some colors appear more pronounced, they are never so vivid as to break the illusion of hopelessness and despair. Skin tones are likewise a bit on the pale and gray side as well. Black level depth is excellent, though. Details are very strong. While not naturally so sharp as some other content, the image certainly never backs away from revealing crisp, high end facial detail and icky zombie makeup and gore effects with all the squeamish clarity one could want. Tattered clothing and worn-down world objects and accents are also nicely defined. Light noise is present at times, but there are no major source flaws or encode issues of which to speak. This looks like season six, and that is a good thing. Visually, this is Fear the Walking Dead in its wheelhouse.

Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Seventh Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The included Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack is certainly efficient if not slightly underwhelming, mostly due to variances in surround usage. Strong gusty winds blow about in the opening moments of the season's opening episode, though without the sort of immersive and substantial surround engagement one would expect hear. Still, the net effect is decent, as is the sound of burning fires a few moments later, but again that lack of intense surround negotiation leaves things wanting, sonically. Surrounds do pick up zombie moans here and there, as well as a downpour 20 minutes into episode one, and of course various action scenes offer some engagement, but the track certainly lacks consistency throughout. Still, even a bit more front heavy than ideal, clarity is good and front end stretch is satisfactory. Musical definition and width leave no real room for complaint, and dialogue is clear and well prioritized from a natural front-center position.

Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Seventh Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This four-disc set of Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Seventh Season contains two commentaries on disc one and a third on disc four. That's all. No DVD copy is included with purchase. Lionsgate has bundled in a digital copy code. This set ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

Disc One:

• Audio Commentary: For "The Beacon:" Executive Producers and Co Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg. For "Cindy Hawkins:" Actor Jenna Elfman and Writers Nick Bernardone and Jacob Pinion.

Disc Four:

• Audio Commentary: For "Gone:" Executive Producers and Co Showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg.

Fear the Walking Dead: The Complete Seventh Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In the opening moments of episode one, a character finds himself mentally broken and battered, unable to face life anymore in a world that has been nuked on top of everything else. He chooses death and doesn't move when a zombie gets him in its sights. He is saved at the last moment by a third party. That scene is Fear the Walking Dead's seventh season in a nutshell. It's ready to be done, but outside powers deem it's not quite time. Season eight is scheduled to be the end, and mercifully so. Fear, despite some good efforts here and there, has never been able to capture the depth and complexity of its predecessor, and season seven is the most ridiculous and incoherent yet. Lionsgate's four-disc Blu-ray set does deliver rock-solid video and audio. Supplements are limited to a trio of commentary tracks, and it's a surprise it even earned that. For series and franchise completists only.