HBO’sThe Last of Usis the series that has everyone intrigued these days. While many viewers who haven’t played the games may have tuned in thinking it is another post-apocalyptic zombie show, the showrunners don’t want that approach. From the get-go,The Last of Ushas been a character-driven story, and the crew wasn’t even allowed to use the word ‘zombie’ while filming on set.
At the core ofThe Last of Us, the series and games, are the human connections and interactions, but it isn’t easy to ignore the matter of thousands of Infected constantly lurking around. Most post-apocalyptic projects refer to them as zombies. However,The Last of Ushas always gone the extra mile toexplain the Cordyceps infectionand how it spreads, making the Infected a different breed altogether. Keeping this in mind, the showrunners made it a point to educate their crew members.
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To ensure that the crew was clear on the concept, they “weren’t allowed to say the Z word on set,” Cinematographer Eben Bolter revealed during an interview with theMotion Picture Association. “It was like a banned word. They were the Infected,” he further reiterated. The crew knewThe Last of Uswasn’t just a “zombie show.” Even thoughhorror is one ofThe Last of Us' major themes, with several “jump scares” in the episodes,The Last of Ussets itself apart from the traditional post-apocalyptic content.
The plot, which mostly adaptsThe Last of Usgame, focuses on the characters and their development. Joel and Ellie are the protagonists, but Tess, Bill, Frank, Henry, Sam, and Kathleen have all played a crucial role in progressing the story thus far. “The Infected are an obstacle they have to deal with,” says Bolter. He refers to a particular scene inThe Last of Usepisode 3where Ellie comes across an Infected trapped under some rubble. How she reacts, first afraid and later angry, shows viewers how her character develops from someone who has lived inside four walls all her life to finally experiencing the threat that has destroyed the world she was born into. “Through that interest, you see what the Infected means in Ellie’s own life,” stated Bolter.
When it comes toThe Last of Us, Bolter is confident that it isn’t “a cliché zombie movie” and is instead a “world of organic cinematic naturalism.” AsJoel and Ellie journeythrough post-apocalyptic America in search of a possible cure for the fungal infection, it is important to remember that the characters they meet along the way are truly important, and the Infected, not zombies, are just a speed bump.
The Last of Usairs new episodes on Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.
