Leena Watts
Santa Clarita Diet is a horror-comedy series created by Victor Fresco for Netflix. The series stars Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant as Sheila and Joel Hammond, a married couple and real estate team living in Santa Clarita, California. The series takes a dark turn when Sheila dies and becomes a zombie with a craving for human flesh. As the family adjusts to Sheila's new diet, they must also deal with neighbours, cultural norms, and a potentially mythological mystery.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type of monster | Zombie |
| Symptoms | No heartbeat, Craving human flesh, Vomiting when eating animal meat |
| Appearance | Looks and feels the same as before becoming a zombie |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
Sheila Hammond's transformation into a zombie
In the Netflix horror-comedy series Santa Clarita Diet, Sheila Hammond, a suburban realtor in Santa Clarita, California, undergoes a transformation into a zombie. Sheila, played by Drew Barrymore, is one of the main characters in the series. She is the wife of Joel Hammond (played by Timothy Olyphant) and the mother of Abby Hammond (played by Liv Hewson).
In the show, Sheila and her family lead a pleasant but uneventful life until Sheila undergoes a dramatic change that turns her into a flesh-eating monster. This transformation is an "abrupt, vomit-filled thing that occurs early in the pilot," according to the Hollywood Reporter. In the first episode, Sheila wakes up feeling strange and throws up. She also realizes that she no longer has a heartbeat. However, she looks and feels as good as she ever has. The problem is that she has to eat human flesh to survive, which leads her family to seek a cure for her condition while also dealing with the consequences, such as their neighbours and cultural norms.
Sheila's transformation into a zombie is not your typical zombie story. She doesn't look like the typical zombies you usually see in movies or shows. Instead, she maintains her physical appearance and even becomes more confident, assertive, and aggressive. Her articulacy remains intact despite being undead, and she also has enhanced endurance and a high pain tolerance.
The cause of Sheila's transformation is revealed to be severe food poisoning from eating a Serbian-imported clam special at a restaurant. This results in her developing symptoms of zombification, including an insatiable hunger for human flesh and a more primal and impulsive personality. As the show progresses, Sheila and her family must navigate this new reality, battling her cannibalistic urges and trying to find the worst kind of people to kill for her to eat.
How Diet Mt Dew Still Contains Calories
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Sheila's cravings for human flesh
In the Netflix horror-comedy series Santa Clarita Diet, Sheila Hammond (played by Drew Barrymore) is a zombie with a craving for human flesh.
Sheila's cravings are depicted as a physical need, with her complaining about hunger leading Joel to decide that they need to kill people for her to eat. This is further supported by a comment from Eric, who tells Joel and Sheila in the first season that they need to keep Sheila fed, or she could quickly become feral. However, it is shown that Sheila is able to eat non-human tissue, as she is seen eating intestines multiple times without any apparent aversion.
The show also explores the idea that the undead, including Sheila, do not enjoy the taste of other undead beings. This is demonstrated when Sheila is shown to be a messy eater, with blood splattered across her face as she devours her meal. This imagery is echoed in promotional dishes inspired by the series, such as "Brain Shock", a brain-shaped pâté made with chicken liver and truffle oil, and "Fright Sight", a vanilla "eyeball" panna cotta with raspberry "blood".
Does Diet Pepsi Break Ketosis?
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The Hammonds' profession as realtors
The Hammonds, Joel and Sheila, are everyday suburban real estate agents in Santa Clarita, California. They are a typical husband and wife team, living and working in the middle-class suburbia of Santa Clarita. Their lives are relatively mundane until Sheila undergoes a transformation, becoming undead and craving human flesh.
The choice to make the Hammonds realtors was a deliberate one by the show's creator, Victor Fresco. He has stated that he wanted the couple to be middle-class, and that the nature of the real estate profession would force them out into the world and require a forced friendliness. This inherent friendliness is something that Fresco wanted to explore, and he felt that realtors were the perfect vehicle for this. The nature of their work would also allow the couple to move in a variety of social circles, which would be useful for the narrative.
The show's star, Drew Barrymore, who plays Sheila Hammond, was also reportedly very keen on the idea of playing a realtor. It is said that she enjoys looking at houses and watches TV shows about house flipping.
The profession of the Hammonds as realtors is an important aspect of the show. It allows the couple to meet a variety of people and move in different social circles, which is essential to the narrative. It also provides a contrast between their ordinary, suburban lives and the dark turn their lives take when Sheila becomes a zombie.
Nutrition in the Military: A Typical Diet Plan
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The show's black comedy
The Santa Clarita Diet is a black comedy horror series created by Victor Fresco and starring Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant as Sheila and Joel Hammond, a married couple who are real estate agents in Santa Clarita, California. The show follows the couple as their lives take a dark turn when Sheila dies and becomes a zombie with a craving for human flesh.
The show has been described as a one-joke comedy that is retold from different angles in each episode, with each punchline being nastier than the last. Despite this, the show received generally positive reviews from critics, with an average rating of 7.2/10 on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 67/100 on Metacritic for its first season. The second season also received positive reviews, with an average rating of 7.85/10 on Rotten Tomatoes.
The show's dark comedy comes from the juxtaposition of the mundane lives of the characters and the gruesome and surreal situations they find themselves in. For example, in one scene, Sheila projectile vomits while showing a house, which sets the tone for the show's comedy methodology. The show also explores themes of marriage, parenting, and addiction through a dark and sardonic lens.
The show has been praised for its insightful parallels between the life of a hitman and the life of an improv comic, as well as its commentary on the consumption and destruction of humanity. However, some critics have argued that the show lacks bravery in its creative choices, with sets described as "backlot-bland" and certain elements deemed too cute given the graphic nature of the show.
Overall, the Santa Clarita Diet offers a unique blend of dark humour and surreal situations, providing a different take on the typical zombie story and offering insights into the human condition.
Vets' Concerns About Raw Pet Food Diets Explained
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The show's political humour
The Netflix horror-comedy series Santa Clarita Diet is centred on a suburban couple, Sheila and Joel Hammond, who are real estate agents in Santa Clarita, California. The show's premise revolves around Sheila's mysterious transformation into a zombie and her subsequent cravings for human flesh. While the show received generally positive reviews for its cast, humour, and engaging premise, it was also criticised for its excessive gore.
The show's creator, Victor Fresco, intended for the series to convey a central message about empowerment and narcissism. In an interview with NME, Fresco explained that the show comments on how humanity is consumed by a "narcissistic culture", mirroring the mindless consumption associated with zombies.
The political humour in Santa Clarita Diet is particularly evident in its subversion of traditional zombie narratives. In contrast to the typical zombie story, which often involves themes of purity, containment, and dehumanisation, Santa Clarita Diet presents zombies as lovable and deserving of love and acceptance. This is exemplified by Sheila, who, despite her frightening and sometimes disgusting condition, is portrayed as a character worthy of empathy and understanding. The show takes a stand against harsh masculine values often associated with zombie narratives, promoting unity and positivity instead.
The second season of the show, filmed after the 2016 election, further emphasised its political messaging. It featured a prominent storyline about environmental activism, with the character Liv becoming increasingly involved in anti-fracking demonstrations. The show also addressed sexism in the workplace through Sheila's experiences with a sexist boss. Additionally, the series took a lighthearted but firm stance against Nazism, depicting Nazis as acceptable targets for violence.
Through its portrayal of zombies as political activists, Santa Clarita Diet offered a unique twist on the typical zombie narrative, using humour and satire to explore themes of inclusivity, empathy, and activism.
Streaming Options for Santa Clarita Diet
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
Sheila Hammond is a zombie with a craving for human flesh.
Yes, other characters in the series who become zombies include Andrei Novak, Loki Hayes, Ron, and potentially Joel Hammond.
Unlike typical zombies, Sheila looks and feels healthy. The zombies in the series also have a preference for fresh, raw human flesh.
