After some serious New Year's partying, Helen (Briana Evigan) wakes up in bed to a strange new world. Unbeknownst to her, while she was unconscious, zombies have taken over the city, spreading their disease and munching on the uninfected. Frightened, she seeks out her roommate and friend Eddie (Niall Matter) and her landlady neighbor. In the dark, she initially misses the buckets of blood smeared on the floor and walls, but soon discovers it along with her undead landlady and very injured friend. Eddie dies in her arms and she must abandon his body to escape to safety. Near zombie misses ensue as she navigates the chaotic streets and abandoned buildings of her neighborhood as she desperately tries to reach her boyfriend James' (Cory Monteith) apartment, where he is hiding out with her best friend Christie (Zulay Henao). As she struggles through the environment, we glimpse flashbacks of the evening prior to the outbreak and learn that she is mourning her brother's death as Eddie tries unsuccessfully to contain his unrequited puppy love for her, a situation further complicated by the fact that James is cheating on Helen with Christie. When Helen reaches the apartment, it is revealed that she committed suicide earlier and awoke as the undead due to chemicals released into the air by a fire. Eddie, who has followed her around all night after becoming a zombie, shows up at the apartment as well and together they munch on the boyfriend and best friend who broke Helen's heart. What Worked So far, this was the best episode of the series, which, unfortunately, has consisted of one crushing disappointment after another. However, the directing and production value for the series has been consistently good, and this was no exception. The acting was also executed well. I especially enjoyed seeing Matter make an appearance after watching him on "Eureka." Overall, the feel of the show was sufficiently creepy and there was enough suspense to satisfy most horror fans. While I'm not normally an enthusiastic zombie film buff, the tension in "New Year's Day" was enough to keep me on the edge of my seat, eyes glued firmly to the television. And it's nice to see a sweet love story with such a happy ending †two zombies in love, out on a date. And, really, who doesn't need to go out for a quick bite after a night of heavy partying? What Didn't Work The writing for this episode is much improved over the previous ones, but still fell short. Throughout this series, the writers seem to enjoy dangling the idea of a twist ending without actually producing one. Within the first few minutes of "New Year's Eve," I had already surmised that Helen was a zombie and Christie and James were sneaking around (badly), only to be caught canoodling at the party. And Eddie †poor, poor Eddie †was the formulaic lovesick puppy following Helen around, content to live off the scraps of her shattered psyche. I still enjoyed watching the events unfold, but was unable to experience the true terror of the moment that would have been accessible through the perspective of an un-zombified protagonist. Is it too much to ask for a cleverly written script that rewards the viewer with a true and exhilarating surprise ending? Credit Where Credit is Due "New Year's Day" was written by Paul Kane and Steve Niles and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. "Fear Itself" airs Thursday nights at 10 p.m. on NBC. Express yourself and be part of the news! Leave a comment below or join our rabid discussions on the SyBoards.