By Travis Johnson
Boy, this looks like fun. Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant are suburban realtors whose picture-perfect lives are turned upside-down when the former develops a taste for human flesh. Tackling the issue with glass-half-full, can-do gumption, they discover that being undead has its upsides, but bloody mayhem inevitably ensues.
Tonally, this looks like a deft masterpiece – it’s not so much the conceit, which is robust but not very original, but a horde of tiny moments, touches and grace notes. Olyphant is absolutely bringing his A-game here – you can see him desperately trying to fight back the shrieking madness clawing at the edge of his eyes in every shot. Plus, the simple notion of Hollywood’s favourite dippy hippy turning carnivorous is just delicious.
Santa Clarita Diet hits Netflix on February 3.
