Hello everyone. It's been awhile since I last posted. I originally was going to save this for October, but it's 2021, and we are still dealing with a global pandemic. I'm already decorating for Halloween, because it's my favorite holiday, and it deserves more than just one month, lol. Besides, October is just a few days away.
You're still here? Oh well, I guess I can talk about one of my favorite horror genres....Zombies.
(Photo by Jessica Ungeheuer)
Among my close friends I am often referred to as "zombie girl." Seriously. My two favorite things...The Nightmare before Christmas, and zombies. Okay...maybe one other obsession, The Wizard of Oz but that will be for another day...
So today I wanted to explore the zombie genre, my history with it, why I think it's still popular today, and why I think the genre is on a rise back into popular media.
The Beginning of an Obsession:
I can't really remember exactly what started the spark of my interest with the genre. If I really think back, I think it had to be the release of Resident Evil 2 by Capcom in 1998. It was my first real survival horror video game, and my first introduction to the mindless, shuffling, flesh eating meat bags. I was a small tween back then, lol.
(Resident Evil Box art and promotional images property of Capcom)
Aside from being curious about the creatures in the game, I loved the story and characters. I loved Claire Redfield the most. She was a badass female protagonist that was put in an extraordinary situation, and didn't fall into the usual trope of helpless female. She was my first kickass female role model, that was tough, but also caring with helping a young girl through the horrors of Raccoon city.
What intrigued me about the creatures in this game is that the monsters were created not from magic or myth, but by a virus. I think that's kind of what drew me to the idea of zombies as a problem. Of all the monsters we read about or see in cinema, the most "plausible" could be zombies. It made me start thinking...what if?
What if there was a virus that infected the brain and took away everything that you were as a human being, of you? Something that made you attack your friends and family? Are you aware of what you're doing? Or are you just gone?
I think that's what added to the fear level of it. To know you are going to die, and really have no way to stop it. In most zombie stories, once you are bitten, or even scratched, there is no going back. It just takes you. Infects you, and takes away whatever is left of you. Leaving a holo, mindless, hungry shell.
A blank slate of what you used to be. At least, these are just part of the reasons why I find them kind of scary.
Why are they so popular to other people though? Is it just the macabre? An obsession with life after death? Or is it something more?
(Photo from Rot and Ruin on Webtoons. Art by Alempe)
John Skip, editor of zombie Anthology Zombies: Encounters With The Hungry Dead, gave some insight into the lure of the genre with the introduction to the anthology that I feel really hits on the head why so many love the genre.
"And that’s the thing about zombies. They are not pretty. They unearth deep reservoirs of darkness within us, and the things they have to tell us are often raw and excruciating...And that, I think, is why zombies have become such an important metaphor for our time: effortlessly careening from comedy to tragedy to full-tilt atrocity, until even our global economy sports the z-word writ large. Because they put our humanity into such stark relief. They are us, stripped of everything that makes life worth living." John Skip
What I like most of John's statement is, "They unearth deep reservoirs of darkness within us..." I feel, especially with more modern tales of zombie horror, the stories aren't about the monsters themselves, but more about the people around the events of the stories.
(Photo by Felipe Hueb from Pexels)
Modern Zombies and Popular Culture:
When George Romero was first making The Night of the Living Dead, he was setting out to make a good monster horror film. What he inadvertently made, was also a social commentary on the very heated times of civil rights. When watching old interviews about the story and casting for this film, Romero would state that it was a series of events that ended up making a groundbreaking statement. When Duane Jones was casted as Ben, he was selected because of the small group of friends, he was the best person for the part. When making the film, they didn't imagine the social impact it would have upon release. The single black man in the film, shot down in the end, mistaken as a monster by an all white militia, after surviving the night of undead. (Richard Newby has a good article discussing the impact of Romero's film here.)
Main stream zombie media continued this trope, of using the monsters to reveal issues in our modern society. The true monsters are not the creatures, but the people around them.
The Walking Dead I feel does a good example of this. (Before we go further in this example, I'm referring to the comic, as I haven't really watched past season one of the series. I know, I know... this girl says she loves zombies, but doesn't watch the number one zombie show in the world?!? I have my reasons, but that's for another day, lol.)
In the Walking Dead you are following a group of survivors trying to live in this new undead world. Eventually Rick's group of survivors become a tight nit group, that are actively trying to make a safe haven for themselves, and possibly other survivors. They found a good refugee in an abandoned prison complex. Of course that was short lived when the "Governor" who ruled tyrannically over another survivor encampment aimed to take away everything from Rick's group, rather than come together. The greed of the Governor's character, ended up being the down fall for a lot of Rick's group of people as well as his own.
Another example is from the film 28 Days Later. (Another story like the Walking Dead where the main character just wakes up in this new world out of a coma. Coincidence? Maybe, or maybe not. I mean 28 Days Later did come out before The Walking Dead...)
This film I felt did really good showing the darkness some of humanity is willing to go to survive vs the "old" ideals and morals of the main character that is just learning of this new horror and adjusting to this new world. The sickest part for me was the end of the film, where the soldiers that were supposed to be the protectors of the civilians, ended up being worse than the creatures outside.
Both of these works explore the darkness of humanity placed against the back drop of a zombie-esq environment.
Now these two examples are already ten years old. I did say that the genre is not dead, and that I feel it is on the rise again.
I bring this up, because I've seen an new surge of zombie media. A movie that is more recent, is the Korean film, Train to Busan. This film is a masterpiece!
(This was me by the end of the film)
Another story about human survival set against the backdrop of a Zombie apocalypse. This film is amazing, and if you haven't seen it yet, you need too. This film is a foreign film that did great globally. (Recently got a sequel this past year that I haven't seen yet, but I'm sure by the trailers, it not going to reach the same impact as the original...) The story has survival, hope, loss, greed, fear. I was on the edge of my seat through the whole film. As it is more recent, I don't want to delve too deep into the story, as not to spoil it for people that are yet to watch it.
Aside from the zombie backdrop, and struggle to survive, the core story was about a man and his daughter. Their strained relationship. The father's character always put his work before his family, which probably resulted in the end of his marriage. In the beginning you see him bringing a gift for his daughter for her birthday, only to discover, he already got her the exact same gift before. His daughter clearly rather be with her mother, and the movie begins with her secretly talking to the mother about taking the train alone to Busan to see her. Even the man's mother notes his lack of involvement, despite how much the daughter does want him to see her. His mother shows him the recital he missed, where his daughter sung a song she practiced really hard, just for him.
This relationship I think is what really made the film special, despite the undead chaos developing around them. There were also other elements of human greed and selfishness in the film as well, that added to the tension. Overall, a really beautiful film. Go watch it! And bring tissues...
Other signs I'm seeing on the rise of the genre again is in the video game industry. In the coming months I have been seeing a lot of games announced that deal with our zombie creatures. The last time there was a burst like this was about ten years ago. With as popular as the video game industry is today, I would like to think that they do have a hand in what is considered popular media.
Back 4 Blood is coming out, which people are calling the unofficial sequel to Left4Dead 2. A zombie themed survival shooter, that I myself had played for many hours with friends and greatly enjoyed.
(Left 4 Dead 2 and Black 4 Blood Promo art)
There is also a new State of Decay game coming out soon, which deals with a player community that must work together to survive in a post apocalyptic undead world.
Last year, there was also the critically acclaimed Days Gone that came out, also set in a post apocalyptic undead world.
I can only hope that this trend continues, with more A list Hollywood zombie films, and even new zombie books in publishing too. (Recently Jonathan Maberry released an anthology of his undead short stories Empty Graves: Tales of the Living Dead that I highly recommend picking up. Especially if you are a fan of George Romero's work.)
Thank you for coming with me on this journey of exploring the shuffling undead, and why I love them so much. I hope you enjoyed reading this, and if you are unfamiliar with the genre, I hope you decide to pick it up and explore it.
I'm always looking for new zombie material to absorb, so if you know of a book, movie, tv, or video game series that I didn't mention above, please let me know in the comments. :D
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