Hope for the Zombie Genre

Constant readers of this blog know of my love/hate relationship with all things zombie.  There was a time when I found the reanimated, flesh eating corpse one of the most terrifying things in the horror genre.  And of course, George Romero deserves unending accolades for dreaming up the modern day zombie and setting it free to haunt our nightmares.

Unfortunately, these days, zombies are everywhere.  You've got your zombie walks, your zombie runs, your zombie cartoons, your zombie plush dolls, your zombie ice cream and, yes, even your zombie porn; and as such, a once blood curdling fantastic creature is now about as scary as a Smurf.  I half expect a Disney animated musical about zombies to show up one of these days.

That's why I am always surprised when I come across any zombie-themed work these days that is actually worth my time.  Happily, there are some works out there using the tired old shambler and infusing it with such spark and panache, one finds themselves understanding that all may not be lost when it comes to this genre.  For instance:

Tonight the AMC network begins season II of The Walking Dead, and if it's anywhere as good as last year's season, I think we are all in for a fun ride.  I was constantly impressed with the style of this series - great acting, believable characters, and, most importantly, terrifying zombies.  Of course like any good zombie tale, The Walking Dead gives us survivors that we can relate to; people who are not survivalist soldiers, but average Jane and John Doe-types driven to extraordinary measures to make it through the day (and night).

Colson Whitehead's Zone One is a witty, fatalistic novel concerning a post-zombie-Armageddon New York City where groups of clean-up crews sweep through the streets and office buildings eradicating the stray living dead in preparation for resettlement.  Presented in a non-linear style, Zone One is a narrative that uses its theme as an allegory for life in post 9/11 America.  Whitehead is a writer a million miles ahead of the pack, and that he decided to produce a novel like this one begs the question, "Why bother?"   The answer is found within the pages.  The hero known as "Mark Spitz" (it's an inside joke), seems coolly detached from the proceedings, even when he describes the events of his own personal, "Last Night" (the term used to describe the night the dead came back and everything went to hell).  Everyone has a "Last Night" story - where were you when the lights went out? - where were you when the planes hit the World Trade Center? - where were you when your neighbors started eating each other? - and soon those sad stores all seem to blend together. 

Despite it's rather lofty goals, Zone One also satisfies in terms of terror.  The scene in the book describing the fall of Broadway alone is one of the most sensational and breath taking descriptions of a nightmarish zombie infestation one might have ever read.

Do yourself a favor, read this book.

Kelly Jameson's Z=mc2: Time-Travelin' Zombies vs. the Garden State is an over-the-top, science fiction/horror, political satire novel that starts at a break neck speed, and just gets faster until it threatens to shatter the speed of light.  Set in the not so distant future (a future that amongst other things, features Sarah Palin as the President of these United States) , Z=mc2... tells the story of what happens when a dumpster behind a restaurant in the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey serves as  a portal that allows time traveling, genetically mutated zombies  to find there way to the Garden State to pick up some good eats.

Set in and around "The Pines", this novel is a kitchen-sink-stew of absurdity, laughs, gross outs, existential rants, and brilliant prose.  It's obvious that Jameson is using her story to satirize America (and South Jersey in particular), my only fear is that much of it might go over the casual reader's head (god knows, I had to go back re-read every few pages).

Any book that includes the zombie of Albert Eisenstein, chainsaw wielding bikini clad gals, and an institutionalized man  who quotes lines from Ed Wood's films, as well as  a portly attorney who goes by the name of Hilarius Fuchs (say that out loud) stands the chance of possibly becoming so character driven the reader may get a tad confused as to who's who and what's what.  And yet, despite the (seemingly) hundreds of characters populating Z=mc2..., Jameson never looses sight of the zombies.  Her monsters are brain eaters like we saw in Return of the Living Dead, and they are most certainly a force to be reckoned with.

Bottom line, if you want a change of pace in your zombie-lit experience, this is the book for you.  Also, I can't help but love the fact that all of the action is taking place in my back yard (full disclosure, I live just on the border of the infamous New Jersey Pine Barrens).

Zombie Redemption

There was a time when I found zombies the be-all-end-all of horror.  But that was some time ago, and as I mentioned on this very blog; lately zombies are dead to me.


And then, just last week, I stumbled upon Dead Set, a witty, creepy, British mini-series that finds contestants of Big Brother, the sole survivors of zombie infested England (and possibly the world).


Now, to be fair, I did not immediately fall in love with Dead Set.  As a matter of fact, I found the first episode to be so fucking hyper-kinetic, that I had a headache by the time it was over.  Shot and edited at a rapid-fire pace, there was not much time to  appreciate what was actually going on, and in what seemed a matter of minutes, hundreds of people become crazed flesh eaters,  society crashed, all communication went down, and the world was now the domain of the ghouls.  Also, the creatures in Dead Set were so fast, and so crazy, they seemed more like the infected in 28 Days Later.  Another thing that really bothered me was that whenever we saw a zombie, the camera seemed like it was set on vibrate - you know, that goddamn, shaky cam crap that once seemed so inventive; well, it's almost a cliche these days.


The magic in Dead Set did not manifest until the second episode when we meet a handful of other survivors and see how they try to escape the apocalypse that's befallen.  It is at this point that Dead Set goes from being a frenetic set piece to a dark, morbid tale that just becomes more inescapably horrific and hopeless until, by the final episode - all hope is gone.  Did I mention that amongst all of this despair, Dead Set manages to include a message about the evils of "reality television" as well as mass media in general?

Shortcomings aside, Dead Set was a satisfying, short, sweet affair (six, half hour episodes), if you have not already seen it, seek it out (IFC has been showing it, and it's also available on DVD). 

On Halloween night, AMC premiered the highly anticipated (and highly hyped) The Walking Dead. 

Seemingly the polar opposite of Dead Set, The Walking Dead's first episode was a slow paced almost cinematic affair that related the story of Georgia police officer who falls into a coma after being shot by  a couple of ne'er-do-wells.  Upon walking up, the cop discovers that something wicked his way came, and the world seems a much emptier place ... that is until he finds out that the world is  now overrun with flesh eating zombies. 

For the next hour and a half, I was mesmerized by the chilling tale unfolding before my eyes.  No caffeine infused crazies here, no seat-of-the-pants camera work, no ironic dialouge...just a unique story slowly creeping up on the viewer.  And when the zombies turn up, they are horrifying, shambling things (some of whom still seem to have an ounce of their human memories - one female ghoul shows up at her home to try and claim her still living son and husband).

What also impressed me was the story being told.  A long conversation between two of the main characters at the start of The Walking Dead, figures in on a plot twist that we witness about half way through the proceedings.



Granted, I've only seen the first episode of The Walking Dead, but if the rest of the series is as good as chapter one, then I think we are all in for a rare treat;  a zombie tale with something more behind it than special effects and gore.  Could this be the redemption that the zombie genre has needed for so long?  Stay tuned.