Zombie Horror Movies

GENRE RESEARCH

Though not recognised specifically as a ‘zombie’ movie, the character of the sleepwalker portrays many of the

characteristics of what is now recognised as the ‘Living Dead’.

Although not using zombies, his wake from a ‘death-like’ sleep shows the beginnings of the current cultural meme.

THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI 1920

The film introduced the Haitian ‘voodoo’ zombies to theatre, the undead army controlled by a High Priest, an

necromancer.

This introduced the ‘magical’ element, whilst also giving us the lumbering, not-all-there style of zombies.

WHITE ZOMBIE1932

Carrying on with the ideas of voodoo summoned zombies, this also harks to the plot of the now literary classic Jane

Eyre.

There is a focus on voodoo rituals, and an introduction to the scarier aspects of zombie horror.

I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE1943

This is an Italian-shot movie, in which the antagonists are closer to the zombie-like meme than vampiric. It was later remade as The Omega Man in 1973, and I Am Legend in

2008.

This sparked the introduction to the Italian explosion.

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH1964

This film, whilst still using voodoo zombies, introduces the more violent and predatory traits now commonly used.

It was also a huge influence on George A Romero, a famous horror director.

THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES

1966

This George A. Romero classic begins the explosion of modern zombie movies, as well as setting in place the

characteristics of this genre, such as;

The group of survivors trapped in an enclosed space, becoming more of a threat to each other than the Living

Dead are.The mindless, flesh-eating, shambling moaning zombie,

known as ‘The Dead’, where the outbreak has a scientific rather than magical cause.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD1968

The 1970’s saw an explosion in Italian-shot zombie-horror films, often scorned in Britain for their highly bloody content.The most notable of these would be ‘Zombi 2’, the name

suggesting a sequel to Romero’s Dawn of the Dead when in fact the two were entirely unrelated.

These films tended to be a lot bloodier and more horrific than anything released in Britain and America.

Another sub-genre around the same time came to be know as ‘Giallo’ (yellow) named so after the yellow covers on cheap paperback mystery novels. The genre covers most types of

horror and is known for its combination of sex and violence.Although separate from the gothic-horror, the two began to

combine over time. These films were not well received in the U.S. often because of being re-dubbed and poorly edited.

THE ITALIAN ZOMBIE EXPLOSION

George A. Romero’s classic breathed new life into the zombie-horror genre. Throughout the ‘70’s there had been

some trouble, mostly due to poor reputation, however Romero’s portrayal of blue/green skinned, bloodied, slow,

stupid zombies brought about a resurgence.

The film was followed by an Italian sequel ‘Zombi 2’ in 1979.

It was then remade in 2004.

DAWN OF THE DEAD 1978

The coming of the 1980s brought about a great love for zombie horror. Films such as ‘Day of the Dead’ (1985) and

‘The Evil Dead’ (1981) were released.They all served to enhance and develop the traits now

widely recognised such as;A hungering for flesh, a lack of intelligence and the only

way to kill them be being some sort of disruptive trauma to the brain.

ZOMBIES IN THE ‘80S

This low-budget horror has become somewhat of a cult classic, which ‘combines just the the right combination of

gore and black humour’ – Rotten Tomatoes review.Its sequel, ‘Evil Dead II’ was released in 1987.

It could be said that this film sparked the idea later to develop into what are now known as ‘zom-coms’.

THE EVIL DEAD1981

The 1990s are widely considered as a time of mistakes to fans of the genre. The films were renowned for focusing more on the gore aspect than on any type of plot. Often, fans consider a majority of the films made in this decade

unworthy of the classification. However, there were a few worthy films still released

during this decade.

THE 90’S, YEAR OF MISTAKES

Released under the name ‘Dead Alive’ in the U.S, this cult zombie comedy slapstick horror directed by Peter Jackson

is said to be the goriest film of all time. Viewed as a mistake, it was a truly violent film, although one of the

better ones made through the decade.

BRAINDEAD 1992

The early 200s saw a mixed bag in the way of this genre. Although a few good films were released early on, many of the films tended to be more unknown. There were quite a few big, blockbuster films, however, along with man big

selling remakes of older classics. Many the films, however, were made by more independent

filmmakers instead of blockbuster hits, and so stayed in the background.

THE EARLY 2000’S – STAYING IN THE

BACKGROUND

Although not necessarily about ‘zombies’, the man-made ‘Rage’ virus infecting the population as depicted in this film shares rather a lot of ideas with the meme. The infected are

highly volatile and, although not slow, lumbering and stupid, do have the bloodthirsty nature.

In this film the infection is spread through a bite, another characteristic of the genre.

It also depicted what’s become known as ‘running’ zombies, the type that can move fast.

It’s sequel ‘28 Weeks Later’ was released in 2007 along with a graphic novel ‘28 Days Later: Aftermath’ expanding the timeline of the outbreak, and later a comic series ‘28

Days Later’ in 2009.

28 DAYS LATER 2002

Following the videogame, but not the storyline, the franchise consists of five live action movies along with

novels, comics, source books and merchendise.The films consist of; ‘Resident Evil’ (2002), ‘Resident Evil:

Apocalypse’ (2004), ‘Resident Evil: Extinction’ (2007), ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’ (2010) and the soon-to-be released

‘Resident Evil: Retribution’ (2012). The films show examples of both fast and slow moving zombies, along with the infection being a virus spread through the population.

These show how the genre keeps developing with each new film.

THE RESIDENT EVIL FRANCHISE

More recently the genre has been used in comedy, commonly known as ‘zom-coms’. These films will often use all the stereotypes but in a over exaggeratedly funny way.

Examples of this would be ‘Shaun of the Dead’ (2004) and Zombieland (2009). These films in themselves employ their

own stereotypes, such as the way the main character, a bumbling fool by all accounts, overcomes all obstacles.

ZOM-COMS

The most well know of these, Shaun of the Dead is the self declared first ‘Zom-Rom-Com’, a zombie filled romantic

comedy.

Although the idea of comedy mixing with zombie horror has been tried before, ‘Shaun’ is the first true success.

Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright created a parody of the usual zombies, playing special homage to Romero, the widely

renowned god of the genre. It included things such as the zombies being fundamentally idiotic, shambling creatures, the characters, more of a danger to themselves looking to hole up somewhere safe and, although made light-hearted

and happy, fundamentally a sad ending.

SHAUN OF THE DEAD2004

This film shows a different side to zom-coms, focusing less on the characters personally, meanwhile maintaining focus on their friendship. The Characters don’t have names per-

se, they go by the places they’re form or headed to.

The film plays emotional alongside comedy, using interaction as a big source of comedy, along with the

oddball survivors.

The zombies here are generally faster moving, with the virus having a scientific cause.

ZOMBIELAND2009

Recently, Zombie horror had become increasingly popular not just in film, but games, books, comics and television. One of the big zombie things at the moment would be the

Walking Dead franchise, a series of comics written by Robert Kirkman, adapted into a TV series.

Videogames have always had a large place for zombies, with many games featuring them as the foe.

There have also been parody books such as ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ written, as well as ‘Word War Z’

and subsequently ‘Zombie Survival Guide’.

RISING POPULARITY

First of all there is the obvious Voodoo zombies, often seen in the early days of the zombie meme. These type of zombie were often linked with necromancy and magic, and had little to no thirst for

human bloody.

Lumbering zombies were the next big thing. These were slow moving, shuffling creatures, with no sense other than to feed.

Fast moving zombies came later. These had the cognitive ability to run after their prey as opposed to lumbering, and were seen as far

more deadly.

Other types include those who dwell in water, ‘swmmiers’.

The name ‘Zombie’ is often used, although more recently it’s been scrapped in favour of the term, ‘the dead’, ‘walkers’ or in the case of

The Walking Dead franchise ‘geeks’.

MOST COMMON TYPES OF ZOMBIE

The genre of Zombie Horror has become a widely known cultural meme.

Zombies can be used to create fear, tension and comedy within audiences, and have become well known and all

round accepted.

Starting back in the 1920s with Dr Caligari, Zombies have come a long way, and ideas have changed many times, and

will probably change in the future.

Zombie horror has evolved dramatically and, as far as I can see, will keep on evolving and developing a life of its own.

Thank You for reading.

CONCLUSION