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There’s no denying that zombies are hot right now. The undead are reigning supreme. But are zombies really scary? Or are they so silly that the “camp” factor is what we currently find entertaining?
One of the scariest movies I ever saw as a kid was The Evil Dead. (I know some zombie enthusiasts don’t consider the Evil Dead movies in the same category, but they certainly deal with the undead.) I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a weekday right after school at Colleen Clann’s house. It was in broad daylight, in the family room, and on a duped VHS cassette.
And I was scared shitless.
Fast forward to today, it seems that zombies have become an unintended parody. We mock them as mindless drones begging for “Braaaains!”
That’s not to say that the mockery can’t be quality entertainment. Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland were great popcorn movies. Both of those movie found a way to take something clichéd and make them fresh… and fun.
But here’s what I’m asking. Has pop culture mocked the undead to a point where they’re not even scary any more?
There’s a POLL on the main page of this BLOG asking that very question. Throw me a bone. What do you think?
fantastic post, and a great reminder to that the end is always the beginning. cheers!
14.08.2010, 7:50 pmI truly love movies I couldn’t really live without…
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16.08.2010, 2:43 amKeep up the good work. Everyone is opened to there opinion. Excellent blog here, i am still reading
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30.08.2010, 1:49 pmSaying that zombies have become a parody is looking at very few films that are being made. Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, Dead Snow, Fido and Zombie Strippers! are parodies and get more attention because they’re crossing genres. But you’re totally forgetting the Resident Evil series (1, Extinction, Apocalypse and Afterlife), 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, Dawn of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, and Survival of the Dead. That’s just films. Resident Evil has 5 truly scary games out. Left 4 Dead 1&2 are a huge first person shooter success and scare the crap out of all of my friends who I force to play it. There’s also Dead Rising 1&2 inspired by Dawn of the Dead. Several non-zombie games now have zombie add-ons, like COD has Nazi Zombies and Red Dead Redemption has an undead redemption. Of course, for these serious games there’s also Plants vs. Zombies, where cute sunflowers and venus flytraps protect your home from the zombie hoard in your backyard. Now there’s a zombie television show, The Walking Dead, based off the gory comic by the same name. Both of which are A-grade thrillers. The 80′s and early 90′s really saw the life of the campy zombie film because camp IS the 80′s&90′s. Also horror generally makes us feel uncomfortable and the best way to relief the pain of seeing someone’s guts eaten is to make a joke. Zombies can be funny in the right situations, but don’t forget for a second that they’ll eat your face off and kill all your friends.
11.01.2011, 3:22 pmOh but how could I forget? There’s also Flight of the Living Dead which is essentially Zombies on a Plane, with our favourite dad from Pet Sematary (I guess Dale Midkiff never did learn to stay away from those damn Indian Burial grounds). The movie is gory and fairly scary, but I mean…it’s zombies on a plane. It’s meant to make you laugh and then scream. A surge of films that don’t deal undead, but use the same fear of the uncanny and infection, have become very common because of zombie films like the recent remake of The Crazies and a more unknown film The Carriers. I remember watching The Crazies in the theatre and everyone jumping, hiding behind their hands, and letting out little screams. I certainly don’t think that zombies are no longer scary, it’s just that we’re realizing more and more ways to use them to tell different stories. We’re discovering the human element, if you will, in something very inhuman.
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18.07.2011, 10:53 amWell I’ll tell you what I think, I think we can agree that some popular movies have made a mockery of the Living Dead, but I see a change on the horizon. Programs such as “The Walking Dead”, and even comedies like “Death Valley” give Zombies the proper respect in the media they so richly deserve.
Likewise, now that visions of an impending apocalypse have become trendy, I think you will find Zombies will be getting a lot more street credit than they did in the 80′s and 90′s. We are branching out into all new areas of culture, and it is about time.
Once, vampires began to “sparkle” they fell from grace and just aren’t as “in” as those of us now “fresh” from the grave. For instance, when was the last time you heard of anyone throwing a “Vampire Walk”? I rest my case.
Now you’re on your own.
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29.10.2011, 5:58 pmYes, thank The Walking Dead for this.
05.11.2011, 5:04 pmIt’s trendy, over sold and over hyped and badly written. But everyone and their grandmother want’s to be a zombie now and think they are ready for the actually zombie take over. There was a time when zombies were scary. Robert Kirkman on The View now about The Walking Dead? Oh we can see the mentality behind this show already now. The show right now is not that even great but the excuse is, “it will get better, it has to be slow for building characters’ The zombies in this show are not scary, they all run at the same pace at Shane and Otis for the plot. To hear the actors talk about their roles and try to tell us about these pretend people they play is actually scarier,, then the show. But hey, the main audiences can keep eating this shit up because if this show continues to go in the pace it is going, they will be just as unhappy . At least some of us never bought a damn Franchise project or stood in a long ass line for a convention to hear the drivel of how this show is so deep. Kirkman should be ashamed of himself. But he is raking in the cash so quality writing for this show is not a priority . And as long as the fans keep sucking ass telling these actors are doing sooo good and the show is sooo great. We will be stuck with shit, unless we just up and change the channel. Some one had come out and say. Good blog.
@ I will come out and say it – I think that you are kind of missing the point behind the Walking Dead. Yes it is a bit slow moving, but so is the Godfather movies and they are fantastic movies. The Walking Dead is a whole lot deeper than just a zombie driven end of the world scenario. Its about human instinct and survival and how the human psyche can cope under incredible duress and what our true nature can be. The title The Walking Dead can be used as a metaphor for the “survivors” in this very difficult atmosphere in which they are exposed to and if you actually sit and watch the episodes you can see this. Do I think that some of the characters do stupid things in the show and it makes me want to sit and yell at the screen what are you thinking? Definitely. But I view this no differently than if I were watching a slasher movie and yelling at the girl not to open the door because the killer is outside and she does it anyway. It is for entertainment purposes only. If you really don’t like the show or comics then don’t watch or read them.
08.12.2011, 4:05 am