Z is for Zombies

Ah, the air is crisp, the leaves are colorful and Halloween is just a few days away. This is the perfect time for me to touch on a favorite subject, one about which I am most passionate.

Let's talk about zombies, shall we?

Zombies...flesh eaters...the walking dead...call them what you will (but don't call them late for dinner...Ha!) In 1968, a low-budget black and white film entitled "Night of the Living Dead", written and directed by Pittsburgh native George A. Romero, pushed zombies into the public consciousness. What is it about zombies that freaks people out? Is it their slack expression? Their spine-chilling moan? The slow, shuffling walk that should be easy to outrun? (But for some reason, never is). Perhaps it's their single-minded pursuit of that which we hold so dear...our bodies. Can they help it if we happen to be their primary food source?

I first saw "Night of the Living Dead" on a church youth group retreat. Yes, you read that correctly. Our youth group leaders brought a 16mm projector and a copy of the film for our weekend at an isolated Baptist camp in the woods. After the film, we walked (okay sprinted) back to our cabins, praying that the zombies wouldn't start walking out of the woods and eat us (I guess the movie worked since it got us all to pray).

In 1978, Romero released "Dawn of the Dead"; a full-color, no-holds-barred gore fest where zombies swarmed outside a suburban shopping mall while survivors holed up inside. In the days before NC-17, though the film was rated "R", no one under 17 was allowed admittance. (I was 16 and managed to get in with my older sister and friends). While the blue-tinged zombies and primitive effects seem outdated today, at the time it was freaky. Though I held up well in the theater, that night while lying in bed, the thoughts crept into my head: What if a zombie walked up my stairs? What if one lurched out while I was walking the dog? What if my sister became one overnight? These thoughts led to more than one sleepless night.

You'd think this would have deterred me from seeing more zombie films. Au contraire. Over the years I've become a zombie connoisseur of sorts. There are pale imitations ("Return of the Living Dead") and remakes (both "Night" and "Dawn of the Dead" were remade). There's the brilliant zombie romantic comedy (or zomromcom) "Shaun of the Dead". There are zombies motivated by rage ("28 Days Later" and "28 Weeks Later") and zombies kept as pets ("Fido"). There are slow-moving zombies and zombies that can give Usain Bolt a run for his life. Michael Jackson's "Thriller” features dancing zombies.

But my love of zombies is not limited to film. Max Brooks (son of Mel) wrote the well detailed "Zombie Survival Guide" and "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie Wars" (the latter is available at the Hanover library, thanks to our library's director,m who purchased the book at my request without passing judgment on my freakish taste. They also purchased "Fido"). While browsing through Borders, you may have noticed an updated version of Jane Austen's classic entitled "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" (the success of which has led to the release of Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters".) Last year my family purchased a set of Zombie action figures for me from Archie McPhee (along with a set of Horrified B-Movie victims so I could create interesting dioramas.) My kids play with zombie finger puppets.

Call me crazy, but I am not alone in my passion. College students are playing a game called Humans versus Zombies (or HvZ) on campuses across the country (including UMASS-Dartmouth). In this adult version of tag, humans defend themselves from zombies with socks and Nerf guns. Once tagged, the student continues as a zombie through the rest of the match (for more information visit www.humansvszombies.org).

If you're not a student, why not participate in a zombie walk? In cities across the nation, groups of zombie lovers coordinate a date, time and place to show up dressed in zombie make-up and shamble around scaring unsuspecting passersby. (There was a Copley Square zombie walk scheduled for October 17 but I missed it. Dang!) Check out www.zombiewalk.com. Or you can just head over to the Hanover Mall cinema for a showing of the delightful new movie "Zombieland" (which has grossed almost $75 million in just three and a half weeks.)

Sure, there's all this focus on vampires what with all the press on "Twilight" and "True Blood" and "The Vampire Diaries". When "New Moon" opens next month, there will be a lot of werewolf talk as well. These movies and shows are popular because they promote a hot, sexy version of these monsters. If there's one thing that zombies are not, it's sexy.

But they sure are fun. Happy Halloween.