It's Not Funny.....Anymore
It is official (and I never thought I'd hear these words come from my mouth), but I am now officially bored of zombies. With the exception of those created by George A. Romero and the Euro/Italian maestros of blood, guts and gore of days long past, zombies have been fast tracked into vampire territory of late. With the recent success of Zombieland, it seems that zombies are now "fun" and "cute".
Zombieland…where do I even start? How about here? I have yet to see Zombieland. I realize that it is meant to be a comedy. So, given that I've yet to see it, I could very well be missing out. Most everyone I know that has seen it thinks it ranks somewhere between good-to-great. I've even heard a few people refer to it as "awesome". I will concede that it is entirely possible that Zombieland is actually good. However, I overheard someone that I know is absolutely no fan of zombie gore refer to Zombieland as "cute". Hmm…
What bothers me about Zombieland, based on what I know, is how it seems to have materialized. First, the director of the film openly admits that he had never seen one single zombie movie prior to signing on to direct the film. Really? Not one? I can understand if he has never seen something like Nightmare City, but how does one make it into adulthood without having AT LEAST seen Night Of The Living Dead one time? So, when the director referenced what films influenced his direction, he chose Shaun Of The Dead, the 2004 remake of Dawn Of The Dead and 28 Days Later. While I thought Shaun Of The Dead was decent and the remake of Dawn was surprisingly acceptable, it sort of makes me wonder why George Romero's films didn't make the cut.
While most other zombie films made in recent years have been mostly fringe festival entries and straight-to-DVD releases, Zombieland seems to be changing that. From the modern zombie films I have seen, some have been better than others, most notably Zombie Strippers. However, none of them have been even close to as memorable as the works of Romero, Fulci, Bianchi, Lenzi and so on. Still, one look at Fangoria.com or Bloody-Disgusting.com and there seems to be a truckload of new zombie films on the way, many of them leaning into comedy territory.
It can be argued (and quite well) that pretty much all zombie movies are steeped in various degrees of the ridiculous. Some are out there on premise alone while others contains plot holes that rival the Grand Canyon (Burial Ground instantly comes to mind). Having seen the original Night Of The Living Dead in grade school, I remember the sense of being unsafe that it gave me back then. Other films in the era also contain the eerie music, dark atmosphere and grim imagery that has made me into a rabid fan of the genre. While it becomes difficult to argue of a horror film's desired effect after countless viewings, there is still something unsettling about seeing a vision of societal collapse and civilization literally feasting on itself. The scenes of cannibalistic behavior alone are disturbing if one allows their mind to delve deep enough.
It can be argued that even with the macabre feel of films like Dawn Of The Dead (original), Zombi 2 or The Beyond, there is still a thin veneer of black comedy present (or more if you actually enjoy gore like some of us admittedly do). My complaint about the new crop of zombie movies is that they don't contain the claustrophobia or atmosphere anymore. They are clearly designed for the Xbox generation that want their splatter served up first-person shooter style. Not that there was ever a legitimacy to most zombie films (though Romero's films make a good case), the atmosphere has been replaced by bigger stunts and industrial and/or nu-metal to set the stage.
The good news in all of this lies in that as zombies continue to creep into the mainstream as they seem
to be doing, it becomes more likely that movies like Tombs Of The Blind Dead, Zombi 2 and Burial Ground will see eventually BluRay treatment. The Living Dead At Manchester Morgue is being released on BluRay next week and most of George Romero's film have made it to high-definition. Still, the inner punk rock kid in me still gets agitated to see something that I enjoy become subverted by the mainstream. They just don't want to let us have anything to ourselves.
Zombieland…where do I even start? How about here? I have yet to see Zombieland. I realize that it is meant to be a comedy. So, given that I've yet to see it, I could very well be missing out. Most everyone I know that has seen it thinks it ranks somewhere between good-to-great. I've even heard a few people refer to it as "awesome". I will concede that it is entirely possible that Zombieland is actually good. However, I overheard someone that I know is absolutely no fan of zombie gore refer to Zombieland as "cute". Hmm…What bothers me about Zombieland, based on what I know, is how it seems to have materialized. First, the director of the film openly admits that he had never seen one single zombie movie prior to signing on to direct the film. Really? Not one? I can understand if he has never seen something like Nightmare City, but how does one make it into adulthood without having AT LEAST seen Night Of The Living Dead one time? So, when the director referenced what films influenced his direction, he chose Shaun Of The Dead, the 2004 remake of Dawn Of The Dead and 28 Days Later. While I thought Shaun Of The Dead was decent and the remake of Dawn was surprisingly acceptable, it sort of makes me wonder why George Romero's films didn't make the cut.
While most other zombie films made in recent years have been mostly fringe festival entries and straight-to-DVD releases, Zombieland seems to be changing that. From the modern zombie films I have seen, some have been better than others, most notably Zombie Strippers. However, none of them have been even close to as memorable as the works of Romero, Fulci, Bianchi, Lenzi and so on. Still, one look at Fangoria.com or Bloody-Disgusting.com and there seems to be a truckload of new zombie films on the way, many of them leaning into comedy territory.
It can be argued (and quite well) that pretty much all zombie movies are steeped in various degrees of the ridiculous. Some are out there on premise alone while others contains plot holes that rival the Grand Canyon (Burial Ground instantly comes to mind). Having seen the original Night Of The Living Dead in grade school, I remember the sense of being unsafe that it gave me back then. Other films in the era also contain the eerie music, dark atmosphere and grim imagery that has made me into a rabid fan of the genre. While it becomes difficult to argue of a horror film's desired effect after countless viewings, there is still something unsettling about seeing a vision of societal collapse and civilization literally feasting on itself. The scenes of cannibalistic behavior alone are disturbing if one allows their mind to delve deep enough.It can be argued that even with the macabre feel of films like Dawn Of The Dead (original), Zombi 2 or The Beyond, there is still a thin veneer of black comedy present (or more if you actually enjoy gore like some of us admittedly do). My complaint about the new crop of zombie movies is that they don't contain the claustrophobia or atmosphere anymore. They are clearly designed for the Xbox generation that want their splatter served up first-person shooter style. Not that there was ever a legitimacy to most zombie films (though Romero's films make a good case), the atmosphere has been replaced by bigger stunts and industrial and/or nu-metal to set the stage.
The good news in all of this lies in that as zombies continue to creep into the mainstream as they seemto be doing, it becomes more likely that movies like Tombs Of The Blind Dead, Zombi 2 and Burial Ground will see eventually BluRay treatment. The Living Dead At Manchester Morgue is being released on BluRay next week and most of George Romero's film have made it to high-definition. Still, the inner punk rock kid in me still gets agitated to see something that I enjoy become subverted by the mainstream. They just don't want to let us have anything to ourselves.
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