“Zombieland” is scheduled for release in theaters Friday, Oct. 2. Being a zombie fanatic, I find it important for audiences who may not be as well versed in zombie-lore as myself to take a moment and recognize the nuances and arbitrary standards within this eclectic world of horror.
I am been striving to understand why I’m obsessed with the undead. Looking at my favorite zombie works (movies, comics and video games), I enjoy works that guarantee the world is taken over and society is overrun by the undead, forcing humanity into a new Dark Age.
Over time, different interpretations of zombification are prevalent. Many early zombie films, such as 1932’s “White Zombie” and 1941’s “King of the Zombies” feature the voodoo zombie. These are quite different than the rotted flesh, brain-eating pop-culture icons we know today.
Voodoo zombies are based primarily off of Haitian lore, from the tale of a father returning home to his family months after his funeral. While in a sort of trance as a result of mysterious voodoo — he didn’t speak, eat, or sleep — he was only capable of simple tasks such as cleaning a stable or sweeping the doorway. Non-aggressive zombies, such as the resurrected father, were supposedly used in sugar mills as slave labor. The catch? If any of these zombies were to taste salt, they would develop an insatiable hunger for human flesh, which inevitably leads to more than a few problems.
The viral zombie came from George Romero’s series, starting with 1968’s “Night of the Living Dead.” This zombie mode suggests a malicious, AIDS-like virus causes an infection, transmitted through being bitten or any fluid exchange. Originally titled “Night of the Flesh Eaters,” Romero deliberately kept the first source of the zombie outbreak a mystery. He believed mad scientists creating some kind of whacky zombie concoction too hackneyed, even though his upcoming film “Survival of the Dead” revolves around humans posted at a remote island attempting to find a cure for zombification. Robert Kirkman’s “Walking Dead” comic is also a wonderful representation of a Romero-zombie.
While Romero shied away from it, mad science is a popular zombie origin in films, such as 1985’s “Re-Animator” and 1985’s “Return of the Living Dead.” In these cases, some sort of chemical is responsible for turning people into flesh-eaters. “Return of the Living Dead” (not affiliated with Romero’s “Dead” series) blames the apocalypse on Trioxin-245, a military chemical affecting people by direct exposure or inhalation of the gases. This film proposes the events shown in Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” were based on a true story, but slightly altered to protect the general public from knowing the ghoulish truth.
“Resident Evil” is a series featuring zombies being created by the mad scientists from the pharmaceutical company Umbrella, who are hell bent on world domination through the implementation of a zombie army.
The creators of “Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles” released new information at this year’s Tokyo Game Show convention, regarding the popular zombie video game’s development and game play features.
“Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles” primarily stars Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy as they attempt to escape the Raccoon City Police Department building in a fresh retelling of the events from “Resident Evil 2.” The game continues on to follow Claire in her arctic adventures from “Resident Evil: Code Veronica,” as she desperately fights to survive hordes of the undead. Jack Krauser and Leon also have a portion of the game, where their exploits in South America are uncovered for the first time, finally shedding light on a mysterious relationship between the two since it’s first allusion in 2005’s “Resident Evil 4.”
It’s very easy to be overloaded with zombie-media. For fans that enjoy newer works, such as “Zombieland” or “Marvel Zombies,” I suggest you trace the genre back to its roots and discover where zombies came from, because it appears they aren’t planning to die yet.
