Zombie 101

I'm not a serious hardcore zombie geek; but I do love a good zombie movie.

A funny story benind this: My Dad was taken to a slaughterhouse at age 7. He saw EVERYTHING. As a result, he began liking horror movies later.

As a very damaged young girl, the advisers in my school told my Dad to spend more time with me; take me to the movies. They ASSUMED Dad would take me to G rated films, he began taking me to the R rated scary movies. I got a taste for scary movies.

A few Zombie facts:
1. The zombies are always animated by either an evil government, corporation, or mad scientist. Greed is the motivating factor.
2. They develop an insatiable taste for human flesh and great aggression.
3. They are not very intelligent, but very strong.
4. They tend to run in packs.
5. If they bite a living human, the human will "turn" - generally at the worst possible moment.
6. They are not affected by sunlight, but tend to prefer darkness.
7. The only way to kill a zombie is by shooting it in the head, beheading it, or explosive forces.
8. A disparate band of humans will team up to escape and vanquish the threat.
9. They are looking for a "better" place. They may be interested in relocating, or simply getting to a safe area.

A few classes of movie:
Slapstick (Return of the Living Dead series, Zombieland, Shaun of the Dead);
Classic (Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead - I am Legend with Will Smith is actually a remake of a classic tale)
Contemporary (Resident Evil Trilogy, 28 Days/Weeks Later, Land of the Dead) and
Disgusting (Zombie Strippers - incredibly hateful towards women).

I personally prefer the contemporary ones.

The most damning aspect of zombie movies:
A fair proportion are simply blood soaked pseudo-porn, with lots of female nudity and disturbing juxtapositions of pseudo-sex interspersed with shots of blood, gore, and screaming dismemberment. The most alarming ones are probably the "Humorous" versions of same. Not for children or teenage boys!

Heather's Zombie Movie Marathon:
If you like classic movies and want to view the progression of the zombie genre, I'd advise you to watch these first two:
Night of the Living Dead - THE zombie movie, it establishes the baseline "rules" and sets the standard for the movies to follow.
Dawn of the Dead - The progression of the zombie plague; refugees hide in a mall. Think of my 9 rules as you watch it.

If you are more interested in a contemporary, fast-paced movies - or you're ready to move along with the marathon:
Land of the Dead - this one is a good start.
Resident Evil: for a movie based on a video game -fantastic. One of my first DVD purchases, I always watch the trilogy when depressed. Alice kicks ass. You will notice how the producers manage to work zombie dogs into every one of the movies. My all-time favorite trilogy.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse - you will note the "little girl" theme continues in this sequel. Racoon City is now infected with the T-Virus, and the end is coming.
Resident Evil: Extinction - a good end for the trilogy, without shutting the door entirely. You will note the #9 theme of relocation is very strong.
28 Days Later - an excellent adaptation of the zombie theme, by the British. Surprisingly well done, in my book. I LOVE the ending.
[skip 28 weeks later - exceedingly depressing and not that great]
To end, I'll suggest another British one - this one being Shaun of the Dead - a comedic take on zombies in the UK as Shaun struggles to adapt to a new world and save his ex girlfriend. Hysterical ending.

If you enjoy a horror-comedy, the "Return of the Living Dead" series is funny and fit the zombie genre rules; however they do combine a lot of nudity/psudosex/violence which I find disturbing these days. Not for viewing with a youngster or young man.

I hope you enjoy them!