MB - Something happened to zombies in the 21st Century. They became faster and more dangerous, no longer shambling, mindless automatons (although the extremely popular The Walking Dead (2010 - 2022) series, adapted from a comic books series, carried that tradition on). Of course, George Romero was seemingly ahead of everyone else when he created the zombie character Bub in the 1985 film The Day of the Dead (the 3rd film in his zombie world). Post 9-11, and later post-pandemic (kind of eerie how prescient some of these zombie films were in regards to a possible epidemic), in the US, they became representative, a metaphor for every social, environmental, or political problem we face. Zombies were everywhere. We even have fungal zombies that seem to be representative of our new viral fears, as seen in the series The Last of Us (2023 - Ongoing; adapted from a popular video game). Needless to say there has been an explosion of non-fiction and fiction zombie books. There was even a recent musical zombie film: Anna and the Apocalypse (UK: John McPhail, 2017). Here is a political/philosophical theory book on the 21st Century zombie phenomenon: Zombies in Western Culture: A 21st Century Crisis. Even the great philosopher of consciousness, David Chalmers, has written and theorized about zombies in our culture: Zombies on the Web. No doubt there have been a flood of graduate student thesis/dissertations of zombie culture like this 2009 dissertation by Kyle Bishop: DEAD MAN STILL WALKING: A CRITICAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE RISE AND FALL . . . AND RISE OF ZOMBIE CINEMA.
28 Days Later (UK: Danny Boyle, 2002)
MB - Danny Boyle, the director that became globally famous for his remarkable film Trainspotting (1996), brings the energy of that film to the moribund zombie genre at the turn of the century. I remember when I saw this in the theaters when it was released, it was an innovation because the zombies were fast and very aggressive. It was a thrilling reinvention of the genre that would become very influential for later zombie films/series.
Film description: "A group of misguided animal rights activists free a caged chimp infected with the "Rage" virus from a medical research lab. When London bike courier Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up from a coma a month after, he finds his city all but deserted. On the run from the zombie-like victims of the Rage, Jim stumbles upon a group of survivors, including Selena (Naomie Harris) and cab driver Frank (Brendan Gleeson), and joins them on a perilous journey to what he hopes will be safety."
Archive of resources for after you have watched the film
Shaun of the Dead (UK/France, Edgar Wright, 2004)
"Shaun of the Dead is rare in its ability to deliver comedy and horror in equal measure, without compromising either. The screenplay by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright is replete with comedic details, as slacker electronics salesman Shaun and his gang of friends fight off zombies with weapons such as cricket bats and a vinyl copy of Sade’s Diamond Life, leading up to a tense standoff at a local pub. Part of the fun is in spotting the homages to classic zombie flicks, such as a restaurant called Fulci’s and music cues from Dawn of the Dead." – Kelly Robinson
Archive of resources for after you watch the film
Pontypool (Canada: Bruce McDonald, 2008)
Film Description: "When disc jockey Grant Mazzy reports to his basement radio station in the Canadian town of Pontypool, he thinks it’s just another day at work. But when he hears reports of a virus that turns people into zombies, Mazzy barricades himself in the radio booth and tries to figure out a way to warn his listeners about the virus and its unlikely mode of transmission."
Archive of resources for after you watch the film
Zombieland (USA: Ruben Fleischer, 2009)
MB - a funny and irreverent take on the Zombie genre, with a good cast (Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin). Jesse Eisenberg's Columbus with his rules for surviving a zombie apocalypse is very amusing and Woody Harrelson as the devil-may-care Tallahassee is perfectly cast.
Film Description: "Columbus has made a habit of running from what scares him. Tallahassee doesn’t have fears. If he did, he’d kick their ever-living ass. In a world overrun by zombies, these two are perfectly evolved survivors. But now, they’re about to stare down the most terrifying prospect of all: each other."
Sorry, no resources for this one, pretend you are on your own like Columbus, and make it up as you go ;)
Train to Busan (South Korea: Sang-ho Yeon, 2016)
MB - I had a handful of students demand that I watch this South Korean take on the zombie film. It is a great example of the new type of zombies :)
Film Description: "Martial law is declared when a mysterious viral outbreak pushes Korea into a state of emergency. Those on an express train to Busan, a city that has successfully fended off the viral outbreak, must fight for their own survival…"
Resource for after you watch the film:
Jack Buchanan: "TRAIN TO BUSAN - A MASTERPIECE OF SOCIAL COMMENTARY ."
The Girl With All the Gifts (UK: Colm McCarthy, 2016)
MB - an interesting addition to the zombie genre is the centering of the story on young females who hold the cure to the epidemic within their bodies (also see The Last of Us (2023 - Ongoing TV series; adapted from a popular video game)
Film description: "In the future, a strange fungus has changed nearly everyone into a thoughtless, flesh-eating monster. When a scientist and a teacher find a girl who seems to be immune to the fungus, they all begin a journey to save humanity."
Resources for after you watch the film:
Brian Eggert on the film
Lea Anderson "Be(ware) The Swallowing: THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS"
One Cut of the Dead (Japan: Shin'ichirô Ueda, 2017)
MB - According to IMDB it cost $25,000 to make this film and it made over $25 million. This alone makes it a significant independent horror film!
Film description: "Things go badly for a hack director and film crew shooting a low budget zombie movie in an abandoned WWII Japanese facility, when they are attacked by real zombies."
Resources for after you watch the film:
Michael Frank: ONE CUT OF THE DEAD: Under the Hood of Horror
Brian Eggert on the film
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