Make Zombies Great Again!

Now, for all those who "know" me, I'm a bit of a zombie movie fan (especially the Romero movies, with Dawn of the Dead 1978) being my all time favourite to the point where I collect as many different versions as I can on DVD/VHS/Blu-Ray/4K UHD and the like. I also have a signed photo from Mr Romero himself that sits framed on the wall next to autographed photos of Ken Foree, Greg Nicotero, Flyboy and Pillsbury.

I have a massive soft spot for all of the Romero movies, especially Day of the Dead but my history with that film can wait for another blog post.  

I have a pretty nifty merchandise collection including the recent trading card release from Fright Rags alongside an original UK Quad cinema poster that is framed and located in our hallway at home.  I also have these bad boys and am awaiting delivery of these too.   Alongside books, magazines, and the like.  (* refer to note at the end of this post).

Outside of the collecting thing, Dawn of the Dead 1978 (DOTD) was a "media game changer" for me.  I first viewed after renting it in a video store in 1983.  I was 12 years old, loved horror movies and remember digging TV shows like the BBC's version of Day of the Triffids.

Prior to renting DOTD, choice of movies could be a bit "pot luck" and it was more about the covers.  Video rental stores around the advent of VHS were more about "weekly hire" which could be expensive but this meant sharing the costs and swapping tapes amongst friends.

Around this time, 1982, the business would shift to 24 hour rentals which was much more reasonable and accessible.  Even high street shops like "Radio Rentals" got in on this (I am not going to comment on the Video Nasty debacle as it sours what was an interesting and fantastically brilliant time for 12 year old me who had a voracious appetite for movies in all shapes, genres and forms).

Companies came and went but the one that stuck in my mind was the "Alpha Intervision" video label.  What set this company apart from the others was its use of trailers and previews and this particular one (see trailer above) caught my eye and blew my mind!  (***Please refer to note at bottom of this post)

After many months of waiting, I finally got to watch it over a rainy weekend.  Actually, I watched it three times, digesting each shot and scene of gore over the the 24 hour rental period.  Time has been kind to us, the VHS was heavily cut and we now have multiple versions, cuts and extras galore.  (I recently picked up this and it is now my go to version.

So, why did this movie break my brain.  Well, in lieu of some data packed exploration filled with dense text and references, I will break it down into bullet points.

• The collapse of society.  Britain and most of the world this point was locked into the mitts of the Cold War.  A horrid triangle of fear between Russia, the USA and the UK.  Speaking to the people who I grew up with, our fears stemmed from not only nuclear war but diseases, invasions and the like. 
• The politics - which I kind of understood at the time regarding consumerism.
• Zombies - they could be your best friend, parents or neighbours.  Trust no one!  (However, I didn't have a great childhood or school experience so I used to wake up every morning feeling disappointed that there was no zombie takeover).
• The action - very comic book but quite frenetic.
• Who would not want to live in a Shopping mall??!!
• How the "common" man and social agencies deal with something they have never encountered:  be it law enforcement agencies, the hunting community, the National guard, biker gangs and interestingly, the media.
• The images - locking back into the collapse of society, there is a shot in DOTD that chilled me to the core.  It wasn't flesh being torn off bones or the blatant disregard for human life - it was this frame regarding the lights being switched off floor by floor in an office building.  Around 18 minutes and 10 seconds in.  (It resonated with me in a way this PIF did back in the 70's.)
• Edit - 7 March 2019.  I also forgot to mention the soundtrack by Italian prog rockers Goblin (who worked in collaboration with Dario Argento on the music).  See video below, when I first heard this, I thought my urine would turn to ice)
  

So, to sum up - DOTD was a cultural phenomenon.

Over the years, the zombie genre has evolved, being embraced and renewed with each generation of viewer - during the 70's and 80's, auteur Lucio Fulci took Romero's vision and kind of warped it to a more European sensibility.  What were deemed to be cheap cash in films that were designed to make a quick buck are now deemed to be classic examples of zombie cinema.   (Note:  This article states that "28 Days Later" is a Zombie movie, which while being a fantastic film, in my opinion, both entries in the franchise are  *not* zombie movies).

The zombie genre has not only been confined to movies but has exploded across many media platforms (the game, Resident Evil really kick started the trend bringing it to a new generation).  The comic book genre flirted with the genre for a while but it wasn't until October 2003 with the advent of Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead, published by Image Comics.

Around 2003, I was an avid collector and still a zombie movie fan.  I scoured Previews for new fixes of comics and action figures *religiously*.    This book caught my eye and I added it to my standing order an when it arrived and I read it, I knew this was going to blow the hinges off the genre and be something very special.

I am one of the lucky few to have bagged and boarded this 1st printing and it's stored somewhere very safe now.  I have every issue to date, some alternative covers all bagged and stored (many only read once).  I also have many action figures from the series but the Rick and Daryl are the best.

 I'm currently 3 years behind with my comic book reading due to depression and a loss of interest in life in general but I hope to fix that.  The last issues I read were when the whisperers took on the Kingdom.  That ending was such a downer that I had to step back for a while.  Don't get me started on Shiva!  Still brings a lump to my throat.

However, the number of comics to read has increased (at my last count, 3.5 long boxes (different titles, not just WD).

Let's skip some time beats - the TV series comes along and it was a smash hit pardon the pun (look out Glenn!).

Now, why the segue from Dawn the TWD?  **  (refer to note below)

Over the years, audience members have complained that the show (and some of Romero's later "Dead" films) have lost their way.  I disagree with this completely, having enjoyed all of Romero's Zombie Oeuvre but I do think the WTD show's most recent seasons have been unnecessarily brutal , downright nasty or feel contrived and stretched out.

However, this is a massive bloody however, the last few episodes of the new series PRG (post Rick Grimes) have been amazing.  I'm back on board and wondering to see how the fight between Daryl and Beta plays out.

*Collecting for me is important as outside of the film/text - I get to have something cool!

**I see all three forms of the media (TWD comic/TWD the series and DOTD) as complementing each other.  But, they differ dramatically.  In both good and bad ways.  This post is not designed to provide a textual analysis but what I want to achieve is how the genre has evolved and maintained overseen the evolution of its audience that spans over 40 years.  What is is designed to do is to illustrate and explore the relationship I have with the media (in a very superficial way).


***Why am I writing this?  Well, my therapist is encouraging me to balance the negative with the good.  It occurred to me the VHS era was a massive influence and source of enjoyment/discovery for me.  Hence, these "scribbles.