Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Slow Zombies and Halloween

We hardcore horror fans think of Halloween as "Amateur Night," since we're 365/24/7, but there's no reason not to throw some extra monster love at the end of October.

While I prefer ghosts as my favorite supernatural entity, if you take it to the level of creatures, I have to give zombies the nod over their fang-bearing, red-eyed brethren in arms. The Night of the Living Dead ranks in my Top 10 pantheon, and last year I even participated in first zombie walk  I just love the relentless nature of the living dead, their relatively calm persistence, their focus on the prize. As you may be able to tell, I am a fan of the Slow Zombie.

I remember watching Fulci's Zombie on back-to-back nights in a theater in Chapel Hill, NC when I was in college. It's the only movie I've ever seen twice in a theater, and I have no idea what I was thinking. I even went alone to that second showing, so I must have been seeking some private connection with the horrors that unfolded (or maybe I just dug the groovy synth soundtrack). I enjoyed 28 Days Later but I find most modern zombie movies are too jokey and self-referential and attention-deficit-disordered, as if zombies have now jumped the shark (cue that really cool scene in Zombie where...well, just watch it).

I guess it's hard to keep fresh, and NotLD definitely borrowed from the The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price. Even the old-school, Haitian zombie movies like I Walked With a Zombie captured an atmosphere of dread., instead of the shock-horror that modern audiences expect. I hate to sound like a grumpy old geezer ("Quit playing on my lawn, you kids!") but I would love to see a revival of the slow zombie, where the experience was less that of a shoot-em-up video game and more like, "It doesn't matter what you do, we're gonna get ya."

But, heck, I guess I'd still take a bad zombie movie over a good romantic comedy any day. Got any suggestions for good Slow Zombie movies?

(Zombie Bits, my Z collection with bonus material from Jonathan Maberry, Joe McKinney, and Jack Konrath, is available at Amazon, BN, Apple, and Kobo. The Murdermouth comic is still in development as I seek ways to raise funds for it.)



Thanks for sharing your list!
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7 comments:

Jay Noel said...

Slow zombie movies?

That's an oxymoron, right?

Author Scott Nicholson said...

yah for young kids it is. My daughter and her friend just screened NotLD for the coming party and they pretty much laughed at it. Guess I'll take my geezer pills and get me a nap.

Swands said...

Well, when you need a letterer, count me in!

Author Scott Nicholson said...

Sure, those are some good book covers, Steve. Di d you do those? I especially like The Seed.

J.R. Rain said...

Ha...awesome trailer, Scott.

Monster A Go-Go said...

I prefer the creeping s-l-o-w zombies myself (original NOTLD, DAWN of the Dead, Zombie, etc). Some of the "fast" ones are interesting (28 Days Later, DAWN of the Dead remake), but...hello? They're dead. They should shamble along like corpses...

Speaking of corpses, i feel like one. i need to sleep but have to wait for the melatonin to kick in so i can get to la-la- land. Thought I'd check in here and that might help me nod off quicker (just TEASING!). I'd been wondering how you were lately. You seemed to have fallen off of the planet...and then I realized it was I who had disappeared. Oops!

I still live...in all of my slow-moving, undead glory!

Chea-cha-cha, daddy-O! CHEERS!

Swands said...

That I did, Scott--Thanks! You should have me do one for you.