2025 will see the release of ‘28 Years Later’, ‘Return of
the Living Dead’ (a Christmas zombie movie) and production on the last of the
George Romero cycle of zombie films ‘Twilight of the Dead’ begins in March. It
may be Trump’s first couple of months as ‘king of the world’ that triggered me
thinking about this a little more often than I usually do, but the release of
the movies suggests I’m not the only one that is entertaining the thought of a
zombie apocalypse and if it’s going to happen then it is probably more likely
during a Trump administration?
Do you ever play that game with your colleagues or peers about what you might do in the event of a zombie apocalypse? Access to firearms in the U.S. is seemingly easy, and many seem very practiced preppers, but what about us poor Brits, what the hell are we supposed to do? I would tell you all my ideas now but I’m afraid it’s every person for themselves when the dead walk the earth, so I’m not giving anything away. It might also be important to note however, there are 440 nuclear power stations on the planet and after some research, it seems all of them will meltdown if there is nobody to keep them going, so if you decided to get to a shopping mall or a castle, that is just not going to cut it. It is a nuclear bunker or nothing I’m afraid. This is something that is often conveniently overlooked in post-apocalypse movies.
The first modern zombie movie I saw was the second (and
probably the best) in the George Romero cycle, ‘Dawn of the Dead’ in 1978. I
managed to see it at the cinema because we had a local ‘fleapit’ that was owned
by a guy who would pretty much let anyone in to keep his cinema alive. He
manned the ticket kiosk and often sold ice creams between the first and second
movie in double bills. He’d say, ‘you 18?’, ‘yes’ you would reply in your
deepest voice, even though you were barley 5ft tall. So that’s how I got to see
many ‘X’ certificate films before I was 18.
Dawn of the Dead Trailer 1978
George Romero is best known for his zombie movies but he did dip his toe into the wider world of the horror genre, ‘Season of the Witch’ (1972), about a suburban housewife getting involved in black magic, then with The Crazies (1973), about a biological chemical spill that makes a whole small town go …you guessed it… ‘crazy’, and ‘Martin’ (1977) which was a ‘is he or isn’t he a real vampire? ' plot.
The first of the George Romero Zombie films (and
his first full length feature) was the 1968 movie ‘Night of the Living Dead’
and like the other movies in the cycle, it was full of political and cultural
comment, (even if sometimes it came from interpretation rather than intention).
Zombie movies are never just about zombies and most horror and sci-fi movies have
always been a good way of reflecting contemporary fears and posing the
question, ‘what if…?’, e.g. ‘28 Days Later’ was made in 2002 when we all
believed it would be a virus that wiped us out and fears of swine flu and bird
flu were constantly in the news (little did we know Covid was on its way).
Night of The Living Dead original Trailer
‘Night of the Living Dead’s lead character is played by Duane
Jones, and he was the first black actor to be cast in the lead role of an
American horror movie, in fact it was rare for a black actor to take the lead
role in any movie at the time and there still aren’t that many now. ‘Night …’ was
both a comment on the war in Vietnam that was taking place at the time and on
racial inequality in the U.S. The hand-held aesthetic of the cinematography closely
resembled Vietnam news footage that was being broadcast daily into the living
rooms of suburbia. Jones who plays the character Ben survives until the end of
the movie where is casually shot and killed by a member of a white citizens militia
group (I know it’s a spoiler but if you haven’t seen it by now, shame on you). The
movie came soon after the killings of three civil rights workers by the KKK in
Mississippi in 1964 and the assassinations of Malcolm X in 1965 and Martin
Luther King Junior in 1968. The character’s colour is not mentioned once in the
film but his death at the end speaks volumes about the attitude toward colour
in the U.S. in the 1960s. The second movie in the trilogy (my first) was ‘Dawn
of the Dead’ (1978) and was a comment on consumerism. In ‘Dawn…’ a group of
survivors make their way to a shopping mall where they find that zombies are also
unconsciously drawn to the mall, as it is somewhere they spent days whilst
alive. The shopping mall became a significant setting during and after the 60s
and more and more movies and TV shows included some mention of this cultural
hub of American suburbia. I especially love the 1984 horror/sci-fi/zombie movie
‘Night of the Comet’ for its fun in the mall scene.
Night of The Comet - Mall Scene
Day of the Dead Original Trailer
Romero returned to the zombie movie in 2005 and made a second trilogy in quick succession. The first of these was ‘Land of the Dead’ an anti-capitalist text which sided with the zombies who (growing in intelligence) plan and carry-out an attack on a glass high-rise office building that is occupied by a wealthy businessman played by Dennis Hopper. ‘Diary of the Dead’ was next in 2007 and cashed in on then popular found footage sub-genre. Romero was not pleased with the outcome of this movie, but I preferred it to Blair Witch. The last of the Romero zombie films was the 2009 ‘Survival of the Dead’, which follows a group of ex-soldiers to an island where they hope to find peace, but what they find are two feuding families who senselessly follow the logic of mutually assured destruction to its inevitable conclusion. Again, a metaphor for waring nations. Zombie movies are popular and a useful device to discuss contemporary fears and political opinions, there are seven live-action ‘Resident Evil movies’ eleven seasons of The Walking Dead (and numerous spin-offs) and if this year is anything to go by, we are likely to see more begin production.
Of course, George Romero sadly died in 2017 so unless he has
one last trick up his sleeve, he is not going to direct the last of the movies,
but he did write it, and it will be overseen by his (zombie movie directing)
daughter Tina. Although not a lot is known about the movie, it has been
suggested that the zombies have grown in intelligence and begin the tribalism
of man all over again. Round and round and round we go.
- Dawn of the Dead (1978)
- Night of the Living Dead (1968)
- The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)
- Planet Terror (2007)
- The Dead Don’t Die (2019)
- Day of the Dead (1985)
- 28 Days Later (2002)
- Zombieland (2009)
- Dead Snow (2009)
- Night of the Comet (1984)
Main image: Night of the Living Dead (1968). Note: If you can walk faster than a pensioner in Sainsburys, you should be safe enough.
