I am a zombie film connoisseur. I have seen many, both on the big screen and TV, of all different types, nationalities, and even been to a zombie film festival. I believe it is a genre all to itself. One that lies somewhere between supernatural and apocalyptic in the horror section. But there is something special about these films.
I believe they reveal something quite unique about the human psyche.
Zombie films are popular because they walk the line that allows for guilt free killing of humans. Zombies are classified as no longer human, void of rights and status. They can and will tear you apart given the chance, so you must attack or be attacked. There is little remorse shown for killing them, even when they were human only moments before. This is quite different from war films for example, where even though the enemy is trying to kill you, they are still humans with family and feelings.
Firstly, there are several types of zombie films: Ultra gore, apocalyptic, comedy and bad. Each of these brings a new depth to the genre.
Ultra gore is often combined with apocalyptic. ‘The hoard’ and ‘the zombie diaries’ both reveal that even in the face of great adversity and a common enemy, people will still attack, kill and plot revenge against each other, even if it means certain death from a hoard of super strong zombies. If the protagonist in the hoard still tries to kill everyone (she isn't a zombie, just hell bent on revenge), then are zombies really so different?
Conversely there are some apocalyptic zombie films, such as the German ‘the siege of the dead’ and the big budget ’28 weeks later’ that demonstrate the heroic self sacrifice for youth and love. Even if it means certain death from an infected raging hoard of zombies or being burnt to death.
Bad zombie films need no explanation. Most of these films fail because they simply don’t allow the audience to connect with the main character, thus no one cares if they get eaten from a hoard of zombies. However, there is the odd exception where the plot is so complex and convoluted, combined with dodgy special effects, that the audience literally have no idea what’s going on, who’s eating who. ‘The city of the living dead ‘ (an old Italian film) is a great example of this. But rest assured, everyone gets eaten by a hovering convoy of zombies.
Zombie comedy is a difficult genre. Most of these films are on the verge of bad. But Fido is a shining light. (And my favourite zombie movie.) Set in a Stepford wives 1950’s town, zombies are tamed with an electronic collar and used as cheap labour, slaves and entertainment. Billy Connelly plays the main character, (how random is that?) a zombie butler befriended by a lonely boy. Fido causes the audience to re-evaluate human rights and equality.
Which brings me to Zombie human rights. These are surely debatable in the courts. Zombies are not in a vegetative state and have previously taken a breath; hence it should legally be murder to kill them. But they are already dead you say? The moment of death hasn’t actually been certified by a doctor, and they are running around, 'the walking dead' even proves marginal brain activity. So I think they would still be classified as living in the courts.
Indeed there are some films which verge on classifying zombies as humans. Zombies share the protagonist role in both ‘Fido' and ‘land of the dead’ where they are merely disabled by death. We feel sorry for them that they are not let into our society due to their disability. We are also taught to respect them as the people they once were in the TV series ‘the walking dead’ and not to find enjoyment in hacking up their bodies with an axe.
Ultimately the question still remains, should a person be treated differently simply because they are slightly disabled by death? Should capital punishment for Zombies be legal?
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