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Do you like zombies and the movies they star in?
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| HELL friggin' YES! |
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46% |
[ 7 ] |
| not really |
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26% |
[ 4 ] |
| sure, why not? |
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26% |
[ 4 ] |
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| Total Votes : 15 |
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Hof
ZOMG tittay's as big as you're head!!!
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 Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 17:06 Post subject: I sure do like zombies! |
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I love zombie movies!!!!!!!!!!!
Halloween is great cus I get to watch zombie movies a lot more often than usual! I'll watch just about any zombie movie!
I love Dawn of the Dead! and the Evil Dead series (which are more about possessions, but oh well. Bruce Campbell kicks serious ass!) and the Resident Evil movies! Shaun of the Dead was funny! I love 28 DAYS LATER!!!!! The soundtrack is awesome too!
Does anyone else share my love and interest? |
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Mars
Oldbie.
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| Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 17:26 Post subject: |
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Zombie movies are alright, but they're all the same. Humans running/fighting corpse eating zombies. Sometimes the humans live. Sometimes they all die etc.
Zombies can't die. They were dead already. |
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StePalminall
Pig. Want?
Joined: 01 Feb 2005
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Location: Loughborough, UK
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| Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 17:29 Post subject: |
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I like them as no brainers, but meh to them in general. I really liked 28 days later tho, that film rocked. And it had a motorway sign with my hometown on it. That rocked too.
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firebug
Housebound
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| Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 17:31 Post subject: |
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Dead Alive... So friggin' awesome.
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Murphy
In favour of the death penalty
Joined: 27 Apr 2002
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Location: Stop finding out where Murphy lives. He thinks you're creepy.
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| Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 18:14 Post subject: |
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I'm becoming a big fan of the genre. Romero's films each have their own social commentary, which I dig, and a riff of which forms the basic pretext for Shaun. The Return movies were ...ok. I guess I just find the concept interesting. I like the irony that in several movies of the "survival zombie" genre, the zombies tend to be somewhat irrelevant.
The fact that Pittsburgh played such a large role in the Romero movies is also a plus. Nothing like Ken Foree killing zombies in the mall you've been going to since you were five.
| Quote: |
Zombies can't die. They were dead already. |
It could be argued that this is grounds for a re-examination of the concept of life as it pertains to a zombie world, though this varies from movie to movie.
Note 28 Days Later (or Resident Evil 4, if you're the video game type). Most zombie enthusiasts are quick to point out that it's not technically a zombie movie as they're not technically zombies. But they share the same traits that we associate with zombies. So what makes them different? A pulse? Why should that be the end-all of what is alive? Are not Romero's zombies simply alive in a different way?
Yar!
Plus, zombies are engaging in a way that few other scarythings are, in that they present not only the FEAR of being attacked, but also the hardship of having to know that if one of your loved ones is bitten, you're going to have to kill them.
So yes. I enjoy that.
There's a reason I'm looking for a red softball shirt on which to write "Bach's Arco, Pitcairn" before Halloween.
There's this Sushi fellow that posts in the "what are you Listening to" thread that I believe may have seen a zombie movie or two.
Edit: I don't, however, like overuse of exclamation points.
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Happy AHmed
Mmmm Meat!
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| Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 19:25 Post subject: |
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| firebug wrote: | | Dead Alive... So friggin' awesome. |
Called Braindead originally, title was changed for US release. Early Peter Jackson film, this was his first one with an actual decent budget.
Comic scenes: Your mother ate my dog, garden gnome, and of course the trusty lawnmower.
Conclusion: Rad.
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Jenny
A Fine Tang of Faintly Scented Urine
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| Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 19:31 Post subject: |
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I agree with the above post.
I don't think the Evil Dead series has the typical zombie murphy mentioned. I think they're a different sort.
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Hof
ZOMG tittay's as big as you're head!!!
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| Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 20:09 Post subject: |
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Evil Dead doesn't really focus on zombies, it's more possesions, but people do come back from the dead. And I agree that the Resident Evil movies don't exactly deal with zombies, but basically the infected and living dead walking or running after humans trying to eat them and moaning in the process is what I'm into.
It's just such a rush to watch and it's hard to wrap your mind around what it would really be like if it were real.
INTENSE! |
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Berserk Sushi
Mangina.
Joined: 14 Jun 2002
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 00:10 Post subject: |
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Evil Dead was utter shit. I appreciate, however, the efforts behind it. $375,000 and a few weeks in the woods and bam. Kudos to independent filmmaking.
Then again, George Romero invented the genre when he spent $114,000 on Night of the Living Dead, which grossed over $3,000,000.
And Murphy's right. Romero's social commentaries (even up through his modern Land of the Dead) are fantastic. I had a lecture on Night of the Living Dead recently. it was excellent well. I had a neato chat with my professor afterwards about it.
I also met Shaun and Ed (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, respectively), who thought I was batshit nuts and funny, and won an autographed copy of their script for the zombie outfit I wore to see them. Best part? They declared me winner before the contest ended. Woo!
(This reminds me, I need to go out and buy Land of the Dead now that it's on DVD.)
Er, I'm being a zombie again this year for halloween. Last year I made (literally) a Church choir recoil and shriek, stopped absketball games just by walking past, and one man actually turned and ran away when he saw me. I aim to top it this year.
Unlike a lot of "hardxcore zombie fans woo romero" I am a big fan of fast zombies (remade Dawn of the Dead-style, inspired by 28 Days Later). I'm working together the resources to shoot a short film about them. Sort of.
From a more intelligent perspective I believe zombies are, as a whole, the most potentially interesting and complex monster in the horror genre, certainly my favorite, and incredibly underrated for the sheer volume of retarded zombie movies out there. That's part of the reason why I like fast zombies.
Romero's slow zombies were still scary and got the commentary across. After that and countless pathetic imitations they w ere castrated, clich? and more slapstick than horrifying. Shaun of the Dead epitomized this and used to fanstastic effect, but as a comedy. Dawn of the Dead 2004 and 28 Days Later helped take back zombies, and make people take them seriously again.
That's it for disjointed rambling zombie itnroductions. Fuck I could go on and on and on :P
WOOO
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IndustrialWaffle
...And Damn The Bishop Of Worcester!
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 00:12 Post subject: |
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I was wondering when Mani would come in and own up the zombie thread
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Murphy
In favour of the death penalty
Joined: 27 Apr 2002
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Location: Stop finding out where Murphy lives. He thinks you're creepy.
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 00:45 Post subject: |
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I would argue that if you're going for the whole "possessions" commentary, Evil Dead doesn't cut it. Dawn of the Dead (1978) is the landmark.
And I should clarify. The zombies in Resident Evil (Movies and games other than 4) are zombies in that they've suffered clinical death and have reanimated. Resident Evil 4 was different, as they were still clinically alive (in the sense that we're talking about for the time being) but have been driven mad by parasites. Kind of like in 28 Days Later, where it's a blood-virus that's driving them crazy, but not killing them. It's an important distinction, as a head shot is not entirely necessary to take down a 28 Days Later zombie. The method through which they've zombified is irrelevant, as it varies wildly depending on what you're watching (Dawn 2004/Shaun involved a blood virus, whereas in Romero's films, you become a zombie just by dying, as in the hanging man in Land of the Dead).
| Quote: | | Unlike a lot of "hardxcore zombie fans woo romero" I am a big fan of fast zombies (remade Dawn of the Dead-style, inspired by 28 Days Later). I'm working together the resources to shoot a short film about them. Sort of. |
Fast zombies definitely have their place, and 28 Days and the remake of Dawn use fast zombies superbly. I enjoy the hell out of them. The slow zombie, though, enhances that irony that sure, a bite from these things kills you and they want to chew on your flesh, but the individual zombie really isn't a threat. It's the relentless horde that gets you.
| Quote: | | After that and countless pathetic imitations they w ere castrated, clich? and more slapstick than horrifying |
I'd agree, though it's encouraging that Shaun and Resident Evil (in which the zombies weren't the freaking ninjas of 28 Days Later, if I recall. Perhaps I should watch that again tonight) have to some degree taken back the slow zombie. And Land.
| Quote: | Er, I'm being a zombie again this year for halloween. Last year I made (literally) a Church choir recoil and shriek, stopped absketball games just by walking past, and one man actually turned and ran away when he saw me. I aim to top it this year.
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My costume's going to be dependent mostly upon my acting, as my choice of a very specific zombie from the original Dawn more or less means I have to be bluegray, rather than missing a liver or something
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Hof
ZOMG tittay's as big as you're head!!!
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 03:47 Post subject: |
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I would like to be a zombie for Halloween, but sadly I am staying home..... Oh well, maybe next year.
At least I get to make myself a zombie out of clay! |
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Der_Kommissar
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 05:02 Post subject: |
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I love the game Zombies. Fire axe on a skateboard owns. Zombie carnage to the EXTREME!
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Hof
ZOMG tittay's as big as you're head!!!
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 05:05 Post subject: |
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Zombies Ate My Neighbours!!!!!!!!!!!!
HELL YES! |
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Mars
Oldbie.
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
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Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 06:32 Post subject: |
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| We have a zombie board game called ZOMBIES!. The point is to get as many dead zombies in your pile to win or something. |
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Der_Kommissar
Flaming liberal
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 07:09 Post subject: |
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Or get to the helipad to helicopter to FREEDOM.
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Mars
Oldbie.
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 07:25 Post subject: |
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Was that the goal?
It was like, 2002 when we lasted played. |
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Berserk Sushi
Mangina.
Joined: 14 Jun 2002
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 07:26 Post subject: |
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| Murphy wrote: | | I would argue that if you're going for the whole "possessions" commentary, Evil Dead doesn't cut it. Dawn of the Dead (1978) is the landmark. |
I'd argue that Night of the Living Dead is the landmark being that it came first and invented every modern clich? of zombie cinema.
| Quote: | | It's an important distinction, as a head shot is not entirely necessary to take down a 28 Days Later zombie. |
Yes and no. The zombie in cinema does not derive all of its meaning simply from the fact that it is dead (though that is typically important, and certainly adds to it). The more important characteristics are the cannibalism, mindlessness, and relentlessness - with innumerable faceless hordes being a close second to those three. In that sense 28 Days Later and Resident Evil 4 both posit viable "zombies" (indeed, 28DL is not without its appropriate social commentary either, which at points closely mirrors Romero's in Night - it's also good to note that 28DL was intended as a sort or re-take on Dawn). And, in their own way, they sort of take back zombies, by reintroducing their same core attributes in a different, fresh body to recapture the attention, respect and horror of their audiences.
Myself? I prefer the zombies in Dawn of the Dead 2004 to all of these, as they combine all the key attributes and execute them flawlessly.
| Quote: | | The slow zombie, though, enhances that irony that sure, a bite from these things kills you and they want to chew on your flesh, but the individual zombie really isn't a threat. It's the relentless horde that gets you. |
Understood. And, after all, the point of the original Night was that they could handle one or two at a time, but eventually the growing mass of the undead would break into the house, no matter what, and it was just a matter of time.
At the same time, consider a different perspective. Consider a zombie to be a gross hyperbole of certain human characteristics. In Romero's Dawn it would be consumerism, in Night they reflect a greater social unrest and dysfunction, etc. Cannibalism represents the most horrifying level of human greed and violence, so it follows that one aspect of the zombie as a creation of our imaginations is a human (zombies do not look any different from us, really) consumed (pun partially intended as symbolism) entirely by such tendencies. Recall also that zombies will stop at nothing to get their meal. They have no inhibitions and no limits.
This is the zombie of the remade Dawn, and, to a lesser degree, of 28. Scary shit.
Now, picture your traditional prodigious crowd of zombies- but they are these zombies. Does this not convey the same meaning as the slow horde? But more- the slow horde is our inevitable demise, but these other zombies are more frightening, and just one makes our personal hell manifest. A whole crowd is not only unstoppable, it is utterly and entirely hopeless, and more more profoundly scary.
| Quote: | | The method through which they've zombified is irrelevant, as it varies wildly depending on what you're watching (Dawn 2004/Shaun involved a blood virus, whereas in Romero's films, you become a zombie just by dying, as in the hanging man in Land of the Dead). |
Minor note: Romero's original Night attributed zombification to vague radiation from space that entered our atmosphere, thereby becoming omnipresent and reanimating and corpse that died for any reason, anywhere. Recall the mother, who is stabbed to death by her daughter and, without any contact with her blood, reanimates.
More modern takes generally employ the blood-transmission principle (which I feel is best fleshed out in the Zombie Survival Handbook as a plausible "explanation"), with the important characteristic that the living, if bitten or infected, will become zombies.
It's also of great interest to note that in Romero's most recent Land of the Dead, some of the dead do not reanimate (a soldier in the beginning suicides to prevent his becoming a zombie, implying that he must die of infection to reanimate), but virtually the entire population of the planet is zombified. One supposes the condition which caused zombies has passed, but they persist through their semi-immortality and blood transmission.
| Quote: | | My costume's going to be dependent mostly upon my acting, as my choice of a very specific zombie from the original Dawn more or less means I have to be bluegray, rather than missing a liver or something |
Mine, by contrast, I hope will epitomize the scary zombie outlined above. My zombie will not be rotting, but freshly dead. Wounds will be grotesque and aimed specifically at deforming the traditional human figure (spilled intestines and mangled face), and my acting will be stressed too- to being vicious.
This makes me sooo happy. All of this here. Yay everyone! Time tow rite my essay!
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Murphy
In favour of the death penalty
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 08:02 Post subject: |
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Oooh zombies.
| Quote: | | I'd argue that Night of the Living Dead is the landmark being that it came first and invented every modern clich? of zombie cinema. |
Yeah, but that's more about the inability of people to work together to save their lives/irreconcilable differences/closedmindedness. I was talking just about commercialism, or "possessions".
Tee hee Hare Krishna Zombie.
| Quote: |
Yes and no. The zombie in cinema does not derive all of its meaning simply from the fact that it is dead (though that is typically important, and certainly adds to it). The more important characteristics are the cannibalism, mindlessness, and relentlessness - with innumerable faceless hordes being a close second to those three. In that sense 28 Days Later and Resident Evil 4 both posit viable "zombies" (indeed, 28DL is not without its appropriate social commentary either, which at points closely mirrors Romero's in Night - it's also good to note that 28DL was intended as a sort or re-take on Dawn). And, in their own way, they sort of take back zombies, by reintroducing their same core attributes in a different, fresh body to recapture the attention, respect and horror of their audiences. |
I agree with the point about how a zombie derives its purpose (that is, being dead isn't that important), and just wanted to point out (with the importantly thing) that if you're jammed in a room with one, you don't have to be the best shot in the world.
28DL does have it's own take on social commentary (you can't not, really, once you've thrown the heroes to the military, pumped people full of valium and all that), and I wasn't aware that it was a rehashing. The only thing that bothers me about 28DL's social commentary is that it does it while smacking me in the face with more product placement than you can shake a stick at.
Fucking Pepsi.
| Quote: | | Myself? I prefer the zombies in Dawn of the Dead 2004 to all of these, as they combine all the key attributes and execute them flawlessly. |
I've only ever seen that about twice, and don't own it, which is probably why I'm by default more a "slow zombie" person. I like that the remake diverged from the original like there was no tomorrow. It did away with several of Romero's zombie conventions, such as the slow movement, which incidentally was based on his misconception of rigor mortis, virus transmission, as opposed to "everyone that dies" which always struck me as the most hard to accept bit, with the clearest indication being Mekhi Phifer's death.
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At the same time... |
I agree with this whole thing wholeheartedly, and it's a good point. The zombies in 28DL (which I've just finished re-watching, incidentally, as they're at the bit where the airplane has discovered them and such) and 2004's Dawn are inherently scarier. I just have a soft spot for the creepiness factor of the slow horde and its irony, the hope of survival if you're surrounded by them (though this survival, presuming you've got a semi-automatic weapon, is possibly increased with the "Infected" of 28DL) which requires simply a defendible position, and the... I don't know. Moaning, I guess.
| Quote: |
Minor note: Romero's original Night attributed zombification to vague radiation from space that entered our atmosphere, thereby becoming omnipresent and reanimating and corpse that died for any reason, anywhere. Recall the mother, who is stabbed to death by her daughter and, without any contact with her blood, reanimates. |
 Well aware, and I'll take that as exposition. Land just came to mind because I'd just recently watched it again with its release (though Blockbuster isn't carrying it and I'm not going to buy it until I get my next paycheck, I had to see Tuesday).
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More modern takes generally employ the blood-transmission principle (which I feel is best fleshed out in the Zombie Survival Handbook as a plausible "explanation"), with the important characteristic that the living, if bitten or infected, will become zombies. |
Aye. Solanum.
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(a soldier in the beginning suicides to prevent his becoming a zombie, implying that he must die of infection to reanimate) |
See, I took that as the zombies requiring their brain to function (as in Day of the Dead, with the ex-military guy who's more or less a nervous system with a mouth), and by shooting himself in the head, he's already inflicted the wound that would be necessary to kill him if he were to die and become a zombie.
*Special Features-Alternate Ending, Jim's died.*
| Quote: | | One supposes the condition which caused zombies has passed, but they persist through their semi-immortality and blood transmission |
I would think that whatever's caused it is continuing to cause it, as the man who hangs himself reanimates, though I do like the "eventually maybe they'll just rot away" plotline.
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This makes me sooo happy. All of this here. Yay everyone! Time tow rite my essay! |
It's better it's here so that I can write my zombie opinions, rather than calling up Jenna every few minutes to scream "Mhaaaa zombiezzzzzz" at her.
October has been hell for Jendar. All this after she took me out in August for my birthday to celebrate with drinks and House of the Dead 3: Arcade Stylee. THIS IS WHY NO ONE SHOULD EVER BE NICE TO ME.
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Berserk Sushi
Mangina.
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 08:26 Post subject: |
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| Murphy wrote: | | Yeah, but that's more about the inability of people to work together to save their lives/irreconcilable differences/closedmindedness. |
Don't forget racial and class conflict. That's pretty damn important in that particular one, and it's one of Romero's old chestnuts (pay close attention to the role of blacks in his zombie movies).
| Quote: | | I was talking just about commercialism, or "possessions". |
...I thought we were talking about the landmark zombie film, i.e. the one that made zombies big in cinema?
| Quote: | | I agree with the point about how a zombie derives its purpose (that is, being dead isn't that important), and just wanted to point out (with the importantly thing) that if you're jammed in a room with one, you don't have to be the best shot in the world. |
Depends. If it's a "rage"/fast zombie, you're pretty fucked unless you have a lot of ammo and gun in that room with you, and a head start.
| Quote: | | The only thing that bothers me about 28DL's social commentary is that it does it while smacking me in the face with more product placement than you can shake a stick at. |
Eh. I like to think that's more ironic than bothersome. A flat can of pepsi from a looted machine being an ironic reminder of the petty importance we placed on frivolous things like brands, when not long from now (four weeks, no less) anything at all will be necessary to survive.
| Quote: | | I just have a soft spot for the creepiness factor of the slow horde and its irony, the hope of survival if you're surrounded by them (though this survival, presuming you've got a semi-automatic weapon, is possibly increased with the "Infected" of 28DL) which requires simply a defendible position, and the... I don't know. Moaning, I guess. |
You're subconsciously hitting on an important point and it's making me giggle with glee.
Romero's zombies are more human, that is, we are more sympathetic to them than to the terrifying zombies of Dawn 2004. Gruesome and gutwrenching as it was, let's face it, look at the expression of the Romerombies in Night or Dawn as they eat human remains. They're almost childlike. This emphasizes Romero's commentary, as the humans in the end seem more vicious by comparison. This is where the commentary in 28DL and Dawn 2004 differs from Romero's. In Dawn2k4, the zombies are already as human and terrifying that they can get, and the consummation of the symbolism happens when the last humans are overwhelmed and become zombies themselves. That's why no-one survives in the new Dawn.
As an interesting point, Ryan- consider the police at the end of Night, and the soldiers at the end of 28, and how their roles and symbolisms are parallel :P
Speaking of which, any insight into the etymology here?
| Quote: | | See, I took that as the zombies requiring their brain to function (as in Day of the Dead, with the ex-military guy who's more or less a nervous system with a mouth), and by shooting himself in the head, he's already inflicted the wound that would be necessary to kill him if he were to die and become a zombie. |
You could look at it that way as well. As an aside, in the film I'm planning, there is no such thing as a fatal wound to a zombie. While I thoroughly enjoy the reasoning behind making the brains a zombie's killspot, my film will feature zombies that can only be destroyed by utter annihilation of the body/nervous system.
Eheheheh.
| Quote: | | I would think that whatever's caused it is continuing to cause it, as the man who hangs himself reanimates, though I do like the "eventually maybe they'll just rot away" plotline. |
I don't recall the hanged man from Land.
| Quote: | | It's better it's here so that I can write my zombie opinions, rather than calling up Jenna every few minutes to scream "Mhaaaa zombiezzzzzz" at her. |
Let's have sex. Right now.
| Quote: | | October has been hell for Jendar. All this after she took me out in August for my birthday to celebrate with drinks and House of the Dead 3: Arcade Stylee. THIS IS WHY NO ONE SHOULD EVER BE NICE TO ME. |
Incidentally, I'm going to blame my shoddy first draft essay on you entirely, by your full name, in class tomorrow, you horrible wonderful distraction.
PS give Jendar my bebstest of regards, and luck <3
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Jenny
A Fine Tang of Faintly Scented Urine
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 08:57 Post subject: |
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| Berserk Sushi wrote: | Evil Dead was utter shit. I appreciate, however, the efforts behind it. $375,000 and a few weeks in the woods and bam. Kudos to independent filmmaking.
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Certaintly, the first one.
I think the second one was what made it fucking awesome.
I don't lump Evil Dead 2 as a zombie movie, as such.
As Mani mentioned, one of the scariest things about zombies is that they just don't fucking stop. The monsters in Evil Dead (since I think Evil Dead was a pile of lame, just assume whenever I say Evil Dead I'm referring to the awesome considered-as-a-remake-by-some second one) can be stopped. Hell, if you read some words out of some book, everything goes away again. You lock one in the basement and it's no trouble.
what's frightening about Evil Dead isn't the monsters. I think the monsters add to its camp feel; they're so obviously made out of plasticine with probably the one in the basement being the most frightening, because everybody's had that FEAR that something is in the basement/attic/back room, in the dark, where you can't see.
what's frightening about the Evil Dead is the isolation Ash is in. He's by himself, in the dark, really fucking paranoid-monsters come out the windows, he's already been posessed once, his girlfriend has been killed. It's a different type of FEAR to a zombie movie. A zombie movie, you do get isolation, (in the mall in Dawn of the Dead, in the flat/army barracks in 28 days later) but in contrast, the isolation is a break from the zombies. It isn't FEAR, it's a safe house, a preparation period. The isolation in Evil Dead is the opposite. He knows he isn't safe and he can't do anything to stop it; making him constantly on guard.
When the hillbillies and daughter turn up, they aren't anything important. They're just fresh gore material. Ash can't die, it's Ash's movie, all they serve are things to be eaten. When they turn up, so do the monsters, and that's where the Evil Dead starts to be a funny action movie, with only the things they're facing making it a horror movie. Turn those things into guys in costumes and you'd have an action movie.
Army of Darkness is barely a horror movie at all, but it works as an action movie. Yeah.
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Berserk Sushi
Mangina.
Joined: 14 Jun 2002
Posts: 37365
Location: NYFC
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 09:02 Post subject: |
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Adding on to what Jenneh said, zombie movies tend to highlight the uselessness of isolation as a "solution." For one, the outside forces will eventually get in, as they will not stop nor tire nor leave. For two, it does not address the problem itself.
Even Dawn 2k4, with its supposed dirth of social commentary, points this out all too clearly, as the survivors in the mall develop a sort of cabin fever just when everything seems to be going perfect. In fact, the pregnant russian girlfriend who births a zombie child could be seen as a striking allegory to the mall itself.
Romero, of course, used the isolation-failure element to highlight social flaws.
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Murphy
In favour of the death penalty
Joined: 27 Apr 2002
Posts: 7515
Location: Stop finding out where Murphy lives. He thinks you're creepy.
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 09:02 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Don't forget racial and class conflict. That's pretty damn important in that particular one, and it's one of Romero's old chestnuts (pay close attention to the role of blacks in his zombie movies).
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Land of the Dead hammers this home like no other. In NotLD, I'm not sure what to make of it. I mean, it's there, very clear and very obvious for the viewer, but Romero claims not to have intended the whole race thing to come into it.
But, ignoring that, you're right. The racial conflict is a staple of Romero's films. Particularly in the end of NotLD, which is easily one of my favorite movie endings (zombie or no).
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..I thought we were talking about the landmark zombie film, i.e. the one that made zombies big in cinema? |
I was just responding to Hof's comment about the Evil Dead movies' deal with possessions. In that specific issue, Dawn is, in my opinion, the zombie movie one should look to.
| Quote: | | Depends. If it's a "rage"/fast zombie, you're pretty fucked unless you have a lot of ammo and gun in that room with you, and a head start. |
True.
| Quote: | Eh. I like to think that's more ironic than bothersome. A flat can of pepsi from a looted machine being an ironic reminder of the petty importance we placed on frivolous things like brands, when not long from now (four weeks, no less) anything at all will be necessary to survive.
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It's not actually bothersome, I suppose. And it does serve to enhance the social commentary somewhat. I just found it funny (and on repeated viewings, a bit...strange) that it was made very clear that it was Pepsi.
| Quote: | | Romero's zombies are more human, that is, we are more sympathetic to them than to the terrifying zombies of Dawn 2004. Gruesome and gutwrenching as it was, let's face it, look at the expression of the Romerombies in Night or Dawn as they eat human remains. They're almost childlike. This emphasizes Romero's commentary, as the humans in the end seem more vicious by comparison. This is where the commentary in 28DL and Dawn 2004 differs from Romero's. In Dawn2k4, the zombies are already as human and terrifying that they can get, and the consummation of the symbolism happens when the last humans are overwhelmed and become zombies themselves. That's why no-one survives in the new Dawn. |
See, I don't know. While the "they are us" plotline is present in both (and actually mentioned in a few, if I'm not mistaken, or at least in Land), the zombies in Dawn 2k4 seemed almost less human to me. The Romero zombies seemed remorseful in some cases (as with the Bach's Arco Pitcairn zombie), but couldn't stop what they were doing. The childlike aspect emerged through the evolution of the zombies, from the simple tool-using zombies of NotLD (the cemetery zombie that uses a rock, and the little girl zombie that stabs) to, well, Big Daddy, who uses complex differential equations to solve the world's renewable energy problems.
28 Days Later does a pretty good job, I must say portraying the human nature of their zombies with Mailer and whatnot. Dawn 2k4 does the same with the Andy plotline, and does it well, but it's not something I felt from the average zombie. Also, the baby zombie was entirely too kitschy.
Or just lights shit on fire after teaching zombies how to get to Pittsburgh.
"He's going to Mount Washington."
| Quote: | | Speaking of which, any insight into the etymology here? |
Probably from the latin Solanum, or Nightshade, as some Nightshade plants are poisonous.
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I don't recall the hanged man from Land. |
...nevermind.
That is, there are scenes in the DVD release that were not in the theatrical release.
SPOILERS
| Quote: | | Let's have sex. Right now. |
And again,
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Incidentally, I'm going to blame my shoddy first draft essay on you entirely, by your full name, in class tomorrow, you horrible wonderful distraction. |
This is a matter of the LIVING DEAD. This CANNOT WAIT UNITL MORNING.
| Quote: | PS give Jendar my bebstest of regards, and luck <3
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You're closer. You do it.
I'm calling it. We need a specific, zombie dedicated forum.
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Berserk Sushi
Mangina.
Joined: 14 Jun 2002
Posts: 37365
Location: NYFC
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 09:27 Post subject: |
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| Murphy wrote: | | the zombies in Dawn 2k4 seemed almost less human to me. |
Well, they are, in the sense that we don't connect with them. But they're "more human than human" in the sense that they hyperbolize human characteristics to the ultimate extreme (unstoppable, undying, relentless, mindless cannibalism). In that sense, they cannot become more like us, but we can become more like them. That's what I meant.
| Quote: | | The childlike aspect emerged through the evolution of the zombies, from the simple tool-using zombies of NotLD (the cemetery zombie that uses a rock, and the little girl zombie that stabs) to, well, Big Daddy, who uses complex differential equations to solve the world's renewable energy problems. |
Big Daddy is just plain awesome. I very much enjoyed his Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-style solution to the island. Was it just me or did that hint at how the zombies may've overcome their FEAR of fire from NotLD?
| Quote: | | 2k4 does the same with the Andy plotline, and does it well, but it's not something I felt from the average zombie. Also, the baby zombie was entirely too kitschy. |
I think there are more subtle glimpses of subplotlines that examplify the human-zombie transition better than Andy. To rattle off a few:
1. The guards. The prominent trio is the boss, the good guy, and the dumbass asshole. In the beginning they encounter one of their friends who got infected. How they deal with him, and how they react emotionally, acts as a sort of barometer on how zombie they themselves are and behave.
2. The lead heroine, who must think on her feet and overcome powerful human emotions to survive the wrath of her zombified husband in the beginning.
3. The rich asshole with the boat. 'Nuff said.
| Quote: | | Probably from the latin Solanum, or Nightshade, as some Nightshade plants are poisonous. |
Ick, cheesiness. I was hoping it was a nudge to "dawn" or something along those lines.
| Quote: | | This is a matter of the LIVING DEAD. This CANNOT WAIT UNITL MORNING. |
Agreed.
| Quote: | | You're closer. You do it. |
You've got my contact info on facebook. Give it to her and put her in contact with me and I will :P
| Quote: | | I'm calling it. We need a specific, zombie dedicated forum. |
HERE HERE
At least for halloween please?
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Jenny
A Fine Tang of Faintly Scented Urine
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 13525
Location: gosh
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| Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2005 09:39 Post subject: |
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| Berserk Sushi wrote: | In fact, the pregnant russian girlfriend who births a zombie child could be seen as a striking allegory to the mall itself.
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Oh that scene was awesome.
I thought it was like, yes! This is your future! Zombiees! Naaahhrr!! Or something.
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