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Where did this pop-culture craze come from? It's widely agreed that the very first Zombie movie was White Zombie (1932). It has nothing to do with Rob Zombie at all, and it is extra cheesy in todays movie world, but that's where the popular notion of voodoo zombies in the west comes from. The plot is simple - a young couple who want to get married luckily get invited to use a friend's mansion (it's always good to have at least 1 friend with a mansion) for the service. They arrive there and said "friend" immediately becomes besotted with the bride. Realizing she's completely head over heels with the groom, he decides on the logical course of action, and gets her turned into a Zombie - as you do. Hijinks ensue. It is a classic film that defined a genre that we all love, and despite its flaws, today it is definitely worth the watch for any serious zombophile for the nostalgia and enjoyment of gently heckling it with a group of friends. A little known fact about this movie is that they filmed the "OMG DRAMAS!" scenes on location on a very menacing looking cliffside. If you look closely, you can actually see the rope tied around the waist of the bride as she teeters over a most certainly bone-smashy death. Best zombie moment in film - Everyone has their favorites, but for originality and wow-factor, so far it really has to be the Italian-made Zombi II's Shark vs Zombie scene... although what is up with the music? (Yay, Goblin! - Ed. Corbin)
*Note - We will be updating the media -lists with the relevant specific books as well - but we do have books available in the store. If there's any movies that you think we have missed, please let us know and mail Cassandra@TheZombieZodiac.com. Don't forget to include what type of zombie movie it is! - you can also find all of the movies mentioned and much much more in the store, so check it out! Deadites
- A term that covers the the demonically posessed
living and the risen dead in The Evil Dead series of movies. Life is brought to the dead through a special ancient Candarian passage read aloud from the book of the dead, the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. The first two movies showed the demonically posessed undead. Very fast and dangerous, puppeted by an evil power that could mimic voices and even create illusions of normality in the victim. They didn't seem to have any personality left, but the evil controling them seemed able to tap into the memories they had in order to manipulate the living. The third movie showed a couple of additional variants on the posessed undead. The risen dead seem to retain personality, distinctly so in the case of Evil Ash. And then there was what was basically demonic mutations, like the harpy creature. However that didn't seem to show any personality specifically, but acted according to instructions.
Demonic Zombies - Demonic posession zombies tend come about as a result in a couple of scenarios, a demonic power is harnesed/summoned by some human fiddling in something he shouldn't be. Said demonic force usually escapes the control of said silly human and starts hopping around posessing people, either killing them instantly upon posession and puppeting the corpse, or just posessing the still living bodies like a human suit. The only way to end a dead posession is to destroy the head of the posessed, which is a rather terminal way of stopping them if they're still living and just being used. However, if you go through them one by one you'll be at it for a while, so the prefered way to stop a demonic posession is to do away with the source of the evil. That's often easier said then done tho, and usually results in massive fatalities till the demonic source is banished, or everything blows up (whichever comes first). Movies that feature Demonic Zombies;
Mad Scientist Zombies - No, not Zombie Mad Scientists... these particular zombies are usually created by a scientist drunk on power, or trying to get back at some corporate fat-cat who squashed the scientist's pet project. Inevitably, the scientist is either the first victim eaten, or uses the super secret serum on himself first and becomes super powerful. Weirdly enough, these movies also often feature Nazis. Movies that feature Mad Scientist Zombies;
Supernatural/Voodoo Zombies - Once again men meddle in things they are not meant to and hilarity ensues. These flavor of zombie are commonly the results of either revenge, someone applying the "it sounded like a good idea at the time" method to decisions, and sometimes both. Revenge ones always end up turning on those who called them into being, and the OOPS ones always get WAY out of hand. Regret is usually a theme for both types of movie. Movies that feature Supernatural/Voodoo Zombies;
Viral Outbreak Zombies - These Zombies are usually created by megalomaniacal corporations or mad scientists who's Oh-So-Clever experimentations go awry. Usually involving viral bio-weapon research of some kind, these zombies invariably are unleashed in two ways, either when something goes wrong or when the virus is released deliberately. In either case, it usually results in mass pandemics rather than small isolated epidemics. However, you do sometimes get the natural mutation viral outbreaks origins, but they're not as exciting because theres no-one to blame except monkeys. We think it's to get back at us for opposable thumbs. Movies that feature Viral Outbreak Zombies;
Chemical Zombies - Similar to Viral Outbreak zombies, chemical ones are also usually created as a result of some kind of accidental or deliberate chemical release (usually some kind of weaponry research). The military are often involved, although beyond that you'll often find that the actual hard facts about the origin of the chemicals and often even how they got released on the public are vague, the lesson of these movies often seems to be that; chemicals are bad for us, not even scientists really know what they're doing, and the military and/or government are jerks. Movies that feature Chemical Zombies;
Space Zombies - If demons and mad scientists aren't going to get us, then there's an entire universe out there just waiting to bring back the dead or zombify us. They seem to be wildly different from each other as well, you have your typical meat puppets as you would expect, and then you have parasitic organisms who not only wear human bodies like suits but also tap into their personalitys and memories to fool the living... and that's just scratching the surface... There's a few ways for an intergalactic outbreak to occur as well, from strange dust clouds that drift around till they cross paths with the Earth, weird radiation from planets and meteors to Zombie aliens who want to replace human minds with cats minds and have a planet of slaves, it seems space is teaming with Zombie threats... and to think, we want to go and live up there! Movies that feature Space Zombies;
Unexplained Zombies - Where did they come from? No one knows, and if they do, they aren't telling... A really good zombie story doesn't actually ever have to explain why people are suddenly turning into zombies, and in fact some of the best don't. Instead they focus on the living characters and the struggle for survival in the face of inevitable death and mind-numbing horror. And sometimes, there's cornettos. Movies that feature Unexplained Zombies;
Aside from Zombies, there's nothing Corbin and Cassandra like more than gaming, wether console or PC, it's our favorite way to unwind from a hard days zombie-wrangling. Coming soon is a list of zombie games, so check back soon! For now, go to The Mall where we have a huge selection of zombie games available! Currently, we are mostly playing Left 4 Dead, and really hoping they come out with some new maps soon.
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