I’ve been watching a lot of zombie-related shows and movies lately.
I know that vampires are more trendy, but to me they lack bite. Twilight? No, thanks. I had a girlfriend who was into that whole series, and one of the low points of my life was the evening she dragged me kicking and screaming persuaded me to go see New Moon with her at the local cineplex. Don’t get me wrong, it was lots of fun! If your idea of fun is being packed sardine-like into a movie theater full of thirteen-year-old girls swooning over “Team Edward” or “Team Jacob.” There’s two hours of my life I’ll never get back. I did get into True Blood for awhile there, and that had nothing to do with the copious onscreen nudity. OK, very little to do with the copious onscreen nudity. Alright, fine, it had everything to do with the copious onscreen nudity. But my interest waned by the third season, and HBO costs money. There’s plenty of copious onscreen nudity to be found elsewhere and for free. When it comes to vampires, I prefer mine darker. Less sparkly, if you will…and less conventionally Hollywood “pretty.” I read Bram Stoker’s Dracula earlier this year and loved it, and if you’ve never read Elizabeth Kostova’s excellent novel The Historian, you are missing out! Those are the types of vampire tales I really dig.
Zombies, on the other hand? Can’t get enough of them! 28 Days Later is an excellent film (be careful though, or you might inadvertently end up with a bummer of a Sandra Bullock film about some chick going into rehab…damn confusing similar titles!). I also love Zombieland and Shaun Of The Dead; both take a more humorous approach to the whole zombie genre. And I am completely hooked on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Great series full of action and drama and true human emotion.
Zombies rule!
Although I’ve gotta say, I don’t find zombies particularly frightening. Ugly, yes. Smelly? Most certainly, what with all that rotting flesh baking in the sun. But scary? Not so much. I mean, if they’re all up in your grill and about to bite – and infect – you, then yes, that’s going to be a tense moment. I just think zombies are easy to outwit. First of all, they don’t exactly tip the intelligence scales. Let’s just say Einstein’s got nothing to fear. (Ooh…a zombie Einstein…now, that would be a formidable opponent! And I think I’ve found an idea for my next novel). Zombies are dumb and easily distracted. All you’ve got to do is wave a shiny, blood-soaked object in front of them and they’re all ooh…pretty…bloody…must go fetch…
And another thing. Zombies are slow. They’re always depicted as shuffling around haphazardly, often dragging a non-functioning limb around – either a leg that won’t bend properly at the knee or a useless, dangling arm. Call me crazy, but I’m pretty sure I could outrun a horde of zombies. Unless that zombie Einstein was involved. He’d probably rig some sort of clever trap and lure me in with a Bloody Mary. (I bet a zombie would know how to make a really good Bloody Mary. I’m just sayin’).
If you think zombies are just a figment of our imaginations, you’re in for a rude awakening. There’s a great article (okay, it’s by Cracked magazine, but still) that explains why a zombie apocalypse could actually happen. It takes a scientific approach and talks about brain parasites, neurotoxins, Mad Cow Disease, neurogenesis, and nanobots. I don’t want to alarm anybody, but let’s just say after perusing the link I’m half expecting to encounter a mass of shuffling, groaning undead any day now. They’ll probably show up at a really inconvenient time, too. Like right after my pizza has been delivered but before I can take that first cheesy, delicious bite. And I’ve probably already tipped the delivery guy, too. Not that currency matters much in a zombie-infested America. If you’re Woody Harrelson, Twinkies are your new gold. I get that.
Even if I did get bitten by a zombie – is that such a bad thing? I mean, really? Everybody in the movies and on TV acts like that’s such a terrible fate, but I think they aren’t seeing the forest for the trees. If you’re a zombie, you’re undead. Emphasis on the UN part. Last time I checked, being undead is better than being dead. I might have a craving for flesh and walk with a funny gait, but again, I’m not dead.
A zombie apocalypse would be like the ultimate game of Survivor. I’m pretty sure I could outwit, outplay and outlast them all, but if I did get “voted off the tribe,” so to speak? It wouldn’t be the end of the world.
I already prefer my steak medium rare, after all…
Related articles
- “The Walking Dead” – Hooked on Zombies (maryareed.wordpress.com)
- TV’s undead battle: Zombies vs. vampires (theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com)
- Vampires Vs. Zombies: The Undead Showdown (thestoryinme.wordpress.com)
Mark My Words 
This is too apropos! My boss got these in the mail today: http://www.mcphee.com/shop/products/Brain-Flavored-Zombie-Mints.html
I thought I’d be blogging about the weirdness of that coming as part of a business promotion, but it just seems to fit here better.
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I once had a miniature coffin full of breath mints…but I like the brain-flavored zombie mints better. Hello, stocking stuffer!
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I never watch zombie stuff. They have no personality if you know what I mean. And they remind me of my first period classes all those years.
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Maybe if zombies preferred coffee to rotten flesh the world would be a better place? At least for teachers…
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Ross and I are LOVING The Walking Dead! Like you, he gives me all these theories on the zombies — like they’re real.
:::rolls eyes:::
Is that a man thing?
Heidi
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I can’t say that it’s a man thing necessarily, Heidi. The copious onscreen nudity on True Blood, though? Definitely a man thing…
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Being a zombie lover, you would have loved Haiti, my friend. I’m not into either zombies or vampires, myself, but I did LOVE “The Historian.” Great novel! Have a great weekend, Mark.
Kathy
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Is it any wonder I’m so drawn to Voodoo Doughnut in Portland??
Can’t wait for the movie version of The Historian – I’ve heard it’s been in production for some time now.
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I would NEVER drag you to a Twilight movie. Wal-mart, on the other hand…
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That’s scarier than running into a pack of zombies! Actually, I’ve seen some of the people who shop at Walmart. Let’s just say there’s more than a passing resemblance there…
And the fact that you don’t like Twilight is a big attraction to me, babe!
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I just can’t think of any witty comment so I’ll just go back into my corner and watch more of the Twilight series. Not that I’m for any team, except for Team Jesus. I do, however, love the scenery.
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I will give it that much. Makes sense, since it was filmed right here in the Northwest! It’s got to be Forks’ main claim to fame.
Probably Forks’ only claim to fame, actually…
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Ultimate zombie movie is Shaun of the Dead. Simon Pegg is my hero!
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Yeah, I really enjoyed that one myself. It made me laugh…it made me cry…
OK, it pretty much only made me laugh. But it was pretty damn clever!
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“I did get into True Blood for awhile there, and that had nothing to do with the copious onscreen nudity. OK, very little to do with the copious onscreen nudity. Alright, fine, it had everything to do with the copious onscreen nudity.”
HAHAAHAHAHHA! I know what you mean, Mark. The first time I rented one of the True Blood seasons, I was like OMG…this is soft porn!
And I agree with you, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the BEST version of Dracula!
I have a longtime blogging friend of mine who ADORES zombies. In fact, she even has an Esty Shop where she sells handmade Zombies!
My favorite zombie movie is Night Of The Living Dead….LOVE it!
Have a supa’ week, buddy!
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I’ve never actually seen any of the “classic” zombie films. I’ll have to remedy that situation sometime soon! George Romero is probably rolling around in his grave.
Wait…George Romero is still alive? OK, fine…never mind!
Soft porn sums it up quite well, Ron. Have a great weekend!
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I was with you the whole post until that last line. Frightening Mark, frightening. Did you really just argue that you’re on your way to being adaptable to eating flesh? Didn’t you recently write a post about The Shining? *scrolls up…scrolls down* Ok, all I’m saying is maybe it’s not the best idea for and Tara to rent and caretake for an abandoned mansion in the middle of nowhere. Or if you do, Tara should bring a baseball bat, and some better shampoo than Shelley Duvall had cause her hair was greasy looking in that movie and it drove me nuts.
P.S. I think the brother with one hand is coming back on Walking Dead!!!
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Cow flesh, Jess. Big difference! In fact, on my next post I mentioned how the kids and I would not go all Donner Party on each other.
I figured the brother would show up again at some point – there’s some real unresolved tension there, to put it mildly.
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Well you know I’m a BIG zombie fan! I didn’t find them particularly scary either, until I was at this professional haunted house and they had simulated zombie attack in the woods. It was about the scariest thing ever for me. I outran them though. And that’s not just because they couldn’t actually touch you. LOL.
And Walking Dead? GREAT show! I’ve been a little bored the past couple of episodes though. I like the character development but damn it, I need a few more zombies.
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