I have never been a fan of the horror genre. For years, all that it spoke to me…was jumpy scares, cheap tricks, and gore. Growing up, I was horrified by movies like Critters and Chucky (now how did I ever watch those—to this day, I am not sure).
But there was this Chinese Hong Kong movie that my grandmother was watching (back when she was ok living with my parents, possibly to share in child care). There was a guy walking like a zombie…but there was comedy slapstick. I dd not enjoy it all.
But years later, the zombie genre warmed up to me with Shaun of the Dead…then finally 28 Days Later. Then I realized. It’s not about zombies at all. it’s about the people who are dealing with the zombie apocalypse. It’s about THEM. The remaining humans.
A nytimes article put it together nicely:
Zombie love, however, is always communal. If you dig zombies, you dig the entire zombie concept. It’s never personal. You’re interested in what zombies signify, you like the way they move, and you understand what’s required to stop them. And this is a reassuring attraction, because those aspects don’t really shift. They’ve become shared archetypal knowledge.
There’s something so concrete and easy-to-grasp about zombies. Usually, you can outrun them. And it’s an easy shot (if you have the right tools and equipment). You know how they will infect you. And you know how you can hear, smell, spot them. They aren’t mischeievous. They don’t analyze problems and solve them. They cannot communicate (at least in most genres). They are…simple.
But when overwhelmed or being unprepared, that’s when they are dangerous. Sure, zombies may be a metaphor for disease such as AIDS (and it’s just this fear that got me a super-expensive vaccine for yellow fever). But it’s the simple concept coupled with the survival genre that is so intriguing.
In elementary school, I often was the last player on my team to get hit out in dodgeball. I was always that good at hiding and being passive in the background. Unfortunately, I could not throw or hit. To this day, I am always good at dodging balls. And like the previous story of this year’s Journey to the End of the Night, I can out-survive the masses. But in truth, could I survive once I am with others like me?