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Abstract:
Traditional zombie movies have no direct antecedent in the written word because of the monsters' essentially visual nature; zombies don't think or speak-they simply act. This unique embodiment of horror recalls Sigmund Freud's concept of the uncanny, which finds itself better suited to filmic representations rather than prose renditions.
Key words: dead; Freud, Sigmund; Romero, George A.; uncanny; voodoo; zombie
The year 2004 saw the theatrical release of three major zombie movies: Resident Evil: Apocalypse, a sequel to a movie based on a video game; Dawn of the Dead, a remake of a cult classic from the 1970s; and Shaun of the Dead, a sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying re-visioning of an established genre. In addition, dozens of low-budget zombie movies were released directly to video or appeared as made-for-television movies.1 Zombie cinema is clearly as popular today as it was fifty years ago, but is the genre socially relevant beyond being simply a successful entertainment venture?2 Whereas many horror films may be easily dismissed as mindless entertainment or B-reel schlock, the zombie film retains its ability to make audiences think while they shriek. But to understand this much-maligned genre, one must consider its origins and the essential nature of its visual impact.
Although creatures such as vampires and reanimated corpses often have been realized by literary means, the traditional zombie story has no direct antecedent in novels or short fiction. In fact, zombies did not really see the light of day until filmmakers began to dig them out of their graves in the 1930s. The "classic" zombie horror film, which is the focus of this investigation, was pioneered by George A. Romero in the late 1960s and features a veritable plague of reanimated corpses that attack and slaughter the living. The established generic conventions of such movies are relatively simple and remarkably consistent: Ordinary characters in ordinary places are confronted with overwhelmingly extraordinary challenges, namely the unexpected appearance of an aggressive horde of flesh-eating ghouls. Zombie cinema is essentially a macabre romp-a live-action comic book brought to the big screen both to horrify and entertain.
Much has already been written concerning the more esoteric social commentary offered by zombie movies, but few critics have investigated the unusual origins of these monsters and...