ZOMBIES

HISTORY & EVOLUTION

Shane McKenna
Main Topics of Research

▪ Frankenstein - novel
▪ 28 Days/Weeks Later
▪ Resident Evil – movie series
▪ Dawn of the Dead – comparison between original and 2004 version
▪ Zom-B – book series
▪ Dying Light – video game
Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus
MARY SHELLEY
• Regarded as the Mother of Science Fiction.

• Published in 1818.

• Not really a zombie but paved the way.

• Paved the way for Science Fiction in general.

28 Days/Weeks Later
DANNY BOYLE
• Completely changed how zombies work. Instead of slow moving corpses, they're now very agile.

• First film to use infected living humans as opposed to reanimated corpses.

• Future zombie films/games used this approach, although didn’t always have agile zombies.

• Most contagious virus, a droplet getting on your skin will turn you.
Resident Evil
PAUL W.S. ANDERSON
• Released the same year as 28 Days Later, and uses a similar story of an infection that’s broken containment.

• Future additions to the series added agile zombies, while the first film had amblers.

• Things changed a lot over the course of the series.

• Influenced by the game Biohazard, and also influenced the game – Ada Wong.

• Not a lot of continuity – problem with not sticking with same director.

• Virus is weaponised, typically is spread through biting but can also be administered or inhaled.
Dawn of the Dead
GEORGE ROMERO + ZACK SNYDER
• A remake of George Romero’s 1978 film with minor details changed, such as the length of time the
camera spent on the zombies.

• Was the second film in Romero’s saga, who continued on with his own up until his death.

• Both are really good on their own merits but I personally prefer the 2004 version.

• Romero is considered the Father of Zombies.

• Virus is spread through biting, and also through the womb.

Zom-B
DARREN SHAN
• Compliments a lot of things seen in various films e.g. rapid spreading, manufactured virus.

• Added new elements such as the concept of a zombie retaining their senses as a revitalized.

• Gives a new outlook on what happens to society in chaos.

• Unlike Resident Evil, the same author wrote the twelve books and kept continuity with lots of neat twists.

• Virus is spread a variety of ways: biting, scratching.

Dying Light
TECHLAND
• Second zombie game franchise to be made by Techland.

• Focuses on surviving, and parkour.

• Involves mutation of the zombies into volatiles and other craziness.

• Main character, Kyle Crane, becomes infected in the beginning, and requires Antizin.

• Also uses a rabies-like-virus.

• I played this for two weeks as research.

• Contains an Easter Egg tribute to Romero.

• Virus is spread through biting.

Conclusion

• Zombie are probably the only part of the horror genre that can’t be done to death.

• Has much more creative freedom than a slasher. Can be made in a variety of ways.

• The current market is somewhat flooded with zombie media at the moment but it’s
not to a level that spoils it.

• For one of the most common genres, horror has very few animated films, but zombies
are the main feature of most of the ones that exist.
 Other cases that involve zombies

1. Quarantine – based on Spanish film REC. Involves people being infected with super rabies. American version
is a frame for frame reshoot of the original. The American and Spanish films deviate after the first one, the
Spanish versions end up going into some paranormal/spiritual element that involves exorcism and a gateway
to hell or some nonsense.

2. Dead Island – another game by Techland.

3. I Am Legend – movie starring Will Smith, where a virus has ravaged Earth and he works on developing a cure.
Zombies are infected living who are harmed by daylight (Literal definition of a vampire but still classed as a
zombie film.)

4. Evil Dead – Good series of films.

5. Dead Space – video game trilogy, and two animated shorts; Downfall, and Aftermath. Aftermath is one of the
few films to have a mutli-style production, where each chapter has a different art style.
 Other cases that involve zombies

1. World War Z – same concept as most zombie films but introduces a basis for a cure, and the ability to be
undetected by the pathogen if infected with a severe disease.

2. ParaNorman – the first real zombie movie for kids.

3. Corpse Bride – one of the main characters is a zombie.

4. Young Frankenstein – No words can describe this film.

5. Warm Bodies – Similar to Zom-B, shows a zombie who retains consciousness.

6. An Americanised version of 28 days later. Opens the exact same way.

Q&A