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ON SET
TH E U LT IM AT E C E L E B R AT IO N
THE THE
66
WALKING
DEAD
SEASON 6
GREATEST
ZOMBIE
MOVIES EVER
ALSO INSIDE ZOMBIELAND ||| GREG NICOTERO ||| RESIDENT EVIL ||| GEORGE ROMERO ||| THE RETURNED
WELCOME
Lurch inside for the ultimate celebration
of the undead! Within these pages youll
find us shambling around the sets of
some of the most influential zombie
movies ever from Shaun Of The Dead
and 28 Days Later to the upcoming Pride
And Prejudice And Zombies and of course
the king of zombie TV shows The Walking
Dead (weve got the scoop on the horrors
season six has in store). Want more gore?
Editor Rosie Fletcher
Art Editor Bruce Mytton
Check out the 66 best zombie movies ever
Production Editor Russell Lewin made. How many have you seen? Plus:
CONTRIBUTORS
Allen Stroud, Ian Berriman, Paul Bradshaw, Jordan Farley, Joseph McCabe, Tara Bennett, Dave Golder,
videogames, board games, zombie events,
Richard Edwards, James Mottram, Jane Crowther, Dave Bradley, David Towsey, Mark Salisbury, Cam
Winstanley, Jamie Graham, Matt Glasby, Will Salmon, R.R. Haywood, Ali Gray, Simon Bland, Roger Hadfield quizzes, the obligatory interview with
Zombies would like to thank the following picture libraries: Getty Images, Kobal Collection,
Shutterstock and Rex Features. George Romero weve got em all!
ADVERTISING, INSERTS AND ONLINE
Commercial Sale Director Clare Dove It really is a dead good read
Advertising Director Andrew Church
Advertising Manager Michael Pyatt
Account Director Adrian Hill 01225 687112
For advertising enquiries, please contact Adrian Hill, adrian.hill@futurenet.com
MARKETING
Head Of Brand Marketing and Newstrade Laura Driffield 01225 732 197
Marketing Manager Kristianne Stanton
Marketing Executive Emma Clapp
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44
42
50
41
63
13 60
THE 66 GREAT
A EST ZOMBIE TV
ZOMBIE FILMS Theyre taking over your telly too:
Our definitive countdown of the we check out Dead Set,
t iZombie,
best, grossest, bizarrest and most d and In The Flesh, and
The Returned
influential zombie movies ever! 56 somehow manage to survive.
ON SET SPECIAL
We get up close and personal with
the zombies of Resident Evil,
l 28 Days
Later,
r Shaun Of The Deadd and Land Of
The Dead.
d We even play a zombie!
93
76
122
ROMERO
From the archives, a classic interview
with the king of the zombies plus
George A. Romeros Dead d series
98 broken down by numbers!
70
82 128
NEW MOVIES ZOMBIELAND
Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, Cell,
l We chat with the writers of the 2009
Nina Forever,r The Girl With All The zom-com and learn the rules of how
Gifts, Patient Zero and more! Your to make a revolutionary zombie
complete preview of upcoming films.
110 movie without getting bitten!
137
OPINION EXTRAS 140 Table top
terror! The
best zombie board
and loving it
Author and Course Leader of the Film And
TV Production and Creative Writing For
Publication degrees at Buckinghamshire
New University, Allen Stroud, explores our
lifelong love affair with the living dead.
e have a healthy Good monsters are a twisted reflection of our its living self, left to stumble
obsession with own human condition. There is a memory of towards a potential victim
monsters, one life in the zombie, its motive made all the more motivated only by its
that usually terrible owing to its inability to see the hunger. If youre caught by
keeps us from ultimate end of its undying hunger. When all a zombie, the struggle is made
frequenting dark the world become zombies, what is left to all the worse by your enemys
alleys on our own, sate the hunger of the dead? At least weakness. Most gather in
saying names three vampires are selective predators and the bite of packs, are infectious and once
times in mirrors, sleeping in coffins and a werewolf may transform you into a raging you turn, you cant come back.
electrocuting the dead, but the zombie has monster, but you get to be strong and When the human struggle for
a particularly special place in the fluttering powerful. Theres not much upgrading when survival is at its most pitiful is
hearts of horror fans. you get turned zombie. when it scares us most. Zombies
Since George Romero introduced us to We teach horror writing at provide that moment when
this particular form of shambling corpse Buckinghamshire New University. The rules desperate characters are
back in 1968 with his film Night Of The of writing a good horror story involve the brought down by sheer
Living Dead, weve seen the zombie appear narrowing of the narrative. Our viewpoint numbers, submerged and bitten
in movies, TV series, books, board games, character makes decisions that turn out bad and by a mindless supernatural horde only to rise
wargames, comics and conventions. Encounters is gradually boxed in until they have few choices again as one of the monsters they fought so hard
range from comic to terrifying; theres something and become a plaything of fate and/or the to get away from.
enduring about watching a mindless corpse monster. When zombies are involved, this The development of the zombie as a modern
shuffling towards you, intent on devouring process is particularly harrowing as our monster monster is something of a twisted path. The
human flesh. of choice is weak and pathetic; a broken ruin of word zombie is similar to words from the
Zombies representing
brain-dead consumers
in Dawn Of The Dead.
KOBAL (4)
Kongo language nzambi, god and zumbi. become. Well-written
Some ideas are drawn from the animated dead of zombie stories play with
Haitian rural folklore, where sorcerers animated the mysterious memory
servants with no will of their own. Older of humanity. Its
references come from the epic tales of Gilgamesh important that we and the surviving zombies, they dont come with quite
and I will let the dead go up and eat the living characters are conflicted over what to as many suitcases, but you still have
and the Bible Zechariah 14:12: And the lord do. Maybe their zombified loved ones a fair bit to deal with. However,
will send a plague on all the nations that fought can be saved? The Walking Dead theres an advantage to this. Readers
against Jerusalem. Their people will be like (2010) gets this right from the start have an image of your monster
walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. with survivor Morgan Jones wife, already and will assume youre
However, Mary Shelleys Frankenstein: The Jenny (for more on The Walking Dead working within these parameters,
Modern Prometheus introduces us to the most head to p44). unless you challenge them sparkly
famous of the animated dead. The monster made Undead monsters in stories build vampires anyone?
by Doctor Frankenstein is more sentient than our on the legacy that went before them. French theorist Roland Barthes
crowds of infectious shamblers, but comes from The most obvious example of this is identified this process as the
the similar stock in being a reanimated man. the vampire and archetype baggage referential code the way in which
When Frankensteins monster demonstrates a writer has to contend with when Banned in Britain for we let the images of one story fill in
over 20 years!
intelligence, this provides a rationale for his writing a new vampire story. Write up the gaps of another. Imagine a space
actions. With zombies we see a memory of what a list of vampire weaknesses, idiosyncrasies and battle and you see Star Wars (1977), etc. The code
they were, a poor corrupted reflection of what other traits vampires have and youll find youve works for most genres of writing. You can apply
we are and if were not careful, what we might got quite a lot to contend with. If you introduce it equally to Jane Austen romance and zombie
stories. Or even, as in the case of Pride And
Prejudice And Zombies (see p70 for more),
The rotting and mouldy nature of both at the same time.
That said, identikit horror on its own doesnt
the zombie means were unlikely to get as far as good writing allied with these
memorable tropes. A good writer makes use
see many stories where they become of the readers expectations, fulfilling and
confounding them at the same time.
heroes or protagonists Zombies become interesting when writers
HIERARCHY OF
balletic fight between a shark and a zombie in
Lucio Fulcis 1979 film (Zombie Flesh Eaters)
might not fit in with Romeros vision of the
THE UNDEAD
stumbling dead, but there is something weird
about watching these two creatures try to eat
each other.
Modern horror and fantasy writer John
Hornor Jacobs has an excellent Wild West
fantasy called Heaven Of Animals in the Newcon MUMMY Sentient and powerful entombed dead Egyptian royalty.
Press anthology Legends II (2015), where
zombies are treated like cattle herds and guided An intelligent/semi-intelligent spirit capable of a tremendous
by brave horsemen towards their destruction in BANSHEE scream that heralds someones imminent death.
huge threshing machines.
Other variations on the zombie include the An intelligent incorporeal spirit usually bound to haunt
28 Days Later (2002) depiction where director GHOST a location, like a house or other building.
Danny Boyle decided to make his monsters feral,
rabid and fast moving (head to p98 for more on Sorcerers who have bound their souls into a jar (phylactery)
LICH and live on after death in the decayed remains of their body.
this). Eschewing Romeros instruction to his cast
to do your best dead, the animalistic predator
Intelligent undead who drink the blood of the living,
qualities of Boyles zombies are emphasised VAMPIRE hate sunlight, etc.
by their energetic pursuit of the films central
characters and their flagrant disregard for
SPECTRE Powerful incorporeal spirits who haunt desolate places.
self-preservation.
Our appetite for monsters is insatiable. Incorporeal spirits, known for their glowing eyes and hunger
Countless bestiaries have been written about WRAITH for the souls of the living.
creatures lurking in the shadows from fairy tales
and ancient legend. Dungeons & Dragons (1977) Sentient graveyard lurkers who drain life from the living
gathered together hundreds of monster WIGHT and eat the flesh of the dead.
archetypes, setting out generic attributes for
each drawn from their mythological origins. GHOUL Feral, fast moving cannibals who feed on the living.
The various iterations of their monster manuals
formed a blueprint for writers in the 70s, Sentient summoned dead brought back until they can
REVENANT complete a task.
80s and 90s and gradually became part
of the readers expectation.
In the pantheon of horror monsters, the SKELETON Animated dead soldiers, created by necromancy.
zombie sits at the bottom of the hierarchy of
the animated dead corpses given life. These Mindless animated dead corpses, the product of disease,
ZOMBIE mutation or necromancy.
poor wretches are characterised by their
mindlessness. Usually they are the tools of an evil
master who created them, or the byproduct of
contagious disease and/or mutation.
Climbing the corporate ladder of the undead The Game), Left 4 Dead (2008) is pure adrenaline Julie Grigio after eating the brains of her
isnt an easy task and usually requires our rush survival play and the most interesting of boyfriend. This draws on Egyptian mythology of
shambler to regain or retain some part of their them all, Day Z (2012) lets you roam around a memories being absorbed by eating the minds of
humanity, achieving sentience and vast sandbox and see achievement in the the dead and the fixed settings (in an airport and
independence. This might offer a zombie a mundanities of staying alive in a hostile dystopia a baseball stadium) harks back to George
chance of redemption, but more often than not it world (for more zombie games head to p140). Romeros Dawn Of The Dead (1978) which was
doesnt. In many stories the writer decides any The rotting and mouldy nature of the zombie shot in a shopping mall where zombies browse
kind of recovery for the mindless undead isnt means were unlikely to see many stories where the aisles in half-remembered instincts that
possible. The basic principle of what makes a they become heroes or protagonists, but the satirise our own consumer habits.
zombie horrific is our inability to know how exception remains to prove the rule [more on this Its clear theres something both attractive and
much of their former life they retain. on page 86]. The romantic comedy, Warm Bodies repellent to us about the living dead. Whether its
The popular boardgame Zombicide (2008) (2013) plays with the archetype. Nicholas Hoults games, films, novels, comics or convention zombie
describes its own hierarchy of mindless corpses. character R develops more sentience than your walks, our fascination with this particular brand
In the first edition you have Walkers, Runners, average animated undead and falls in love with of undead shows no sign of abating.
Fatties and Abominations. In the season three
expansion you get Crawlers and Seekers. Each
Allen Stroud is Course Leader of the BA (Hons) Film and TV
type has its own strengths and weaknesses, but Production and the BA (Hons) Creative Writing for Publication
all act as an implacable horde for the players to degrees at Buckinghamshire New University in High Wycombe. He
shoot and run from as they work together to is a successful Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror author and is
achieve a mission objective. currently studying for his Ph. D. at the University of Winchester. He is
Similarly, there are many popular zombie also editor of the British Fantasy Society Journal. Find out more about
computer games which cast the living dead in the courses BA (Hons) Creative Writing for Publication: bucks.ac.uk/
their familiar roles as infectious stumbling courses/undergraduate/BT1CWP1 and BA (Hons) Film and Television
predators throughout the landscape. The Walking Production bucks.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/BG1FTV1/
Dead is recreated as a game (The Walking Dead:
THE TOP 66
ZOMBIE FILMS
OF ALL TIME
Hello, and welcome to our rundown of the best zombie films, in ascending
order from 66 to 1. Why not a top 50? Well, because there are more than
50 zombie films worth watching and 66 is only one numeral away from
the Number Of The Beast! There are hundreds more zombie films out there
of course, but we guarantee that every one of these has something about it
that makes viewing a worthwhile use of your time.
hat exactly constitutes a does 28 Days Later count as a zombie movie, even Of course, once we allowed one Infected movie
zombie movie? Every horror though Danny Boyles Infected are fast-moving in, that opened the door for other brethren such as
fan has their own prejudices on blighters and are (more importantly) not actually [REC] and Mutants, as well as efforts like Nightmare
this front, and were no different. dead? Weve plumped for yes, though we know thatll City. And for one reason or another, weve also had
Frankensteins monster was created by be controversial with some. The simple fact is, 28 no option but to exclude some great films that others
stitching together dead body parts and reanimating Days feels like a zombie movie. Its stateside success would consider to be zombie movies. See below for
them, so does that mean every Frankenstein movie is was also largely responsible for a revival of the genre; those that didnt quite meet our exacting standards.
a zombie movie? Erm no, thatd be plain daft. its an important milestone in the history of zombie All reviews by Ian Berriman, unless stated. Some
Another burning question of modern times is this: movies, so it would be churlish to leave it out. were previously published in SFX or Total Film.
66 65 64 63
WARM BODIES
2013 DIRECTOR: JONATHAN LEVINE 2009
MUTANTS
DIRECTOR: DAVID MORLET 1983
ZEDER
DIRECTOR: PUPI AVATI
BIO ZOMBIE
1998 DIRECTOR: WILSON YIP
Most sane people have had quite Time was, the French didnt really do Getting an eyeful of the Emperors Watching this spoofy Hong Kong
enough of Twilight. horror films. Thats all changed over ding-a-ling is always a depressing effort may put you off Lucozade for
So zom-rom-com Warm Bodies, the last decade, with the likes of Haute experience, especially when youre life: bizarrely, its zombie outbreak
where undead hottie Nicholas Hoult Tension, Frontier(s) and the mind- absolutely convinced youre going to kicks off via a sample of an Iraqi
falls in love with feisty blonde Kristen scarring Martyrs flying a tricolore see some beautifully tailored robes. bioweapon stored in a bottle of the
Stewart-alike human Teresa Palmer, drenched in the red stuff. Zeder has a very good rep amongst sugary energy drink. Whatever next?
could easily have been a dead loss. This particular slice of Gallic gore connoisseurs of intelligent horror Zombie Bovril?
As it turns out, Jonathan Levines is basically Vingt-Huit Jours Plus Tard unsurprisingly, since director Pupi Its best summarised as Mallrats
adaptation of Isaac Marions good- Encore. A viral outbreak has decimated Avatis 1976 The House With Laughing with zombies. Buddies Woody (Jordan
natured novel is warm and witty(ish), the population, turning people into Windows is widely admired but is Chan) and Bee (Sam Lee) run a small
a satirical riff on Romeo And Juliet pointy-toothed, fast-moving killers. something of a disappointment. shop in the mall in question, selling
(complete with balcony scene) for The The one beacon of hope is a military Our hero is Stefano, a novelist who dodgy DVDs. Not that they seem to do
Walking Dead generation. base known as NOAH. Make your way discovers a strange essay written on much actual business; theyre much
So Warm Bodies is not the zombie there (two-by-two or not) and maybe the ribbon of an old typewriter. It too busy flogging stolen cellphones or
Twilight. But its not as cool as it you can survive... discusses K-zones, places that exist lamely trying to hit on the girls from
should be either, lacking the spark and The opening moments, which in a zero time, where the dead can the beauty parlour.
flair of Baz Lurhmanns Romeo + Juliet present us with a possible protagonist return to life. The fascinated writers Like a novelty-tied office joker, Bio
and the terror and scope of Frank only to suddenly bump them off, set a investigations eventually lead him to Zombie is zany with a capital Z. It sets
Darabonts sprawling show. Like pattern: every time a new character is the grounds of a derelict holiday camp, out its stall during the opening credits,
Hoults late teen R, Warm Bodies is introduced, the egg timer starts ticking the site of another K-zone, where an which begin as if youre sitting in a
packed with potential that its unable to their demise. This adds a sense of ex-priest has had himself buried. cinema, with peoples heads obscuring
to properly communicate or utilise. danger and unpredictability, but does If youre expecting zombie carnage, the view and voices muttering, How
Certainly theres nothing wrong rather leave you with no one to root youll be disappointed: only two people long is this?
with the cast delicate, doe-eyed for, other than the plucky Sonia. are seen coming back to life. Zeders Our heroes are a right pair of losers,
Hoult groans and lollops with The first act is adrenalised and more the sort of film where people sit and quite quickly, as we follow their
feeling, devoted to Palmers capable, intriguing. It cheekily plays on the in antique chairs spouting indigestible petty adventures, things become a
self-possessed Julie after he eats her zombie cognoscentis expectations, dialogue like A demise isnt a treatable little tiresome; after 45 minutes youre
boyfriend Dave Francos brains and too, replicating the airfield scene from malady; its a pure end, an absolute longing to see zombies arrive en masse
inherits his memories. Romeros Dawn Of The Dead, then state reached by a total event, which is and do their worst. When they do turn
Keep you safe, murmurs R, giving it a twist. The winter setting final and for good. Well, quite. up, the make-ups are pretty dreadful,
desperate to save her from his fellow allows for some attractive snowy vistas The elegantly cheekboned Gabriele seemingly combining joke-shop
lurchers, or worse still fodder for of the Picardy region. Lavia makes a charismatic lead, wound kits with lots of talc.
skeletal under-zombies, the Bonies. Performances are strong though there are some winningly eccentric Having said all this, Bio Zombie
Zombie romance has become since no-one gets a noteworthy line supporting characters, and the scenes does contain quite a few decent gags,
something of a subgenre of its own of dialogue, thats simply a matter of of the former priests eventual revival many of the visual kind: one sequence,
with Deadheads a kind of slacker-com conveying fear or rage. And, much are fleetingly creepy. But when your where Woody and Bee are questioned
romance, Life After Beth (see no 38) like its compatriots, Mutants has an story takes the form of a lengthy separately by police, appears to be shot
mumblecore relationship break-up unblinking gaze. Watching someone investigation then the climax really in split-screen, until the camera pulls
zomcom and Night Of The Living Deb, succumb to the infection is a grim, needs to deliver. The main problem back to reveal that it all took place
a love vs the apocalypse indie though protracted business alopecia, pissing here is that we know from quite early while they were standing right next to
Warm Bodies is perhaps the most blood and all like observing someone in the film exactly what K-zones each other!
mainstream and therefore perhaps in the last throes of terminal disease. are, so when the finale arrives, all it The subtitles on the region one
the riskiest of the lot. That it didnt Sadly, once our heroine has inspires is a shrug of indifference. DVD release add further humour,
quite make the traction people had hunkered down in a hospital to wait A warning: should you try to track thanks to their mangled take on
expected, or spark a raft of similar off- for help to arrive, it becomes clear that Zeder down on DVD, be careful not to English. Ever since watching Bio
shoots despite its likeable cast suggests director David Morlet isnt going to purchase the US edit (released under Zombie, weve been announcing a trip
the kids might not be ready for a add much to the template set in place the title Revenge Of The Dead), which to the toilet with the words, I want to
zombie heartthrob. Rosie Fletcher by Danny Boyle. is missing big chunks of the film. stool now!
62 61
WORLD WAR Z DANCE OF
2013 DIRECTOR: MARC FORSTER
2008
THE DEAD
DIRECTOR: GREGG BISHOP
60
expensive attraction, but one still Baron Samedi (yes, him from Live And
well worth a visit. Let Die), and the zombies acting under
Every zombie movie needs a hook: Director Gregg Bishop first read his control.
theres fast zombies and theres slow Joe Ballarinis script way back in 1998, Most of the film is given over to
zombies. Theres cockney zombies and when the two were in film school showing Morgans lackeys getting
Nazi zombies; zombies in shopping together, but it was another decade their just desserts via a variety of
malls and zombies in space. World War
Z has a lot of zombies.
before he managed to get the project
off the ground. The pitch: John SUGAR HILL
1974 DIRECTOR: PAUL MASLANSKY
gruesome methods. One is thrown to
ravenous pigs; anothers chucked in a
New York turns dead-head in the Hughes meets George Romero. On coffin full of snakes; a third receives
first five minutes of Marc Forsters the eve of the prom, goo from a power some very unwanted extras at the local
blockbuster horror and the mysterious station revives the dead at the nearby massage parlour. But our favourite
virus responsible spreads quickly cemetery, who march on the local If Sam Arkoff went out and had his sequence sees one man attacked by a
seeing cities, countries and entire high school. A ragtag bunch of heroes cleaning lady write a movie, it couldnt solitary chickens foot, which hops up
continents piled high with the running must save the day. The stereotypes have been any worse than this piece of his leg and grabs him by the throat.
dead. Taking the multiple viewpoints are instantly familiar the geeks; the junk they dropped on me. Everything Admittedly, there isnt a lot more
of Max Brooks bestselling novel and rockers; the hard case but all possess was judged by Mrs Arkoff, who sat to the film than that. Sure, we see our
cramming them all into Brad Pitt, sufficient personality to enable you at home and ate chocolates and read afroed heroine using her feminine
Forsters aerial view of the apocalypse warm to them, particularly the joker paperbacks all her life. The acerbic wiles to draw her nemesis to his
might lack nuance but it more than in the pack, pizza delivery boy Jimmy. assessment of the late actor Robert doom, and Sugars cop ex swotting
makes up for it with scale. The films low budget is glaringly Quarry there, on Sugar Hill producer up on voodoo as he investigates, but
Pitt is Gerry Lane, a former UN obvious: the prom is under-populated, Samuel Z. Arkoff. Pay him no mind. all thats just padding to fill the gaps
investigator who manages to pull his and the zombie apocalypse amounts The blaxploitation horror subgenre between the killings, all of which are
family out of Manhattan and nab them to little more than a flipped-over car. had a brief flowering in the mid-70s, too absurd to alarm. The zombies
a precious bunk bed on Americas last Youll be too busy chuckling to grouse after the box office success of Blacula look utterly ridiculous, mysteriously
battleship. Called back into service about this, though, thanks to Looney and this zombie flick (shot in Houston, coated as they are in spray-on cobweb,
by his old boss, Lane jets around the Tunes gore, some neat reversals Texas) is one of the better examples. with silver-painted ping-pong balls for
ruined earth to try and discover the (our heroes barricade themselves in Marki Bey plays Diane Sugar Hill, eyes. No matter: as the gold-toothed,
original root of the plague. a house, then discover its a funeral who swears vengeance on mob boss boggle-eyed Baron Samedi, Don Pedro
Forsters zombies arent really home), and batty dialogue (I dont Morgan (Quarry) and his goons after Colley is memorably deranged; and
zombies at all, and they often look know how to shoot a machete!). her boyfriend gets beaten to death for repetitive though it may be, theres a
more like an angry football crowd on There are also some novel spins on refusing to sell his nightclub. Turning great deal of satisfaction to be had in
a Saturday night but theres never the undead: the movies zombies to an elderly voodoo priestess for help, seeing the corpses of slaves sticking
been a more impressive horde of flesh- launch out of their graves as if theyve Sugar soon has otherworldly aid in the it to The Man, time and time again.
eaters on the big screen. Sprinting, been fired out of a cannon, and a form of top-hatted master of the dead Right on, brothers we can dig it.
gnashing, leaping and head-butting couple of teens who were smooching
their way through civilisation in a when they were alive start to eat each The zombies of Sugar
Hill were in dire need
swarm of thousands, the zombie others faces after death. of a feather duster...
apocalypse finally looks big enough to Likeably goofy, Dance Of The Dead
be believable. probably isnt a night youll remember
Conspicuously bloodless, the PG-13 for the rest of your life, but while it
rating rears its family-friendly head lasts its a blast.
whenever the camera gets too close for
comfort, and a dumbed-down finale
looks suspiciously like a scene from
every zombie flick thats ever been.
The Hollywood blockbuster might
have been a bit late to the zombie party,
but it arrives exactly as everyone hoped
and feared hectic, deafening, empty
but oh-so-spectacular. Paul Bradshaw
59 58
OUTPOST BRIDE OF
2008 DIRECTOR: STEVE BARKER
RE-ANIMATOR
1990 DIRECTOR: BRIAN YUZNA
57
its cues from episodes V and VI of Jovovich) and the commando group
HP Lovecrafts Herbert West: Re- who seize her before heading below
Zombies, as Alan Partridge succinctly Animator and James Whales classic ground to investigate and disable the
put it, by their very nature are 1935 horror Bride Of Frankenstein, Bride facilitys rogue A.I., Red Queen. They
inconsistent. Thats doubly true of the Of Re-Animator is every bit the assault succeed, but release the zombie hordes
creatures in this low-budget British on good taste its predecessor was. in the process. Their only hope for
horror, which cant seem to make their It begins with an opening gambit survival is their mysterious tag-along.
minds up if theyre zombies or ghosts.
Romes Ray Stevenson heads a small
in the trenches of the Peruvian Civil
War, where we find single-minded
RESIDENT EVIL
2002 DIRECTOR: PAUL WS ANDERSON
Luckily for them, theres more to Alice
than a body-hugging red dress.
squad of mercenaries paid to escort a latter-day Prometheus Dr Herbert Released just months before Danny
businessman to a bunker in an Eastern West (Jeffrey Combs) and his Boyles pioneering 28 Days Later,
European war-zone (actually Scotland). tormented partner Dr Dan Cain (Bruce On games consoles, the Resident Evil Resident Evil is one of the last hurrahs
Inside, they discover the results of Nazi Abbott) continuing their research series has enjoyed unparallelled critical for traditional slow, shambling dead
experiments to create unkillable super- into re-animating dead humans. Not and commercial success for a survival heads. The make-up, effects work
soldiers. Well, it makes a change from just whole humans though, because horror franchise since its debut a full and performances of the human cast
dabbling with the occult, eh? Wests latest breakthrough allows him 20 years ago. On the big screen, British are among the best committed to the
Put it down to morphic fields or to summon any limb or single piece of writer/director Paul W. S. Anderson screen. Even the non-humans excel:
great minds thinking alike, but Outpost human tissue to startling life which is has replicated the commercial the zombie dogs are truly terrifying,
was one of two Nazi-zombie flicks to fortunate because all Dan has left of his success bit, but at the cost of his name, looking like their skins have turned
emerge in the space of months (see murdered girlfriend is her heart. And which has become a punchbag for inside out as they try to eat yours.
also 48, Dead Snow). Fortunately, body parts are in ample supply when critics and trolls. The reason? Lets be Slick cinematography, editing and
the sight of lumbering, rotten-faced you set up shop next to a cemetery honest, most of the movies are pants. camerawork give the film a pleasing
stormtroopers never gets stale. Nor Building on Re-Animators But what many forget is that the first big-budget aesthetic, bolstered by a
does wince-inducing ocular trauma, a outrageous creations, the team at KNB Resident Evil is a superior example of great score a collaboration between
video nasty staple that pops up more EFX out-weirded themselves with the modern action-horror. Its noisy, its composer Marco Beltrami and goth-
than once here. The mercenaries are Bride, creating perverse dogs with stupid, its not even particularly faithful rocker Marilyn Manson. Its trump
characterised enough for you to take an human arms, unruly finger monsters to the games, but boy is it fun. card, however, is Alice one of the great
interest in their fate particularly and the titular patchwork princess. Deep under the streets of Racoon kick-ass heroines of the past decade
a god-fearing Scot and his tormentor, Bride may repeat many of the first City, a viral outbreak in the Hive which might explain the franchises
a laconic hillbilly and their military films tricks particularly the pathos (the vile Umbrella Corporations popularity, despite the questionable
jargon has the ring of veracity. thats milked from Dans calamitously genetic research facility) has turned quality of the sequels. Resident Evil isnt
Unfortunately, this is one of those doomed love life but the film its staff into an army of rabid undead. high art, but sometimes seeing a piece
films thats a very slow build to an capitalises on the popularity of West Knowledge of this might have been of decaying flesh get shot in the face
anti-climax, and it doesnt make a by expanding his role, with Combs useful to amnesiac Alice (Milla will do fine. Jordan Farley
whole lot of sense. Of course, logic is better than ever as the frosty boffin.
defenestrated as soon as youre dealing Its not the most accomplished
with the subject of Nazi zombies, but zombie movie on this list, but Brides
these ghouls can appear and disappear grotesque humour and truly stomach-
at will, substantial one moment and churning body horror is deliriously
intangible the next. The script never entertaining a marriage made in
comes up with a decent explanation heaven. Jordan Farley
as to why they fanny about for hours
instead of slaughtering the squad
straight away, and the mercenaries
continuing use of standard military
procedures to combat them also looks
a little ludicrous.
Still, faint praise is due: as Nazi Attempting to seduce
zombie films go, Outpost is far superior the zombies is not the
way forward, Alice!
to the likes of Zombie Lake.
56 55
PET SEMATARY
1989 DIRECTOR: MARY LAMBERT
SHOCK WAVES
1977 DIRECTOR: KEN WIEDERHORN
Stephen King movies can be a bit hit Shock Waves didnt come up with the
and miss. Some turn out well, like The idea of combining the undead and the
Shining, others... not so well (yes, were Third Reich (see 1943s Revenge Of Its fair to say the
looking at you, The Mangler). This The Zombies and 1966s The Frozen hen night had been
adaptation of Kings 1983 novel falls Dead for proof ), but it did inspire a heavy: The Serpent
And The Rainbow.
somewhere in the middle. minor wave, with Eurotrash directors
Its one of those horrors where the Jesus Jess Franco and Jean Rollin
characters stupidity rapidly exhausts getting in on the Nazi-zombies act
your reserves of patience. Dale Midkiff (with Oasis Of The Zombies and
plays Louis Creed, whose family move Zombie Lake respectively).
into a new home by a busy highway. The main thing that Shock Waves
When his daughters kitty gets mown has going for it is the presence of
down by a truck, neighbour Jed (Fred Peter Cushing as an aged former
Gwynne, a man whos surely heard SS officer. Cushing never turned in
more than his fair share of Why the a performance that wasnt worth
long face? gags) takes him to the Indian watching, and that truism holds good
54
burial ground (isnt it always?) behind here, even though his role basically soon puts him on a collision course
the nearby pet cemetery (the local kids consists of delivering the exposition with the governments ruthless
cant spell, ysee). One interment later and barking out Germanic clichs. paramilitary force, the Tonton
and the cat is magically resurrected Hes the only inhabitant of a small Macoutes. Refusing to be deflected,
but returns with an evil temperament island on which a group of tourists Alan is subjected to nail-through-
From here on in, its blindingly have been shipwrecked well, scrotum torture, framed for murder,
obvious how events will play out apart from a unit of indestructible and ultimately buried alive.
Creeds young son Gage practically has stormtroopers named Der Toten Korps. THE SERPENT AND Filming began in Haiti, nine
doomed stencilled on his forehead.
Director Mary Lambert undeniably
has flair, but theres a surfeit of dry-ice
These begoggled figures provide
many eerie moments as they rise
up from the waves. They also do
THE RAINBOW
1988 DIRECTOR: WES CRAVEN
months after a revolution overthrew
corrupt former-president Jean-Claude
Duvalier. Craven went to the most
mist and cat-leaps-out scares, and the a lot of lying about in rock pools powerful voodoo priest on the island
performances she coaxes from her cast and ponds, which makes for some seeking help and protection in return he
are hilariously overwrought when startling surprises, but doesnt seem After two decades of Romero-style had to visit a Beverley Hills jeweller to
a toddlers death inspires guffaws, like the most effective military zombies, Wes Craven took the genre buy gold chains for use in ceremonies!
somethings seriously wrong. Louiss strategy in the world. Their other back to the world of voodoo, from Filming later switched to the
persistent dunderheadedness is strength is omnipresence: no matter whence it originally sprang. Cleverly, Dominican Republic, so judging what
maddening, and a subplot about his which direction our heroes run in, The Serpent And The Rainbow takes was shot where is hard. Regardless,
wifes guilt over the death of her sister the undead supersoldiers somehow a have-cake-and- eat-it approach, the travelogue aspects are fascinating.
from spinal meningitis toys with the always get there first to lurk beneath incorporating living dead elements Were taken into bustling streets
idea of disability as monstrosity, leaving the surface in wait via dreams and hallucinations. crowded with extras, and witness
a bad taste in the mouth. Sadly, at times when Cushings off The film takes its name from cockfights, voodoo ceremonies and
However, as soon as little Gage the screen and the zombies arent anthropologist Wade Daviss 1985 non- glass-eating performances. As you
meets his inevitable fate, the movie rising from the depths or standing fiction book, in which he visited Haiti might expect from the man who
shifts up a couple of gears. Merrily silhouetted against the horizon, Shock to investigate how malevolent voodoo brought us Nightmare On Elm Street,
slashing people in the Achilles heel Waves is a bit of a drag. It has plenty practitioners went about zombifying the dream sequences are particularly
with a scalpel, giggling like a wind-up of atmosphere to which the score, their victims. Davis concluded they potent in one, a snake leaps out of
toy clown, the reanimated rugrat with its mournful siren wails, makes used powders including tetrodotoxin, a the mouth of a desiccated zombie
makes Damien Thorn look positively a considerable contribution but paralysing biotoxin found in pufferfish sorceress; in another, Alan is trapped
cuddlesome. Once watched, the words doesnt have any notion of what to do as well as certain toads, to cause the in a coffin rapidly filling with blood.
I brought you something, mommy! with its single great idea, beyond a appearance of death. After the victims The way Craven weaves real-life
will forever hold a sinister charge. deadly game of hide and seek. woke in their coffins, beatings and events (and genuine news footage) into
doses of hallucinogenic plant Datura a sensationalist B-movie may leave you
stramonium were used to convince feeling uncomfortable, though. Isnt
them theyd had their souls stolen. stirring the Tonton Macoutes into a
Bill Pullman plays Harvard fantastical tale such as this, featuring a
anthropologist Dennis Alan, who sorcerer who stores human souls in jars
travels to Haiti to investigate the and can enter peoples dreams (remind
zombie powder in the hope that it you of anyone?), in bad taste? Still, that
can form the basis of a revolutionary never stopped anyone using the Nazis
new anaesthetic. Unfortunately, this as fantasy-film bogeymen, did it?
53
THE RETURNED
2004 DIRECTOR: ROBIN CAMPILLO
52
KOBAL (2)
THE WALKING
1936
DEAD DIRECTOR: MICHAEL CURTIZ
50 49
TOKYO ZOMBIE
2005 DIRECTOR: SAKICHI SATO 2009
LA HORDE
DIRECTORS: YANNICK DAHAN
& BENJAMIN ROCHER
51
wearing take on your typical Mills & Killer. It certainly shares the comedy decrepit Parisian tower block thats
Boon brooding male, has a penchant duos love of slapstick violence, as the base of operations for a gang of
for pretentious pronouncements such we see people walloped with a fire criminals. A team of cops visit the
as Everything is real reality is total. extinguisher, spanked with a spade, building, bent on exacting extra-judicial
Exchanges such as Been waiting or having their head kicked off like punishment for the death of
long? A lifetime! may have you a rugby ball! Vic and Bob would also a colleague. Then the advent of a
48 47 46 45
DEAD SNOW
2009 DIRECTOR: TOMMY WIRKOLA 1988
DEAD HEAT
DIRECTOR: MARK GOLDBLATT 2000
VERSUS
DIRECTOR: RYUHEI KITAMURA 2009
[REC] 2
DIRECTORS: JAUME BALAGUER
& PACO PLAZA
43
RETURN OF THE
LIVING DEAD 3
1993 DIRECTOR: BRIAN YUZNA
ZOMBIE
2007 DIRECTOR: GRACE LEE
(Judy, for example, just looks like she
has a bad case of eczema). However,
what American Zombie does have in
As the film progresses, she skewers
herself with more and more chunks
of discarded metal and shards of glass.
in making the third one, I jumped at
the chance but I mentioned that Id
rather it not be played for laughs. The
spades is dry, understated humour. You expect a little perversion from producers were fine with that and
Sometimes thats to do with the Brian Yuzna, whose debut Society were only adamant that it included
Neither zombie movies nor the personality quirks of the zombies climaxed in a body-melding orgy, but brain-eating! So I tried to come up
mockumentary format are exactly (Lisa, for example, has a passion he outdoes himself here, scraping with a mythology for the brain eating!
new, but when you combine the two, for naff string art), and sometimes a jagged nail along the intersection I was also interested in doing a love
suddenly you have something fresh. it relates to the way theyre treated between death and eroticism. story, but with a zombie twist.
This smart, low-budget indie follows by others, like the missionary who, True, the moment when Julies
the attempts of documentary-maker sensing a new demographic, declares unveiled as a scantily-clad zombette, What kind of release did it get?
Grace Lee and collaborator John that, Jesus was the original zombie! all slashed thighs and nipple chains, Not much of one. Trimark had just
Solomon to make a documentary American Zombie looks at seems to have less to do with the logic had a great success with their movie
about the non-living community identity politics and exploitation of of her situation and more to do with Leprechaun and on the back of that,
of Los Angeles. Lee, incidentally, really the underclass through the prism audience titillation, yet her plight they were planning a big theatrical
does make documentaries prior to of the undead. Its sharp satirical remains extremely affecting. release for Warlock 2 and Return Of
American Zombie she was best known edge also extends to the business Julies cries for help and self- The Living Dead 3. Unfortunately for
for The Grace Lee Project (in which she of documentary-making itself mutilation make for harrowing us, Warlock 2 came out first and it
met women who share her name) and the cameras often turned on the viewing, both in and of themselves didnt do well, so they were unable to
Best Of The Wurst (a short about love filmmakers as they quarrel, with and as a metaphor for other forms afford the wide cinema distribution
for curry-infused sausage!). Grace accusing John of the politically of addiction (drugs, alcohol, self-harm) wed been promised.
Here she introduces us to four incorrect approach of essentialising that blight relationships. The result
subjects, all high-functioning zombies to their bodily functions. is a surprisingly moving blood- How do you think the film
zombies. Ivan is a rather loveable Add to that an ongoing mystery splattered romance. stands up now?
skater dude who publishes a zine. Judy about what sinister activity zombies Im a big fan of zombie movies
works for an organic food company might get up to when they gather en and I think Return Of The Living
and is keen to pass for human. Joels masse (in this case, for a festival called Dead 3 is a good entry in the genre.
an idealistic activist for ZAG, short Live Dead), which ultimately comes It delivers the goods, it has moments
for Zombie Advocacy Group (slogan: to a head via scenes reminiscent of of real horror, and its sexy, gory and
Were here, were dead, get used to The Blair Witch Project, and you have original. Even more than all that, it
it!). Finally theres florist Lisa, keen a movie that works both as a droll has a lot of heart!
to find out who she was before she observational comedy in the vein of Calum Waddell
died. There are sterling performances Christopher Guest, and as a drama.
42
2008
DEADGIRL
DIRECTORS: MARCEL SARMIENTO
& GADI HAREL
41
NIGHT OF THE
LIVING DEAD
1990 DIRECTOR: TOM SAVINI
40
WHITE ZOMBIE
1932 DIRECTOR: VICTOR HALPERIN
39
PONTYPOOL
2009 DIRECTOR: BRUCE McDONALD
38 37
LIFE AFTER BETH THE LIVING
2014 DIRECTOR: JEFF BAENA
DEAD GIRL
1982 DIRECTOR: JEAN ROLLIN
What do you want from me, Zach? Im
a fucking zombie. So blurts Aubrey
Plazas Beth, after dying of a snake bite, What do you expect from a low- The Children sees
and Jeff Baenas directorial debut the budget zombie film? Lousy papier- normal kids turn
best zom-rom-com since Shaun Of mch-and-poster-paint effects? into grippy little
zombie monsters
The Dead proves more interested in Probably. An undead Catherine
relationships and emotions than the Deneuve-alike elegantly strolling
gore or lore of Romero. around in a flowing white gown and
It starts with Dane DeHaans Zach touching flashbacks to childhood
grieving the loss of his titular girlfriend flower-pressing? Maybe not.
and gravitating to those who share his Unpredictability is a rare thing
pain, her parents Maury and Geenie. in cinema, which is why the late
Zach and Beth were going through a French director Jean Rollin is
rough patch, on the verge of breaking revered by many. The Living Dead
up, but their troubles simply add guilt Girl is a typically off-the-wall Rollin
and regret to the raw grief. effort. It starts off like a grim Italian
Then Beth miraculously returns Romero knock-off, as the release of emitting yellow steam, the daughter
home unaltered, bar an inexplicable
love of attics and smooth jazz. Initially
Zach clutches at the opportunity to
put things right, but its not easy with
Beth beginning to decompose, and her
execrable breath is the least of their
a mysterious toxic chemical in the
catacombs of a chteau resurrects
one Catherine Valmont, who then
wanders around slaughtering people
with her talon-like fingernails. Later
on it goes a bit Hellraiser as her
36 has a cheerful grin plastered all over
her face. Two of the kids, incidentally,
were the offspring of producer/co-
writer Carl Albright, who had to bribe
one of them into performing with an
offer of jam doughnuts!
problems Unresolved conflicts are
resurrected, with Zach realising hes
childhood friend Hlne lures back
strangers to, ahem, join them for
THE CHILDREN
1980 DIRECTOR: MAX KALMANOWICZ
The Children is far from perfect.
The pacing is pretty dreadful, with
perhaps more suited to childhood pal dinner, before exploring melancholy nothing much happening for great
Erica (Anna Kendrick). arthouse territory as Catherine slowly swathes of the time, as the Sheriff
Playing like an absurdist spin on hit regains her humanity. Zombie children are pretty hard wanders from one kids home to
TV show The Returned, Life After Beth This wasnt Rollins first foray to beat in the creepiness stakes: another. The score, by Friday The
is every bit as deranged as you might into zombie territory. In 1981, he hid George Romero proved as much 13ths Harry Manfredini, basically
expect a directorial debut from the co- behind a pseudonym to pick up a in Night Of The Living Dead, with stuffs Psycho and Halloween into a
writer of I Heart Huckabees to be. paycheque on cruddy Nazi-zombie Kyra Schons trowel-wielding killer. blender (and may sound more than a
Baena splatters his movie with flick Zombie Lake. And in 1978s The This low-budget indie flick shot in little familiar to Jason fans too).
observations both astute and askance Grapes Of Death, wine-quaffers are Massachusetts underlines the point. But what sticks in the memory is
while favouring gags over gag-reflex, turned into decay-faced psycho killers The set-up is both quaintly the way the kids are defeated. They
and scores a real coup in landing after a vineyard is sprayed with an old-fashioned and very of its time, can only be killed when their hands
DeHaan and Plaza the former experimental pesticide. as a school bus drives through a are chopped off. Even hardened horror
shows he can match Huckabees Mark The Living Dead Girl mixes yellow cloud of radioactive gas thats fans are likely to splutter in disbelief
Wahlberg in the play-it-straight-for- poetry and gore, and its bizarre leaked from a power station its as Gil Rogerss Sheriff hacks little kids
laughs stakes, and the latters just plain juxtapositions of classy (the heroine like The Incredible Shrinking Man mitts off with a sword.
adorable however necrotic she might be. wanly playing with an antique crossed with Three Mile Island. There is a subtext here, one thatll
Keeping it personal, Baenas movie rocking horse) and sleazy (blood Later, the bus is found empty and a appeal to those whod rather stay
nonetheless builds background details spray onto naked breasts) mean its search for five missing kids begins. sprog-free: co-writers Carl Albright
to capture a genuine sense of the constantly surprising. Only in a Rollin It would be better not to find them, and Ed Terry came up with the
apocalypse a vision rendered oddly film can you be wincing at an axe- because inexplicably theyve been basic idea shortly after the birth of
palatable by consistent chuckles and, killing one moment and wondering transformed into bullet-proof atomic Albrights first child, when they were
naturally, a smooth-jazz soundtrack. if hes homaging a pre-Raphaelite zombies who can microwave you to discussing how children can come
Jamie Graham painting the next a crisp with one touch of their black- to dominate and control your life,
fingernailed hands. Yikes! and one or two put-upon parents
Sadly, many of the deaths occur off- might smile wryly in recognition as
screen (and those that dont showcase they watch kids literally smothering
rather crappy time-lapse effects), mums and dads to death.
but its the lead-up to the killings Basically, though, The Children is
that really chills the blood. One girl designed to gross people out. It does a
lures in her mother by standing with pretty good job of that, and manages
her arms stretched out for a hug and to provide plenty of unintentional
crying Mommy! As Mom starts hilarity too.
34 33
28 WEEKS LATER
2007 DIRECTOR: JUAN CARLOS FRESNADILLO 2006
FIDO
DIRECTOR: ANDREW CURRIE
When the credits roll on 28 Days Later Sometimes it feels like all you need
(see 16) you feel that the films world to crack a career in the movies is one
Children Shouldnt has been fully explored, and nothing perfect sentence, a phrase that sets the
Play With Dead Things: worthwhile remains to be said. So the imagination racing, and Fidos pitch is
trousers bad enough to announcement of a sequel inevitably a peach: zombies in Pleasantville. Its
turn anyone pale.
inspired fears of a crass DTV effort, an irresistible idea, one this Canadian
lacking the originals visual poetry. But zom-com explores with sly satire and
28 Weeks Later is a pleasant surprise. considerable charm.
Six months on from the original The setting is a 50s small-town
outbreak, the Infected have starved to world of shiny automobiles, side
death, and a Yank-led NATO force is partings and vibrant Technicolor, the
repopulating Blighty. Father-of-two sort of place where mom sublimates
Don (Robert Carlyle) is reunited with her simmering sexual energies into the
his kids in a safe zone on the Isle of baking of delicious apple pies. In this
Dogs. Unbeknownst to everyone, parallel-universe 50s, a radioactive
though, the rage virus has mutated... cloud has resurrected the dead.
35
the word). The standout freak is After a low-key, character-led Fortunately, the domestication collar
Ormsby himself, an egomaniac with opening act, the film becomes infected means zombies can now serve society
a gloriously florid turn of phrase, with the action virus. What follows is and if you want to keep up with the
resplendent in striped loon pants that an extended chase, with a diminishing Joneses, you simply must have one...
Willy Wonka would probably turn group of survivors hurtling from one Pleasantville is just one obvious
down as being too garish. setpiece to another. Fortunately, some reference point (though director
The technical incompetence is of those are powerful enough to stick Andrew Currie says he took inspiration
CHILDREN alarming you find yourself thinking in the memory, and some adrenaline- from 50s melodramas such as Peyton
DEAD THINGS
1971 DIRECTOR: BOB CLARK
soundtrack of electronic oscillations is
unsettlingly weird, and the script
are exploding heads aplenty, and it
even kicks off with a Night Of The
zom relationship with little Timmy
Robinson is pure Lassie pastiche.
is jam-packed with groan-inducing Living Dead-style prologue featuring Its obvious that something will go
puns, sardonic one-liners and spaced the Infected breaking into a boarded- wrong. But the film cleverly works
Children Shouldnt Play With Dead hippy aphorisms. Man is a machine up farmhouse. Its far more violent through its concepts ramifications
Things is one of those movies you feel for manufacturing manure! is than Danny Boyles film, with carnage (kids have daily rifle-shooting practice;
downright guilty for loving. Shot in our favourite although I havent meted out by gun, flamethrower and dads obsessed with saving to become
a park in Coral Gables, Miami, by a laughed so much since Granny got helicopter rotor blade. one of the few rich enough to actually
bunch of college buddies for a mere caught in the wringer! comes in a Spanish director Fresnadillo strives be buried). It also has depth, with
$40,000, it is in large part a spoofing close second. The end result is like to evoke the spirit of 28 Days Later, and Currie satirising Homeland Security
homage to Night Of The Living Dead. watching a Romero rip-off directed sometimes nails it, matching Boyles culture via some swift jabs about state
Egotistical theatre director Alan by Ed Wood, with a script scribbled postcards of a deserted Westminster control in a paranoid society.
(a self-mocking turn by screenwriter by Joe Orton while he was ripped with images of tanks rumbling past the Its a sweetly likeable film, too an
Alan Ormsby, who was also in charge to the tits on poppers. The same Millennium Dome and US soldiers on odd thing to say, considering that it
of the make-up effects) takes a troupe writer/director team of Ormsby and patrol in suburban streets. But his film includes an old lady being battered
of actors to an island graveyard to Bob Clark (who were roommates lacks the idiosyncratic unpredictability to death with a shovel, as well as a
creep them out with some mock- at the University Of Miami) went of the original its more of a cookie- frustrated housewife flirting with a
Satanic invocations. Of course, its all on to collaborate on the superior cutter action-horror; a blunt object. walking corpse. Throw Fido a bone and
fun and games until someone gets Deathdream (see 10), as well as, er, Still, its about as good as we could youll find it wide-eyed and waggy-
their throat ripped out... Eventually Porkys II: The Next Day. reasonably have expected. tailed, eager to please.
the dead rise, and its board-up-the- The film was marketed with
windows time. a great gimmick: all ticket buyers
This second half is pure Romero could get their funeral expenses paid
rip-off. Its crude, but has a winning in full if they were attacked by a
sense of urgency. The first half, ghoul cannibal during a screening.
meanwhile, is like watching a hippy For a few years now, theres been talk
theatre group improvising a drive-in of a possible remake (Bob Clark owns
movie, and a showcase for some the rights, and has written a script).
hysterical acting (in both senses of Dont hold your breath, though
31
2011
THE DEAD
DIRECTORS: HOWARD & JONATHAN FORD
32
Admittedly, this is at times a highly unfolding in West Africa.
amusing film, particularly when it Our identification character Youre both successful commercial
comes to the rules expounded by is American Brian Murphy (Rob directors. Why the switch to
Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), which Freeman) who, it eventually turns zombies, and why Africa?
include the double tap and check out, is an engineer for the US army. Jonathan: Id wanted to make this
the back seat. Others could include Stranded in the middle of nowhere film since seeing Romeros Dawn
ZOMBIELAND
2009 DIRECTOR: RUBEN FLEISCHER
something along the lines of Dont fire
machine guns in the air just for the hell
when the last plane out of the country
crash-lands, he teams up with a young
Of The Dead. We wanted to make
something totally authentic that
of it and Turning on all the rides in a African soldier whos searching for people had never seen before. Going
theme park may attract attention. But his missing son. to Africa allowed us to bring in so
Zombieland is the zombie movie for such rules dont seem to be necessary in The Dead specialises in three many different layers of meaning.
people who dont like zombie movies. this movie. As zombie apocalypses go, things. The first is ticking-clock
For dedicated fans of the genre, its a stroll in the park. sequences: as Murphy struggles to How difficult a choice of location
observing its success is rather like Thats why Shaun Of The Dead is a open a crate full of weapons or get a was it for an independent shoot?
watching a band with lowest common superior movie. In Shaun theres always car running before hes surrounded by Howard: On the first day I got
denominator appeal topping the album a sense of danger to throw the comedy the undead, its incredibly tense. The mugged at knifepoint. The police
charts, while the more innovative into relief, and a real emotional depth. second is remarkably realistic, gory tried to put me in jail for driving
musicians who inspired them languish In Zombieland as in Wes Andersons make-up; early on we see a zombie without a licence. Then things really
in obscurity. It certainly isnt a bad oeuvre characters often seem to be staggering along on a broken leg, started to get bad
film, but the fact that of all the movies little more than an accumulation of bone poking through the skin, and its Jonathan: There was endless police
on IMDb tagged with the keyword quirks: an irrational fear of clowns; an so believable that just for a moment corruption, and our vehicles usually
zombies, this is the third-highest obsessive love of Twinkies. you wonder whether the filmmakers wouldnt get past all the roadblocks.
rated, rankles a little. Dont get us wrong: Zombieland is might have trawled the local hospitals Howard: We had a Land Rover full of
Heres one issue we have, for great fun, particularly the all-action for accident victims in desperate limbs and crates of AK47s...
starters: considering this is a film finale. Who could fail to love a movie need of a few dollars. And the third? Jonathan: Then wed break down.
entitled Zombieland, it doesnt actually in which Woody Harrelson machine- Unremitting bleakness. Dont watch Then wed run out of fuel. Then wed
feature a lot of zombies. For the most guns hordes of zombies while hanging this if youre after a happy ending. run out of water. We often wondered
part (until the climactic scenes in an off a fairground ride? Hopefully it Freeman barely gets to say a word if wed ever get out alive.
amusement park), our heroes dont functions as a kind of gateway drug of for the first 20 minutes of the movie Howard: Rob Freeman, our lead,
encounter many of the undead, instead the undead. But if you think this is one and to be honest thats a good thing, collapsed on set with cerebral
driving down empty highways and the best zombie movies of all time then since once the dialogue does kick in, malaria. He was rushed to a
wandering, unmenaced, through youre in serious need of some further much of it is rather clichd. But that mosquito-infested hospital and the
deserted streets. If millions of have education. Keep right on reading, kid, doesnt matter a great deal in the doctor told us hed die.
been infected, where did they all go? and well give you a few pointers. grand scheme of things. The Dead is
a film that doesnt waste your time, You went places where no one had
Another typical bank dropping you straight into the middle seen a film crew before. Did locals
holiday weekend
at Alton Towers.
of the nightmare. Its also grim, tense, take to playing zombie extras?
constantly surprising and, thanks to Howard: Thats part of the horror
shots of desert vistas and fabulous of The Dead: some of our zombies
rock formations, has moments of awe- were literally starving to death. The
inspiring natural beauty too. only good thing about the shoot was
having the chance to help them.
Jonathan: We could pay them decent
money, treat them with respect and
all they had to do was walk slowly or
lie down. They just couldnt believe it.
You couldnt keep the smiles off their
faces not a good look for zombies!
Paul Bradshaw
30
ZOMBIE FLESH
EATERS
1979 DIRECTOR: LUCIO FULCI
29
LAND OF
2005
THE DEAD
DIRECTOR: GEORGE ROMERO
27 26
PLANET CITY OF THE
2007
TERROR
DIRECTOR: ROBERT RODRIGUEZ
LIVING DEAD
1980 DIRECTOR: LUCIO FULCI
If youre gonna enjoy Planet Terror, Zombies: should they be able to leg
Forget the story and just itll help if youre the sort of sick it, or be restricted to a stately stagger?
revel in Black Magic 2s puppy whos fascinated by photos of Once youve watched City Of The
madcap excess.
flesh-eating viruses and tickled by Living Dead, the whole argument
amputee gags. seems rather redundant. Never mind
Stateside, it originally screened running: in this film, Italian director
as the opening half of Grindhouse, Lucio Fulcis zombies can teleport.
Rodriguezs double-bill team-up with Why? God knows. Look for logic
Quentin Tarantino. Fortunately, once in a Fulci film and youll come back
hacked apart from its conjoined twin, empty handed; the plot is generally
Planet Terror works just fine. It bears a flimsy pretext for outbursts of the
little relation to any real grindhouse irrational. In this case, a priests suicide
fare, mind, unless you think John opens a portal to Hell in Dunwich (ring
Carpenter made grindhouse movies. any bells, Lovecraft fans?), a village
this concoction, the bewitched girl After experimental biochemical apparently built on the remains of
24
Working down the
tin mine plays hell with
a ladys complexion.
RE-ANIMATOR
1985 DIRECTOR: STUART GORDON
25
Despite a faint whiff of deja vu, a reanimating serum into recently- still quite a fresh thing when the film
the film is a great success. Morell is deceased corpses; his experiments came out, right?
outstanding as Sir James, a Holmes/ with reviving bodily parts. Others are Absolutely we were trying to do
Watson composite whos both likeably disregarded: Lovecrafts story follows something new We wanted to be as
grouchy (his idea of affectionate Herbert over many years. outrageous as we could, and push the
banter is telling his daughter he Genre favourite Jeffrey Combs boundaries as far as possible. I think
should have drowned her at birth), is superb in the lead role, bringing that might be why Re-Animator went
THE PLAGUE OF and a game old bird, surprisingly Wests ice-cold intellectualism to down well with audiences it was
THE ZOMBIES
1966 DIRECTOR: JOHN GILLING
willing to dig up a recently-interred
corpse for an illicit autopsy.
Class warriors will find plenty that
life with furrow-browed intensity; the
lugubrious David Gale is equally good
as antagonist Dr. Hill, whose desire
like audience participation in a way.
I dont think viewers knew if they
should scream or laugh.
chimes with their worldview: Squire to get one over on his upstart student
Hamiltons goons are a hissable gang continues post-mortem. The soundtrack was criticised for
One of four films shot back-to-back by of red-coated fox hunters and while Lovecrafts story was already full ripping off the score to Psycho.
Hammer and released as double bills, Count Dracula can be seen as of grotesque humour, but Gordon I had said to our composer, Richard
this thrifty production shared sets a metaphor for class exploitation, turns the dial up to 11. Events become Band, that I loved Bernard Herrmann
with The Reptile and was released as Squire Hamilton requires zero madder, the body-horror ever-more and wanted something like that, and
a support feature to Dracula: Prince interpretation. His motivation one OTT, to the point where you may start he did it almost as a joke he wanted
Of Darkness. of the most bizarre in horror cinema to feel faint: featuring decapitation to have a credit that read with
The story unfolds not in one of is assembling a cheap workforce for by shovel and intestines that attack apologies to Bernard Herrmann!
Hammers typical mittel-European his tin mine! like a boa constrictor, Re-Animators Somehow it got left out and he got a
settings, but in a small Cornish village. The British censors labelled the not for the squeamish. Only when lot of shit over the years from people
Andr Morell plays professor of script insane rubbish, and you can a young womans threatened with thinking that he stole the music. We
medicine Sir James Forbes. Called in still appreciate what occasioned their sexual assault by a decapitated head even got a letter from the Herrmann
by the local GP following a series of pursed-lipped disdain. Our first sight does Gordons assault on good taste Estate telling us that if Bernard was
unexplained deaths, he soon discovers of a zombie comes when one rears briefly cease to feel like outrageous fun: still alive we would have been sued!
that the graves in the cemetery are up unexpectedly and tosses a corpse luckily, he pulls back from the brink
mysteriously empty (Jacqueline Pearce, later Blakes 7s before it dives between her thighs. Did many walk out when Herbert
Pitting an upper class figure Servalan) straight at the camera. The A synopsis makes the film sound West resurrects a cat, the animal
who exerts a baleful influence over scene in which she emerges from like a simple catalogue of atrocities, goes insane and he kills it again?
young women against a professorial the grave, smiling seductively as she but theres a comic-book exuberance A lot of people walked out of the
protagonist, Plague has much in advances, only to be decapitated with to its cavalcade of ghoulish sights, and movie, but not during that scene. The
common with 1958s Dracula. a shovel, remains powerfully eerie. So something charmingly mom-and-pop sequence that caused most people to
Continuing the echoes of Stoker, much does the dream sequence that follows, about the old-school effects when a leave the theatre was where David
of the incident concerns the attempts where the dead (whose make-ups severed head speaks, youre conscious Gale is showing them how to remove
of the local squire (who returned from incorporated crumpled tissue paper!) of the rest of the actor, hidden out a brain during an autopsy.
a sojourn in Haiti with a mastery of rise from their graves en masse; all of shot. Best served with a bottle of
voodoo) to bring womenfolk under Dutch angles and dry ice, it feels like your animating agent of choice, Re- Did Barbara Crampton have issues
his thrall; human sacrifice is the the missing link between the voodoo- Animator wont cause you to think, but with the nude scene where she gets
rationalisation, but exactly why thats zombie horrors of the 20s and 30s will make you wince, guffaw and howl licked by a decapitated head?
necessary is never explained. and Romeros flesh-eaters. in delighted disbelief. We originally cast somebody else, and
at the last minute she got scared and
decided not to do it. She said shed
spoken to her mother, who told her
this was a big mistake. So we went
back to square one, which is when
Barbara came in and hey! she was
a very brave girl.
Calum Waddell
23
DEAD & BURIED
1981 DIRECTOR: GARY SHERMAN
22
PSYCHOMANIA
1972 DIRECTOR: DON SHARP
21 20
[REC] RETURN OF THE
2007 DIRECTORS: JAUME BALAGUER
& PACO PLAZA BLIND DEAD
1973 DIRECTOR: AMANDO DE OSSORIO
17
Who says things
cant be scary
without Technicolor?
THE HOUSE BY
THE CEMETERY
1981 DIRECTOR: LUCIO FULCI
A ZOMBIE
1943 DIRECTOR: JACQUES TOURNEUR
it as a dull, disgusting exaggeration
of an unhealthy, abnormal concept
of life) but has been recognised
once inhabited by 19th century scientist
Dr Freudstein, whose experiments
into extending life caused him to be
tension among us that would show on
the screen. I even remember crying
during the making of it
as one of RKO and Lewtons most suspended from his profession. And
elegant, poetic and atmospheric Freudstein (or rather, the maggot- Were Catriona MacColl and Paolo
Ignore the silly, sensationalist title movies in the years since. It doesnt ridden, cannibalistic remnants of him) Malco, who played your parents in
forced upon producer Val Lewtons deal in gore (or many scares, for that is still in residence. the film, quite protective of you?
second horror movie for RKO matter), but has an unsettling air, as As Lucio Fulci films go, The House Yes, very much! I remember Catriona
Pictures, as even today I Walked With well as one of the most unforgettable By The Cemetery is about as traditional MacColl being very, very sweet with
A Zombie stands as one of the eeriest, scenes in horror movie history, as and explicable it gets though there me. Paolo Malco was a nice guy to be
most understated and downright Betsy stumbles across the towering, are many baffling, surreal details. The around. He was always smiling, trying
creepy zombie movies ever made. bug-eyed creature Carre-Four in a house seems to be alive, conspiring to take care of me.
Released in the midst of the very field of canes. with Freudstein to trap his victims via
real horrors of WW2, the film was the Though simple and efficient as a broken floorboards or slamming doors. How did you feel when you had to be
second collaboration between Lewton piece of storytelling, its sufficiently Sometimes, the cellars full of hanging chased by the films horrific zombie,
and director Jacques Tourneur, ambiguous that you could reasonably corpses and scattered body parts; Dr Freudstein?
following the success of Cat People. question whether it qualifies as a other times, its perfectly empty. And It wasnt so bad, probably because
That film was such a smash, in fact, zombie movie at all. Local West Indian in echoes of The Shining, young Bob is I got to see the character getting
that (title aside) Lewton was given superstition, the pervasive voodoo somehow able to communicate with created, being made up layer by layer
almost complete creative freedom rhythms heard across the island and Mary, a girl from the past whom we see the mask, the make-up, the arms,
on I Walked, retooling the script as a apparent mind control say yes, but in old photos of the house. the latex everything.
loose adaptation of Charlotte Bronts there are doubts raised over whether Of course, this being a Fulci film,
Jane Eyre rather than the American Jessica is actually suffering from its about 50 times more gruesome How did your own parents feel about
Weekly Magazine article on which it tropical fever. than The Amityville Horror. Amongst you acting in a film like this?
was originally based. The languid pace, monochrome the gory highlights that led to it being They didnt really think about it
Canadian nurse Betsy (Frances cinematography and theatrical banned in the UK as a video nasty are a because I got involved in acting
Dee) is hired by plantation owner performances typical of the period young woman getting stabbed through quite accidentally. I was discovered
Paul Holland (Tom Conway) to care may all act as a deterrent to modern the head; a vicious attack by a (very by an agent while walking around
for his braindead wife Jessica on a viewers, but they shouldnt. Even with fake-looking) giant bat; and an estate Rome with my family. After that, I
Caribbean island. Pauls half-brother a title worthy of the dustbin of history, agent being brutally stabbed to death made some commercials, and that
Wesley Rand (James Ellison) is also I Walked With A Zombie is a classy with a poker. Ideal viewing if youve led to The House By The Cemetery.
in love with Jessica, and blames Paul example of the genre pre- the Romero just gone through the trauma of selling My parents attitude was always
for her current state. After traditional revolution. Jordan Farley your house, then this is fine they saw it as a bit of
fun. However, after The House By
The Cemetery I became the most
requested child actor in Italy, and
my mother said it would be better
if I thought about another career.
Today I work in marketing and live in
Chicago, so its a very different life!
Calum Waddell
15
DELLAMORTE
DELLAMORE
1994 DIRECTOR: MICHELE SOAVI
SERGIO
The only way to make sense of this
freewheeling black comedy-cum- STIVALETTI
Hmm I swear something looks gothic romance (released on DVD as MAKE-UP ARTIST
different around these parts. Cemetery Man) is to approach much ON DELLAMORTE
of it as a strange dream. Trouble is, its DELLAMORE
16
Manchester, where they find evidence difficult to identify when protagonist
that the world doesnt need a virus to Francesco Dellamore (a wonderfully
bring out the worst in humanity. out-of-place Rupert Everett) falls How did you become involved?
Shot on harsh, kinetic digital video, asleep (or enters a waking nightmare). I had worked with the director
with a story that has tough messages It may happen after hes bitten by Michele Soavi on two other films:
about human nature, 28 Days Later is a zombie, but perhaps he slips into The Church and The Sect. We had
a physically draining and emotionally madness earlier. Or maybe it all unfolds also worked together on movies
28 DAYS LATER
2002 DIRECTOR: DANNY BOYLE
punishing experience. In the past, the
greatest threat zombies presented had
in his head.
One things certain: no other film
such as Demons where he was
the assistant director so we were
generally been their overwhelming features a character whos quite so quite good friends by that time. It
numbers. Not so here: just one rage blas about the business of offing the also represented a step away from
Yes, we know 28 Days Laters rage- victim is enough to ensure instant undead. Laconic slacker Dellamore Dario Argento, who had produced
infected fiends arent technically bowel evacuation. Controversial, is the caretaker in a cemetery where Micheles previous two movies. So
zombies. They dont eat brains, theyre perhaps, but one truer to the way (for reasons never explained) the I think having me do the special
running about like ADD-addled kids on zombies have continually evolved to dead return on the seventh night after effects at least provided one
a diet of pixie sticks and theyre not reflect societal concerns throughout their death. When they do, Dellamore reassuring and trustworthy face!
even dead. But the films importance in the history of zombie cinema. In dispatches them with practiced ease,
kick-starting the latest wave of zombie the early 20th century it was fear of at one point pausing briefly mid-phone What were your influences when it
movies, and its ground-up reinvention outsiders and their strange rituals. call to blast one in the head, before came to creating the zombies?
of the genre, make it a work wed be George Romeros jackpot idea was to continuing with his casual chat. Im a big fan of Tom Savini and I
foolish to ignore. capitalise on nuclear paranoia. Boyles The film ticks so many boxes. It has enjoyed his book Grande Illusions,
In what seems like a nod to The film touches on a contemporary terror scenes of eroticism, as Dellamore and a where he revealed how he created
Day Of The Triffids (although the viral outbreak and contagion being widow (the stunningly beautiful Anna the zombies of Dawn Of The Dead.
filmmakers protest ignorance of real concerns in the early 21st century. Falchi) make love on her husbands So I took some inspiration from
Wyndhams opening), it begins with Its also a social commentary, in tombstone; quotable lines (The only him, but perhaps because we are
bicycle courier Jim (Cillian Murphy) a way that arguably Romeros films thing thats not shitty is sleep) European, our overall influences in
waking from a coma in an abandoned no longer are, with the rage virus many of which occur during Everetts that film were different. I think that
hospital. Stumbling around the streets an on-the-nose metaphor for the narration, sleepily mumbled as if hes the zombies are a little unique. They
of an ominously empty London, Jim contemporary phenomenon of social just been pitched out of bed; and some are not the same as the Romero or
soon learns its best to steer clear of rage (road, air, iPhone autocorrect, amusingly quirky zombies (at one Fulci zombies, and that was my goal:
red-eyed psychopaths, and is rescued you name it). Innovatively shot, with point we see a zombie boy scout whos to create a new design.
by several survivors. A radio broadcast phenomenal performances and an furiously rubbing a stick in his palms!).
claiming to know the answer to uncompromising script, 28 Days Later Explaining the plot is quite The film represents the end of an era:
infection prompts them to make the is a blistering piece of horror cinema. impossible; the script was based after it, horror films from Italy were
risky journey to an army blockade near Jordan Farley on a tale by Italian fumetti writer few and far between and relied more
Tiziano Sclavi, but often feels like it on digital trickery.
was composed by many hands using Yes, this is true, and I found
the exquisite corpse method. The myself working with digital effects
only thing you really need to know on stuff like Dario Argentos The
is that every baffling moment of it Phantom Of The Opera, which
is utterly fascinating. came only shortly after Dellamorte
Dellamore. The big problem was
that Dellamorte Dellamore was not
a big success when it was released,
and by that time there hadnt been
a huge Italian horror hit for years.
I wonder if that discouraged a lot
of potential producers
Undead? Nope but the zombies Calum Waddell
in 28 Days Later are still pretty scary.
14
NIGHT OF
THE CREEPS
1986 DIRECTOR: FRED DEKKER
13
2000
WILD ZERO
DIRECTOR: TETSURO TAKEUCHI
11
DAY OF THE DEAD
1985 DIRECTOR: GEORGE ROMERO
10
Richard Backus brings home
the horror of war and then
some in Deathdream.
DEATHDREAM
1974 DIRECTOR: BOB CLARK
9
TOMBS OF THE
BLIND DEAD
1971 DIRECTOR: AMANDO DE OSSORIO
8
Conclusive proof that being
undead and feasting on corpses
is an unhealthy lifestyle.
DAWN OF
2004
THE DEAD
DIRECTOR: ZACK SNYDER
7
MESSIAH OF EVIL
1971 DIRECTORS: WILLARD HUYCK
& GLORIA KATZ
6
Blood, beards and bourbon
biscuits abound in this very
British zombie film.
THE LIVING
DEAD AT THE
MANCHESTER
MORGUE
1974 DIRECTOR: JORGE GRAU
5
THE RETURN OF
THE LIVING DEAD
1985 DIRECTOR: DAN OBANNON
4
An example of how
wrong contact
lenses can go.
SHAUN OF
2004
THE DEAD
DIRECTOR: EDGAR WRIGHT
CATRIONA
Sometimes, you have to leave home
to get the respect you deserve.
George Romero was delighted with
MACCOLL
LIZA MERRIL IN
this comedic riff on his Dead films. THE BEYOND
Tarantino recently listed it as one of
the best 20 films of the last 17 years. It woman has her face melted off by
certainly deserves effusive praise.
The cleverness of the script only
fully makes itself known over time.
And were not just talking about the
fanboy-pleasing references to, say,
director Lucio Fulci or Dawn Of The
3 acid; the resulting gloop oozes across a
morgue floor towards her fear-frozen
daughters feet, like a malevolent
wave of strawberry yoghurt. Another
unfortunate has her head jammed
onto a rusty nail so hard that an eyeball
How did a nice girl like you get
involved in Italian horror?
Thats a good question! I had actually
never seen a horror movie in my life.
I wasnt into that sort of thing, and
probably wouldnt have done them
Deads Ken Foree, delightful though
they are to spot.
THE BEYOND
1981 DIRECTOR: LUCIO FULCI
pops out with the force of a Thai sex
worker demonstrating her dexterity
either. However, what reassured me
was that the Italian film industry
Shaun Of The Dead is a film thats with a ping-pong ball. revered Lucio Fulci, even though the
crammed with premonitions and In the standout moment of critics did not. I think thats part of
echoes, both visual and verbal. Some As former nasties are recuperated into insanity, an unfortunate chap has his why he was able to assemble so many
are extremely subtle, such as an early the canon, many 80s horrors are now face nibbled off by a scuttle of killer great Italian technicians and actors
line of dialogue that synopsises whats being dubbed oneiric by modern- tarantulas. Why? We have no idea. By for his horror films.
to follow: A Bloody Mary A bite day critics. This one Italian director the time zombies emerge en masse,
Back at the bar for shots. Sure enough, Lucio Fulcis finest work is the most lumbering around the corridors of the Whats the secret to a really
our heroes find a zombie called Mary deserving of such a pretentious label. local hospital, a simple outbreak of the good scream?
in their garden, people get bitten and Incoherent to the point of undead seems pretty unremarkable. I just let it all hang out! When Im
they end up fighting off the undead disintegration, its a frustratingly A friendly doctor (David Warbeck, faced with a challenge, I like to do
hordes with a shotgun. This kind of difficult film to explain to others. a male lead so wonderfully of his time it whole-heartedly, and I quickly
thing ensures that Shaun gets even Some will share star Catriona that you can practically smell the Brut) realised that I was a good screamer.
better on repeat viewings. MacColls initial appraisal of the script: strives without success to provide Theres actually something liberating
Its a hilarious film, but is sometimes outrageous gore strung together by a rational explanations. Its all utterly about screaming. I can understand
harrowing too, particularly when our bunch of nonsense incomprehensible, and breathtakingly why its a technique in therapy!
hero is faced with having to blow his MacColl plays Liza Merril, whos so. Thats especially true in the latter
mothers brains out. This ability to renovating a New Orleans hotel stages, when Fulci gleefully discards What was Lucio Fulci like?
deliver an emotional gut-punch lifts that shes inherited from her uncle. any last vestige of logic, mapping He was enigmatic and complicated,
it above the zom-coms that came in Unbeknown to her and posing geographically distant locations on to let me put it that way! We had a warm
its wake. As one of those middle-class a serious threat to her chances of one another and marooning his leads relationship of sorts he wasnt a
mums who doesnt like to make a winning a star rating its built on in a marrow-freezing Hellscape that very emotional man, but there was a
fuss, Penelope Wilton almost steals a gateway to Hell. What follows is would, were you dreaming it, jerk you mutual respect between us. I knew
the film. But Simon Pegg doesnt get best summarised like this: weird bolt upright in bed. All this makes that he really liked me, even if he
enough credit for his acting chops. shit happens. This mostly involves The Beyond as close as you can come never expressed it that often, and we
If we have one tiny criticism, its atrocities committed to the human to having a very unpleasant nightmare shared a rather dark sense of humour.
that the rom part of this movies body, filmed in loving close-up. One while staying fully conscious. But nobody ever got to know Lucio.
rom-zom-com formula falls short.
Effectively given the straight man role, You did three films with him
Kate Ashfield struggles to make us love why didnt you do a fourth?
Liz the way that Shaun does. And why Lucio did ask me to make a fourth
doesnt he get to kiss the girl at the end, one, but it was The New York Ripper.
for chrissake? I think I was quite fortunate in saying
no, because Ive been told that film
wasnt as good as the ones wed
done previously. However, I didnt
even read the script when it came
to me by that time, I was trying to
do something else. I felt that I had
Fulcis zombies: always screamed myself out.
on the look-out for a Calum Waddell
lost pound coin.
RUSSELL
STREINER
CO-PRODUCER OF NIGHT
OF THE LIVING DEAD
2
special, so much so that he called
He cracks some lame jokes and they This no-fuss approach also extended other exhibitors all around the States
bicker. And then a man wanders to other parts of the film. In a bit of and told them they had to book this
into shot. Hes in the background, casting that proved unconsciously movie. That spread through the
innocuous until he attacks! Its a revolutionary, African-American business like wildfire.
shocking moment precisely because Duane Jones was cast as the heroic
Is it true that African-American
NIGHT OF THE Johnny has just made a gag about the
possibility of this very occurrence.
Ben, which added a whole new level
of political resonance to proceedings.
areas rioted when Ben was killed?
I wouldnt say rioted, but I will
LIVING DEAD
1968 DIRECTOR: GEORGE ROMERO
Our good-looking male lead has his
skull smashed on a gravestone less
The film ends with a shrug of
inevitability. Ben is the only survivor
confirm that it surprised the African-
American audience as much as it
did everyone else. The night the film
than ten minutes into the movie. to make it through the night. Dawn
The rest of Night is for the most breaks and then pop! a trigger- opened, I saw it in a theatre that had
a lot of African-American patrons.
part a humour-free zone, thick with happy redneck clumsily shoots him in
They were totally involved with
What more is there to say about the real-world paranoia of nuclear the head. His body is tossed onto the film and upset when it ended
the daddy of modern zombie attack. The apocalypse survivors hide a pyre to lie, in a piece of perfect but not to the point of rioting. They
movies? Thousands of words have in a cellar, their only contact with the symmetry, next to the zombie from were just vocally angry. But white
been written about its low-budget outside world coming in the form of that first graveyard scene. Its an audiences reacted just the same.
ingenuity, its forward-thinking news footage and doomy warnings to ending that goes beyond bleak into Everyone was pulling for this guy to
survive and he didnt. No film had
casting, the socio-political subtexts head for survival shelters. blank nihilism. Humans may have
done that before us.
that fester beneath the surface, and Of course, theres a straightforward won (for now...) but the implication is
its influence on the filmmakers of reason for this low-key approach. clear. The world has changed forever. When did you become aware that
today. And rightly so. But those essays The film was made for a pittance, Night weathered poor reviews, Night was being seen as part of a
often skip over one thing arguably costing just $114,000. Romero and and as the years passed its reputation wave of violent, graphic US films?
the most important factor in the films chums simply couldnt afford the grew. Its influence on every modern I didnt pay attention to the movies
that came after Night, but I was
success: its a very scary movie. varied locations, zombie armies zombie movie and on low-budget
aware that we were breaking new
Take the famous opening scene. and helicopters that characterised filmmaking in general is hard to ground. When the movie came out
A brother and sister leave flowers later Dead movies. But in keeping overstate. It is in every sense a we experienced everything from
on a grave. Johnny is messing about; things small scale, they made a cheap bloody classic. Will Salmon hero worship to people thinking we
were satanic. Some critics thought
wed made something with no
redeeming social value. In 1968, this
was a picture that divided people in
Philadelphia there was even a boycott
when it was screened in a public
library. The problem was, we did too
good a job at scaring people!
Calum Waddell
KEN FOREE
PETER IN
DAWN OF THE DEAD
SURVIVOR
A TALK
fter five seasons as Some diets
are too much.
executive producer of The
Walking Dead, preceded by 30
years producing some of the She really was
most memorable genre films in keen to see this
history, Gale Anne Hurd isnt cohesion
[between Ricks
someone given to hyperbole. So
group and
when Hurd and her fellow E.P. Scott Gimple take
Alexandria]
time out of their hectic schedule to chat with us
happen. There has to be society
about the TV phenomenons sixth season in this world. There cant just be
midway through its production, we have every Terminus and the Governor.
reason to believe her when she tells us, I think They cant be all this world has
youll find this season will blow your mind. come to The unfortunate thing
Huge and pedal to the metal is probably that happens with Reg, with her
how I would describe season six, says the veteran sword, it causes her to end up
producer. Both in terms of story and scale. Weve in a place at the end of the
got 18 regular cast members now. Thats huge. season where I have to re-own
And in terms of pedal to the metal, if youve seen that power because I dont trust
our promo you know that our band of survivors, anyone elses hands. Shes still
as big as they are now, are facing a huge threat in Alexandria. Of course, she
from the walkers. Weve lived in a world that was still wants them there, but shes
somewhat out in the sticks. There were a few taken the sword back.
walkers. But now were really going to see a world DANAI GURIRA
thats been overtaken by them. MICHONNE
Its a world that leader Rick Grimes (Andrew
Lincoln) finds himself increasingly at odds with
after the season five finale. In perhaps
the shows most shocking season finale
yet, Rick after being given shelter by a
community of survivors in Alexandria,
Virginia killed a man in cold blood as he
was reunited with his long lost friend
Morgan Jones (Lennie James), the first
survivor he encountered after waking
from his coma. Its an act, Hurd says, that
will have severe repercussions in The
Walking Deads sixth year, possibly dividing
the shows survivors between the men.
Though shes quick to state that whats to
come will be more complicated than the
simple conflict that arises whenever you
have two strong characters.
Lets not forget that you have the
complication of Jessies relationship with
Rick, says Hurd, addressing the abused
Alexandria survivor (Alexandra
Breckenridge) whose husband Rick killed.
You have the complication of how her kids
Head to head?
view that. You still have dissension within the
ranks of people who really dont want to
challenge how things are done in Alexandria
with those who do. Youve got the added work out, There doesnt need to be any
complication of Father Gabriel. So theres still a intervention with Pete all of those chickens
lot more going on than just these two titans back came home to roost. And now that shes lost Reg
together again. and basically told Rick, Kill Pete, shes certainly
very much different from the Deanna that we
MOVING ON UP first encountered. I think she sees now and has
As for the Alexandria groups leader, Deanna an acceptance of what Rick has lived, and his
Monroe (actress Tovah Feldshuh) who urged code. I dont know that she feels necessarily that
Rick to kill Jessies husband after he took the life all of her ambitions and goals for Alexandria are
of her own, Hurd tells us to expect a different muted because of that, but I think shes
person when we see the former US incredibly shaken.
Congresswoman again in season six. Walking Dead showrunner Gimple adds, I
I think we left season five with a very much think the big thing with the finale was that the
changed Deanna. In a moment her world was jeopardy wasnt, Oh god, are they gonna kick
shaken. She believed in her core that her way, her Rick out? It was, Oh god, are they gonna try to Well, thats
approach non-violent, Everythings going to kick Rick out? which would subsequently make inconvenient.
DJ VU
The amount of In addition to actor Corey Hawkins no-nonsense
fan art I get of Heath, season six will introduce another comics
me and Rick character in Dr. Denise Cloyd (played by Merritt
making out, its Wever), an Alexandrian medic, and another
magnificent! We resident named Carter (played by Ethan Embry),
should do a show whos merely mentioned in the book as one of
an art show, a proper art those who helped build the towns wall.
show of the two of us in a The characters that are introduced, explains
bathtub together. Its insane. Hurd, will be very identifiable from panels in
Are they looking for me to have the comic book. So those fans who want those
a committed relationship with Easter eggs will absolutely have them. But once
these people? Just to bone again were not hewing to a particular storyline
them? The truth is, I dont know arc for those characters taken directly from the
that Daryl is ready to do any of comic book. There will absolutely be nods and
that. Its almost the same as, panels brought to life, but not exactly in the way
You ever going to cut your hair [one would expect]. As Robert has said from the
on the show? Why the hell
very beginning, the show is inspired by the comic
would I cut my hair in a zombie
books but he has an opportunity to explore
apocalypse? You ever gonna
things with those characters that he was unable
take a bath? [Im] just going
to get dirty again. to in the comic books. And because we have
characters like Daryl Dixon that didnt exist in
NORMAN REEDUS the comic books, by virtue of the fact that he is in
The face that launched DARYL DIXON that universe its going to change things.
a thousand fanfics.
While the details of the two narratives will
continue to differ, Gimple observes that
Kirkmans comic indeed reflects the mental state
Now were really going to see of the shows survivors in the months ahead.
Where we are in the show at this point is related
a world overtaken by walkers in a lot of ways to where they were in the book at
this point. Theyre consummate survivors now,
this group, they can take whatever the world has
thrown at them. What do they do with that power
and how do they face the rest of their lives now
Rick potentially kill someone or potentially kill a knowing they can get through it? Theyre gonna
SURVIVOR
TALK
Were going to
see if Alexandria
is a good place
for Abraham to
be. One of the
things I was
saying last year as well is that
Alexandria is giving Abraham
quiet time. I dont necessarily
know if Abraham thrives on
quiet time, with time to reflect,
time to think, time to be
inactive. Theres something that
is incredibly satisfying and
makes him not only feel useful
but alive when hes doing what
he is ultimately built to do
which is to fight and kill. What
does that quiet time do to him?
Well see.
MICHAEL CUDLITZ
And still as ruggedly ABRAHAM FORD
handsome as ever.
evolve, the world evolves. Unlike a soap opera writers and the effects team is so great that often Before she and Gimple return to their work,
thats set in a hospital and is always going to be in great ideas come from prosthetic effects that were we ask Hurd if these bloodthirsty marauders
a hospital and always dealing with relationships able to incorporate into the show. could soon infiltrate Alexandria. The exec
between doctors and nurses and patients, our As ever with The Walking Dead, the greatest hesitates for a moment before responding.
settings continue to evolve. The threat continues threat to our band of survivors this season will Each season weve had new threats from
to evolve. And because characters evolve the come not from the dead but the living. This time within and without. Going back to the graffiti
relationships among them change. Thats why around that threat is made manifest by the weve seen previously Wolves not far. Thats
the level of commitment of the cast and the crew Wolves, a pack of scavengers whove forsaken all probably all I can say.
remains so strong. No one is phoning it in. Thats semblance of their humanity, ominously
what keeps it fresh and interesting, just working foreshadowing what Rick could become should The Walking Dead airs on FOX in the UK. The
with the most incredibly talented people that Ive he continue down a path without mercy. show airs on AMC in the US.
had the pleasure of collaborating with over a
30-plus year career; and being able to tell 16-plus
hours of drama in my favourite genre, horror,
year after year. Thats just a blessing.
Adding to the shows horror this season will
REMEMBERING TYREESE
be a far greater number of walkers than fans
Few characters on The Walking Dead were as
beloved by fans, or Greg Nicotero, as Chad
have ever seen before, courtesy of Hurds fellow
Colemans Tyreese. Ive had to kill off a lot
executive producer, make-up effects master
of characters on the show, says the director/
Greg Nicotero.
executive producer. When Chad and I went
I think Greg has said 800 or more, says Hurd, to dinner, he said, Tyreese has done what he
a note of awe in her voice at Nicotero and his needs to do. Chad was at peace with what
squad of artists accomplishment. The season his journey was. I got chills watching him in
premiere alone, she tells us, will have the most that last scene, where hes in a room talking
walkers of any episode to date. to the ghost of everybody. Theres blood
Every season I think, Theres no way that Greg flying off his arm and hes battering the walls. The Walking Dead
and his team can top what theyve done last It was so powerful. Chad put every ounce of is never afraid to
season. But they do. Its been great to see that over who he was as an actor out there. kill its favourites.
these six years the collaboration between the
ut, cries director Billy Theres a billion zombie movies Checking out the
Gierhart. Actors Lauren out there. I could list on one hand the Book of Revelation?
Cohan and Melissa McBride, number of movies that have that
along with the three guest impact, says the bearded multi-
stars, smile as coffee arrives on hyphenate; whos helmed four of this seasons [Anne Hurd], were fans. Whats most important
the set of the second half of episodes, the most of any director. Raised on to us is we want other fans to react and have the
season 6 of The Walking Dead. classics like Jaws and The Exorcist, an assistant experience we want them to have. Thats the
While the human threat facing the on staples like Day Of The Dead and Evil Dead II, bummer about spoilers theyre taking that away
shows band of survivors in this, the and a supervisor on everything from Scream to from the viewers.
thirteenth episode, remains as great as Hostel, theres no greater authority on, or fan of, This season, even the set design helps maintain
that of any of its undead walkers, what remains the genre than Nicotero. that privacy. A sixteen-foot-tall wall surrounds
most astonishing is that the series exists at all. It Its all about the world that you create, says the community that doubles for the survivors
shouldnt. Theres no market for a Nicotero. The Walking Dead has created a world town of Alexandria. (Its residents are required
serious-minded, adult horror of characters that you not only want to root for, to sign nondisclosure agreements, and must
drama. At least that was the but that you want to be. A lot of that is attributed consent to accommodating filming when they
thinking when it debuted in 2010. to the graphic novel and the characters that move into the town.) While it protects the shows
And its very first scene, in which Robert [Kirkman] created, and of course the characters from walkers, the wall also serves as
leading man Andrew Lincoln actors that we cast in the pilot. a safeguard for the production against the hordes
shot a zombie girl in the Fused to the fans love of its characters of Walking Dead fans who gather outside,
head, clearly signalled evident in the amount of Walking Dead cosplay pilgrims hoping for a glimpse of their heroes.
its uncompromising at any given comic book convention is the If fan adoration can sometimes get out of hand
approach. shock of witnessing their often sudden, always one female admirer recently bit star Norman
Now, as the most-watched gruesome deaths. The production office, adorned Reedus (sullen, crossbow-wielding Daryl Dixon)
series in U.S. cable television with photos of deceased characters (its wall of at one of his convention appearances the cast
history, and next to Game Of Grateful Dead) has taken such steps to ensure have learned to take it in their stride.
Thrones the most popular the secrecy of those deaths that we are required Im fine, Im not mad about it or anything,
original scripted drama in the to sign a one-million-dollar embargo, intended to Reedus later tells us of the biting incident. She
world, any doubts about The prevent us from spilling any secrets. Some might kind of had a freakout moment. She wasnt trying
Walking Deads viability have call it excessive, especially since were not even to hurt me. To be honest, it was kind of funny
long since been hushed. told which character will perish next. Nicotero, when it happened and kind of weird at the
Executive producer Greg however, sees it as a service. same time. I hope it doesnt happen again. But
Nicotero credits the shows The secrecy is important for one main reason. Ive always had good interactions with the fans.
characters with broadening We want to preserve the viewing experience. Reedus goodwill is mirrored by most of the
Danai Gurira as fan the planets taste for terror. [Showrunner] Scott Gimple and myself and Gale Walking Dead cast, including Andrew Lincoln.
favourite Michonne.
AND NOW...
NEGAN!
Meet The Walking
Deads new big bad
REX (1)
You looking
at me?
The Walking Deads heroes have
survived all manner of threat, from
influenza to cannibalism. But how
will they fare against the most
infamous antagonist in Robert
Its an exciting time to be able
Kirkmans Eisner Award-winning
comic book the profanity-
to push those boundaries
spouting sadist known as Negan?
With Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the
role, were confident we wont be
seeing a kinder, gentler madman. Today is the actors day off, but hes arrived on set hands-on role in supervising them. The seasons
Ive known Jeffrey for a long to lend his voice to a scene in which Carol and premiere boasted a record number of zombies
time, probably twenty years, says Maggie are separated from Rick, and must speak and put twice as many extras through make-up
Norman Reedus. When I heard he with him on a walkie-talkie. Nicotero plays us a ( just under 300, representing 20,000 walkers)
was cast, I was like, This is a good snippet of a voice message Lincoln has left for than any single previous episode. According to
pick. Perfect. Because hes him the night before. While travelling home from Nicotero, the midseason premiere, episode 6.09,
charming, hes a really good actor, work, the actor sings enthusiastically and shattered that record.
and hes got a little bad side to unashamedly off-key to his friend and Balls out is how Norman Reedus describes
him. Having him is definitely a producer, ebullient over the days work. He does the remainder of season 6, which considerably
bonus I dont know if its a bonus this all time, laughs Nicotero. Hes nuts. amps up the action after Alexandria was last seen
for all the characters, but its a Theres no greater testament to the shows overtaken by walkers. Its a completely different
bonus for the show. success than the number of dark TV thrillers for half of a season. Its complete chaos. Theres no
Greg Nicotero adds that Morgans which its paved the way. The sex, violence, and part of it that isnt completely messed up and
charisma evident in series like horrifying deaths of Game Of Thrones followed in going a hundred miles per hour. Theres no fun
Greys Anatomy, The Good Wife, its wake, as did gruesome fan-favourites like the any more on the show, its all crazy. Everyones
and Supernatural makes him the
serial killer sagas Hannibal and Bates Motel, and just running for their lives, and theres a lot of
ideal enemy for Rick Grimes and
the outrageous American Horror Story. death and a lot of blood and a lot of zombies.
company. Theres a likeable charm
Im a big, big fan of Game Of Thrones, says Amidst all of that destruction, Nicotero has
about Jeffrey, and a unique ability
to bring a dark character to life. Nicotero. HBO gets away with quite a bit more found the next generation of creators. The
Ive been a fan of his for a long because theyre pay cable. But the stuff that we Walking Dead has reinvigorated the interest in
time At one point, on a Sunday do in The Walking Dead When I worked on Day practical make-up effects, he says. I recently
night, we were waiting for Game Of The Dead back in 1984, that movie was joined Instagram, and I would say that a good
Of Thrones to start. So I was unrated because of the gore and the make-up portion of my 300,000 followers are young people
watching The Good Wife, and I saw effects. Now were doing on television what we who want to do special effects because they watch
Jeffrey. I went, Damn. His smile is couldnt even do in the theatres 30 years ago. the show. Thats the greatest compliment in the
tremendously inviting You could Its an exciting time to be able to push those world. I was that kid. Dawn Of The Dead and Jaws
imagine a guy like that in this dark boundaries and allow special effects to be a big and The Exorcist made me want to do what I do. I
role. Unbeknownst to me, a couple part of our storytelling. feel like its my opportunity to pay it forward.
of months later, he would be the Viewers should expect more of those effects
guy we cast in the show. than ever in the second half of the sixth season, The Walking Dead Season 6 part B will air on
explains the producer, who continues his Monday 15th February on FOX.
GREG NICOTERO
The Walking Deads zombie master tells
Stephen Kelly how horror shaped his life...
G
reg Nicotero is the unsung FAMOUS MONSTERS MAGAZINE PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA
hero of your nightmares. If you ask anyone around my age, Famous If [make-up effects creator] Tom Savini hadnt
Starting out as a special Monsters magazine created a generation of lived 40 minutes away from me, I wouldnt be
make-up effects artist on monster fans. It was filled with photos of sitting here now. Because Tom and George
Day Of The Dead, hes built a different monsters and it had these amazing Romero opened those doors for me, and allowed
30-year career out of making covers. Even the articles werent really articles. It me to experience Hollywood in Pennsylvania,
movies live and breathe was mostly all puns like Horror-wood. And you where I grew up. There was also a guy who
through prosthetics especially horror. From the could go to the back of the magazine and order lived in Pittsburgh called Bill Cardille. On
titular alien of Predator to the vampires of From the little Super 8 Saturday nights, he would play the host of an
Dusk Till Dawn, hes worked with some of the movies. Thats when I old horror show called Chiller Theatre, and
most terrifying monsters that the screen has ever became aware of run monster movies. And at a very, very young
unleashed. But his speciality is zombies, a Frankenstein and age, thats what I did on Saturday nights.
skill-set hes currently putting to use as the Dracula and Ray
co-executive producer, special make-up effects Harryhausen. CHILLER THEATRE
supervisor and occasional director of The Between Sinbad and Along with Famous Monsters, I remember
Walking Dead. As the worldwide TV Jason And The watching Chiller Theatre, sitting there with a
phenomenon continues its sixth series, he sits Argonauts, all these sketch pad. I was about eight years old, and
down with us to share just what informed this things hit me at the I would sit, sketch and draw the monsters
great, grisly CV same time. while I waited for the movies to come on.
JAWS
I think Jaws was probably the one that really
piqued my interest in needing to know just how
they made it. It was the first time that I realised I love that 13-year-old kids
there was a bunch of people who had to build a
fake shark. It fired my brain into this ravenous
desire to learn everything about how they made
come up to me and say,
that movie. Back then, you didnt have the
internet, so I would scour magazines. I started I wanna do what you do!
putting myself into the mindset of the technicians
who have to build this shark, drive to Marthas
Vineyard, put it in the ocean... And the first time
they did it it sank! So it became this fascination The Walking Dead
contains many zombie
with the tremendous odds that these guys had to tributes to classic films.
undertake to get to what we saw on camera.
TOM SAVINI
Tom Savini was the guy. Dawn Of The Dead,
Friday The 13th they were two movies that
ushered in the splatter era of special effects. I
became a fan of Tom based on the work on those
movies. I remember getting fake ID for the first
time I watched Dawn Of The Dead, and seeing
the head explode, and seeing the zombie bite the
woman in the neck. I almost vomited I was so
horrified. But I couldnt take my eyes off the
screen. Then you flash forward to 1984 and I find
out Im working with him on Day Of The Dead.
And he was the guy.
GEORGE ROMERO
George gave me a lot of very interesting pieces of
advice. We were shooting Land Of The Dead, and
theres a scene where a zombie is supposed to
bite a girl in the face. We had it all set up but on
action the girl started flailing her arms around
and right at the moment where the zombie bites
the cheek off, her arm came up and covered it. I
remembered being really disappointed. I wanted
it to be perfect. And George saw the look on my
face, and said, Heres something you should moments. I felt like I was part of it. I ended up that I have 13-year-old kids who come up to me
think about: it was real. That woman was becoming part of it! I feel like nowadays that and say, I wanna do what you do!
struggling for her life and was punching for that experience doesnt exist. Because everyone
creature. So the fact that the effect was blocked knows, Oh, its a computer. The whole idea of SCREEN ZOMBIES
for a second or two doesnt matter if in the reality transforming Linda Blair in The Exorcist those I put tribute zombies into The Walking Dead a lot,
of the situation thats exactly what she would be questions dont pop up into peoples minds which are my little payback to the genre. Its
doing fighting for her life, struggling. anymore, because the curtains have been pulled something Ive done quite a bit. There are
back. It was a critical time too for guys like zombies that have been in Dawn Of The Dead.
PRACTICAL EFFECTS Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and Even Peter Cushings zombie from Tales From
I consider myself very fortunate that I was Guillermo del Toro, who was a make-up effects The Crypt got in there! So I do get a chance to do
around right at the time of Jaws and the guy as well. I think we all grew up in the same a lot of stuff like that.
mechanical effects of 75; then Dawn Of The Dead alien pod when we were young. I think the fact
in 77; then in 1980, An American Werewolf In that The Walking Dead celebrates all practical STEPHEN KING
London this explosion of special effects. I felt zombie make-ups also has invigorated a new He is the one author in my life where Ive read
like I was right there watching these milestone generation of people who embrace that. I love everything of his when it came out. I got to meet
him and work with him when we were shooting
Creepshow 2. He was writing a book then, and he
would crumple up pages he was writing, and
throw them away. I went into his trailer, took a
piece out of the trash and kept it. And then I
realised it was Misery! Years later I would work
on the movie version of that book, and I showed
him the piece of paper I took. It was kind of fun to
be that kid and go, Ooh, hes writing something!
Nicotero went from Maybe its time to
admiring Tom Savini films start shopping at The Walking Dead is on Fox on Monday nights in
to working on them. a different mall.
the UK. It airs on AMC in the US.
OR HALF A DECADE,
The Walking Dead has terrified ITS VERY of, in terms of chronology and timeline, this
period when Rick Grimes was in his coma.
TV viewers with creator Robert
Kirkmans nightmarish vision of a MUCH ABOUT So loosely speaking our story starts around
the same time Rick was shot and what were
zombie apocalypse, showcasing the savagery
of both mankind and its horrific undead
WHAT YOU really doing is exploring the few weeks from
the beginning of the outbreak until it really
offspring. But beyond horror there lies
something worse Fear.
DONT SEE starts to reach critical mass. Its very much
a slow burn. Its very much about what you
The brainchild of Kirkman and dont see in the first few episodes. Something
showrunner Dave Erickson, Fear The Walking is wrong. Theres paranoia. Theres anxiety.
Dead explores the early days of the zombie treatment that Robert wrote years ago, which Theres tension. One of our family members
virus outbreak, which led to the decimated was how we first met, says the executive sees something in the beginning of the show,
landscape explored by its parent show. producer, whos just returned from the shows but doesnt know if hes losing his mind. He
Centred this time in a city, Los Angeles, Fear set in Vancouver. I found him to be an doesnt know if its something he ingested.
follows one engaged couple, Madison (Kim incredibly great collaborator. When he first Hes trying to wrap his brain around what
Dickens) and Travis (Cliff Curtis), each with a called me about Fear, we sat down and broke he saw, and what he saw is not of this world.
teenage kid, as they fight for a new life even as the pilot and talked about season one. Theres tension for our characters as they
the world around them crumbles to pieces. Erickson describes Fear The Walking Dead get up to speed and realise this virus, this
Erickson speaks with us from his L.A. office as more steeped in psychological horror than whatever, is actually turning people. Theres
about how the first Walking Dead spin-off the series from which it sprang. also anticipation for the audience of course.
series came to be When Robert and I first sat down and I think everyone coming to this show knows
I wrote the pilot based on an idea, a started talking about this, it was in the context the genre and definitely knows The Walking
FAMILY DRAMA
The showrunner insists that while Fear
The Walking Dead will offer the social
allegory that walks hand in hand with tales
of paranoia, the show is first and foremost a
family drama.
We really tend to spend the bulk of our
first episode and then into our second episode
dealing with the problems that go with trying
to build a new family. Travis has just moved
in recently. Hes divorced, hes got a very
resentful, angry teenage son. Then Madison
has a son and a daughter, a son who has some
significant problems and a daughter who is
quite driven and independent and has plans
for the future. And its very much about these
two people Travis and Madison who do
love each other. In our minds, it was and
should be a very strong relationship. Whats
interesting is, as things begin to accelerate and
as they begin to realise the world is changing,
the attributes that they see in each other, that
they love in each other, start to change. It
becomes a real challenge to their relationship.
The attributes of goodness and nobility and
all the things we really appreciate in people
in normal times, they can start to compromise
you when you live in the zombie apocalypse.
RETURN
OR THE
ZOMBIE
Watch out for
KING
Walking Dead executive
those flying
zombies!
producer and make-up FX
maestro Greg Nicotero
introduces a different
kind of walker
WE WANT TO How do the newborn
SHOW THE FALL walkers of Fear The
OF A CITY Walking Dead differ
from those of The
Walking Dead?
The cool thing about
Fear is that its one of
of a partially turned walker Some of our those situations where
characters will meet violent ends. So they may youre walking down the street and you
bear wounds, they may be bloodied up. But see somebody whos walking a little
for the most part, our walkers will have their slower, but you dont know, you would
distinctive look but they definitely do not have never think in normal life that theres
the monstrous features that the atrophied, something wrong with that person.
rotting walkers have on the original show.
What was important to Robert when
So its like the beginning of Shaun Of
The Dead?
we first sat down was that as difficult as
Thats actually a really good analogy.
they are physically to kill, emotionally and
On The Walking Dead we push the
psychologically theres a trauma to it as
envelope every season, because were
well. What I find interesting is that when
a year and half after the zombie
confronted by a family member, a friend, a apocalypse. So were constantly
colleague, somebody you had coffee with the striving to push that. Whats creepier
Fear is further distinguished from The day before and theyre attacking you, your about Fear The Walking Dead is the
Walking Dead by virtue of the fact that it is instinct is not gonna be, Okay, this persons aspect that people dont recognise
not, at least in its early episodes, a story that dead. Its gonna be, This person is sick. This [walkers] immediately. They think
takes place on the road. persons on something. You want to defend someone might just be sick or not feel
Were not really road-tripping it, confirms yourself, but you also want to help. You want well or just look a little weird. But you
Erickson. Thats something well eventually to take care of these people. Slowly what we would never stop on the street and go,
get to, but we really wanted to stay in our did is just introduce the realisation that these Oh my god, thats a monster! You
city and be able to explore it as much as people are gone. So when you have to actually would probably go to the opposite side
we could. We didnt want to abandon Los do violence to protect yourself, its a lot of of the street and avoid them.
Angeles too quickly. A big part of the show weight. Especially if its somebody you knew.
is about the disintegration of society as seen What would really happen if you had to put The walkers in Fear The Walking Dead
through the disintegration of this family. down somebody who you cared about? Not are less decomposed than those
But we do want to show the gradual fall of a fully knowing what this is, not knowing if in The Walking Dead. But have you
major city. There were thematic and creative there is some miracle cure thats gonna come
created some we might still see
as action figures?
reasons for choosing Los Angeles, but we also along in the next few days. Not knowing if in
Oh for sure. We still have an obligation
wanted something that was distinctive, and a week somebodys gonna say, You know that
to have those moments where we have
distinctly not rural Georgia. guy you killed? Were gonna take you away.
the audience stop and go, Oh my god!
This is a whole new world, adds Erickson.
Did I just see that? Thats sort of the
FRESH MEAT The opportunity to explore the fall and to see fun of the show pushing those
Since Fear The Walking Dead takes place in the pieces, to see the city coming down and moments where people see something
the early days of the outbreak, Erickson says our family fractured, it allows us to explore and they have to kind of comprehend
we can expect to see a different breed of some parts of the world, part of this mythology it. I think on Fear were able to play
walker than those that have come to infest Robert created, in a different way. those moments off the characters. The
The Walking Dead. characters see something horrible
I think Amy [in season one] was probably Fear The Walking Dead airs on AMC in both happening and you play that confusion
the best example from the original show the US and the UK. and fear off of how they react.
BOX OF
DELIGHTS!
Zombie shows have taken over our airwaves heres our
guide to the best small-screen shamblers.
E
ver wanted to see Big Brother Day three in the
Big Brother house...
housemates horribly eviscerated?
If so, check out to Dead Set, a five-part
horror serial which aired over the course of a
week in 2008 on E4. Written by acerbic TV critic
Charlie Brooker, it sees a bunch of contestants in
the reality show caught up in the midst of a
zombie apocalypse. The Guardian writer tells us
that the project began life back in 2005, when he
was watching 24. I thought, Why doesnt
someone do this with zombies? That would be
brilliant. I thought somebody would, and nobody
did, so then I had to do it! Then I was watching
Big Brother one night and I thought, Thats a good
place to hole up! I wrote the first episode, then it
took a long time to persuade people to do it.
Was it a hard sell? Yes and no, Brooker says.
Originally we went through the drama
department at Channel 4; then it was a lot
straighter. I wrote the first episode deliberately
devoid of any laughs, almost as a statement of
intent. The drama department ummed and ahed
a lot and then commissioned me to write a
second episode, and then they passed on it. Then
the entertainment department got wind of it, so it
I cant imagine theres ever
ended up going through entertainment. Because
weve got the gimmick of the Big Brother element,
been a show quite as gruesome
it made it a logical thing for E4 to look at they
[used to] pump out Big Brother half the year.
Jaime Winstone plays the main character, a gruesome except maybe for documentaries you want it, or you could just watch it and go,
junior member of the Big Brother production about eye surgery! Weve tried to outdo Lucio Ooh, look out, here come the zombies! Thats
team. Kelly is modelled on runners Ive met, Fulci in a couple of places, and theres a nod to what were going for. Obviously, with the set-up
who are quite feisty, no-nonsense, put-upon and the scene in Day Of The Dead where Rhodes gets weve got, there is a satirical undercurrent to the
hard workers. A lot of TV productions function a pulled in half weve got someone pulled to whole thing but were trying not to shove it
bit like a cult, so shes a bit like somebody whos pieces in a very, very graphic way. I quite like the centre frame and go Look at that! Think about it,
being inducted into a cult, to start with. Shes got thought that therell be some people who go, yeah? Its background rather than foreground.
a long-suffering boyfriend on the outside who Ooh, this sounds funny! and will tune in and Were not trying to confuse [Newsnight Reviews]
she hasnt seen much of. One thing people might be puking their Mark Lawson to death!
think of the first episode is, Is spaghetti bolognaise And Big Brother fans can enjoy a host of
this going a bit Hollyoaks? into their laps. cameos by former housemates. Theres Aisleyne,
because shes having a fling but George Romeros Kinga, Imogen, Eugene, Bubble, Helen, Makosi...
then pretty quickly, we kick that zombie films are Theres a logical reason for them to be there, and
into a bin! It all kicks off on an well-known for their I think theyre used sparingly and well. Some you
eviction night, the zombie vein of social see in the first episode theyre all in a green
apocalypse, and she survives. She commentary, and room waiting to go on a reunion show. Some of
goes into the house and they all Dead Set also has a them were zombies throughout the series you
think shes another housemate, message. In the get the odd one who crops up, who you probably
cos theyve been oblivious to the original Dawn Of The wont even notice unless youre pausing the DVD.
first night that this has happened Dead its there, all that Critically acclaimed at release, nominated for a
outside. Theyre still arguing about satirical comment, if BAFTA, Brooker was initially unsure what
whos eaten the last of the eggs, people would make of the series.
while everyone else is lying outside n
Its a very odd tone. I really hope
with their ribcage torn apart! So Looks like hes bee that people who like zombie films
. Arf.
caught red handed
they think that what shes babbling will love it, he says. Hopefully its
about is a trick, all part of the show. scary and brutal, and it also should be
Brooker went on to create more horror funny. I wonder if people who
satire with Black Mirror but before Dead Set despise all reality television will think
his previous television writing credits had it goes far enough, and whether
been for comedy shows like Nathan Barley people who love it are just going to be
and Brass Eye, making this his first stab at upset! And there will definitely be a
drama. In a lot of ways its a very straight, large percentage of people who just
populist show. Brooker considers, The go, This is the stupidest programme
model was things like 24, so its not Ive ever seen in my life!, cos its
chinstrokey. Its pretty dumb in a lot of outright escapism.
ways. It should come across as a fun romp, What the hells she
but its very gruesome as well. I cant doing with that bot Dead Set is available on DVD
tle?
imagine theres ever been a show quite as and Blu-ray.
iZOMBIE
Meet the star of US
undead crime show
iZombie, Rose McIver.
THE RETURNED
The undead have never are no annoying moppets here. I had the great
been more gorgeous in opportunity to choose actors that I wanted to
work with, and the casting director also had
this beautiful, creepy brilliant ideas, says Gobert. Nowhere is this
more clear than in the pivotal scene where
French drama... bereaved mother Claire (Anne Consigny, The
Diving Bell And The Butterfly) is reunited with
her deceased daughter Camille for the first time.
Its a scene that was tough to shoot. When
S
hot on location in eastern France, Fabrice came up with the scene, we thought, Oh
The Returned follows the residents of my god, this is it! But then afterwards, we had no
a small Alpine town struggling to idea if it was going to work, We were worried.
come to terms with a bus accident that killed But we knew right away watching it that he had
many of the local children. Then one night, four captured something quite exceptional... If all of
years later, the dead come home, with no this sounds a little worthy, dont worry. There are
memory of the accident, wondering why also mysteries to solve and a killer on the loose in
everyone looks so startled be interesting the show. There are many layers and many
It if sounds familiar that could be because its to deal with surprises, and many questions, says Benjo.
based on a 2004 movie of the same name (known these issues, but Seems he was right the first season turned
in some territories as They Came Back). We through a naturalistic out to be a huge hit and was followed by a second
decided to start producing TV about six or seven approach. We wanted to two and a half years since the first originally
years ago, says the shows producer, Caroline try to write a zombie story aired in France. The production company,
Benjo, when we spoke to her back in 2013 before with more of a European feeling. realising Gobert was the key to the success of the
the first series aired. We really thought that It was a brave decision. French TV is not well first season, was happy to let him take his time
things were happening [on TV] that werent in known for its fantasy, after all. It was extremely perfecting the second. We just took the time
cinema. We decided to look into our own risky from the broadcasters point of view and Fabrice needed to make absolutely sure that not
catalogue [production company Haut Et Court from our point of view, agrees Benjo. It may be only was it going to be as good as the first season
were responsible for films such as Coco Before a cultural problem, adds Gobert. There arent a but that it was even more surprising. At the end
Chanel] and see if we had any films that could be lot of fantastic films either. But the truth is of season one viewers were certainly left with
a starting point, and Les Revenants was one of I was very comfortable. It would have been much questions and Benjo promises answers will
them. If youve seen the film, dont expect the more difficult for me to imagine a new police come but perhaps not in the way you expect.
show to follow it religiously, though. The shows drama! This inexperience with the genre There is a quality to the kind of answers
writer/director Fabrice Gobert is keen to stress doesnt show. The Returned is a classy piece, and [Fabrice Gobert] gives that is certainly not
the differences. It was necessary for us to have a clear descendant of such telly landmarks as disappointing because they are mysterious in
fewer dead characters. It allows us to get closer Twin Peaks and Lost, but with an almost surgical themselves, she says. So there is something that
to the emotional consequences of their return. focus on the lives of its characters. brings you into the spirit of The Returned but it
And a radical change is that they dont know that In the television series I really like Six Feet takes you much further. I must say we were all
they have died. The living have to tell them Under and The Sopranos the characters are very surprised how much Fabrice could play
But why choose to make a zombie-drama, with more important than the story, says Gobert. TV with that. We are going to enter the series
competing shows such as The Walking Dead on series give you time to develop characters and to through a new character, Berg, played by Laurent
air? It was a genre that we really wanted to show their evolution. Of course it helps that the Lucas, who seems to be there to help, says Benjo,
explore, and a genre that was well defined by show has an exceptional cast, both in terms of but very soon we are going to see that he has a
American TV, says Benjo. We thought it would the adults and crucially the children. There story with the valley, with the village, with the
past. He is going to meet all our characters and
have a different kind of impact on their lives.
story with more of a European feeling, an intelligent rival to all the vampire series you
can shake a stake at.
and with a naturalistic approach The Returned seasons 1 and 2 are out now on
DVD and Blu-ray.
Luke Newberry
begins his journey
to the other side
IN THE
FLESH
The undead are taking medication and
returning to their old lives in BBC Three
show In The Flesh. We visit the set of
the first and second seasons.
BY IAN BERRIMAN
Amy (Emily
Bevan): a girl
in a mess.
really grasping her second life medication? What if they become tolerant to it?
So the HVF are right to be fearful. Theres no
simple good guys and bad guys; theyve all got
with everything that shes got their own ideas.
Further complicating matters, Kierens own
sister, 18-year-old Jem (played by Harriet Cains)
is a member of the HVF, and initially at least
and race. In The Flesh strives to do the same, as they can make themselves look like the living refuses to have anything to do with him.
Luke Newberry tells us (once hes brushed the well, from a distance, anyhow. Now theyre When her mum and dad try to get her to go
peat off his shoulders) being released from rehab centres and returning pick him up from the PDS centre, shes not
Its so multi-faceted, and so engaging, to civilian life in Lukes case, a tightly-knit having any of it, Cains explains. Her dad is in
Newberry says. The fact that were zombies or village called Roarton. Understandably, not denial about the whole situation and acts as if
PDS sufferers is one small element of the whole everyone is delighted nothings happened. Her mum is just trying to
thing. Family is at the core of it: how families are This small community is very keep her family together, and its not really
by nature dysfunctional and have many problems religious, Mitchell explains. And working out that well. Jems the only one
to overcome. Instead of thousands of zombies theres this firebrand vicar, Vicar Oddie who will turn around and say, What a
running around with people shooting them, its, [played by Kenneth Cranham]. He mess. Her journey through the three
What if this happened to a family? Then it also believes that theyre demons, theyre episodes is coming to terms with the fact
covers the whole thing of society and acceptance the White Horsemen from The Book Of that its not necessary to cull them all
and people being closed-minded and stuck in Revelation, theyre evil, and they anymore. And its about forgiving
their ways. I think itll speak to different people must be judged. He controls the her brother for leaving her.
in different ways. parish council, and obviously In the meantime, there is
has a lot of influence. someone Kieren can turn to for
AFTER THE EVENT Also not about to welcome support: kooky Lancastrian lass
The series is set four years after an event known home Kieren and his kind with Amy Dyer, a fellow PDS sufferer
as The Rising. Since then, the threat of brain- open arms are Roartons who encourages him to learn to
munching zombies (referred to as Rabids) has Human Volunteer Force (led by accept himself. If In The Flesh
been contained and controlled, thanks to a drug Bill Macy, played by Steve was a Hollywood movie shed
called Neurotriptyline, daily injections of which Evets) who defended the probably be played by someone
free PDS sufferers of their hunger for brains and community against the undead like Zooey Deschanel; here the
return their intelligence, memories and ability to during the initial outbreak, roles taken by Emily Bevan.
communicate. By popping in contacts and and so have particular reason Its like people whove
applying a flesh-coloured mousse to their faces, to be suspicious. been in therapy or rehab
irony is that a character him to be their normal son, Mitchell says, but
like Amy is arguably of course zombies cant eat. So they kinda go,
more alive than many of Could you fake it? So youve got this ridiculous
People with torches: the living. Thats whats scene where theyre all sat in the kitchen and hes
always something weird about it, says pretending to eat!
you can depend on.
Harriet Cains, Because Terrible things happen when they eat! adds
theres such real emotion Emily Bevan. As I say in one scene, I tried eating
coming from dead things. a Mars bar had to throw away me knickers, and
Its a bit Tim Burton- me skirt! So thats a warning to all zombies!
together: regardless of their esque that, like the Corpse It was this mixture of humour and pathos that
personalities they have this core understanding Bride the dead have got made the first season such a success, bagging it a
that theyve got this vulnerability that they both more life in them! Whereas everyone who lived Bafta and a second series. But could they recreate
share, Bevan explains. Shes really ballsy, and through The Rising apart from the HVF has the magic a second time?
shes really grasping her second life with learned to block it out and repress it.
everything that shes got. Whenever she comes If all this sounds rather angst-ridden and THE SECOND COMING
into a scene where theres lots of people, its like depressing, fear not. While In The Flesh is Be prepared, Baden Powells motto goes, but
the moment in a Western where everyone stops definitely not in the vein of Shaun Of The Dead, were sure even hed understand if the 161st
playing the piano and looks up at you as the there are moments of humour arising naturally Manchester Scouts were rather taken aback if
doors swing! And she doesnt cower away from it. from the absurdity of certain situations. they wandered into their hut right now. Last time
Shes just like, Whats your problem? Hopefully its got a lot of comedy in it, Dominic we checked there was no badge for dealing with
She takes everything on the chin, Luke Mitchell says. But thats more to do with what the undead. Its November 2013 and that hut is
Newberry adds. Shes like, Everythings fine!, comes out of characters rather than winking at serving as Roarton village hall. The crew are keen
she doesnt really care, and Kierens just the the camera. to get the days more dialogue-heavy scenes
opposite of that! Hes like, How can you be so For example, an everyday family meal becomes recorded early, as you can already hear the
happy? And she shows him that you can, and slightly surreal when one of the people at the occasional distant pop of fireworks. Rows of
gives him a bit of hope. dinner table is undead chairs have been set up in front of the stage.
Indeed, in a community where many people Kierens parents cant deal with the fact that Milling about on the wooden floor, with its faded
are in deep denial about what has gone on, the he doesnt eat food anymore. They really want sports court markings, are about 20 extras made
Disciple Simon
(Emmett Scanlan),
Amys new pal.
The second series is more giving very practical reasons why you shouldnt
be welcoming PDS sufferers with open arms. If
we cant separate them from the living, theyve
about belief belief in yourself, got to be properly monitored. Theyre inherently
dangerous. If you take away their medication,
belief in other people they will go rabid.
Another fascinating new character represents
the flip side of the coin. At the end of series one,
Kierens free-spirit best friend Amy left for a Fleshs second series. At one end of the spectrum
commune in the Lake District, run by the
mysterious Undead Prophet a shadowy figure
mentioned but never actually seen. Now shes
lies Victus; at the other, the Undead Liberation
Army, whose response to restrictions on the
rights of PDS sufferers often takes a terrifyingly
VOTE
returned, with a new beau in tow: Simon, one of
the Prophets disciples. Hes played by Emmett
Scanlan, best known as Hollyoaks villainous
violent form. Those figureheads make things
happen just by suggesting them, Mitchell
explains. Theyre not knocking on doors or
VICTOUS
Brendan Brady. Troubled in life, Simon died of a causing attacks themselves. But people go, This Wunmi Mosaku plays
heroin overdose. Since he rose again, hes found is what Simon wants us to do. Maxine Martin MP
meaning to existence for the first time. He was Simon has had a profound effect on Amy too.
always looking for a purpose, Mitchell explains, She was looking for answers to the question,
and I think now his new identity as an undead Why are we here? Now, thanks to her lover,
person gives him a belief in something greater shes embraced a new purpose. For Emily Bevan
than himself that he didnt feel in his first life. (Amy), thats a major theme of this second run.
Simon also spurns wearing the cover-up The first season was all about otherness, and
mousse which allows PDS sufferers to blend in what happens when you dont accept who you
more easily not that hed call them that, are and accept other people for who they are,
preferring the phrase the Redeemed. Hes she reflects. I think this second series is more
encouraged Amy to do the same. Were out and about belief belief in yourself, belief in other
were proud! laughs Scanlan. people, belief in mythologies and what that
Simon has a very different perspective on makes you do in the name of belief, and how you
humanity, with good reason. He was one of the judge other people.
first few Rabids that was captured and Dominic Mitchell sums up the difference How would you describe your
experimented on, Scanlan explains, And there between last year and this slightly differently. character?
are scars that pepper his back, all over. The piece Season one was focusing on the past, he says, Maxine is quite a conservative MP. Shes
that I wear on my back is amazing. Its like stapled about what happened in the Rising, what pro-life, and for the village its quite
strange, because theyre so accepting of
together skin you see the spine. He carries happened to Kieren during the Rising and what
the partially deceased, that someone
those scars everywhere, and that affects how he happened to him when he was a human being.
not so accepting has been voted in. She
sees things and how he interacts with people. Now what is the future for PDS sufferers? Thats
was born in Roarton but left before
Between them, Maxine and Simon represent what were going to tackle, that we didnt have
secondary school, so its like shes come
the two poles of the conflict at the heart of In The time for in season one. back to the 1990s.
And with six hour-long episodes, instead
of the three of series one, Mitchell has a How does she present herself?
significantly bigger canvas to play with. She has to be welcoming to all. Even
Its a bit more spread out, and because its the most right-wing politicians still
longer you get to see more different colours try and be accessible, regardless of
of Kieren, says Luke Newberry. The new their policies. Shes been taught how
characters reveal different things, new sides to be a good politician, how to be
of Kieren. We go to different places and theres welcoming and all-encompassing. So
whole new concepts. Its expanded the world, shes trying her hardest to be accessible
which is so exciting. and modern.
In The Flesh seasons 1 and 2 are out now on Is it difficult to categorise her as good
DVD and Blu-ray. or bad?
I dont think you can, because politically
it depends if youre on the right or the
left. I think I might quite agree with her. I
would say I was quite on the left, but
with zombies I think I would be on the
right! Shes a baddie in many peoples
eyes because shes not pro PDS
sufferers; she thinks that they are
subhuman and that you cant treat them
the same. So shes chosen a party thats
pro-life because she doesnt necessarily
agree with reintegrating them so
completely into society.
SAM
RILEY
Mr Darcy gets arsey...
BELLA
HEATHCOTE
Jane Bennet stamps
on zombies...
DOUGLAS
BOOTH
Boisterous Mr. Bingley
LILY
JAMES
Ballbuster Liz Bennet
Zombie Preview! The undead arent going anywhere fast! Check out
five new zombie movies shambling your way
WORDS DAVE BRADLEY AND ROSIE FLETCHER
WORLD WAR Z 2
DIRECTOR TBA
STARRING BRAD PITT
ETA 9 JUNE 2017
last call
TRADITIONAL ZOMBIES MAY BE BITEY, ROTTING, REANIMATED UNDEAD BUT ZOMBIE THEMES HAVE
SPAWNED HORDES OF FILMS WHICH DEVIATE FROM THE RULES. IN NEW STEPHEN KING ADAP CELL
A PHONE SIGNAL TURNS THE MASSES MURDEROUS. DIRECTOR TOD WILLIAMS GIVES US A RING.
I
survivors Samuel L. Jackson and Isabelle most social.
ts got a really clear beginning point, Fuhrman to discover the source of the But the eusocial animals, which are like the
which is that its really not a mysterious signal and to find and reunite with his ants and the bees, are essentially one organism
zombie film, says director Tod son, while the mindless and violent Phoners are so a hive of bees is not actually a group of
Williams. We ended up being growing more organised and more threatening. individuals, but its one organism. And its very,
surprised at how hard we had to Unlike zombies then, Kings Phoners arent very successful. Theres some selflessness in that
work to make it not be a zombie film. undead and decomposing and they can still talk. thats admirable. We thought a little bit about
Because Stephen King dedicated the Its not something you can catch, but theres Wilsons theories of eusocial animals, in terms of
book to Romero... Williams is ways The Pulse [as the original signal is called] what these creatures are.
chatting to us from New York about his latest continues to find victims, says Williams. So the
movie Cell, heading to our screens this June. And thing grows. But essentially, yeah, its about one ZERO HOUR
for a film thats definitely not a zombie movie, moment in time when most people are either Williams says despite a modest budget we can
theres a lot of talk about zombies... converted or not. People who are not, are almost still expect action set-pieces.
The premise, then: It takes place one day, one immediately killed. So there are very few What was fun to me was, unlike a lot of the
fine day. Everybody whos using their cell phone survivors left. great current crop of zombie things like The
gets a signal in their ear that essentially wipes But then there are moments when our little Walking Dead and 28 Days Later, which usually
their brain clean and resets them to the sort of band of survivors almost becomes more brutal cut to some time after [the outbreak], we actually
violent animal [state]. And theres a series of than the Phoners themselves. Theres a show the event, which was ambitious for a small
revelations about what theyre actually wonderful biologist at Harvard named Edward O. film, Williams says. While in the original novel
becoming, explains Williams. Based on a 2006 Wilson who writes about eusocial animals [from Cusacks character Clay experiences The
Its enough to
make you throw
away your iPhone.
in an airport. We give up our sense of Atlanta, Georgia, the airport scene was partially
responsibility. Airports have become these created in a convention centre, with Williams
stations of consumption. People indulge and the director of photography given
massively in all kinds of ways. It was in airports permission to go to a real airport later to get
that I felt people most connected, most wanted to further environment shots (So were interlacing
be connected. You see people plugged into these reality with our created reality). But Atlanta
power sources all the time. I dont know. It just came with some baggage too in the form of The
seems like, to me, the digital future is going to Walking Dead (much of which is shot in that area).
Besides everything else, look and feel like that. Were looking for things we need to put in our
it looks really cold. A modern airport could be on the back side of apocalyptic city, which were not in very long and
the moon. Its this digital, soulless environment. I my team found me this burned-out bus, and they
love planes, but Im talking about the other part, were like, This is so awesome, this burned-out
Pulse from Brooklyn Common, the film version the fear-filled mall that precedes flying. After bus. We can drag it here. Itll look great,
has opted for a more claustrophobic environment, youve gone through security where youve given Williams recalls. But that burned-out bus was in
re-locating the key moment to an airport. up your adult responsibility. Whats also the pilot of The Walking Dead. I was like, Come
Because of this book, Ive become kind of interesting is that people arent armed. Once on, man. The challenge of shooting in Atlanta
anti-the internet, anti-cell phones, anti-anything- you get through security, youve all been was avoiding The Walking Dead. And
digital, laughs Williams, talking to us via his cell stripped of your weapons in some way. So yet, there were also some really
phone. As you think about it King sort of sees thats where we find our hero when The great experienced
something satanic, almost, in the digital world. Pulse happens. people that we
And the more I thought about it, the more called upon who
convinced I became. But one of the places I feel TALKING DEAD were Walking Dead alumni
we as a society allow ourselves to become our Shot in January 2014 over 25 days in a both to learn what they knew, and
most base selves is once we pass through security combination of real locations and sets in avoid what they had done. One of
the things we had to very quickly
figure out is how do these creatures
move. Its really easy to say to an extra,
Because of this book, Ive Stagger around. But instantly they look
like The Walking Dead.
The team had to call in a different kind
become kind of anti-the internet of expert to develop their own unique set
of movements, which adapt and change as
the Phoners evolve throughout the film.
Lot of guns
in this film.
Look, theres
another one!
Kim Basinger, so Williams says he wasnt which are: they bite you,
necessarily looking to do another horror when you turn into a zombie;
Cell came along. According to Williams it was if you shoot them in
the stars who initially swayed him. the head, they die.
The project came to me with John Cusack Thats very
already on board. John is a huge fan of the consistent.
We cant blame them for Romero films, and very knowledgeable about all What Stephen
having a beer or two.
things zombie, says Williams, and when Jackson King is more
signed up he couldnt have been happier. John is interested in isnt
We went over to the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago an unbelievably warm-hearted person, and Sams a static set of
and got a bunch of dancers to workshop with us a pro and a gentleman. [Working with them] is rules. Its a
and a bunch of improv actors. We spent three or kind of like getting in a BMW 7 Series. Its easier continually
four days just trying to come up with movements to drive because youre in the bomb! changing Ice cream
that reflect more like flocking behaviour, rather Mixing technophobia with insect psychology, evolution of some vans: brilliant.
than zombie behaviour, William says. zombie tropes with ballet moves, Cell looks set to future version of
We found some stuff we really liked. Then on be a complex epic. Williams assures us therell be humanity. So, theres a lot of mystery in whats
weekends, we invited a group of local dancers to hints of humour too, as well as a mix of practical happening. King is comfortable with mystery
spend their Saturdays with us, as we ran around and digital effects (in a movie thats a sort of remaining. I think thats what draws me to it.
in large groups trying to teach people how to anti-digital manifesto, smiles Williams, aware of Its unresolved, unlike a lot of horror. I think
move. And it really helped. It was done as the irony, but sometimes you cant be a purist). thats something Im a huge proponent of,
volunteers, really. The second somebody would It may not be a straight up zombie movie but it and something I loved when I worked on the
start moving like a Walking Dead zombie, Id have still has its roots buried in horror. Paranormal movies especially the early ones.
to cut. Cut and reset. Theres some gore in it, but I wouldnt say its Theres a desire to layer rules onto things.
excessively gory, considers Williams. I think For me, when you get rules, you start getting
HORROR HEAD that the experience of the film is very tense. Id away from the subconscious and away from the
Williams is probably best known as the director say theres a sense of suspense throughout the mystery, away from the unknown, he ponders.
of Paranormal Activity 2 though he previously entire thing, that youre living in a world youre And thats the heart of horror.
also adapted and directed the John Irving novel unsure of. Its unlike the zombies that weve
The Door In The Floor starring Jeff Bridges and come to know, where you understand the rules, Cell opens in cinemas in June.
Girl,
Interrupted.
Somewhere between a ghost and a zombie theres Nina.
Ben and Chris Blaine, directors of acclaimed new
British horror Nina Forever, talk death and the maiden
WORDS ROSIE FLETCHER
When Robs (Cian Barry) girlfriend Nina (Fiona OShaughnessy) is killed in a horrific car
accident he and Ninas bereaved parents struggle to cope. But hope comes, in the form of Holly
(Abigail Hardingham), a vibrant young woman willing to help Rob start fresh. Only theres a
problem. Nina might be dead but shes still popping up at the most inappropriate moments
A hit at FrightFest 2015, this new feature from young Brit directors Chris and Ben Blaine is a
fresh look at grief and the mess left behind in death, with a soft sense of humour (and lots of
tasteful gore and nudity). We sit down with the brothers Blaine to get to the heart of the matter.
Q. Can you tell us a bit about how Nina Q. Was there a specific inspiration behind it? zombie who has lost the willpower and the brain
Forever came about? Was it difficult to get it BB: Theres a lot of inspirations behind it, in the space that she had when she was alive, it was
off the ground? expression of grief and the relationships that wanting to have someone who could actually
Ben Blaine: Its the first feature that wed made wed both been through by that time. Whats voice her experiences and the feelings that
but not the first feature wed written, wed had quite nice about it is theres a lot of truth in it but happen when youre dead. That metaphorical
various scripts in various stages of development like all good stories its truth thats warped and thing of the blood, of leaving a big old mess any
for a while and we were fairly frustrated with shared so that it is very personal to us, but in time shes around felt really important to us. We
the process. Nina is in some way typical of our showing it to people it becomes very personal to were trying to write something about death in a
ideas in that we tend to be quite odd. In different other people too so its very open to interpretation. different way rather than having to sit in one of
ways to Nina, but usually quite odd. We tend to the tropes that people before have invented.
push against the normal structures and the Q. Nina comes back as a reanimated corpse
normal shapes that people like to put things in. whenever Rob and Holly have sex. But shes BB: Theyre quite polarised arent they and they
Nina was this idea that had been sitting around not really a zombie is she how do you felt like the two things we were trying to sit
in its various forms for ages. And it occurred to see her? between. Ghosts its all the things about a
me it was basically three people sitting around Chris Blaine: We wanted to look at death in a person that you can admit you miss. So its like, I
talking often not wearing any clothes so it would different way, so shes not just a ghost who can miss the way they laugh and I miss them playing
be quite cheap. disappear and leave no trace. But shes not a the cello, its all the things that youd stand up
The response from the getting reviews and talking to audiences about
what it actually is. I think audiences were not
quite sure exactly what it is, and they quite liked
horror crowd has been that. We were really worried that some people
wouldnt like it because its not a straight horror.
absolutely overwhelming BB: But the response from the horror crowd has
been absolutely overwhelming. Its been
wonderful. I think what it really brought home
is how horror is a genre which really attracts
cine-literate people. It really attracts people who
love film in all of its shapes and forms. Often,
in a funeral service and say I miss them because there too, though horror films are the most cinematic expression of
of this. And then zombies are monstrous and CB: All the shorts weve made are comedies. something. Weve met so many people who are
horrible and as soon as someone turns into a All the features that weve been writing were like, No, it absolutely is a horror movie, and its
zombie you want to shoot them and theyre a generally quite serious. Nina felt like a really a brilliant horror movie.
baddie now. Theres a weird embarrassment and good first feature because it combines the two.
shame with grief and some of the things you miss Q. Tell us a bit about the shoot.
about someone, and it is horrific. But we wanted Q. Do you see it as a horror? BB: Yeah, it was all roughly shot in South London
her to be really attractive and be really sexy and CB: We didnt see it as a horror. When wed and two trips to the seaside over 26 days.
for people to be drawn to her at the same time as written it and we were showing it to people,
also horrified by her. Its both of those things. mainly in a kind of Were going to make this Q. On location or on sets?
story way, we were describing it as a horrific, BB: On our budget, we thought itd all have to be
Q. Because this film is quite gory in its magic-realist romance. It was really helpful location-based. A large proportion of the film
own way
CB: Yeah the monstrosity was really important to
us. Generally when you watch a film about grief,
its like, Oh, theyre sad. But thats not all how it
is. Its got every single emotion going on. You
have somebody whos coming back and youre
being confronted with the way that they died,
again and again. Even whilst you totally love
them and totally want them back all of those
things are wrapped in one. Because that is what
happens when somebody dies. Youre not able to
just sit there thinking, Oh, well it was nice back
before anything went wrong.
Lets hope he has a
good washing powder.
Q. Theres an element of black comedy in
Arent bathtimes
meant to be fun?
takes place in the one flat and then in the one Q. A lot of it is pretty much a three-hander. CB: It was tricky every day. Partly it was the way
bedroom. So we went around various flats with The cast had to do some really heavy lifting that wed shot it and made it. There was a lot of
our DP and looked at places. But by the time between the three of them, including gore, dialogue. The way of performing it realistically,
youve got a camera in the room, the room is tiny. sex and nudity as well as all the emotional everything slowed down, and that felt great and
We were scratching our heads, and our designer stuff. How was it working with them? we didnt want to change that. But that did mean
Damien drew up this sketch and was like, Ive CB: They were brave. We deliberately set out to that every scene took a long time. So we were
always seen the space like this. We looked at it find people who would be brave enough in the always struggling to try to get everything shot.
and knew it was absolutely what the place had to first place. We sent the full script to everyone, so Especially when youre working with blood and
be and it was brilliant and that no flat on Earth that they could read the whole thing, so that they having to reset all that sort of stuff. That gets
actually looked like that, with the ability to be knew what they were getting into, rather than even more tricky. For a film that youre going,
able to get in and shoot. We also looked around some scenes they were going to read from and Yeah, its just three people in a bedroom!
and were like, I think we have to have a studio, then going, By the way, the rest of it? Er, yeah therere loads of locations. Theres about 26
dont we? Damien was like, We cant, not on youre completely naked. But its for artistic locations. We were always breathing a sigh of
this budget. We cant do it. We were like, Youve reasons! We tried to be totally upfront about it. relief by the end of the day, if wed managed to
just designed us a space. We can do this. And the three of them were really brave about it. get everything.
We made sure we were doing closed sets and
CB: He was still saying, No, this cant be done, trying to keep as many people away as possible. BB: But also, we went into it with this manifesto
and then went and found us a studio to shoot in Every single day, we would have our handheld that wed drawn up with our friend which is
which is actually Richard and Judys old studio, monitor that wed turn around and show them basically about making things hard for yourself.
which is quite fun to be in. So yeah, he found us exactly what we were shooting. Its thinking on the principle that a lot of the time
that, got us a deal there, and committed himself when you have to make a film, youre trying to
to building this place, which was quite a good Q. What was the toughest part of the shoot make things easier because its so difficult to
thing because the budget was tiny. for you? make a film and it costs a lot of money. But as an
audience member, you dont want to watch easy
films. No one ever comes out of a film going,
Ive thoroughly enjoyed that. I can tell that they
finished every day on time and on budget. We
thought of things we could do to make it hard, in
a way. It did then pay off because I think that an
audience can instinctively feel the risk that one is
taking. The creative risk, the commercial risk;
just the risk that were asking the cast to take for
those scenes. Instinctively, the audience feels that
and goes with you everyone is doing that jump
with you; and when you get to the other side,
everyone feels delighted.
Well, thats a waste
of a gravestone.
Nina Forever is out now on DVD and Blu-ray.
The
HEROES,
not the HORDE
David Towsey, author of The Walkin Trilogy on
sympathetic zombies and standing out from the crowd.
T
wo years ago my debut novel, horde turned their cold, dead gaze on me. I found my way through the promo material, often
Your Brothers Blood, was myself asked to write blog posts and answer starting with a confession of my n00b status not
published and my love-hate interview questions as if I was an expert on unlike this one.
relationship with zombies movies I could barely watch all the way through But in doing that research I stumbled upon a
began proper. Before then, and books Id never heard of, let alone read. number of texts that were a bit different and a bit
wed been relatively ignorant Like a secondary character without a surname, uncomfortable with their zombie status. I found
of each other Id seen some all I could do was succumb to the zombie tide. I reviews of those books that started with lines
of the canonical films from Romero et al at mainlined the three seasons of The Walking Dead like, Not your ordinary zombie book and I dont
sleepovers, my face half-buried in a pillow. For that were then available, the Evil Dead franchise, normally like zombie stories, but... In short, Id
their part, the zombies had no idea who I was. and as many examples of zombie-fiction as I found my remote farmhouse in which to hole up
Then I wrote a book, a book I never consciously could stomach. Luckily, I have some friends who with a few like-minded writers as the traditional
thought of as zombie-fiction until other people are ardent and discerning horror fans, who zombies closed in.
started calling it that, and suddenly the shuffling werent short on recommendations. I muddled Its those writers, and the themes I think they
share, that I want to talk about here, with a few
examples from my own work thrown in. For ease,
and because Im essentially a lazy person, Im
going to label this loose collective of texts and
writers sympathetic, which is about as
touchy-feely as it sounds and really means that
these stories use zombies as more than target
practise for high calibre assault weapons. Later,
Im going to use the term as a verb and things
will get really messy.
So, there are a few key elements that I think
set sympathetic zombie texts apart from their
traditional brethren. I want to emphasise that:
apart. Not better, not worse, just different. It
should go without saying (but Im going to say
it anyway) that theres zero value judgement
attached to my rambling thoughts; if you love
The Walking Dead is by texts that conform, with however much
far the most popular originality, to the traditional tropes of the zombie
zombie TV show ever.
then thats great and Im sure the rest of this
special issue has got you covered. Daryl Gregory, My Life As A White identity. This has become so ingrained, so much
But were living in an age when Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland, a part of the zombie mythos, that it is extremely
the kind of books I write, and the and M. R. Careys The Girl With rare to find a movie or book that has just one
others Im going to look at, exist All The Gifts are just a couple of zombie. One vampire, one werewolf, one
alongside Red Dead Redemption examples where a zombie point swamp-thing, can often be enough, but one
zombie-expansions and five of view is used to great effect. zombie isnt frightening anyone; they come in
Resident Evil movies (seven if you There are some obvious things hordes, thats a given. Sure, this probably has
count the animated ones). that such a point of view does, something to do with the fact numbers and
The zombie, more than any which are not typically present crowds can be frightening; put enough cute cats
other creature-feature favourite, in a zombie narrative. We get the in a room and its actually pretty freaky. I only
used to be about the collective zombie perspective on have four cats myself, but there are times I walk
and about conformity. I think decomposition, eating brains and into my sitting room to find them all staring at
thats changed, which leads me simply what it feels like to be a me, and its always me that backs slowly out of
nicely on to my first point about zombie. These go well beyond that room... I digress.
the sympathetics. moments of empathy found in Theres been a great deal of research about the
non-sympathetic texts, such as the Theyre us, dehumanising nature of crowds. We lose our
YES! WERE ALL INDIVIDUALS! were them ending of the 1990 remake of Night sense of individual identity, become part of
The vast majority of sympathetic texts Ive read Of The Living Dead. But when you push aside something bigger and act in ways we wouldnt
involve, in some degree or other, writing from the the often gory details and descriptions of life normally. I think a zombie horde takes this idea
point of view of a zombie character. This can be as a zombie, there is a much bigger paradigm to the extreme, and moving away from the crowd
either as the storys protagonist, or as part of an shift at work here than just a simple act of mentality has some pretty huge implications for
ensemble of central characters; the first two de-familiarisation. a writer interested in the sympathetic zombie.
books in my Walkin trilogy have sections told Part of what has made the zombie such And thats because stories in the Western
from a zombies point of view alongside sections an appealing monster and negative force for world are invariably depictions of the ideology of
told from a humans. Raising Stony Mayhall by storytelling is their complete lack of individual individualism in action: one person, a hero, takes
on a government, a company, an alien race, etc.
That hero gains allies, faces setbacks, is granted
Part of what has made the various rewards for their deeds, and inevitably
triumphs to some degree or another having
learnt something along the way. We readers live
zombie such an appealing monster vicariously through those heroes because we
ourselves are individuals: we can put ourselves
is their lack of individual identity in their shoes. Its really hard to put yourself in
thousands of shoes at the same time, and isnt
central characters: Victor in The Returned, Stony questions the behaviour of the adults around her whatever the context, is a really significant
Mayhall in Raising Stony Mayhall, and Melanie and the rules of her world, and in doing so forces aspect of knowing who you are as a person,
in The Girl With All The Gifts to name just a few. the reader to do the same. and horror can help a little with that.
Thinking about these zombie kids and why Its worth noting that the contemporary move
writers seem drawn to them, made me recall to include children in zombie texts is not just THE FUTURE
an exhibition I saw recently at a museum of limited to sympathetic narratives. The Walking Pushing boundaries and a kind of reflective
Italian film; youll have to forgive the tangent, Dead seems to have taken this shift on board innocence are just two elements that young
I promise its relevant. wholesale, with plenty of child characters and characters can offer the zombie genre. They also
A number of Italian neorealist films feature even a newborn baby; something that would allow sympathetic and traditional stories alike
prominent child characters, perhaps the best be unthinkable in the survival-centric zombie to think about the future of their worlds. To ask:
known being Vittorio De Sicas Bicycle Thieves. flicks of old. But in The Walking Dead that whats next? What will the world look like for
Young Bruno follows his father around Rome tarnished mirror of childish innocence is not Karl, Melanie, Stony, or Mary and Ryan in my
as they look for a stolen bicycle that is the just presented to the audience, its thoroughly trilogy? And I think thats the kind of question
difference between life and death for their poor smashed. Obliterated. Children in this show facing the zombie genre as a whole right now.
family. Brunos innocence is a stark and do some messed up stuff. The fourth series, Where do we want to go? What kinds of stories
undeniable mirror in which we see both the featuring the young girls Lizzie and Mika, was do we want to tell, to read, to see? The zombie
desolation of the Second World War and the life when a lot of my friends said enough is enough. has been, rather appropriately, slower than some
that awaits his generation of survivors. This They stopped watching. It was a point of no of its undead brothers and sisters to evolve, but
innocence can also be found in sympathetic texts return, a point where the bleakness and despair evolving it is. What is possible for a writer to
through characters such as Melanie in The Girl reached such a tight focus that they could not explore within the subgenre is expanding,
With All The Gifts (more spoilers, Im afraid). go on. Theyd managed episode after episode of however uncomfortable the label of zombie-
Melanie is a young zombie girl though the gore and violence and mans inhumanity. But fiction might feel for some. And I think thats
reader doesnt know that from the outset who they couldnt handle Lizzie and Mika, so they great. But then I would, wouldnt I? Thanks to
attends a special kind of school. There, she learns stopped watching. that expansion, thanks to high profile zombie-
all about a world she has never seen, a history Now, that sounds like a bad thing. And clearly fictions of all kinds, a publisher looked twice at
that isnt hers, and a moral code that seems the point of most entertainment especially my odd little zombie-Western trilogy where the
utterly inappropriate for who she is. During mainstream entertainment is to keep peoples zombies are fathers, mothers, sons, and
these lessons she develops an intense love for one attention and interest, not push them away. But daughters. Where the zombies are sympathetic.
of her teachers, Helen Justineau, which not only horror is a genre known for pushing boundaries. Where readers who dont normally like zombie
drives much of the narrative but also provides an Thats part of its appeal, but also part of why its stories, but... can find a few surprises.
important counterpoint to the callous, brutal important. If everything we watched and read
survivalism that dominates the rest of the novel was safe, comfortable and life-affirming, wed David Towseys Your Brothers Blood, Your
and much of the zombie genre more generally. never ask any serious questions of ourselves. Servants And Your People and Your Resting Place
Melanie, like little Bruno in Bicycle Thieves, Knowing the point you wont go beyond, are available from Jo Fletcher Books.
ON SALE
NOW
PREVIEWED: CRIMSON PEAK, VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN,
THE HALLOW, THE WITCH AND MORE!
ON SET
THE
DEAD ZONE
ITS THE KILLER VIDEOGAME ADAP
THAT SPAWNED FOUR SEQUELS AND A
HUGE FRANCHISE, BUT BACK IN 2001 WE
VISITED THE SET OF WHERE THE
RESIDENT EVIL EPIDEMIC BEGAN
WORDS MARK SALISBURY
T
rust me, says Milla Jovovich, previous seven weeks battling blood-crazed
theres a lot of suffering that goes zombies, undead dogs and an enormous, slimy
into wearing a tiny wet dress. She monstrosity called The Licker. Today Jovovich,
lifts the grey blanket thats who plays amnesiac zombie-hunter Alice, has
currently covering her, exposing an been shooting a scene towards the movies
excuse of a red chiffon dress, climax which involves the aforementioned
combat boots and not much else. Licker (a CG creation thatll be added later)
The point, of course, is to give us a close-up look trashing a subway train, complete with all the
at the cuts and bruises shes sustained filming the requisite pyrotechnics. As if that wasnt
movie adaptation of gorefest videogame Resident physically demanding enough, she reveals she
Evil. I did some rolling on the grills which left spent most of the previous week underwater,
marks here... and a big huge bruise there, she working on scenes in a flooded laboratory set. It
says, revealing a few more minor scrapes. Its was 16 hours spent in freezing water. I was pretty
nearing the end of Resident Evils shoot in Berlin much half-naked and I had to dunk myself in 35,
and the then 25-year-old Ukraine-born actress, 40 times during the day. She puts her bruises
model and sometime musician has spent the away and sighs. Its trying, to say the least.
KOBAL
KOBAL (4)
Resident Evil isnt
short of gunplay
or zombies.
The movie version of Resident Evil was ordering Milla (who would some years
a long time in development. Inspired by later become his wife) to bruise herself.
George A Romeros Dead trilogy, the I remember watching classics like
claret-drenched shoot em up first lurched Zombie Flesh Eaters and the Romero
onto the PlayStation in 1996 and has since The videogame-to-movie movies while growing up and being
stuff of nightmares.
spawned an enormous franchise including scared shitless by the whole idea of
multiple game sequels and spin-offs, zombies. You know, the terrifying
novels, comic books and action figures. prospect that your loved ones will not
Soon after the release of the first game, the unable to agree on a new direction. With George only come back from the dead, but will want to
movie rights were bought by German production we could have done a great zombie movie for a eat you alive. I loved the game, loved the genre,
company Constantin, which commissioned a very limited audience, reflects Kulzer. We and thought: This is a movie I wanna make.
script from Spawn scribe Alan McElroy. We couldnt have shown it in a regular theatre, or When he found out that Constantin and Romero
said: This is gonna be easy! recalls executive even on TV. It could have been a $52 million already owned the rights, he began writing his
producer Robert Kulzer. A bunch of commandos horror pic, but not a big event movie. So they own undead script anyway, which, he says, was
go into a place, they shoot it up, blah, blah, blah. opted instead to hire writer-director Paul WS very much a rip-off of Resident Evil. It probably
McElroy did a pretty good job. Then the second Anderson, whod previously directed Mortal would have got me sued...
game comes out and all of a sudden your movie Kombat which, in the pre-Tomb Raider era, was
based on the first looks really dated and boring, the most successful videogame adaptation ever. DAYS OF GORE
and you say: What do we do now? What they Being a massive videogame fan, the British Once onboard, Anderson incorporated many of
did was certainly inspired. They went to Romero filmmaker had actually been pursuing the rights his own ideas into the version Constantin owned
himself, whod recently helmed a Japanese ad for to the franchise independently, through his own which, in keeping with the companys desire for
the Resident Evil 2 game, and said: Lets do the production company Impact Films. I love a mainstream movie, was not going to be
ultimate zombie movie. Alas, after a number of zombie movies and no ones done a great one in a anywhere near as gory as the game. One of the
drafts, Romero and Constantin parted ways, long, long time, he tells us during a break from things I learned from Event Horizon was that
gore and terror dont necessarily go hand in
hand, says Anderson. If you have too much gore
you lose the audience. They stop being terrified
If you have too much gore and start being revolted.
While the previous Resident Evil scripts had
you lose the audience stuck closely to one or more of the games,
Anderson came up with the idea of a prequel,
DAY AS THE
UNDEAD
Make-up artist and extra
Barry Best tells us what its
like playing an undead killer
in Resident Evil...
How did you get cast in the role?
I was working for Animated Extras
at the time, a make-up/animatronics
company who were doing bits and
bobs on Resident Evil. They just
needed people to test the make-up
on, and my face was right because
Im quite a slim build. Then Paul
Anderson came in and saw the
make-up tests...
REX
LIFES A BEACH
After his much-trumpeted journey to Thailand to
shoot The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio, Boyles
happy to be back on home turf. The big thing I
learned from The Beach is that Im not very good
at countryside, he laughs, several months later
in the warmer surrounds of his London offices.
The Beach was partly about nature and I dont
like nature very much. I dont go to the
countryside to enjoy myself. I get bored. Yet,
despite the criticism that was levelled at him over
the film, Boyle declares himself happy with The
Beach. I think its a bit too mainstream for
people, it drifted towards the mainstream.
For his part, Andrew Macdonald, producer on
many of Boyles films, acknowledges The Beach
knocked a fair amount of shine off our indie
credentials, but says that one of the best things
to come out of the experience was meeting
novelist Alex Garland, on whose book the film
REX (3)
Christopher Eccleston
shootin in the rain.
CATCH ME IF
YOU CAN ler armpits?
Killer germs! Killer microbes! Er... kil
Run away! Its movie plagues!
I WAS A
NOON
Cloud cover has crippled the days shooting, the
tick-tock boredom leading to rumblings of a
zombie rebellion. We lead a breakaway faction to
Dead set (left to right): nearby pub The Winchester where the movies
Lucy Davis, Kate Ashfield, Simon
Pegg, Dylan Moran, Penelope Night Of The Living Dead-style siege climax will be
Wilton, horror journalist Alan Jones set. Time to enjoy a pint while scratching at
and our very own zombie, Jamie. bloodshot eyes.
Grubnguts: an extreme
scene proves Shaun Of
The Dead isnt all about
the laughs...
THE CORNETTO
Shaun marked the start
Bad Day: Ed (Nick Frost) and
of Wright and Peggs
Shaun (Simon Pegg) face the unofficial Cornetto trilogy.
zombie apocalypse. Shauns white shirt and red tie
evokes the red/strawberry Cornetto
he buys. Hot Fuzz went for blue/
original (denoting the police) and
The Worlds End green/mint
(suggesting aliens). Walls
were very pleased with
the namecheck.
CRACK OF DAWN
SHAUN OF THE DEAD | Getting from A to Z
1
THE EXTRAS
The fleeing man is
editor Chris Dickens.
THE DIRECTOR Although most of the extras
As a teenager, Edgar were recruited through Spaced
Wright won a Super 8 camera forums, the eagle-eyed will spot
on kids TV show Going Live (see Chris Martin, Joe Cornish and TF THE MUSIC
edgarwrighthere.com). He started editor-at-large Jamie Graham Suggested songs
shooting his own mini-movies, among later stiffs. Also, its Mark Something In The Air by
complete with a home-made Gatisss voice on the nature Thunderclap Newman and
Steadicam. The inspiration for this doc Shaun watches at the Weve Gotta Get Out Of This
sequence came from wandering end of the sequence. Place by The Animals proved too
the deserted Sunday morning
expensive, so a Bollywood track
streets following a Resident
plays in Nelsons shop. The Hindi
Evil 2 all-nighter.
words spoken supposedly mean,
The dead have come back to
life. This is not
a prank.
2
3
THE SHOOT
Hard to believe, but
this complicated sequence
THE IN-JOKES was the very first shot of the
THE LENGTH Among the many nods to
Because they couldnt movie filmed even before the
George A. Romero, the pizza earlier walk to the shops. The
find a suitable house place next to Nelsons is named
location immediately next to a residents of Crouch End were
Bubs (after a zombie from Day Of just off camera, presumably
shop, Wright and co had to dream The Dead), and a radio in the
up enough on-screen gags to justify waiting to walk off their own
background mentions an exploding Sunday morning
the long length of the walk. When satellite (referencing Night Of The
a sniffy crew member suggested hangovers.
Living Dead). Romero was
that the shot would never delighted, casting Pegg and
make the final cut, Wright Frost as zombies in Land
resolved to make it Of The Dead.
unmissable.
After Shaun Of The Dead laughed em up and 28 Days Later sped them up,
in 2005 George Romero introduced us to the fourth part of his Dead
series to show us how proper zombies are done. We ventured on set...
WORDS JAMIE GRAHAM
Wetnwild: a crowd
of cold, soaked extras
GRA VE
DEVELOPMENTS
suffer for their art.
How Romeros
zombies evolved
I WALKED
AS A
ZO M B I E
Whats it like to spend a day as one of the
undead? In 2012, Ian Berriman went on the set
of British zom-com Cockneys Vs Zombies
A
deserted London street. A lone, grey-faced mostly smugness that Im not one of them.
figure shambles into view, emitting an 07.24 There are four stages to my make-up. First, my
unearthly groaning. Has some terrible face is sponged with a green tinge to damp down
apocalyptic scenario engulfed the city? Er, the red tones of healthy flesh. Second comes a layer
no, thats just me actually six oclock in the of grey corpse flesh make-up. Next, a glob of goos
morning is alien territory for journalists. Im on my applied to my forehead and sculpted to create a
way to spend the day as a zombie extra on Cockneys wound. The blood (which smells like TCP) comes
Vs Zombies, a new British horror comedy toplining last: some dripping from the scar, more smeared
Michelle Ryan. The former EastEnder plays one of about my mouth, and a final spattering with a
a group of criminals whose bank job suffers a minor toothbrush (how very Tony Hart). As this goes on,
setback when a zombie apocalypse breaks out. Thats theres a short how to be a zombie instructional
where I come in. video to watch. The main tip I pick up concerns an
06.50 Some of those lined up at the crews UNIT base authentic zombie walk. The key, apparently, is to lift
(an encampment of trailers in the shadow of Canary your legs from the hips and work the glutes.
Wharf ) are featured zombies. Theyre led away to
be kitted out as, say, a traffic warden. I feel a twinge GETTING INTO CHARACTER
of envy when one returns clutching a saxophone. 07.44 Im being groped by an attractive young lady
Meanwhile, the rest of us are given a once-over to wearing surgical gloves, and money hasnt even
check that our clothes are appropriate. Are you okay exchanged hands. Im outside, having my clothes
to get blood on this? Im asked. Hell, yeah! daubed with blood. The make-up assistant squeezes
07.10 We board a mini-bus and are driven to an it out of a washing-up liquid bottle (ironically, since
internet caf/community centre in the Isle Of Dogs. Ive never looked less Morning Fresh) and randomly
Here we learn that although everyone volunteered grabs Ow! Thats my moob! Im asked to make
hoping to be zombified, many will instead play lunges as more bloods applied. Hmm, maybe theres
fleeing pedestrians. I feel a degree of sympathy a gap in the market for a work-out video here?
toward those selected for this lesser role. But 08.01 Im already desperate to lick my lips. Argh.
08.25 Time for zombie school. A choreographer One extra, receiving no instruction to stop, just sadly I keep flinching as the lens wrangler tries to
reminds us to keep our jaws loose and our limbs limp, keeps going. Her energys so infectious that director slide them in, so eventually we have to give up. I feel
and drills us to let gravity do most of the work when Matthias Hoene joins in, doing a Starsky And Hutch less of a man until the next three volunteers prove
it comes to moving: fall forwards, stumble, gather roll over the back of a car. to be equally squeamish. Phew.
yourself up, and repeat. 09.20 A shots set up of a struggling copper being 10.34 Having shot some cutaways, work commences
08.39 We walk down to the location, Strattondale dragged off the boot of a police vehicle by a pair of on the meat of todays scenes. The robbers exit the
Street, where the local librarys been transformed zombies. I didnt hit you, did I? the officer politely bank, discovering the chaos outside. Firing at the
into the appropriately named Phoenix bank. A enquires afterwards. zombies, they dash to their get-away van. There are
scene of carnage greets us. A half-eaten corpse lies 09.26 Leaning against a bollard, I discover that its just all manner of gory details. In front of me, a zombie
in the road, trailing intestines. A crashed car pins a set dressing a lightweight prop by nearly falling sits on the roof of a car, chewing on a leg. Sliding off
dummy body to a tree. A ripped-off arm clutches a flat on my arse. onto the ground, he drags himself along the floor in
hamburger. Market stalls have been trashed, and a 09.54 Cockneys Vs Zombies writer James Moran (who pursuit. To my right, an undead cop hauls down a
crew member is smearing the boot of a police car also penned Severance) is among our number, made- fleeing pedestrian as he shins over a fence.
with blood from a bucket. Im a northerner: this is up for a cameo. I observe as the undead Moran takes
just an average Saturday night, shrugs a fellow extra. out a pedestrian, tipping them both over a garden STAGGERING INTO ACTION
11.01 Im called forward for a scene thatll be
I have to stagger forward past the half-eaten rehearsed and shot from various perspectives whatll
eventually seem like a thousand times. I start at the
corpse and between two cars, without slipping end of the road, and have to stagger forward past the
half-eaten corpse and between two cars, without
on fake blood or tripping over the detritus slipping on fake blood or tripping over detritus. I
have two zombie cops and two zombie pedestrians
08.55 Our first task involves all the extras or SAs wall. There may be a career for him in stunt work if (one of whom has a serious beer belly!) staggering in
(short for supporting artistes), as our handlers call the scribbling ever dries up. front of me, and another trailing in my wake.
us. A vague blur of panicking humanity is required, 10.15 Youre whats technically known as a squeezer, 11.05 By the end of the first take I have a sheet of
so we run past the camera, screaming our heads off Im told. A queues formed to have white contact newspaper and a carrier bag glued to my foot by
then tear back in the opposite direction. Its the best lenses fitted. Its not compulsory, but the results do fake blood. One cop points out that, since I bumped
fun Ive had since I retired from British Bulldogs. look impressively eerie. I line up to get some but into him, I may have to do so on every take. Oh shit,
AN EXTRAS LIFE
13.27 Back to my mark. We zombies now have
to contend with fleeing pedestrians, and smoke
machines pumping out what hopefully arent
carcinogenic fumes. The black stuff issuing from a
silver cylinder is worst it smells like a bonfire of
every rubber tyre in the world. Hang on, though we
didnt have smoke before, so wheres the continuity
Scaring off the ladies it wasnt here? Realisation dawns that I may have been giving
all a new experience for Ian. it my all earlier just to give the cast something to
react to. Its not altogether clear as an SA, the crews
focus is elsewhere, so youre often left in the dark.
13.46 As panicking humans run past, I remember the
instructional video: turn slowly towards the prey,
really? Maybe they wont use that one assistant freshens it up. Michelle Ryan and co have swing your arm loosely from the shoulder, then
11.17 Problem: as a zombie, you cant glance around. umbrellas to shelter beneath, but not us plebs. Im grip like a vice. I feel positively triumphant when I
As a result, a couple of us keep over-taking the grateful Im not one of the armed-response cops, manage to grab someone. The extra in question, Sally,
cops, because its hard to judge how close we are. It sweltering in a uniform and bullet-proof vest. has some unusual motivation for being here: zombie
probably looks like Im trying to hog the limelight. 12.00 We switch to another set-up. This requires a films absolutely freak her out, so shes using today
11.20 A group of primary school children gather couple of crew to be stationed to stop passers-by to help get over her fear!
across the street. I give them a friendly wave. See, wandering through the back of shot. The trick, Im 14.00 We break for lunch. Back at the unit base,
hes not real! says their teacher. It takes all my told, is to be assertive: Dont be meek or apologetic, blood-drenched extras tuck into plates of paella,
reserves of self-control not to traumatise them with a and stand up straight. It also helps to wear a hi-vis or stretch out on the stunt arrangers crash mats to
blood-curdling roar. vest people just assume youre someone official! work on their tans. One sunbathers using a huge
11.22 My left foot already aches from dragging it along 12.34 We go again, from closer, this time shambling lump of foam as a head-rest. He looks slimmer than
the floor. Im also regretting deciding to have my right up to the van. Im really getting into my guttural I remembered I suddenly realise that the fat
head lolling to one side in a tribute to Flyboy from zombie growl now, adding a sore throat to the days zombie has been wearing a fake silicone belly all
Dawn Of The Dead, my favourite zombie its giving list of ailments. this time!
me a serious crick in the neck. 12.43 The maxim that filmmaking is mostly standing 15.30 Back in position. As onlookers gather, its a little
11.25 The beer-bellied zombie picks up a severed arm. around waiting is starting to ring true. Its difficult to like being in The Birds. It starts with three gawpers,
Anyone need a hand? he asks, then proceeds to use relax when you have to be by your mark, ready for but next time you turn around there are 50. Little
it as a back-scratcher. action. Theres not much you can do, beyond sit on kids in particular love it. One high-pitched voice
11.47 Its a scorcher of a day just the sort where you the concrete and read one of the week-old copies of keeps yelling, I love zombies! Some of their elders
dont want to be standing in the street for hours on the Camden Gazette blowing about the street. are more confused. Has there been an accident?
end and my fake blood is drying out, so a make-up I amuse myself with a bit of zombie tap-dance. asks one concerned old lady.
ACTORS VS SQUIRRELS
16.59 East London squirrels are hardcore. One is
sneaking up on the half-eaten corpse. Having
decided the carcass cant be stripped for food, the
bushy-tailed intruder spends several minutes dashing
about under police cars and sniffing at scattered
Corn Flakes. Eventually, bounding up to the library
entrance, it attracts the attention of actor (and pride. Or is it that I need to heave? 19.03 After one final stagger, during which the camera
rapper) Ashley Bashy Thomas who lifts up his 18.23 The crews packing equipment away, but there moves amongst us, spinning around, its a wrap.
gun, roars, and chases it down the street! are still shots to get in the can. Theyre filming in We wearily tramp back to the community centre
17.45 Ive no idea how much of my thespian genius front of the van now, as it drives off. We must stagger to wash off our make-up. I discover an unexpected
was captured this morning, but I should definitely be along behind, as we can be glimpsed through the upside to being a zombie extra well, for budding
visible in the takes were doing now well, if I can be back windows. Knowing were barely visible, its metrosexuals at least. You look like youve had a
seen through the dry ice. More smoke! screams the tempting to put in a half-arsed performance, but me facial and a spray tan! someone declares.
director, as billowing clouds pour out. The whole and my undead brethren still give it our all. Its the 19.15 My neck aches, my throat tastes of burnt rubber,
point is that the zombies come through the smoke! arm-chewing zombie, still dragging himself along the my brain has been cooked by the sun, and I can barely
He rushes in to move the smoke machine nearer, road, that I pity. I feel like Ive crawled across half of remember how to walk like a human being. Being
furiously wafting it around. London, he sighs. an extra is tougher than you might think, requiring
18.03 This takes a nightmare. As I stagger past the 18.49 I question the cops. Ones been working patience, humility and stamina. The chances are that
half-eaten corpse, a huge lump of guts sticks to the occasionally as an SA for 11 years. Its like birthdays Ill only be glimpsed for a split second in the finished
bottom of my shoe. What do I do? Would a zombie for me, he says. It comes around so seldom that I film, but I dont care Ill always be able to say
scrape it off? Terrified of being the guy who ruins forget how painful it is! Another puts our suffering that I was one of the living dead. If you ever get the
the take by shaking his leg, I stumble on, trying not to into perspective by revealing that he had one of the opportunity to join their number, sling out an undead
grimace as I swallow a mouthful of black smoke. It all titular roles in The Human Centipede 2. Imagine arm, seize it, and grip like a vice.
seems worth it, though, when the director mutters, spending all day with your mouth stuck to someones
Good walking, good acting. My chest swells with arse. Makes the taste of fake blood all the sweeter... Cockneys Vs Zombies is out now on DVD and Blu-ray.
2016
5 6 March
The Old Truman Brewery, London
www.pcgamer.com/weekender
TICKETS
NOW ON SALE!
INTERVIEW
T
he zombie forget about Vietnam and that the rest of blockbuster. You feared that youd never
trilogy spans the world is turning to shit. again be able to make a million-dollar movie
three decades, that would take $5m and thus be regarded as
from Night Of Did you make Dawn so violent to test the a success. Do you still think that?
The Living system and the boundaries of censorship
Dead in 68 to or was it purely commercial? No Im now trying to get back to that low-
Day Of The Dead in 85. Was budget, independent level. Ive had it with the
this always the plan? It wasnt really about selling, but I was Hollywood mechanism. I mean, Ive made a lot of
trying to push the envelope a little, money over there, but its just so frustrating. You
Oh, yes. Around the time I met because that was one of the things Night work and develop 12 things for every one you
Dario [Argento, who financed was credited with having done, so we shoot. I had a deal at New Line for two years and
Dawn Of The Dead], I got this were aware that Dawn needed to do it they never shot anything I developed. Even now,
conceit where I thought, Gee, Im involved in a project thats been through
wouldnt it be great to do one of 30 script drafts at least 12 of which Ive
these every decade to reflect the written and is now going into its sixth year
times and the attitudes? So even though
theyre sort of a continuing story,
You dont buy of development! The problem is, if you want
to do anything thats at all unique or on the
the characters arent the same and the
personality of each film is so different that
freedom back until youre edge, you can never get it off the ground
without having stars attached from the very
youd never think of them as coming from
the same filmmaker. That was something
James Cameron beginning. Its very frustrating.
we were consciously trying to do. After Dawn Of The Dead, you made your
first Hollywood movie, Creepshow, and
So all that stuff in Dawn Of The Dead about too. Given that the sequel wouldnt have the same all of a sudden you had a professional crew
the zombies returning to mindlessly wander story or characters, I didnt want it to have the and major stars. How different was it, going
the shopping mall because thats what they same feel either, so we made a little checklist of from a budget of $1.5m to $7.2m?
did when they were alive that was part of what we thought it should contain. We said: its
a satire on the 70s? got to be irreverent to some degree and its got to Well, first off, on Dawn we were working with
push the gore barrier. All of us involved were even less than that maybe $750,000 in cash. But
Absolutely. I know the people who own that such fans of the genre that we did it gleefully. We the more money, the more problems, no matter
particular mall and they allowed us to film there never felt guilty; we always thought everyone which way you slice it. You dont buy freedom
very cheaply. Actually, when they first showed us else was wrong. Most of the graphic violence in back until you become James Cameron and get
around, they took us to where they had these the film is against zombies, which isnt as an extra $40m just because you ask. Every dollar
sealed-off rooms upstairs packed with civil shocking as seeing a real person get shot in the comes with an examiner of some kind.
defence stuff, which theyd put there in the event head I think thats one of the reasons it got
of some disaster and thats what gave me the acceptance from a lot of people. Literary types If you were to release Day Of The Dead today,
idea. I mean, my God, heres this cathedral to were willing to forgive it by finding some how do you think audiences would react to
consumerism, and its also a bomb shelter just in intellectual reason for the gore to be shown the gore and violence?
case society crumbles! At the time, everyone was onscreen like the mindless consumer/mindless
dancing to the Bee Gees, consumerism was at an zombie idea. Which was great for us, of course. I think wed be stoned. It just wouldnt be
all-time high, the Savings And Loans hadnt acceptable. These days people would rather stare
crashed... it was a weird period where everyone After making Martin in 1978, you said you vacantly at Mars Attacks! than enjoy a smaller,
was saying, Lets just enjoy this prosperity and were panicked by the rise of the summer independent film.
ROMERO BY
NUMBERS
STATISTICIANS: JORDAN FARLEY/WILL SALMON
2 RUNNING
ZOMBIES
THE TWO ZOMBIE KIDS IN THE AIRPORT CHART
HOUSE IN DAWN OF THE DEAD ARE THE ONLY
ZOMBIES SEEN TO BREAK INTO A RUN
DAY DAY DAY
01 02 03
3
MAXIMUM NUMBER OF
DAYS IT TAKES A BITE
VICTIM TO TURN
(ACCORDING TO PETER IN DAWN OF THE DEAD)
2
METHODS IN
10 PIES DAWN OF THE DEAD
Q GUN 42
Q TRUCK 4
Q MACHETE 2
CAMEOS BY SIMON PEGG Q GRENADES
Q HELICOPTER BLADES
2
1
A ZOMBIE IN A PHOTO BOOTH IN Q HAMMER 1
LAND OF THE DEAD, AND A TELEVISION THROWN BY THE BIKER Q SCREWDRIVER 1
NEWSREADER IN DIARY OF THE DEAD GANG IN DAWN OF THE DEAD TOTAL 53
EIGHTY
ZOMBIE
VICTIMS
Q NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 7
Q DAWN OF THE DEAD 7
Q DAY OF THE DEAD 7
Q LAND OF THE DEAD 37
Q DIARY OF THE DEAD 14
Q SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD 8
CRITERIA: HUMANS CLEARLY KILLED, EATEN
OR BITTEN ON-SCREEN BY ZOMBIES
* ONCE BY PETER IN DAWN OF THE DEAD AND ONCE BY KAUFMAN IN LAND OF THE DEAD
5
CAMEOS BY GEORGE ROMERO
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD AS A REPORTER IN WASHINGTON
DAWN OF THE DEAD AS THE DIRECTOR IN THE TV STUDIO & A BIKER DRESSED AS SANTA
DAY OF THE DEAD AS A ZOMBIE PUSHING A CART DURING THE FINAL ZOMBIE FEAST
DIARY OF THE DEAD AS POLICE CHIEF ARTHUR KATZ
I
write a zombie horror series, The (including Zombie Strippers which I didnt
Undead. (Get the plug in early.) So far know existed until I internet searched zombie
there are 20 books in my series so movies. Seriously? Zombie Strippers? Mind
when Zombies: The Ultimate you, its got the bloke from A Nightmare On
Celebration got in contact asking me to Elm Street in it) all bring a unique zombie take.
do a piece on the fascination of zombies, Literature is the same. You can chart from
it really got me excited. My mind went the early books to the most modern and
into overdrive. I sat down and considered theyve all got zombies in them. My piece for
it. I walked about my house and pondered Zombies was done.
it some more.
Then I started to fret and worry. It
nagged and bothered me. I write the
UKs best-selling zombie horror series,
Dear Zombie Mag,
I should know this. I asked people.
I have given great consideratio
People I know who like zombies. n
What do you like about zombies? to your question and following
Oh theyre great arent they? I love zombies. extensive research I have
Yeah but what? What specifically?
Just you know the whole thing deduced the following:
Argh! Really not helping. Zombies are the fascination
I decided to break it down and even made for the zombie genre.
a bullet-point list.
Lots of love
1. ZOMBIES R. R. Haywood
My list was finished. I was done. Zombies are
the fascination for the zombie genre. I mean,
zombie movies have zombies in them. George Yep. Sorted. Hmmm, but the nagging thing in
A. Romero movies are chock full of brain- the back of my head was still there. People said
munchers. I Am Legend has got the scary ones they love the whole thing. Whats that then?
in it. 28 Days Later has the fast ones, Shaun Of The whole thing is a post-apocalyptic
The Dead has the funny ones, World War Z, landscape where every decision makes the
Zombieland and about a thousand others difference between living and dying. Its about
RR: Different people have tried different things. 28 Days Later has a
cool explanation why these zombies are the way they are, and really, in
a lot of ways, it reinvented zombies by making them fast instead of
slow. We werent necessarily making a homage to any one particular
picture, or any particular series of pictures, like the films of George
Romero. Its more a homage to the genre. We didnt worry too much
about whats gone before, and just started the movie with people
running for their lives. There are elements of previous movies in ours,
but its probably more subconscious than intentional.
RR: It was a wonderful surprise. All you had to do was sit in a theatre
and listen to the audience reaction when people first realised BM on
the gates was referring to Bill Murray. It was like a wave of joy that
washed over the theatre. Once I stayed with an audience and felt that, I
thought, Oh man, this is really gonna be good...
PW: We werent happy with casting a zombie movie with two Oscar
nominees [Harrelson and Abigail Breslin], we wanted to add a third to
really bring some prestige to the picture. And after we made that
Twinkie joke at Russell Crowes expense, Im pretty sure we can cross
him off the list for Zombieland 2...
SCOUTS GUIDE TO
THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
The zom-com where a trio of scouts earn their badges in creative killing
concept is so outlandish it was really important power of a good fright. It was fun to be
ITS AN 80S THROWBACK to have a story about this friendship, Landon ridiculous, and it was great to not have to be
When it comes to modern zombie says. Ben and Carter have outgrown it, but Augie found-footage! he says. But I always tried to
1 comedies there are two that stand out
from the rest: Shaun Of The Dead and
doesnt want to let go of scouting. For me, that
was the fun of the story getting to see how a
keep comedy in the mix because if youre
laughing with them youre going to be fearful
Zombieland. Scouts Guide To The Zombie friendship implodes then gets rebuilt over the for them later on.
Apocalypse distinguishes itself from those course of one night.
noughties classics by taking inspiration from a
different decade entirely. I got really excited THEY GET CREATIVE
after I read the script because it had a very 80s THE ZOMBIES HAVE PERSONALITY Being a Boy Scout proves surprisingly
vibe to it, which I really was into, director Forget the faceless (sometimes literally)
5 useful at the end of days. It was fun
Christopher Landon tells us. I grew up on
Gremlins and Goonies and Monster Squad, so
3 walkers of most undead movies, the
zombies in Scouts Guide have their own
coming up with ways to use their skills,
Landon says. For instance, when Ben gets
I thought this was an opportunity to make distinct charms. Our zombies have personalities trapped in a jail cell he whittles a mop into a
something like that. that theyve brought over from the other side, spear and uses that as a weapon. Its funny
Landon says. We had a massive list of different because weve had zero cooperation from the
types: yoga-mom zombies, a zombie wearing a Boy Scouts of America. They hate this movie,
A FUTURE X-MAN STARS YOLO t-shirt... Im sure. But I was like, This is the best thing
Tye Sheridan, soon to be seen as a young thats ever happened to them. Theyve had so
2 Cyclops in X-Men: Apocalypse, plays
Ben, best friend to fellow Boy Scouts ITS GOT SCARES TOO
much bad press, but we make them look cool!
Carter and Augie. Luckily the zompocalypse The film is primarily a comedy, but Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse
hits during their final camping trip. Their
relationship is the anchor of the film because the
4 having worked on the Paranormal
Activity series Landon knows the
will be available on Blu-ray and DVD from
Monday 7 March.
APOCALYPSE NOW!
Ever fancied fighting zombies yourself? Weve rounded up a few of
the many zombie experiences available throughout the country so
you can live your own zombie outbreak!
ZOMBIE INFECTION
Online: zombieinfection.co.uk
Where: Liverpool, Leicestershire,
Sheffield, Nottingham, The Wirral
Price: 60
Based in a disused shopping mall, this is a zombie survival event Head to North Greenwich, get briefed in a bunker and battle
which prides itself on immersive make-up, props and special cockney zombies! Play lasts around three-and-a-half hours in
effects. The mall experience has apparently been revamped for underground locations and includes training in three types of
2016 with new, super-high-tech weaponry which allows you to weaponry and a variety of supervised missions, definitely
shoot zombies in the head. They have a staunch no-contact including nobbling a horde of zombies. This one was featured in
policy, though, so thisll be more about your aim than your arm. an episode of TOWIE apparently whether thats a pro or a con
Play lasts around two-and-a-half hours. is yours to decide.
There are two different experiences on offer here, both with a Train with ex-military staff in close combat using batons and
rich backstory. The Laboratories allow you to witness a nutty riot shields, then learn how to use a paintball gun before
professor attempt to create a super-being, then the more embarking on two missions a close quarters riot then a search
claustrophobic and intense The Mill experience sees the and destroy mission to shoot remaining straggler zombies with
professors protg attempt to find a cure. Youll be tooled up in your weapon. Play lasts up to four hours. Check out the site for
each case of course. Play lasts up to three hours. other zombie experiences.
BEST ZOMBIE
VIDEO GAMES
You could fill a mortuary with all the zombie shoot-em-ups that have
shambled into our living rooms over the years. But which are worth
replaying? Heres our selection of the best of the brain-munching bunch
WORDS DAVE BRADLEY
BEST ZOMBIFYING A GAME YOU LOVED ALREADY BEST PLAYING WITH FRIENDS
FOR... FOR...
2. Zpocalypse
This post-apocalyptic
game began life on
Kickstarter, raising over
$200,000. Like others
here it boasts a
transformable board that
you assemble each time.
Up to four players start in a
basement and earn victory
points by scavenging the
wasteland, killing zombies
and fortifying their bases.
Theres a spin-off strategy
game called Defend The
Burbs set in the same universe.
3. Dead Of Winter:
A Crossroads Game
Dead Of Winter tests a
groups ability to work
together and stay alive. The
multi-award-winning game
dumps two to five players
8. Zombie 15
Teenagers versus zombies! The 15 in the title refers to
the supposed age of the characters and the time limit on
each session. A frantic, cooperative game played against
the clock, with an audio CD for atmosphere and a
mystery to solve (what turned every adult into an undead
flesh-eater?). Its from publishers Iello who also make a
zombie game for younger kids called, erm, Zombie Kidz.
9. Zombie Survival:
The Board Game
Fortify your house and stand against the horde for
as long as you can! Each player chooses provisions
and weapons for surviving the apocalypse. But did
you prepare for power outages, contaminated water
and fatigue? Will you have to venture out into town
for supplies? For one to four players, sessions take
about 90 minutes.
12. Zombies!!!
First released in 2001, Zombies!!! is famous for
coming with tons of little models there are 100
miniature dead uns in the first edition. You help a
group of heroes escape from a town built from tiled
pieces. Inventive and well made, there are now
multiple upgrade sets (one of which comes with
25 zombie clowns!) and spin-offs like Martians!!!.
TEASER!
IN OUR CUNNING
ZOMBIE QUIZ...
HARD
zombies
1
contains vampires not
The Beyond is the second part Day Of The 7. B. Its a real film but it
6. The Maze Runner
of Lucio Fulcis Death Dead? And who? 5. Andrew
5
McDermott (Jarlath
2
2. Zombie Holocaust
7
Zombie Creeping Flesh
Dead
Zombie-proof
your home! LEARN FROM THE
MOVIES AND PROTECT
AGAINST THE HORDES!
WORDS ROGER HADFIELD
1.BEDROOM
LIKE IN... ZOMBI 2
The only zombie that should be in your bedroom
of a morning is you. Dig that exercise bike out
from the mound of draped clothes and get
peddling. Youll soon be fit enough to outpace 1
the shuffling undead, no problem just mind
that broken wardrobe door! And swap your bed
for a mattress on the floor to stop hidden nasties!
2. BATHROOM
LIKE IN... RESIDENT EVIL
If your house is being attacked by the 2
reanimated, the bathroom may be where you
spend much time straining in fear. So spread
a wide array of beauty products around
zomboids wont be able to resist pausing to see
if moisturiser will help that itchy, flaky skin.
And remember to keep a shotgun by the loo
blow them away as you blow off! 3
4 6
3. HALLWAY 5
LIKE IN... NIGHT OF
THE LIVING DEAD
You may have barricaded your windows, but
zombies arent shy theyll bust through the
front door in a jiffy. So install a revolving one: the
witless tomb-dodgers will fly out quicker than
they broke in. And stairs? Ditch em. An escalator
in reverse will scupper those sloth-like undead.
Unless, of course, its a zombie Thora Hird
astride her stair-lift from Hell.
Invest in a black cab they start first time, every corpse corps! Light a roaring fire, since clumsy Everybody likes to snack and your average
time. Ideal for that quick getaway. Also, swap zombies burn easily and you can always ruck zombie is no different. A tray of brain burgers
your knackered freezer for a decent generator up the rug to aid their flame-grilled demise. and intestine enchiladas will distract your
you dont want to be wandering around like a And keep a rack of shotguns handy: when unwanted guests long enough for you to get your
drunk Stevie Wonder if the lights fail. Finally, you need to fill the moaning, staggering tantalising body parts out of reach. Or just do
its time to scrape off your shovel. Youll be brain-eaters full of lead, theres nothing finer a Dawn Of The Dead on the smelly creatures
digging those graves, baby! than a 12-bore thunderstick... give em a custard pie in the puss.