As fond as I am of the brain craving masses and their penchant for Armageddon, I can’t help wondering if they’re overstaying their welcome. Before you start reach for my neck, let me explain. I have been a fan of zombie movies, stories and games for as long as I can remember. A few years ago, I blogged the question, “Why do I love zombies so much?” I couldn’t get enough of them at the time and was given pop culture doses of zombie at regular intervals.
But now, too much of a good thing,” is the phrase that comes to mind. I find myself becoming decreasingly excited about zombie movies, novels and games. There is just so many of them and in a rush to feed public consumption, quality is taking a hit.
I know that much of today’s storytelling–particularly in movies–is just a rehash of something that’s come before, but zombie flicks are getting out of control. There seems to be only two elements that change in zombie movies. 1. The location—a mall, the British countryside, an island, etc. And 2. The cause of the outbreak—a disease, a government project gone wrong, or the funk of forty thousand years. And those elements are then inserted into two different plotlines: 1. The tower defense–survivors are holed up and making a last stand. And 2. The quest — survivors are trying to get someplace, very far away, and are picked off one by one as they travel.
That sums up the majority of zombie stories I’ve seen (Resident Evil is probably outside this box). I have no big problem with these storylines in small doses. They’re fun. But I recently watched The Crazies ( a small town tower defense government mishap story) and though it was a decent movie, I found it to be boringly predictable. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen the same movie a few times before.
This is true with a lot of action movies as well. They follow the steps of the classic Heroes Journey every time. But that doesn’t work with horror. It can’t! If I’m expecting something, how am I supposed to be frightened? The gross-out factor of dead people eating living people does lose its appeal eventually, especially when it comes in rapid fire doses. With a total of six zombie movies (and even more zombie novels) scheduled to be released in 2010, I’m finding it hard to be excited about any of them, and flicks like Zombies of Mass Destruction are just annoying (its like a cheap Grindhouse knock-off). The 4th Reich is intriguing, but I worry that they’re simply telling the same zombie story and using Nazis as a cheap way to make zombies scary again.
Part of the problem is that everyone is jumping on board the zombie boat. There are multiple movies every year. More zombie novels than you can shake a femur at. And games that have nothing to do with zombies come with zombie modes! They’re everywhere! Argghh! It’s just like being in a zombie movie, but not scary because they can’t actually eat me.
So what’s the point of all this? If I—a fan of the genre—am getting tired of the glut of zombie guts, then the general public soon will be as well. Profits will drop. The zombie bubble will burst and then we may not see a good zombie story for a loooong time. Listen up, Zombiewood, less it more. Give us something that doesn’t fit the mold. Something like Shaun of the Dead WITHOUT ripping it off. You can tell the same old zombie stories, but at least try to do it in an original way.
And please, please don’t cheapen the genre by putting out a 3D movie and promote it with the catchphrase, “Experience a new dimension of evil.” Oooh, the blood looks like it’s coming out of the screen!
What?
They’re doing that already? Resident Evil – Afterlife 3D?
Damnit.
On another note, there are still SOME original zombie stories being told. Check out Hater and Dog Blood by David Moody. Both are fantastic. And sometime in the next year, look for my Zombie inspirational: The Zombie’s Way – Words of wisdom for the recently undead, written and illustrated under the penname Ike Onsoomyu (sound out the name). Even I couldn’t resist jumping on the zombie boat. In my defense, I created the book before the zombie bubble began to grow. Here’s a taste:
So, what would you like to see happen in the genre? Are you happy with the current explosion of zombie media? Do you disagree about the level of zombie saturation? Will the zombie bubble burst?
Will the zombie bubble burst?
One can only hope and pray that it will. A waste of perfectly good trees and electrons.
Comment by Norman — June 26, 2010 @ 5:50 pm