Summer Of Zombie: A. Giacomi

Reblogged from Armand Rosamilia’s Dying Days website.

Hey zombie fans! A.Giacomi here, affectionately known as The Poetic Zombie. I’m a huge fan of zombies, as I’m sure you can already tell by my enthusiasm. I’m also the author of the Zombie Girl Saga, a four book series following Eve, a zombie trying desperately to regain her humanity. Book 1 & 2 are out NOW from Permuted Press!

I love my zombies, and am always looking for ways to share my thoughts on them with other zombie enthusiasts. Today I want to use cinema to discuss what zombies really want, and if you’re curious, then I’ll tell ya what they want, what they really really want (yup Spice Girls reference, deal with it!)

It varies from film to film, conspiracy to conspiracy, book to book. Is a zombie solely after brains and flesh? In this post I will attempt to answer that burning question with some of my favourite zombie films! So check it out and decide for yourself, after all this might be valuable information in the event of a REAL zombie apocalypse right?

To Become Track and Field Stars

After watching World War Z it seems to me that Zombies might simply want to become Usain Bolt. I mean did you see what they can do at top speed? I’m sure you all saw the scene where the zombies stacked up against the wall? Yeah they’re like zombies prepping for the Olympics. Long Jump? Gold Medal…High Jump? Gold medal…Hurdles? Pretty sure another Gold Medal. Maybe Zombies just want a little recognition. They’re known for being slow as hell, perhaps they want to clear up any stereotypes.

Power

Zombies have been held down by the man, well the HU-man for many decades. I think they want to rise and rule. After all they were human once. Perhaps they just want control of their afterlife, and humans really do get in the way don’t they? You know with the killing them and such. So I guess the zombies got fed up in Land of the Dead and decided to take back their lives, well sorta…

Just think about zombie armies and herds for a second. Power in numbers my friends, power in numbers!

Friendship

If zombies are going to be all self aware, then they’ll most likely want friends. Fido is the best example of true zombie friendship (an honorable mention goes out to Shaun of the Dead in this department). Timmy goes to great lengths to protect his zombie pet, and Fido goes to great lengths to protect his assigned family. I suppose it all comes full circle when Fido sort of steps in as a surrogate father at the end. A zombie with a family, yep.

Romance

I suppose I should give Shaun of the Dead another honorable mention here, since it was technically the first Zombie Romantic Comedy, but when people think Zombie Romantic Comedy, the first film to come to mind will always be Warm Bodies. People mock it, saying they’re not real zombies, but perhaps all zombies really want is love…oh come on like you don’t want to hug one of those things…you know you wanna! Is it too cliché to believe that love really can cure all? I mean love is one of the biggest of human desires; does it really die after you…well…die?

Brains

Yes, their beloved braaaaains. The word all zombie fans utter and giggle at.The Return of the Living Dead was one of the first films to utter this famous craving. Brains became synonymous with zombies, well until Hannibal Lecter, he made a guy eat his own brain! Now that’s impressive. It seems that Brains are pretty high on the zombie want list. I mean they’re juicy, and full of memories! Warm Bodies and iZombie have something in common, brains give them a little more than nourishment, it gives them human memories, and that is perhaps their biggest craving!

So without further ado…I give you the #1 want on the zombie wish list…something all zombies desire whether they are conscious of it or not! Whether it be infection, a virus, a curse, some voodoo, or mutation. Zombies all want…drum roll please….

To be Human

Just think about it for a second. Flesh feeds their hunger, but perhaps the zombies consume it because they crave something they can no longer be…human.

I think this craving to be human is best exemplified in zombie novels, films are aimed at the action, the killing, the blood spattering, it sells! And I’m not complaining, I love that aspect of zombie culture, the pure horror of it all! But if you’ll allow me to get all philosophical for a second, I think zombie novels truly show the pain and anguish that zombies endure, especially if they are self aware. They lose everything. Life, loved ones, the ability to eat decent foods. I mean come on don’t you think they’d miss pizza? I would!

Perhaps the most compelling piece of zombie perspective cinema comes in the form of an Indie film simply called Colin. It has heart, and shows that being a zombie is no cake-walk. I won’t spoil the film in the hopes that you’ll watch it. It’s not your typical zombie movie; I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Well there you have it the “Zombie Want List.” I hope you enjoyed it, I hope you’ll share it, and I hope you’ll continue to support zombie culture. Why? Because I can’t live without it! *see what I did there?*

About A. Giacomi

A.Giacomi is the author of the wildly entertaining Eve Brenner: Zombie Girl Saga.