Night of the living dead at last
They have begun to shake the dirt
Wiping their shoulders from the earth.” – Sufjan Stevens
Zombies. Along with vampires, werewolves, and all sorts of other beasties, zombies are seeing a big resurgence in popularity. It seems there are just as many people from one fringe element talking about a zombie apocalypse as there are from another fringe element talking about the rapture. There are connoisseurs of zombie films, books, and television shows (just listen to the Nerdist podcast for proof). But, since starting as a Haitian Creole or West African voodoo reanimation subject, the concept of zombie has changed with each retelling. I love the above quotation from Sufjan Stevens' song, "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!!" The last line makes me think that zombies are just cool, like Jay-Z, just wiping the dirt from their shoulders. Though they have become somewhat cool, luckily, none of them sparkle…yet.
The Last Man on Earth (1964, Ubaldo Ragona & Sidney Salkow)
This is somewhat the progenitor of most later zombie films. One looks to this as a godfather the way that people look to Iggy Pop as the godfather of punk and Neil Young as the godfather of grunge. The Last Man on Earth is based on Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, which subsequently became the basis for other later apocalyptic films such as The Omega Man, and I Am Legend with Will Smith. The idea behind it is simple, and is best expressed by the title of this 1964 version of the story, that some kind of pandemic has struck the Earth, and that one man, somehow immune, is the very last unaffected person. The Matheson novel and this adaptation of it, are often credited with being the inspiration for the current trend of a “zombie apocalypse” that is now so often seen in pop culture, such as The Walking Dead. Purists may balk, saying that both Matheson and Vincent Price’s character, Dr. Robert Morgan, both say “vampires” instead of zombies. Well, phooey! The depiction of the “beings” is much closer to zombies than vampires. They just didn’t have the verbiage for it yet. Plus, as I’ll get into later, I don’t think they bothered to make a difference in the film.
There are things I greatly appreciate and things I absolutely have a hard time with about The Last Man on Earth. The initial shots of bodies lying strewn everywhere in cityscapes were impressive for the time. Morgan’s rituals are smart and make one really think about what we do in a similar situation. Of course, I believe these are all taken directly from the book. For one, he keeps his own calendar on the wall. After all, no one is around to make new calendars, right? Logic! He keeps a map of the city, divides it into quadrants, and then goes out on supply runs and scouting missions, one at a time. However, there are just as many gaps in logic as there are overt displays of it. For one, though Morgan is supposedly unaffected because he was bitten by a vampire bat, and thus assumes that this “plague” is one that has caused “vampirism,” many of the standard attributes of vampires are missing. Sure, he puts rings of garlic on the doors and makes wooden stakes out of dowels with his lathe (how convenient; and where is he getting power?), but the remaining “life” forms around him shuffle slowly and somewhat mindlessly like zombies, and they don’t have to be invited in, they can just break into any place they choose. They are a somewhat sloppy hybrid of the zombie and the vampire, with only a few characterizations of each to hold onto.
The Last Man on Earth is as lethargically paced as the zombies themselves and, though I usually enjoy Vincent Price’s “legendary” appearances (forgive the Matheson pun), he is, as Matheson himself claimed, miscast. His typically affected style of speech and mannerisms causes what should be panicked rants and freakouts to change into a completely detached and disaffected reaction. Sure, he’s a scientist, but he’s still human, albeit the “last one.” As a result of both his own pace as well as the ineffectual zombie shuffle, we get to see one of the least consequential zombie fights ever. To enjoy this film, it is best not to get bogged down in the folklore as most of us tend to do in this day and age. If we look at it as an allegory or even a simple sci-fi / horror adventure tale, we are sure to get more out of it. Though some of the logic is sound and some inescapably wrong, there are some moments that can be forgiven, such as when we see the flashback in which Morgan buries his wife instead of burning her per government order, having to learn for himself the consequences and realities of the plague. In the end, it has the obvious makings of a great zombie film, with elements that would be used again and again over time, merely improving the formula.
The Plague of the Zombies (1966, John Gilling)
As some might expect from a British film, the Hammer Horror picture, The Plague of the Zombies, is more rooted in actual religious and mythological origins as well as providing rich literary allegory. As the title suggests, there is a supposed “plague” that is wiping out the townspeople in a small Cornish village. An elderly doctor, Sir James Forbes, is summoned, arriving with his daughter, Sylvia. Their investigation begins with the attempted disinterment and autopsies of several of the recently deceased, only to find their efforts continually blocked. When they finally do get their chance to dig up some graves, they find the coffins empty. In the meantime, we are introduced to a wealthy aristocrat named Squire Clive Hamilton who happens to lead fox hunts and has a bunch of rude, unruly, and priggish “henchmen” who act like fraternity brothers.
As it turns out, there really is no plague, despite the title. Hamilton, who had spent time in Haiti learning voodoo magic rituals, is using the dark arts to summon villagers to his property, where they are sacrificed and prepped to return from the dead as unwitting slaves in his mines. As such, the film is making not so subtle commentary on British Colonialism (with Hamilton’s exploitation of Haitian practices for his own gain), slavery, and exploitation (with the rich Hamilton continually subverting the poor townspeople into mindless slaves). Even the camera angles in this film mean something, consistently showing either down or up angles to display the power that one group has over another. The actors are routinely shown on different height levels to further emphasize these points. As with most Hammer Horror films, the imagery is stark and brilliant. When blood is shown, as it often seems to be, it is a shockingly bright red, almost supernaturally bright. In other words, the filmmaking is top-notch, stylistic, and visually striking. It is definitely worth seeing for many different reasons.
As for the zombies themselves, and the reactions to the zombies, the film finds a middle ground. There are very few zombie attacks, fights, or even danger to most of the townspeople other than those we see specifically targeted, such as daughter Sylvia. The few zombies that are shown, however, are frightening figures. One in particular looks like a Solomon Grundy-type character, big, oafish, and terrifyingly strong. My favorite moment comes when the two doctors in the story, one the town physician and the other, Dr. Forbes, watch as a young woman in her coffin goes ashen, rises from the grave and comes toward them. “Zombie…,” says Dr. Forbes, in a way that is quite “matter of fact.” She is quickly dispatched by having her head cut off with a shovel. In other words, it was awesome. They are then attacked by a horde of zombie monks! What could be better? The Plague of the Zombies was startlingly good, despite being still slightly before the entire zombie renaissance, which is where we are headed next on our tour of the undead.
Night of the Living Dead (1968, George A. Romero)
This is it. This is the granddaddy of all zombie films. This is the one that most point to as the ultimate classic, the untouchable slice of zombie perfection, and the movie against which all other zombie films are measured. I’d have to agree. By some odd happenstance of luck, or lack thereof, this was the first time that I had ever seen this classic film. I’ve seen a lot of great films, but somehow many of the horror classics eluded my grasp. One of the most amazing things about this film is how perfectly balanced it is. On an incredibly low budget, director George A. Romero manages to jump right into the action, have smart dialogue where it is needed, and completely ramps up the danger. One gets the sense that this is what would happen were zombies to suddenly appear in our midst. The zombies are, in fact, introduced both nonchalantly and in a way that was surprisingly dangerous. Young couple Barbra and Johnny spot a shuffling man in a cemetery and, while joking about it, are attacked.
Barbra flees the scene, somewhat unaware that she is leaving Johnny for dead, encountering a farmhouse, and subsequently, Ben. Played by Duane Jones, Ben is the type of hero we all admire, aspire to be, or at least hope is on our side when the shit goes down. He is a badass, taking down zombies in one minute and calmly rationalizing what their next move will be in the next. In fact, one of the things I absolutely love about Night of the Living Dead is the actual reasoned debate between the characters about logical places to hide. Rather than simply having dialogue that merely propels the action (i.e., “Let’s split up!” or “Let’s hide in here!”), the characters here actually discuss their situation logically, thus inspiring recent debates about actual zombie apocalypse plans, including what weapons to use, what to wear as protection, and what places would be best to use as long or short term shelter.
For audiences at that time, the violence and gore of Night of the Living Dead was shocking. Guess what? It still is. But, I loved every minute of it. I don’t know when the whole trope of the eating of flesh or brains became commonplace, but it was certainly going on by this time. The special effects are now considered legendary and, considering the disgusting realism, it is easy to see why. One of the most entertaining as well as shocking moments comes when a character you least expect becomes a zombie and does the most absolutely dreadful, disgusting, and chilling things imaginable. The way this movie was made, relying on a shoestring budget, is fantastic. Though the zombies are slow and shuffling, we get to see that if and when they do reach you, it will not be pleasant, or as easily escapable as Vincent Price’s “vampires.” The lack of music and the echoed screams only ratchet up the fear and tension, which were already high to begin with.
Because of the timing of this film, and possibly due to Romero’s planned consideration, Night of the Living Dead is seen as an allegory to the violence of the Vietnam War. Just as couple Barbra and Johnny were arrogantly and fearlessly provoking someone where they shouldn’t have, the U.S. went to war in a similar arrogant and fearless manner, completely unprepared for the new danger that awaited them. Some also see the film as being commentary on racism, especially considering the nature of the film’s end, which I will not spoil for anyone who still hasn’t seen it. After all, it took me until recently to finally get the opportunity. Not many films can pull all of these elements together in such a successful fashion, and fewer still able to do it with such a small budget. But, sometimes limitations require creative solutions that make the final product much better than originally anticipated. This certainly seems the case with Night of the Living Dead, the zombie film to trump all zombie films.
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