As October and Halloween quickly approach, I can't help but notice all of the monster-based TV programs and movies that have come about with more and more frequency. One of the newest, and perhaps strongest, trends in the horror genre is the idea of a zombie apocalypse. Perhaps it was the cult-favorite show "The Walking Dead" that started the trend, but it looks as though zombies are here to stay. Each week people tune in to see what new and gruesome horror the survivors being tormented by the zombies will face as they try to just survive. Inspired by this, I have picked out a few of my favorite zombie-based movies that are just right for the Halloween season, and at the same time not as fatalistic and serious as what is on our televisions every week. Think of it as zombie-lite.
The first movie I would recommend is "Warm Bodies." Despite taking place in a highly dystopian society, after the world has fallen to the zombie scourge, it has an underlying theme of romance. Perhaps the reason this unlikely romance comes across so well is that the main character, the narrator through which we are experiencing this new world, is a zombie himself. Although it might be easier to dismiss zombies as mindless and unfeeling, this is proven to be untrue in the thoughts and actions of "R." Think of this as "Romeo and Juliet" meets the zombie apocalypse, with of course a bit of odd humor thrown in.
If you're in the mood for a little less end-of-the-world and a little more good-intentions-gone-horribly-wrong storyline, then "Life After Beth" is the movie for you. Based on the premise that a young man wishes that his dead girlfriend would come back to life so that they could be together forever, things obviously go horribly wrong. The dark humor and quirky storyline really help this movie to shine. Not to mention it has some of my personal favorite actors in the lead roles (Dane Dehaan, Aubrey Plaza, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Anna Kendrick).
Finally, I would highly recommend what I believe to be the best zombie movie of all time: "Zombieland." Closer to "The Walking Dead" in actual concept and plot, "Zombieland" takes place in a dystopian world almost entirely devoid of human life, except for the four main characters played by Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, who comprise an unlikely zombie-fighting team. While there is a lot of humor in this movie, I think it best represents how it could actually be in a world where zombies outnumber humans a thousand to one. There is a sense of realism in their search for the last Twinkies and breaking in to Bill Murray's house, just because they can. It focuses on the people, and makes it very real, even giving us zombie-survival lessons along the way.
It looks as though, for now, zombies will remain the monster of choice. They're certainly horrifying and grotesque, and what makes them all the worse is that they used to be normal humans, just like you and me. So, this Halloween season, bring on the zombies and get ready to fight, as long as they aren't Bill Murray in a zombie costume.
