The Evolution of Zombies

Last weekend, my husband and I watched Extinction (2015).

It wasn’t terrible, but it had some issues. The biggest was that it drove my husband nuts that the zombies evolved to survive in a winter wonderland without hair. There were a few other problems too—mainly with the characters not being the sharpest tools in the shed—but on the whole it was a good movie. I enjoyed it. And since zombies are fictional, anyone can make up anything they want about them.

It got me thinking about the evolution of zombies through time and how they’ve changed to be scarier. The first change they went through was from slow, shambling zombies in Night of the Living Dead to fast in 28 Days Later.

This totally changed the genre. Not only did zombies have numbers on their side, but now they had speed. They had been difficult to deal with when they were slow, now they were ridiculous scary and hard to take down.

In World War Z, not only were they fast but they exhibited some intelligence. They were able to sense when a host was infected with a life-threatening disease and view them an unviable for passing on whatever made them zombies.

This isn’t the first time zombies have shown intelligence. In Day of the Dead, Bub is able to remember certain aspects of his human life and by the end of the film, he remembers how to use a gun to get revenge.

Extinction proposes another step in the evolutionary chain. It’s not a perfect step, but it’s a start. And it makes me wonder where the zombie genre is going to go. Will zombies become even more intelligent? Will they become faster? Will they gain strength and become superzombies?

In the next zombie book I’m working on (not actually at the moment, but soon), I have some evolved zombies. It’s really fun to explore the possibilities. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

#Zombies, full color? #SummerofZombie Wednesday

#Zombies - black and white or color? 

I like zombies. Okay, I admit, I turn my head at the bloody parts in the movies. I don't like all that gore. I prefer to read where my mind can fill in the blanks. I don't need full color to get a scare.

Many of the movies made are, let's face it, pretty stupid. Bad plots, bad acting, just plenty of ripping, tearing and blood. Lots of blood. I want a story with my horror.

There's something fascinating about a film in black and white. Take White Zombie with Bela Lugosi (1932). You get the suspense and the scare without the sometimes distracting addition of color. You get a tragic story of obsession and terror with a fascinating performance by Lugosi.

Then there is the change from zombies there to do someone's bidding, to the flesh-eating horrors presented in George Romero's  original - Night of the Living Dead (1968). It grossed me out when I first saw it as a kid. Scary, horrible. In later years, I can appreciate the genius behind it.  Again, you get the horror without the distraction of all that blood. It's horrific enough, maybe more so, in black and white. There also is the human element that sticks with you. You empathize with the main character and his struggle to ward off the monsters until the tragic end. A statement on the world? Perhaps. You decide.

** What's your favorite black and white monster or zombie movie? Comment to enter my giveaway or comment on the post here!) 

 ** Summer of Zombie Wednesday! 

Check out today's authors and excerpts. Full posts are  at the DyingDaysZombie blog. (I am adding excerpts here below once the posts go up.)

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Wednesday June 17

Bonus Post: Books, Beer & Blogsh*t

Stevie Kopas, Author of  The Breadwinner (The Breadwinner Trilogy Book 1)

An intimate interview between villainess extraordinaire, Michelle, and a hot zombie locked away in the east tower found in The Breadwinner Trilogy, by Stevie Kopas.

BONUS Post! Jaime Johnesee's Bob the Zombie talks!! 




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Justin Coke Guest Post
Author of Dead Wrangler

The Premise versus the Story: The Creative Problems of the Zombie Apocalypse

          The zombie genre has many problems—problems that become increasingly evident asThe Walking Dead heads into season six.  The writers have done a great job keeping viewers interested in the show as they navigate these issues, but they have often been unable to hide the cracks in the show’s foundation.

          The zombie genre is unique in that it is the only genre of science fiction or horror where the premise undermines the story, and the story undermines the premise.  This inevitable conflict constrains the writer, pushing them along the same well-worn paths traveled by generations of zombie writers. Read the rest…

Shawn Chesser Guest Post
Author of Ghosts: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse

  My Top 5 Favorite Zombie Movies

As we all know by now zombies are hugely popular. Turn on the television and start channel surfing and you’re bound to come across a commercial using them to sell BMWs or Sprint cellular service or Doritos. Hell, even a commercial hawking the latest incarnation of Microsoft Windows features Romero type shamblers.

Currently in theaters is Maggie, a film about a dad and his zombie daughter, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. And coming in July is an offering I’m waiting with bated breath to devour—Robert Kirkman’s Fear the Walking Dead, a spin-off of his mega-successful The Walking Dead of which season six is set to start filming soon.  Read the rest...

Eric A. Shelman Guest Post
Author of Dead Hunger VIII: Peace, Love & Zombies

Zombies.  Where do we draw the line? – By Eric A. Shelman

There are a ton of movies and television shows jumping onto the zombie gravy train, and I have mixed emotions about them.

The latest, I, Zombie, is about a girl who works in the medical examiner’s office and is kind of a zombie.  Well, scratch that … she’s a zombie, but she only drops into full zombie mode when things begin to go haywire around her, and she always manages to get out of it before killing someone.

BZZZZZT! Read the rest...

Melanie Karsak Guest Post

Author of The Shadow Aspect: The Harvesting Series Book 2

10 Fun Things to Do During the Zombie Apocalypse

By Melanie Karsak

I hate in when people in movies act like they have never seen a movie. Everyone knows you should head out the front door rather than going up the stairs. Everyone knows to check the back seat of their car. Everyone knows you should shoot a zombie in the brain. Am I right? Why do characters in movies always act like there is no precedence for the apocalypse? In particular, I hated the scene in Zombieland when the two sisters went to the amusement park. Even if the park was “zombie free,” common sense dictates that zombies will notice lights and sounds blaring in a world otherwise devoid of lights and sounds. Drawing attention to yourself during the zombie apocalypse is just plain stupid, but there are some fun ways to amuse yourself and stay safe at the same time. The residents of Hamletville, the survivors of z-day in my novel “The Harvesting,” have a few suggestions if and when you ever need to know . . . what can I do for fun during the zombie apocalypse? Read the rest...

       
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 Follow along on Twitter - #SummerofZombie  

BONUS! You can also order a cool T-shirt from the event.

** Get the ebook! Summer Of Zombie : 12 ebook box set,  with works by 13 Summer of Zombie authors. Available for a limited time!  

Check back often as more interviews, guest posts and teasers are added!

Women in #Horror Month 2- What Made Me Write Horror

I'm asking  some female authors to share what made them horror fans for WOMEN IN HORROR MONTH. I'll run the posts as I get answers.

The question is: What horror film or book first grabbed your attention and made you a horror fan, and why?

* See Women in Horror Month post 1 with Stevie Kopas, Suzi M and C.A. Verstraete 

(Today) * See Women in Horror post 2 with Karina Fabian,  Claire C. Riley and Jaime Johnesee

* See Women in Horror post 3 with A. Carina Barry, Melanie Karsak and Lori R. Lopez

* See Women in Horror post 4 with Sarah Lyons Fleming and Chantal Noordeloos.  

* See Women in Horror post 5 - Jaime Johnesee explains why it's good to be a Horror Hag. 


* See Women in Horror post 6  - with Vickie Johnstone, Pembroke Sinclair and Julianne Snow.

Karina Fabian, author of the humorous Neeta Lyffe zombie exterminator series including, Neeta Lyffe II, I Left My Brains in San Francisco, has a confession (which explains why she likes to write with a humorous twist): 
  
  
 "I'm not a horror fan, although when my sister and I were little, we used to get to stay up Friday nights and watch Shock Theater. Fu Man Chu was my fave then. Growing up, I watched some other horror films, but got tired of them around the time slasher movies became popular. I'm not sure what changed my tastes. ALIEN is about as close to horror as I can get now. I like comedy and parody, and enjoy when that's tied to horror. I think the first film that introduced me to the genre was Young Frankenstein."

Claire C. Riley, author of the Odium series, including Odium II: The Dead Saga says, “The 'very' first horror film that grabbed my attention was 'The Little Shop of Horrors' - Feed me Seymore! I learnt that it was perfectly acceptable to blend both horror and humour.

"After that it was George Romero's Night of The Living Dead and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Both of those films have kept me in love with old school horror ever since, and are what I try to incorporate into my own work."

Jaime Johnesee, author of the fun Bob the Zombie series, including her latest compilation, The Misadventures of Bob the Zombie, is proof that the things we read and see do stay with us. Grab 'em early, so the saying goes! 
  
 

She says, "the horror film that grabbed my attention was Poltergeist and the book that set me firmly in love with horror was Watchers by Dean Koontz. I was eight."

More to come!

Your Turn: Share - what turned you into a horror fan?

Blogging A to Z, I like Zombies and Horror

Blogging A to Z  - I is for I Like Zombies

by Christine Verstraete

Okay, I like zombies. No big confession there....I mean, I have to like them to write about them, right? (Of course, not always, as judging from fellow author Marian Allen's confession post for H yesterday.)

 I admit, Night of the Living Dead (1968)  freaked me out when I first saw it when I was younger.  It grew on me later and I could appreciate the subtle messages and the film itself.

 But in my case, I've always been a big horror fan. I liked reading Stephen King and getting scared. Usually.

Let's face it, zombies are icky. Disgusting. Creepy... The genre has since grown, however, that not all zombies have to be horrid, flesh-eaters.

Zombies can be there as the story behind the main characters and even a bit humorous, as when zombies eat Chicago's mayor in Zombie, Illinois. Or a zombie can be "reluctant" and the one who's being hunted, as in Brian Pinkerton's How I Started The Apocalypse


Zombies, for many authors, are the embodiment of our greatest fears--the what if's, the what can happen if society breaks down....

  Or they can be kind of funny and even a statement on the teen years, as I did in Girl Z: My Life As A Teenage Zombie.

Maybe that's the real reason for zombies - they are what we fear most-- and what we also enjoy writing the most. Boring they aren't.

** I shared some other thoughts on zombies today at Camille Minichino's blog. Take a peek.

** Your Turn:  What movie or book scared you the most?