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Zombies aren’t romantic like vampires, and don’t have the story of an inner struggle like werewolves. They are gross, rotted, flesh hungry, disease spreading monsters that often times bring the world to an end.
From a movie making perspective it’s one of the easier monsters to create. With a $5 Halloween make-up kit, a camcorder, and some friends you have what you need for a zombie movie ….right? We all know that’s false but it hasn’t stopped many of would-be-film makers from trying. What is bothersome even more is the fact that a lot of these movies have actually received distribution in some way.
The horror movie market is flooded with literally hundreds of zombie movies that have been released in just the last five years, that’s a lot of zombies. So where can you turn to find out what is worth watching and what to pass up?
Below will take a look at a few different zombie movie books, just like the films themselves a lot of zombie film reference books have come out of late to supposedly help narrow down your search. A lot of them are pure crap, only reviewing the most wildly known and commercial releases. Those are okay for the novice, but for somebody who’s seen everything at Block Buster and hungers for something more will need a more focused or inclusive tome.
By, Jamie Russell
352 pages
FAB Press (April 10, 2005)
ISBN-10: 1903254337
You’ve read the tag line, so how complete is the book? Very Complete. Author Jamie Russell does an outstanding job covering all the important zombie movies released up to the date of publishing. Inside this thick trade paperback are essays covering the very first zombie movies up to the new school “fast” zombies.
More than just well researched and written essays, the book contains synopsis information on hundreds of zombie films, as well as an amazingly complete filmography, and 64 pages of color reproductions of rare still photos, movie posters, and lobby cards.
An exhaustive catalog to say the least, and well worth its price, if I only had one book to keep on the subject it would be this one.
By, Jay Slater
256 pages
Plexus Publishing; 2nd edition (February 21, 2006)
ISBN-10: 085965379X
So you’ve seen everything that Romero has done, all of the Resident Evil films, and even the 28 days movies. You know there has to be something else out there but don’t know where to begin to find it. If you find yourself in this spot look no further than this volume.
The most narrowly focused book featured on this list is also the most informative book on the Italian Zombie Cycle. Although Cannibal movies share space in this book, the lions share is devoted to zombie films.
For those who don’t know, the Italians started off by making cheap knock offs of Romero films but added their trademark copious amounts nudity and gore and soon made something entirely original and different than anything else out there.
This book has information on every zombie film that was released in Italy during this cycle’s period, and is nicely illustrated with stills and production pictures from the films this book discusses. Actors and Directors are interviewed that often worked on multiple movies together and ad insight to a wild time in Italian Cinema.
Note: This book is out of print now and is starting to fetch a hefty price. If you’re really interested I would suggest you find a copy now as the price will only go up as more people find out about it.
By, Glenn Kay
352 pages
Chicago Review Press (October 1, 2008)
ISBN-10: 1556527705
At first glance this seemed a lot like Russell’s Book of the Dead reviewed above, same thickness and similar size in shape. Unfortunately when you start reading it you will see these are two totally different books. Not “good” different either.
Although they share a lot of the same movies they review, Kay’s take on the subject matter seems to be defined by a flawed logic wherein he reaches the conclusion that Jason from the “Friday the 13th” films is a “Super” Zombie!
This isn’t the only contrived answer to what a zombie film is according to Kay though; The Crow, as well as Death Becomes Her are listed as zombie films as well.
There is no more room in this sub-genre that debates whether the monsters in Evil Dead are zombies or not to bring in movies like House to the discussion.
By, Tony Schaab
220 pages
CreateSpace vol.1/ TwinStar Media (November 21, 2011) vol.2
The G.O.R.E. Score is a collection of reviews originally published on Schaab’s web site of the same name. But that shouldn’t detract you from buying both volumes, as Schaab is a great writer with a fresh take on zombie cinema.
His writing style is witty and very humorous, and has come up with an ingenious rating formula that makes the reviews all the more fun to read.
Although most of the reviews appeared at one time on his site, there are exclusive reviews in the book format not found online. Another bonus of these books are the fact that they’re still rather new so you’ll find reviews for more recent zombie films not found in other books listed here.
It should also be noted that The G.O.R.E. Score isn’t just movie reviews but also book, video games, comics, and TV shows as well.
To get a taste of his writing style visit his site here.
http://www.leekinginc.com/rigormortis/index.htm
So print is dead, huh? And micro press, self-published, dead tree zines are a thing of the past? Well buddy you’re WRONG! As evident by the fabulous irregularly published zine Rigor Mortis.
Rigor Mortis is a true zine, printed on a laser printer, hand folded, stapled, and mailed to your door. This isn’t just wax nostalgic, I’m really digging the content as much as the format.
It’s a general horror zine but with a heavy emphasis on zombie pop culture. The writing style varies between contributors but they manage to take a serious approach to the subject matter with tongue firmly implanted into cheek.
I’ve enjoyed every issue released so far (up to 4 at the time of this post), with great cover to cover reading. There’s always an article, review, or essay that leaves me wanting more.
To order a copy click the link above, and for a sample of the great creative content found inside visit their blog here.
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Special Thanks goes out to toddoss.deviantart.com
for the awesome zombie picture. Visit his portfolio
to see more cool stuff.
for the awesome zombie picture. Visit his portfolio
to see more cool stuff.
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