How The Walking Dead 'fixed' zombies

Hi, guys!

Me with my Michonne shirt!

Zombies have been a topic of obsession for fans of the horror genre for decades. So how does a concept so terrifying work its way into the mainstream? What caused us to become so desensitized to the thought of the walking dead?

Zombies from 1968's
Night of the Living Dead.

Over the years, film and television have delivered all sorts of zombies; fast, slow, ancient or freshly dead, human or dog zombies. Sean of the Dead and Zombieland created post-infection worlds that substituted the horror for comedy. We got scary additions in 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead, and Resident Evil (although the story gets super convoluted and science fiction-y). Some films took the concept of a zombie and mixed it up. What we ended up with are movies like I Am Legend and REC* where the monsters are flesh eating, but don't look like traditional zombies.

So we had a steady stream of zombie movies that appealed to wide audiences, but the genre always lacked something that other horror franchises have utilized; a tangible world and lore. There wasn't a definitive current representation. Zombies fall in line with other staple horror icons like Dracula and the werewolf, but lack a connection with the audience. Fans wanted a tangible tale because that's what makes a zombie outbreak so damn scary; the possibility that it could happen in your town.

Enter The Walking Dead. The popular graphic novel provided a post-apocalyptic world with recurring characters and finally gave audiences something to relate to. Riding on the popularity of the graphic novel, AMC experimented with a six episode mini-series based on a group of survivors in Georgia. The mini-series performed so well that the show was quickly picked up for a second full season. As the word spread about the show, it's popularity grew, culminating in the highest rated cable drama performance of all time with the season 2 finale. The show was a smash hit. Now in it's third season, the show is growing rapidly where so many shows start to decline. 

The show follows Rick Grimes and his group of survivors as they make their way through rural Georgia in attempts to find some form of societal structure. What they encounter instead are hordes of zombie. The show takes the zombie representation to its roots. The zombies are slow and numerous. They stop at nothing to satiate their hunger. The sense of isolation is stressed by eliminating any form of communication with the outside world. The world as we know it is gone.

I highly recommend this show, even if you have just the slightest interest in zombies or post-apocalyptic lore. It's entertaining, action packed, and most importantly, character driven. It's not gore for the sake of gore. It gives us substance and tangibility. It's one of the most consistently good shows on television. Although it strays from details in the graphic novel, it still keeps it similar enough to satisfy readers. The creators aren't afraid of experimenting with character types and survival techniques. They're also not afraid of killing off characters that you have just grown to care about. It keeps the show real.

This is what we wanted. We wanted to feel like this could happen. This doesn't mean we want this to happen or believe it will happen in the near future (although many people want it to happen and believe it will happen soon). There is something terrifying in imagining a world where everything we know and love is gone, replaced by swarms of slow-moving corpses that just want to eat our flesh.

PS: I've also read the two Walking Dead novels. While written poorly, the action is entertaining and the first one has a great twist at the end that may shock readers and watchers alike. Also keep an eye out for World War Z later this year. It's [very] loosely based off of Max Brooks' novel of the same name. I read this as well and the book is magnificent. The film seems to stray too much to keep me excited, but you can bet I'm going to see it.

A zombie horde from the upcoming World War Z.

Let me know what you guys think of zombies. If you watch the show or read the graphic novels, who is your favorite character? Mine are Michonne and Daryl!

Recommended books:

The Walking Dead: Compendium 1

The Walking Dead: Compendium 2

World War Z- Max Brooks

And catch The Walking Dead on AMC!

* I highly recommend REC, which is a Spanish film about an isolated outbreak in an apartment building. If you can't find it, watch the American remake, Quarantine.