On Zombies

As a rule, I do not like scary movies. However, the niche of zombie lovers had me curious, and knowing that my brother-in-law Matt is a card-carrying member of said group, I sucked it up and set out to find out why. We watched the following two movies during a visit last Christmas:

First up: Night of the Living Dead. Wow, no one told me that a zombie movie could be culturally subversive. I mean, I thought it was just bunch of dead guys eating brains. Nope, turns out it's a statement on a race relations (also, as Matt continually points out, zombies can totally eat more than brains). Who knew? I really enjoyed this movie.

Next: Shaun of the Dead. Having shown me the beginning of the genre, Matt thought it was important to show me one of the best off-shoots - a romantic comedy which just happens to feature zombies. And I swear to all of you who haven't seen it that that is exactly what it is only a billion times better than any romantic comedy you've ever seen. Not only did I laugh my ass off during this movie, it was so good I want to own it, which actually means something because I really do try to keep my movie collection to the few movies that I actually care to watch over and over again (otherwise why own them?).

I wouldn't call myself a hardcore zombie obsessive just yet, but I really am looking forward to the next time I see Matt. I never would have watched any of these movies on my own - I can't handle suspense or gore and will literally walk away from a movie rather than sit and bite my nails. Watching with him, I can talk through the scary parts, ask him what's about to happen during the suspenseful bits, and cover my eyes until he tells me the blood through gushing. He's promised to show me Return of the Living Dead next, which from what he's told me is where gore enters the genre as well as the whole "me eat brains" idea. Whee!