40 YEARS LATER (aka No More Zombies?) -- by Steve Nadis
Last night I saw "28 Weeks Later" with the same friend I saw "28 Days Later" with a couple of years ago. While it is a solid entry to the horror genre, it also has the most stomach-rending makeout scene every put on film. That gave me pause. And when I look back over my life, I'm forced to conclude that I've seen an awful lot of zombie movies, starting with "Night of the Living Dead" 40 years back and including Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Trouble Every Day (an obscure French one), the 28 Days/Weeks series, and several others I'm sure I'm forgetting right now. Although some of these movies hold a bit of fascination for me--Shaun of the Dead was hilarious, and the "28" pictures are extremely well made--I really don't like zombie movies. There's something about zombies; they kind of give me the creeps, especially the fast-moving ones of the 28 Days/Weeks saga, which are very nerve-racking. I prefer my zombies slow and lumbering, the kind you can easily outrun, although they do tend to be persistent. I'm thinking of doing something drastic here and swearing off zombie movies altogether. It's probably time for me to move on to something new, even if that just means a new kind of monster. And I think I will stick with that resolution, at least until "28 Years Later" comes out...
