Just when I thought I was done writing about zombies, Eli Roth’s History of Horror premiered on Sunday — and they were talking about Zombies. In the episode, Roth talks about the undead with The Walking Dead staff, (Greg Nicotero, Norman Reedus, Ernest Dickerson), Rob Zombie, and Stephen King. What I got a kick out of, and I’m sure all horror fans would agree with, without George A. Romero and Night of the Living Dead, we wouldn’t have The Walking Dead, or what we know as the zombie genre. Before Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, the zombie movies were mostly the voodoo zombie films.
Romero’s zombie movies revolutionized the horror genre, and recently it seems every year there’s to be a new zombie film, game, or series. They mention that it seemed there was a stretchin the late ’80s-’90s where there were very few zombie movies made. However, after Shaun of the Dead, it seemed to spark more interest in the sub genre. The panelists all praise Romero’s Dawn of the Dead saying it’s the ultimate zombie film. I would agree with this since it is also my all time favorite horror movie.
Also brought up was the debate horror fans have had since after the release of 28 Days Later; what’s scarier, “slow zombies,” or “fast zombies?” I personally don’t think of the 28 Days Later as a zombie film, but it’s in that genre, so to answer that question I’d say walking zombies still I think are scarier than the fast zombies. I prefer the fast zombies for the video games like State of Decay, Dying Light, or Left 4 Dead.
Watching this premiere of Eli Roth’s History of Horror definitely was a highlight of my evening. I found myself agreeing, laughing, and wishing that I could chime in the conversations with everyone involved with the episode. It felt like times I’d chat with friends at conventions about the films we like and why we like them, and why they are so loved by fans around the world. It makes me eager to watch this series to see what other horror topics they discuss and go further into (next week is slashers part one).
Rating: 10 out of 10
Eli Roth’s History of Horror airs Sunday nights on AMC.
-Josh B. Taylor
