I have a confession to make before I write this essay: I have only seen one zombie movie all the way through: 'Shawn of the Dead'. A very interesting movie, to say the least. I have seen parts of another- the 60s classic 'Night of the Living Dead'. The former had me laughing and sickened at the same time (I don't do well with excessive blood), the later scared me to death.

I saw the first 15 minutes of 'Night' when I was 12. I was at a friend's house, and it playing in the VCR. I could not watch more than that first 15 minutes. I was horrified that the man (whom I felt was a bit of a prat for teasing the lady he accompanied to the graveyard) was dead so soon. I was even more horrified when he turned into another zombie and began pursuing her. I left soon thereafter. I couldn't watch anymore. For weeks, I was engulfed in terror just picturing the opening scene. That poor woman! Left alone in the cruel, dark world, and being chased by creatures out to kill her!

'Dead' was a gift to me from my boyfriend, who told me I'd think it was hysterically funny. The blood grossed me out. And I did laugh, it was quite funny, especially since Shawn was oblivious the signs around him. It was a great parody of horror movies in general and gave me insight into the things zombies do I did not have before.

Why do I mention this? You are probably not interested in my zombie experiences or lack thereof. Well, I noticed a few things in these movies. First, in conjunction with their vampire bretheren, zombies prey on an intimate part of our psyche; namely, the brain. Secondly, there is a suspense and mystery about zombies that many other lack. Vampires can only appear at night, werewolves on the full moon. Neither they, nor large monsters such as Frankenstien, the Thing, or the Creature from the Black Lagoon, carry the suspense of being the person next door. Could the person sitting next to me be a zombie? The answer is yes.

Finally, zombies, and their kin the serial killers, prey on relationship. Human beings are social creatures who form deep, intimate ties with their fellows. Zombies attack this intimate aspect of humanity and pervert it into something destructive and horrifying.

So, why are zombie movies appealing? For the same reason all compelling horror monsters are compelling: they allow us the ability to explore an intimate insanity; and insanity that preys on our deepest needs and desires.

Learn more about this author, Sarah Fulkes.
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