Why we love zombies

Why are we so obsessed with zombies?

The latest season of “The Walking Dead” premiered to its highest ratings ever a few weeks ago, “World War Z” earned over $500 million at the box office, and zombie literature like the Jane-Austen-inspired “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” continues to dominate the New York Times’ bestseller lists.

The phenomenon has even given rise to a new genre: the romantic zombie comedy (affectionately referred to as “rom-com zom-com”), with
“Warm Bodies” and “Life After Beth” being the most notable examples.

So what explains this morbid fascination? Some have posited that zombie movies exploit our fear of terrorism and a global pandemic. Others believe zombies represent the mindless consumerism of capitalism or the menacing specter of technology run amok. Still, a few think that zombies symbolize our slow, inexorable march toward death.

I think the truth is simpler than that. We don’t watch zombie movies because of heavy-handed allegories on capitalism. We go because of the gore—the perverse satisfaction we get from watching zombies get shot, incinerated, stabbed, sliced and impaled. As a horror movie fan, I’ve seen at least a hundred zombie flicks in my lifetime. The one thing they have in common? Blood and guts. Lots of it.

Zombie movies allow us to indulge our basest fantasies, sating our blood lust with every shotgun blast and decapitation. Living vicariously through the characters, we get to partake in gratuitous, unapologetic violence without consequence. When it comes to zombies, aggression is not only justified, it’s also encouraged. There’s no gray area or moral hand-wringing. They’re walking meat bags, human beings stripped of soul. Mercy is a supreme weakness. Every week, this point is hammered home on the television series “The Walking Dead.” Kindness will only get you killed.

In zombie films, murder becomes an art form, with every drop of blood splattered and artery torn recreated lovingly in intricate detail. There’s a cornucopia of weapons to choose from: chainsaws, baseball bats, tire irons, shotguns, Molotov cocktails, lawn mowers, samurai swords, and golf clubs.

Filmmakers are constantly trying to outdo one another in finding creative ways of killing the undead. In the past decade alone, we’ve seen zombies being torn to shreds by helicopter blades, blown to bits by exploding propane canisters, and flattened by falling grand pianos.

Zombies are the People’s Monster. They’re easy to kill, move like molasses, and are about as subtle as a bazooka. Anyone with a blunt object and enough motor skills to aim for the head can take them down. In fact, half the fun in zombie films is watching losers like Columbus in “Zombieland,” Shaun in “Shaun of the Dead,” and Carol in “The Walking Dead” turn into stone-cold killers.

The zombie apocalypse promises not only an escape from the humdrum existence of modern life but also the opportunity to play by your own rules. Think of “Zombieland” where the gang roams around the post-apocalyptic landscape shooting their guns, driving on empty highways in fancy cars, and living rent-free in huge mansions. A zombie film is Hollywood wish-fulfillment, just a tad bit more gruesome.

Zombie movies give us the chance to be the monster for once. It helps us feed our inner darkness, that part of us that wants to cut into the line, tip poorly, and take a sledgehammer to our boss’ face. In an age where we’re mostly insulated from violence in our daily lives, these films remind us of the brutality that lurks beneath the surface.

The next time you watch “The Walking Dead,” look at the faces of the actors as they club a zombie’s head into a bloody pulp. There is rage, yes, but also a tiny hint of glee. Because if there’s one thing we all know but will never admit, it’s this: Being the monster is fun.

Francisco Dipasupil Barros, 23, is a freelance writer based in San Diego, California. He writes on film, books, technology and travel and says he is “eagerly waiting the impending zombie apocalypse.”