26 Days Later

I should preface this by saying that 28 Days Later is not, strictly, a zombie movie. It does, however, follow most of the film making conventions inherent to zombie movies and does so well enough to warrant a review.

The movie begins in London, England, where an incredibly infectious plague has already destroyed life as we know it. Our hero, who has been in a coma for (get this) 28 days, finds himself in a largely deserted world, inhabited mostly by hordes of people infected with a disease known as "Rage." The disease is spread through bite or blood, and causes those who have it to become incredibly aggressive, attacking anything that moves. Our hero, Jim, and the other survivors he meets up with end up fleeing the city in search of a radio broadcast that claims to have the "answer to infection."

When they find this "answer to infection," however, it comes with it's own set of problems. Yet this new and greater threat does not come from the infected, but from a group of soldiers trying to reestablish civilization.

Unlike many movies of the genre, 28 Days Later asks questions. It makes you wonder if, in such a hellish world, survival is really a goal worth achieving. What's worth living for? And is there a higher meaning to the plague? Or is it just "people killing people."
Yet, despite the rather depressing take on mankind that the movie presents, it leaves you with a sense of hope seldom found in movies of the genre.

Overall, a very satisfying movie. It's one that you will watch many times. 5 Stars.

Zombie Weapons: The Machete

Most people when they think about zombies consider firearms to be the end all weapon. However, any respectable zombie expert will tell you how essential it is to have a hand to hand weapon on your person at all times. The reasons for this are simple. Guns are loud. A single gun shot will alert every zombie for a mile to your presence. That zombie then moans and alerts all the other zombies near it, and before you know it there's a swarm converging on your position.

So, what is the fashionable zombie survivor wielding this year? The answer is a machete, particularly a military surplus machete in the style that they used in the Vietnam War. These machetes are nearly indestructible, made of light but sturdy and flexible steel. They are easy to sharpen and maintain, and usually have a blackened blade, which prevents rust damage and reduces reflection.

However, it's the machete's reliability and ease of use that makes the machete the close quarters weapon of choice. A military grade machete is made to take whatever you throw at it and keep on fighting. With a little practice, anyone is able to dispatch of a zombie with a quick chop, unlike larger, less efficient weapons. Even a simple hatchet requires many times the brute force in order to effectively disable a zombie.

A machete's size also makes it ideal. A machete can be comfortably worn on the belt or leg without undue encumbrance, and it's size makes it easy to wield in confined spaces where you might not have the space to swing a larger melee weapon like an ax.

A machete's uses are not limited to combat. It also has it's various noncombat, utility purposes. Almost anything that a hatchet can do, a machete can do better. It is, by far, the most versatile weapon one can find.

There's no better investment than a military grade machete. I got one for $20 at an army surplus store. I've put it through all kinds of hell, and it has never let me down. They never run out of ammo, and they allow you to score a clean and efficient kill.

Night of the Living Dead

The zombie movie that defined all other zombie movies, George Romero's Night of the Living Dead is still one of the best zombie movies ever made. Before Night of the Living Dead, zombies in pop culture were the work of evil sorcerers. It was Romero who redefined them as a walking plague with an infectious bite, and decided that the only way to kill them was a shot to the head. These conventions have been followed in practically every zombie movie to follow.

The movie tells the tale of a group of survivors holding out in an abandoned farmhouse, besieged by a mysterious and growing horde of the undead. As they try to repel the zombies, they survivors also have to deal with their own little dramas inside the house as different people have contrary ideas about what should be done.

The film had no budget, was filmed in black and white, and was acted out by whichever of Romero's friends he could con into helping out, yet it captivates audiences even now. Truly a visionary masterpiece, Night of the Living Dead has changed the genre forever.

Defense Plans: Coming Soon

I have asked several associates of mine to share with us their plans for surviving a zombie infestation. I've begun receiving submission, and we're going to polish them up and post them soon. I'm hoping this will become a continuing series, everything from what strategies people are using to the guns they're packing and the cars they're driving.
This should make for not only some interesting reading, but it should provide ideas for anyone creating a zombie plan of their own.

The Zombie Survival Guide, by Max Brooks

I wanted to get some of the basics down first. This will be the first of several posts and reviews of some things that every zombie enthusiast should be familiar with.

First up, The Zombie Survival Guide.

Arguably the best zombie book ever written, Max Brook's legendary tome of practical zombie survival strategies is a must have for every zombie . This is a book not just worth reading, but worth buying. You can read it over and over. Included is practical advice on how to defend against the walking dead, whether at home, on the run, in a defensible location, or almost anywhere else. It even includes a chapter on how to cope with the worst-case-scenario, a Zombie Apocalypse.

Not only is this book incredibly informative, it's wonderfully entertaining. Written like any other survival manual, it's very easy to lose yourself in it. It tends to make even the most down to earth person start thinking seriously about the possibility of a zombie outbreak.

The website is here, http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/zombiesurvivalguide/index2.html I suggest you check it out.

Truly the "Zombie 101." Five Stars

Mission

Hello and welcome.

If you are here then we probably share a mutual fascination. Zombies, the walking corpses that haunt our nightmares and our imaginations. Zombies, unique among horror movie monsters, captivate us in a way that werewolves and ax murderers cannot. They scare us for the same reason then entrance us. They are us. More specifically, they are the parts of us that we do not acknowledge. The parts of us that hunger for blood. Zombies have the potential to destroy all civilization as we know it, bringing out the best and the worst of humanity in a world that has suddenly become every man for himself.

ZAC seeks to explore this fascination. In it you will find a variety of posts on the subject, ranging from reviews of zombie movies and fiction to ideas about how best to combat or survive a potential zombie plague.

So, welcome once again to ZAC. Try and keep your head.