www.bahrainthismonth.com July 2013 81 Paden Vaughan With the release of the Last of Us and World War Z, it seems as if zombies are very much back in the limelight! They’re quite possibly the most popular creatures in modern horror fiction. Featuring in literature, film and video games, you’d be hard-pressed to find a single person who hasn’t heard of a zombie. But how did these creatures become what they are? What caused a relatively obscure Voodoo myth to become the cause of terror for most cinema-goers today? One of the biggest influences in creating the modern zombie archetype was a book called I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson. Published in 1954, it deals with a vampire apocalypse and a man struggling to survive. The book helped create the idea of the dead returning and attacking the living! Of course, the modern zombie would not be what it is today without the person who started the zombie franchise. George A Romero’s Night of the Living Dead combined zombies with vampires to create a truly terrifying, flesh-eating undead. Although the creatures in the movie are referred to as ghouls, most of the undead characteristics are still used in fiction today. With subsequent movies, Romero shaped the zombie into a horror masterpiece; terrifying when confronted one to one, but even deadlier in hordes. But it wasn’t till the 1990s that the zombie found itself part of mainstream entertainment. Video games have made the modern zombie even more complex and interesting; the infamous Resident Evil series introduced the idea of various infected mutations, creating truly terrifying monsters. As we came into the 21st century, a whole host of new zombie games came into being; Dead Rising bought humour into the mix, allowing you to kill off those infected in a variety of satisfying and hilarious manners. Left 4 Dead introduced a team strategy, and even let you play as the infected person yourself! Today, the zombie has evolved into more than just a clumsy, flesh-eating monster. Movies such as 28 Days Later suggested that they were not dead, but in fact alive and infected with a mind-altering pathogen — which makes the situation seem even more realistic! Indeed, Shaun of the Dead and Zombie Land satirised the zombie genre, using common stereotypes from zombie movies for comic effect. And of course, it would be foolish not to mention AMC’s The Walking Dead. Based up the graphic novel series of the same name, the television show had an average of 5.6 million viewers earlier this year! So, it seems that zombies are literally taking over all the media outlets. From gaming to film, even to television and literature, the modern zombie is quite possibly the most recognised horror creature in fiction today. They may not have taken over the real world, but they sure have consumed the horror genre! downtimeintro Ode to the Zombie! 82 Gadgets x 86 Music x 88 Games x 89 Websites x 90 Apps x 91 Movies Also this month Do It Yourself! Lomography has introduced the world’s first 35mm do-ityourself SLR camera, called the Konstruktor. In a kit form, it comes with everything you need to build your own SLR from scratch. Surround Photos! This little gadget allows you to take all-around images with your phone. Simply plug the phone in to the BubblePod and you’re ready for 360-degree images.
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