If there is a fight for survival in Romero’s Night of the 1960s (continuing through the 1980s with Dawn and Day of the Living Dead), humans are on the losing side by the year 2000. The new millennium brought zombie horror back in vogue, with films like 28 Days Later, Resident Evil, and Quarantine. Even Romero’s revenants are given a makeover with a remake of Dawn and the addition of Land and Diary of the Dead to his collection. Interestingly, these ghouls have evolved along a common path. Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later exemplifies the new zombie: no longer shambling, empty-eyed ghasts, easily defeated or outsmarted in small numbers, the zombies of the 2000s are quicker, gorier, and more dangerous than their elders . Instead of coming from voodoo or outer space, these creatures are the product of human ambition. Scientists attempting to control human nature have seen their efforts spiral out of control, and a plague of “Rage virus”-ridden zombies soon take over Great Britain. Since the 1960’s, more of science has become known; now, the true danger lies within human misuse of that science, whether intentional or not. The roots of this Rage virus lie in attempts to reduce violent tendencies in humans (Niles 2007); it is ultimately released by a radical animal-rights activist, who unwittingly opens the cage of an infected lab monkey. Fears of the age are certainly reflected in this new zombie mythology. HIV/AIDS was in the forefront of public consciousness in the late twentieth century, as misinformation flourished . The confusion of the terms “communicable” and “contagious” led people to believe that it could be spread by casual contact; individuals who had contracted the condition were stigmatized, or else lived with the secret (Bourke 306, 307). “Homosexuals, heroin users, Haitians and hemophiliacs” were considered to be at highest risk for the disease; due to this selectivity, some questioned the possibility of government involvement or aims of extermination (Bourke 307). Such an “experiment” had been conducted in the past, with the Tuskeegee syphilis study, and seemed within the realm of possibility. Science and scientists’ motives could not be trusted; this theme becomes readily apparent in films like 28 Days Later, where experimentation (coupled with unknowing action, on the part of the activist) leads to disaster.
There is an echo of Frankenstein in this: the “continual food for discovery and wonder” in science leads only to remorse (Shelley 46). Like the monster in Shelley’s horror tale, the zombie has become a “Nemesis,” meant to reestablish the equilibrium humans have upset by dabbling in science. Boyle uses soldiers in what may be the last human stronghold to present this idea: “If you look at the whole life of the planet, we... you know, man, has only been around for a few blinks of an eye. So if the infection wipes us all out, that is a return to normality” (Boyle 2002). The leader of this operation, Major Henry West, also discusses normality, though in a slightly different way.
This is what I've seen in the four weeks since infection. People killing people. Which is much what I saw in the four weeks before infection, and the four weeks before that, and before that, and as far back as I care to remember. People killing people. Which to my mind, puts us in a state of normality right now. (Boyle 2002)
The monkeys initially infected with “Rage” are shown strapped to a chair and watching television news images of violence and war; the plague itself, then, may be nothing but a natural effect of the world humans have created. Especially in the early 2000’s, fears of attack were high. Following September 11, 2001, Americans were especially anxious about the next “big attack”; and especially terrified because the group directly responsible for the attack (the hijackers) was so small. An interesting parallel may be drawn between the activists who release the infection, and the attackers of 9/11; both small groups, both radical believers in a cause and an action which created unimaginable suffering, for themselves and the world. After the attacks, “[t]he possibility of wide-scale destruction and devastation which 9-11 brought once again into the communal consciousness found a ready narrative expression in the zombie apocalypse which over thirty years had honed images of desperation, subsistence and amoral survivalism to a fine edge” (Dendle 55). Fear of the end of the world was close to the surface, because the world as it had been had ended for Americans. Many of the suppositions and underpinnings of their culture had been attacked: the safe places and structures (government, commerce, transportation) of a country not attacked on native soil since its birth were no longer so safe. Fear of biological warfare reached a fever pitch during this time, as “anthrax scares” moved throughout the country, and possibly into homes via the mail system. This worry is specifically reflected in many of the zombie films of the 2000s: along with 28 Days Later, there is also Resident Evil, Planet Terror, and even Romero’s works.
Instead of hunger, the primary drive of these creatures is mindless hatred—the only line spoken by one of the “Infected” (Boyle’s term) is “I hate you” (Boyle 2002). This also bears a striking resemblance to the motivations of modern terror attacks, described as Middle Eastern “rivers of rage” (italics added). Muslims felt anger at the United States’ support of Israel and corrupt regimes, a deep humiliation at their culture’s falling behind in the world, and anger at their own governments’ oppression; these are the “rivers” which brought some Muslim radicals to action (Friedman 2003). Boyle’s choice of motivation for his monsters is not coincidental, but tied to a state of “normality” which includes this hatred and violence. There are no more “safe” places: homes, business places, even national defense centers were vulnerable to this new kind of warfare—no longer the fear of a lone stranger or rapist, suddenly a war was on American doorsteps. Without warning, “it wasn’t on the TV any more. It was in the street outside. It was coming in through your windows” (Boyle 2002). The monsters were real, and actively seeking to infect others with their rage. It is not the twilight of the zombie, but the twilight of humanity.
Throughout the evolution of the zombie, several themes have been apparent: a fear of the unknown (voodoo witchcraft) developed into a fear of the scientific unknown (outer space), which then mutated into anxieties about manipulation of scientific knowledge we do not fully understand (the viral zombies of the 2000s). Dealings with the stranger have always come into question, as has the safety of the home, family, and friends—a loved one may have been human, but once turned into a zombie, must be dealt with coldly. These fears have been crescendoing, as well as changing. In the dawn of the zombie, the creatures were mostly isolated and unthreatening on their own; the true threat lay in their human master, an individual who needed to be dispatched. By the time day is reached, the zombie has broken free of its chains, and is a threat because of its hunger and increasing numbers. Romero’s creations still allow humans some hope, however: bands of armed men clear out the hills in Night, and a small group manages to escape the horde in Dawn of the Dead. Contemporary zombie movies are much less optimistic. 28 Days Later does leave three survivors with hope of rescue at its conclusion, but its sequel 28 Weeks Later implies the spread of the virus throughout Europe, with a closing shot of Infected running towards the Eiffel Tower. Even Romero’s continuation of his series looks desperate: the Land of the Dead is not a promising place for humanity. Whether or not it is the future we are moving towards in reality is unclear, but the fear is as visceral as its shambling (or running), hungry (or angry) representation.
WORKS CITED
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