Audience reception of Zombies

Some of the more interesting and convention breaking zombie films in the past have addressed the idea that Zombies aren't all that evil and focus on trying to get the audience to empathise with sympathetic zombies. This is done by Romero in films as early as Day of the Dead (1985) with Professor Logan's learned child Bub, who's ability to learn and to follow orders shows that he is something more than what we expect from a normal zombie. Despite the awful human flesh positive re-enforcement Logan uses to teach Bub the audience  ultimately root for him as he acts out in revenge against Captain Rhodes the antagonist of the film who has killed Bub's mentor and surrogate father Professor Logan.

It is done more solidly and as the whole point of the film in Colin and in Fido and although I have yet to see both films I love Colin and think that the angle of trying to get sympathy for zombies is an excellent twist in the zombie convention and an interesting way to go.

Obviously it is Romero's style of zombie that is usually sympathised with, I can't imagine anyone sympathising with the rage filled monsters of Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later or Paul Andersons zombies in the early Resident Evil. In these films the emphasis is on horror, fear and action, not the characters or the zombies, they are generally just cannon fodder to shoot at, things for characters to get chased by or bodies to make the audience jump. These are clearly easy options and an audiences first reaction to a zombie is always fear. This may be because zombies are us after our death, they are literally the physical representation of our death. Not only that but they can kill so easily, not just kill but turn you into one of them. Another factor that has increased with time is the level of gore, some zombies look so awful that the initial response is shock and disgust. Their bestial nature, forever hungry, simple and animalistic is another route of the audiences fear, it represents a move backwards down the evolutionary ladder to something less capable. Finally their hunger for flesh is truly horrifying, their is nothing scarier than something wanting to do such an unnatural act as eating you, turning you into prey for them to devour.

The fact that with clever storytelling and filmmaking all of these natural responses can be combated to make the audience empathise with the zombies in such a way that the hero can become the protagonist. Another important factor in doing this is presenting the audience with an antagonist to counter the 'heroic' zombie such as Captain Rhodes in Day of the Dead. I find this role reversal fascinating and worth exploring as a topic for my own film as it involves clever manipulation of the audience. I think making this kind of story would be a fun and interesting challenge and I am looking forward to watching and analysing some other films that do the same.