Zombie Holocaust: How the Living Dead Devoured Pop Culture

by David Flint

Zombie Holocaust is a lively history of one of the most enduring fictional the shambling, stalking, lethal living dead. From mentally enslaved cane field workers in Haiti, first described in early-20th-century travelogues, to the mindless hordes of soulless killers that regularly destroy our civilization onscreen and on the printed page, the zombie has undergone an eye-popping transformation. With wry humor and unflinching attention to detail, this colorful book celebrates these creatures in all their fetid glory. Author David Flint excavates early accounts of how voodoo was believed to reanimate the dead, unearths horror movie incarnations from Bela Lugosi’s White Zombie to George Romero’s cult classics to recent Eurotrash zombies, showcases graphic novel and comic book versions like EC’s putrefying nasties and Marvel’s Tales of the Zombie , and much more. The book is both a fun pop culture survey and a deeper study of what underlies the undiminished popularity of these terrifying, tragic figures in an anxious, post-9/11 world.

Genres: Zombies, Horror, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 28, 2008

Reviews

[John M. Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Little more than a list of movies, games, and books that feature zombies in some form. When the author does take the time to focus on a specific film/book, more often than not he'll use that time to slate acknowledged classics. Different strokes for different folks and all that, but I find it incomprehensible that he can dismiss the original Day of the Dead as "dreadful", yet find plenty of good things to say about the remake and other films of similar quality, such as Doom. In fact, he dedicates almost a whole page to Doom, while giving Braindead, a movie with a big fan following, two sentences, which he uses to insult anyone who dares to like this "vacuous" film.
The only reason I gave the book two stars, and not one, is because it did highlight a few gems that I may otherwise have missed.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comprehensive examination of the history of zombies in pop culture. I liked that the author was not afraid to offer subjective reviews of the often often less than stellar works covered, including an honest look at genre godfather George Romero's output.

[Ken Ringwald · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a long list of movies that involve zombies, this book is impressive. The author did quite a bit of research and it shows.

The book isn't terribly fun to read, though, because of the author's incredibly negative attitude. He takes a lot of time away from the zombie media to make negative comments about:

- RKO producer Val Lewton (because Val Lewton had negative things to say about horror as a genre in the 40s)
- George Romero
- the idea of social commentary in zombie films
- horror fanzines
- critics
- fans of George Romero
- fans of the Resident Evil games
- fans of zombie movies in the 80s and 90s, who are blamed for the low quality of direct to video horror for some reason
- political correctness as perceived by the author
- other online discussions of zombie films
- and others.

In short, there's not many people the author seems to like or respect. It's especially ironic given that more than half a page is dedicated to questioning whether Val Lewton's (incredible) films are worth watching, given his disrespect towards the horror genre and its fans. Pot, kettle.

That said, there *is* a lot of research here. Some of the organization is a little perplexing to me, but the author did exhaustively watch and chronicle most of the existing zombie media as of 2009. But the reviews are short, when present, and often seem to be arguing with an unseen internet forum post.

I would have really liked to see a celebration of zombie media across the years. The negativity in this book is a downer. It's also a shame that he has such disdain for social commentary; there is a reason that Night of the Living Dead is still remembered and discussed while efforts like Zombie Strippers are not.

The author spends a lot of words critiquing NotLD while praising Zombie Strippers, by the way.

So overall, it's hard to take the film reviews and discussion seriously.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The quintessential book on zombie culture and its development. The Magic Island, Drums of Voodoo, horror rises from its tomb (Boris Karloff, The Mummy), Marilyn Chambers Rabid, Walking Dead, they are dead and all messed up, where will you be when the end begins... what a Zombie fest! The Gates of Hell, the American Zombie resurrection, The Evil Dead, Books of the Dead (John Russo, Peter Tremayne with Zombie), Zombie Strippers (liked this one with topless zombies), White Zombie, Rob Zombie, Zombies everywhere. Many great movie stills and photos. Highly recommended stuff!

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A grand text of popular cultural studies. I am so glad I have read David Flint's book. He would be a disturbing bloke to live with. There is a reason for my appreciation and disquiet. He has offered a comprehensive presentation of every zombie film, with some attention to video games and popular music.

While there is some contextualization, the book is under-cooked with regard to analysis and interpretation. However the achievement in this book is vast. To watch and evaluate every zombie film - including the truly dire Italian zombie films (except for The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue which is brilliant) - is a powerful and extraordinary task.

If readers are interested in zombies and / in popular culture, then this is the book for you.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The back of the book claims the author "examines the cultural basis of its [the zombie] strange endurance." That must not have been in a different version other than the one I got, because there was little analysis into the popularity of zombies. The author does an excellent job summarizing the history of zombies in film, literature, comics, and games, but no reasons for the ebb and flow of its popularity are given. And on a personal note, we seem to have the exact opposite taste in movies.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zombie Holocaust is turning out to be a rather entertaining compendium of zombie fiction. David Flint does a very good job of pointing out the oddities and absurdities of zombie lore throughout the ages. A couple of cliché phrases are used repeatedly, but then again there are only so many ways you can say "this B movie is mediocre."

[Arkrayder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an overall okay introduction to the zombie horror genre. A lot of movies, games and books are mentioned, but aren't given a comprehensive investigation. The book at no point tries to give a reason for the genre to have gained the following it has in recent years. An enjoyable read all the same.

[Ethan · Rating 2 out of 5]

An occasionally ambitious, ultimately disjointed and shallow survey of the zombie landscape. Flint is opinionated, but hardly provocative. Leaves you hungry for bigger brains.