…in which McNutt explains why zombies are awesome

When it comes to fiction, I pretty much live and die by whatever my friend Calum tells me to read. The man is a literature consuming machine, as his ‘quaint’ summer reading blog clearly demonstrates. I distinctly remember consulting him after I completed my undergrad, when I realized that I had spent four years reading history texts and classic English literature and had no idea how to go about reading fiction again. The first novel he suggested: House of Leaves, which remains one of the most harrowing experiences I’ve ever had with a book in my hands. Calum’s word has been gospel ever since.

Calum shares, and surpasses, my love of zombies, so when I read his ecstatic praise of a book called World War Z it immediately got added to my reading list. Having spent the last two days plowing through Max Brooks’ historical account of a fictional modern day zombie invasion and the world war that followed, I can safely recommend the book to anyone who considers themselves a fan of the undead. Brooks’ level of detail is stunning – it’s clear this guy has spent an inordinate amount of time thinking through what would actually happen if the dead started reanimating and feasting on human flesh. It’s completely realistic in its ridiculousness, which makes it more than a little bit terrifying.

And really, that’s what stands out about World War Z: this shit is actually scary. Brooks understands exactly why zombies are so awesomely terrifying, a secret that seems to be hard for people to crack (both the hoards that paid to see Resident Evil: Extinction at the box office this weekend, and the dozens of people who strained to hide their bewilderment when I explained a zombie walk to them).

Firstly, zombies are apocalyptic. A zombie outbreak is like a virus, spreading rapidly and without discrimination. Traditional horror monsters like vampires or serial killers generally have a set radius of carnage before a Van Helsing or Dr. Loomis character puts a stop to them. But a zombie outbreak – there’s no stopping it. It pretty much means the end of civilization as we know it. Not only that, but it does so by completely inverting reality: your friend becomes the enemy, your family the mindless hoard, your neighbourhood the battle front. How’s THAT for a mind fuck?

But the real secret to the terrifying brilliance of the zombie is something that’s been lost as editing speeds moved in the opposite direction from attention spans. I’ve weighed into the fast-versus-slow zombie discussion before, but it deserves repeating. I’m not denying that fast zombies can still be very scary, but their jump-out-and-scare-you mantra plays to the side of suspenseful side human fear that is afraid of the dark, of what lurks around the corner, ready to jump out at any moment.

But the original, slow-moving zombie plays to a fear far deeper, far more primal than simple suspense. The scariest thing in the world isn’t worrying about what’s lurking behind the veil of darkness – it’s seeing your horrifying death walking slowly towards you with absolutely no chance of escape. Zombies achieve victory by sheer volume, overwhelming whatever pitiful resources with a self-sustaining recruitment strategy that never fails. When they outnumber you, with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide…that’s deeper than fear. That’s pure dread.

And that’s why zombies are awesome…well, that, and this:

Watch: Dawn of the Dead (197 trailer