World War Z

While its not really what I had intended to do with this blog, I'm going to talk a bit about a NEW horror movie... World War Z. And yes... there will be spoilers. If, like me, you read reviews AFTER you see the movie, this should not be an issue.

Its news to no one that zombies are the current golden child (albeit rotting and decayed child) of all the Horror Movie monsters... Vampires had their day in the... err.. moon, and for a brief while there back in the 80s, Werewolves had theirs too...  The popularity comes in cycles.

Anyone who knows me, knows that of all the movie monsters, its flesh eating zombies that get to me most. Its something about being eaten alive by mouths that weren't meant to kill prey swiftly... I'm not sure I can think of a more painful way to go that being torn apart by human teeth... I mean.... say what you will about a werewolf, but at least its fangs and claws are those of a predator and are meant for a swift kill. Sure, it will chow down on you, just like a zombie, but more likely than not, you'd be dead before it began.

So... World War Z, the movie, is something distinct from World War Z, the novel by Max Brooks. In general, the theme is the same, and there are some nice callouts to the novel, and in fact, Brook's other book, The Zombie Survival Guide. That being said, World War Z, the zombie movie, is something very distinct from every other zombie film out there.

The standard tropes of the Zombie film, repeated ad nauseum, in movie after movie, is that there is a zombie outbreak, and Lo!-and-Behold!, there are a rag-tag group of survivors holed up somewhere trying to survive the onslaught of the living dead... and typically the survivors fall victim to in-fighting and end up zombie-chow. The downbeat ending seems to be mandatory. We're told that the outbreak is world wide... but we never see it. And Governments seem to fall apart with astonishing quickness in these films too... Heck, in Diary of the Dead, from George Romero, the entire military command structure falls apart in less that 48 hours and gives way to marauding bands of soldiers who are courteous enough to steal all your supplies, but leave you your weapons, because.... uh... apparently that would be murder. And let you keep the videotape of them doing it... because....  ummm... yeah, I got nothing. George, no offense, but.... trying thinking things through a little more next time.

World War Z actually avoids most of these cliches, and as a result, creates something new. We see the outbreak of the plague... and how it spreads so quickly (ever wonder how slow moving zombies managed to get so numerous in so short a time? Me too...). We see what, exactly, happens in the government in the face of sudden catastrophe (President is dead? VP is missing? Joint Chiefs and key members of Congress now out biting the neighbors? No problem.... ). We see methods of zombie defense that I've always wondered why I'd never seen before. (Like... hey... maybe if you pad and armor your forearm, you can shove it into a zombie's mouth like you would an attack dog, and while its busy trying to chew through it, you can shoot it in the head!).

But even more so, it SHOWS us the world being overrun... we don't just hear about it in a line of dialogue that passes by and is easy to miss. It SHOWS us the measures that the governments of the world and the United Nations are taking to combat this new, universal threat.

Oh sure... we get some lip service paid to that sort of research in, say, Romero's Day of the Dead... but you never really get the feeling the people are all that serious about it. Again, its more about that internal conflict than it is about reality.

We follow a UN Investigator named Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) who is coerced into escorting a genius virologist out into the zombie infested world in order to find 'patient zero', the first recorded infection, in order to try and find a cure, or a way to combat the spread of the zombie virus. Unfortunately, gung-ho scientist lasts about 30 seconds once they touch ground, accidentally shooting himself in the face when trying to flee the attacking zombies. Not everyone is meant for field work.

This leaves Lane alone, a non-scientist, to complete the mission. And this brings up one of the absolute SMARTEST aspects of this film. It brings an essential tool to the arsenal of those combating the undead hordes.... OBSERVATION.

Thats right... what ultimately saves the day, is simply PAYING ATTENTION.

Its not massive weapons and pitched battles (although there are plenty of those in the movie) that proves critical, its something that is far too commonly overlooked in movies of this kind.

Many of the scenes are extremely tense, and up there with the very best zombie films... The scene onboard the plane is nailbiting...The scenes in the WHO research facility, where they are trying to sneak past the zombified staff is edge of your seat stuff.

The end of the film leaves us with something that doesn't exist in other zombie movies; a chance to fight back against it. No, its not a cure. But its a step toward reclaiming the world from the undead.

People looking for a traditional zombie movie may be disappointed. There is surprisingly little blood, and no guts... gore takes a backseat to fear in this one. As it should be in my opinion.