(Synonyms: undead, brain-eaters, leeches)
The expression Zombie, very much from the myth of an individual who wanders aimlessly, because they are crazed. In the past, it was used to refer to resurrected individuals who moved again but did not regain the rational consciousness of a human being. It emerged in literature, and was initially devoid of reasoning, which is why it was commonly used as slaves by other creatures who used them as soldiers in a type of horror army. However, much has changed.
In the Holy Scriptures (Bible)
The fear of the undead comes to Christian man mainly from the advent of the “Day of the Undead,” which will be the day when the dead rise from their graves, from the seas, and from every place they might be to be judged for their sins.
What for many centuries was considered the eve of judgment, and the advent of the Kingdom of God, was interpreted by cinema as the zombie apocalypse or Armageddon (Zombie Armageddon).
A passage from Revelation 9:6 is indeed frightening:
"In those days, men will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.” Rev 9:6
But this is not just from the New Testament; the biblical presence of the living-dead is as old as humanity itself. In Ezekiel 37:5-10, there is a curious passage.
Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.
I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow upon you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live. And you shall know that I am the LORD.
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
And as I looked, behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh came upon them, and skin covered them. But there was no breath in them.
Then he said to me: Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.
I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great host.
Literature had the most charming and well-known undead in Mary Shelley's work, Frankenstein, originally titled Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus. Not only the most charming of Zombies, Frankenstein suffered beyond the symptoms of having a decaying body from the terror of having a human brain; his story immortalized the pain of existential crisis by showing a dead person seeking to know who his creator was, who his God would be. He achieved an intellectual advancement often not reached by the average man.
The first film with Zombies.
The first film featuring Zombies was the classic White Zombie, from 1932. Directed by Victor Halperin, it starred the master of horror Bela Lugosi, who played the evil Legendre, who, in Haiti, transformed healthy people into zombie laborers with the help of a mysterious potion.
OTHER IMPORTANT FILMS,
Night of the Living Dead
Year: 1968
Director: George Romero
In this classic about "modern undead," a group of people face brain-eating zombies. The film had the sequels Zombie, Dawn of the Dead (1978), and Day of the Dead (1986), and the remakes Night of the Living Dead (1990) and Dawn of the Dead (2004).
The Attack of the Blind Dead (El Ataque de los Muertos sin Ojos)
Year: 1973
Director: Amando de Ossorio
In the cult zombie film series by Spanish director Ossorio, Templars – knights of a religious order founded in the 12th century – who practiced black magic are excommunicated, killed, and have their eyes gouged out. When they return from the darkness, eyeless, they are furious!
Zombie 2 (Zombie)
Year: 1979
Director: Lucio Fulci
A former medical student, Italian Lucio Fulci specialized in creating bloody sequels. Here, zombies attack on a tropical island, and blood gushes from jugulars and eyes are gouged out! Fulci was excommunicated by the Vatican for another production in which the protagonist is a murderous priest...
Re-Animator
Year: 1985
Director: Stuart Gordon
A mad scientist creates a serum capable of reanimating dead tissue and begins experimenting with the substance. A couple of students get involved in the macabre plot. Director Brian Yuzna directed the sequels Bride of Re-Animator (1990) and Beyond Re-Animator (2003).
Demons (Demons)
Year: 1985
Director: Lamberto Bava
In an old cinema hall, guests watching a horror film screening are attacked and transformed into zombies thirsty for blood and human flesh. And that's exactly what happens in the film being projected... Director Lamberto is the son of the Italian horror master Mario Bava.
The Return of the Living Dead (The Return of the Living Dead)
Year: 1986
Director: Dan O’Bannon
The leakage of a mysterious product causes the dead to rise from their graves. Employees of a morgue and juvenile delinquents witness the bizarre spectacle. The film had two sequels: Return of the Living Dead 2 (1988) and Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993).
Braindead (Braindead)
Year: 1992
Director: Peter Jackson
Before The Lord of the Rings, director Peter Jackson was already making great films. This bloody and humorous classic even features a kung fu-style priest... Lionel's overbearing mother, a shy young man, becomes a zombie when bitten by a rat-monkey (?!). The grumpy woman infects a lot of people, whom Lionel must fight.
28 Days Later (28 Days LATER)
Year: 2002
Director: Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle burst onto the scene with Trainspotting (1996) and got bogged down with The Beach (2000). But the director returned from the world of the dead with this film shot in digital video. An ultra-contagious virus turns most of London's population into enraged zombies. Few people remain who fight to survive.
If you wish, I will continue writing about the various types of Zombies, both in cinema, literature, and of course!!.. in Games!
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