Is Zombie Fandom a Religion?

[BillTheButcher]

With George Romero as a prophet? Comments invited on this essay by me on the subject:

http://bill-purkayastha.blogspot.com/2011/05/butchering-zomboy.html

[JDFP]

Would this make Frank Darabont an apostle, Lucio Fulci a saint, and Bruno Mattei a Doctor of the Church?

I guess Zach Snyder can be the anti-Christ.

:D:p

j.p.

[rongravy]

Doesn't that make Bub Jesus? I mean... he was resurrected.

[BillTheButcher]

Doesn't that make Bub Jesus? I mean... he was resurrected.

I think that's been done, more than once...to the considerable and entertaining fury of the zombie fanboys.

[brer]

I'm going to say that this post will show my age.

Dawn of the Dead 78 is one of the few movies that ever really scared the shit out of me. I watched it at the theater and I was not the only one to run out at a few of the grislier scenes. I think I was eleven at the time.

One of the reasons I write in this genre is because of that fear that I felt watching the movie in my youth.

While, IMHO, Romero has only struck gold twice with NOTLD and DOTD78, when the man hits what he want's, the results are awsome.

[JDFP]

While, IMHO, Romero has only struck gold twice with NOTLD and DOTD78, when the man hits what he want's, the results are awsome.

You're right, "Day" is a whole other category of awesomeness beyond NOTLD and "Dawn". It's like a diamond instead of gold...

j.p.

[glazedoverdead]

My sentiments exactly JD!! Day was a diamond indeed!!! I loved Night and Dawn, but Day was special. Whether George realized it or not, the movie turned out great! My personal favorite of any of his DEAD movies

[blind2d]

But we're off topic now. Is Zombie Fandom a religion?
...I'm going to go with 'no'. Sorry people, no zombie churches, so yeah...

[Wyldwraith]

Not a religion perhaps,
Yet definitely something with all the earmarks of a conservative sort of social movement/party. Something akin to the rabid historical societies in towns like Salem, MA who try to prevent a desperately needed grocery store being built on the site where a decrepit, barely-standing old Colonial building is.

If you think about the primary hallmark of the "True Believers", it's a rabid sense of conformity to the classic Romero zombie movie form. I say a movement, because the collectives of such individuals do manage to affect the industry IMO, if in no other way than by convincing the Hollywood money-men to green-light anything which is a 99.25% copy of one of GAR's first 3 Dead movies as a sure money maker, at least in DVD sales.

All those people willing to buy the basic DVD, some sort of limited "special version", and the inevitable Director's Cut represent a huge flow of revenue, that can be tapped by any director capable of adroitly copying GAR's work, while stopping just short of infringing on I.P issues that could cut into profits via pesky lawsuits.

So yea, not a religion, but definitely a collective body of willful creative entropy in all mediums zombies are found in these days.

Just my .02, your mileage may vary.