a question for the british fans

[kortick]

i have to admit i am a little bit wondering about what about GARs living dead films that resonate with the british fans the films are so american in every way the showing of american blind consumerism the ghetto scenes the motorcycle gangs the american millitary and so on... what about these films resonate so much with you english folks i am glad you like them as i have come to consider you all friends on this site maybe you can give me some info as to what makes you fans of GARs films i mean they are not like star wars with universal appeal they are low budget , low release films by a small independant film maker and i want to stress i am really happy the UK fans are so strong this site makes the world a smaller , better place and that is no small accomplishment thanks guys

[_liam_]

not sure really, you could overintellectualise the issue and say it stems from traditional british fears of the plague, deserted ww2 streets & anarchy. maybe it's cos everything costs too much and everyone's an arsehole so we all fantasise about looting shops and nailing people on the head....actually maybe that's just me...*broods* I think it's probably just because were all blackhearted gits, we love horror & iconic horror concepts, and the GAR style zombies were the first classic wholly american horror icons, and we embrace it in a similar way as dracula, frankenstein and all that good stuff... mind you, i often wonder why innately british things like spaced, doctor who and monty python are so big in the US, maybe it's just cos it's good stuff...

[Kaos]

This topic moved to Dead Discussion.

[Danny]

zombies transcend cultural boundries really, black, white or even australian you all get zombified in the end. that was a royle family joke by the way, in the spirit of britishness.

[Chakobsa]

What a nice post Kortick, . I think that these films touch on universal anxieties and the Romero zombie is a peg on which any number of metaphorical hats can be hung. The films exploit and highlight the darkest fears of modern Western society; loss of identity and the fear and allure of conformity to the "herd", a nagging awareness of the shallowness of our consumer society, helplessness against the percived violence of society and a recognition that the institutions of commerce, law, media, morality and the state are fragile constructs that topple like dominos in the face of catastrophe. Throw into the mix the exploration of taboo subjects like death, cannibalism, matricide, parricide and infanticide and it's not difficult to understand the broad appeal of these movies.

[capncnut]

Well Kort, for some reason I don't let the cultural thing get in the way of a good movie. I have been a hardcore GAR fan for nearly 26 years now and the movies speak volumes to me, even when I was a wee kid. I could ask you the same about Dr Who (being such an eccentrically British tv show) and I'm sure you'd give a similar reply, only in a more Jedi-like fashion.

[EvilNed]

You want an answer from an american who's lived most his life in Sweden too?

[sleepingcorpses]

Well I'm British, and I've never really thought that the American element to the Dead series has ever really affected my love of the films. I suppose more than anything I love the GAR films so much simply because I love zombies. When I was young, I had this inexplicable fear of zombies, lol. I think because they're so believable a monster really. George's zombies are slow, clumsy etc... there's nothing spectacular about them as horror creatures, but that simple edge to them made them all the more real and terrifying to me. Also, I think the point one of the above posters made about how "anybody can become a zombie" is also a very big factor in why they both terrify and intice me so much. As for why George's films in particular resonate so much with me as a Brit...I'm not sure. I think Dawn in particular meant a lot to me because of the scenario, the mall, that idea of materialism etc... I really enjoyed that idea and there's always been something so enjoyable about being able to watch a graphic zombie film that relents on the gore a lot of times to focus on those characters. Anyway, I can't really put my finger on why exactly as a Brit, the film means so much, but I totally see what you're trying to get at. I remember someone asking me which Danny Boyle film I preferred; "28 Days Later" and ...something else, lol, and anyway, i chose 28 Days Later because I said that such familiar surroundings and cultural references in such a genre can genuinely spook someone who recognizes them.

[dracenstein]

I just liked the idea of the dead coming back to prey on the living. It's not just GAR's films, but the Italian ones as well. Zombies and vampires are my favourite horror genres.

[MinionZombie]

Like Hellsing said, the zombie film transcends cultural and social barriers. GAR's films also have universal themes - the tension over nuclear arms (Day of the Dead was partially inspired by that whole 80s vibe). The blind consumerism - Britain is just like America in that sense, we've become an incredibly selfish and possession-obsessed nation (some more than others, some retain healthy levels of consumerism). Ghettos and motorcycle gangs aren't really British "things" though, I must admit. I think it's just horror fans in general loving horror films, the main themes of apocalypse and man's inability to survive and so forth...

[Danny]

i thought romero said day was on about vietnam?

[Smallstone]

Personally speaking I became aware of Dawn Of The Dead (first) at a young and impressionable age. Early 80s England (much like everywhere else I guess) saw a proliferation of new entertainment stores, as well as every town and village experienced video shops opening (and in my home town a mobile video shop!) and for a while it was all pretty much un-restricted. This is before the media furore over 'video nasties' (Driller Killer, I Spit On Your Grave etc etc) and the crack down by the BBFC and subsequent certification of videos. I can remember reading about the new wave of Zombie films in the 1st edition of the now defunct Face magazine about the same time as videos started to be sold in the few Virgin Megastores that were dotted around the country. No way on EARTH my folks would have a copy in the house! Even if I could have afforded one! Which I couldn't! VHSs were about £20+ a pop back in the day! Brave new world of technology and all that. I did however have a friend at school who had actually SEEN the film on VHS (wow cool liberal parents!!) and I can remember vividly a long coach journey/school trip where my mate literally described the entire film scene by scene! I must have been 9/10 years old? My imagination went into overdrive! I didn't actually get around to seeing Dawn Of The Dead until about 10 years later when I was in my late teens and working in a large music/video/games store. There was a promo VHS doing the rounds and I took it home. It seriously scared the bejesus out of me and blew my mind!! I think the experience of discovering something like Romero's work has shifted so dramatically with the internet that can you imagine it taking 10 years to see a film you had read about/had described to you? Ok I could have searched this out if I knew where to look... but I didn't But I agree with other UK folks. These are Universal themes being dealt with here. Consumerism, greed, fear of violent death etc etc. Perhaps also and most importantly (well to me anyway) as a nervy pre-teen I was really scared by the constant threat of Nuclear War, and DOTD had a real Protect And Survive (UK Nuclear Conflict Survival Guide!) vibe to it. Also the (relative) low budget feel of the film and the overall 'greyness' weather wise makes this look a little like Swindon on a wet Thursday! Pittsburgh could be twinned with Birmingham maybe?

[Danny]

Early 80s England (much like everywhere else I guess) ah, but becuase of ley lines some areas of england are still out of sink, for example its still 1994 in the west country

[Chakobsa]

Great post, Smallstone. Btw welcome to the forum. I first saw DOTD in those heady days before the video recordings act when you could get pretty much anything you wanted from the local rental shop. My friends house was the first in our street to get one of those newfangled video recorders and we all used to pile round to watch horror films. Dawn stood out from all the others for me and I've been hooked ever since. Incidently, it was around the time that I first saw Dawn that I first read I Am Legend and Day Of The Triffids. What an effect those three had on my impressionable young mind.

[Deadman_Deluxe]

i have to admit i am a little bit wondering about what about GARs living dead films that resonate with the british fans the films are so american in every way the showing of american blind consumerism the ghetto scenes the motorcycle gangs the american millitary and so on... what about these films resonate so much with you english folks i am glad you like them as i have come to consider you all friends on this site maybe you can give me some info as to what makes you fans of GARs films i mean they are not like star wars with universal appeal they are low budget , low release films by a small independant film maker and i want to stress i am really happy the UK fans are so strong this site makes the world a smaller , better place and that is no small accomplishment thanks guys From my own point of view, the fact that these movies were "so american" didn't even come into it. In fact it was something i never even thought about until MANY years later. I would say that 98% of all the "horror" movies we used to rent on VHS as youngsters were all american made. There was no such thing as a "korean import subtitled directors cut" back in the day. Im sure for ANYONE who is a fan of GAR's dead movies, regardless of what country they were in, the initial attractions are always the same. * Zombies, Horror, Post Apocalypse, Survival, TEOTWAWKI. * In no particular order, but most likely in the "correct" order