Don’t get me wrong, I love zombie movies. It’s a sub-genre that succeeds because you aren’t isolated from the villain; at any moment, you could become part of the growing legion of hungry undead. But I was happy to see the zombie boom of the early 2000s gone… or so we thought. Apparently, After Dark Films, who brought you the great concept, pour execution Horrorfest and is currently making headlines for their awful Captivity and Wristcutters: A Love Story marketing campaigns, plans a new type of zombie movie, says Comingsoon.net.
"One movie we're working on is like the zombie version of Underworld," After Dark's and An American Haunting director Courtney Solomon explained. "It's a cross between humans and zombies, with a whole new lore and a whole new take on zombies - the powers they have and how fast they move. They're no longer shambling. They are fast, furious and dangerous and they have a whole emotional side to them and conflict. It's a completely different take on zombies than anybody's done."
Combining Underworld and zombies that are too fast and too furious sounds like a receipt for disaster. Horror audiences wanted that vision five years ago with 28 Days Later, which called its flesh hungry monsters “infected” not “zombies.” You’ve heard the argument before, but a fast, emotional zombie completely negates the definition of zombie. As “The Random House Unabridged Dictionary” defines zombie as a person whose behavior or responses are wooden, listless, or seemingly rote; automaton. Not exactly hyper and rabid. But it seems that After Dark Films is convinced people want to see more shitty horror films.
"I like zombie movies, but I think the audience wants a whole new take,” Solomon continued. “I surf the message boards and have had my people do some inquiries, start some conversations on the web to get a feel for what the audience is looking for."
Odd, I thought people wanted fresh ideas not based on older films. People want the second coming of the genre, not a third or fourth reincarnation of a genre. Currently, After Dark Film’s zombie project doesn’t have a title or director and here’s hoping it doesn’t have funding when the time comes.
After Dark Films’ heart is in the right place by bringing more interesting horror films into theaters, but it’s head is screwed on all wrong. Quit pumping out exploitation schlock like Captivity and re-hashed genres. If After Dark starts looking forward instead of back, it has the potential to pump new life into horror. As of now, it looks like it will slowly fade into the cesspool of lame horror backers that exploit the movie-goer’s wallet.
