doc of the dead

Some may say that zombies are the newest fad, alongside vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural beings. On the surface, it’s easy to write this off as the newest fascination by young people, furiously consuming a variety of products much like the very zombies they are so enamoured with. But, when one looks back at popular culture from the last 100 years or so, these fads are nothing of the sort. They are, rather, a cyclical repurposing of a genre that has been popping up in film and literature since our grandparents time.

DOC OF THE DEAD, from pop culture documentarian Alexandre O. Philippe, is a comprehensive unravelling of the history of zombies. From their origins in Voodoo and Haitian culture, to their adoption in cinema, to their proliferation of our collective consciousness. As they say in the film, it’s almost impossible for a person in this day and age to have never seen a zombie film. How is it still so popular, and how do we keep coming up with new ways to tell the same story?

The film is a collection of interviews with zombie experts and storytellers that include actor Simon Pegg (SHAUN OF THE DEAD), The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, World War Z author Max Brooks, and none other than the father of zombie cinema: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD director George Romero. Interspersed with these interviews is footage from zombie walks, zombie conventions, zombie films, and even funny little skits about zombies injected by the filmmaker himself. 

I myself, like many others, have become a “zombie enthusiast” after discovering the genius of The Walking Dead on AMC. Philippe’s detailed history of zombies is not just a laundry list of films, but a detailed and insightful analysis of how these walking corpses are representative of the society which creates them. Whether it’s our darkest fears of death and dismemberment, or the growing unrest in the world, or merely a dread of losing control of ourselves, zombies are tuned into humanity at its core.

The most interesting of discussions comes when the timeline reaches September 11th and Hurricane Katrina. Here, we see the turning point in zombie culture that we are living in today. No longer is it a novelty, comedy, or fantasy. It suddenly began to feel astonishingly plausible for audiences, and became a more broad examination of the nature of humanity and what we do when faced with the end of times.

Not only is the film fun, but it’s also surprisingly smart. It is a celebration of one of the most steadfast themes in cinema today, yesterday, and most definitely tomorrow (and a can’t-miss film this festival season).

DOC OF THE DEAD plays Hot Docs once more on Saturday May 3rd – 9:45pm at The Royal (official website)

For more from Kate Bradford, visit her site: www.katehasablog.com