Pop culture is becoming a ‘Zombieland’

By Michael Avila

updated 4:05 p.m. ET Sept. 30, 2009

Vampires may be the current kings of pop culture creatures, but another species is slowly — really slowly — gaining ground.

Watch out for the zombies!

Interest in the undead has been building steadily in recent years. Now it has reached a fevered pitch across the entertainment spectrum.

The film “Zombieland” arrives in theaters Friday, and it’s just one of several movies, comic books, novels, TV series and even stage productions tackling the subject matter. Want more proof that zombies are hot? There are Facebook pages dedicated to zombies.

On the surface, the appeal of zombies may be hard to fathom. While vampires have become sex symbols thanks to “Twilight” and “True Blood,” there has been no such image makeover for zombies.

Zombies remain the mindless, bile-spewing, flesh-craving, monosyllabic killers they have been for the past four decades.

So why are these apparently one-note creatures so frightening, so fascinating?

“Though zombies are often seen as somewhat comical, I’ve always found them to be a truly compelling threat that’s essentially the opposite of oh, say, vampires,” said fantasy author Cheri Priest.

“Vampires are special and sparkly and wealthy and good-looking and maybe French. But zombiehood takes away everything and leaves you just like everyone else. No sparkles, no sexy accent. Just decomposing.”

“It’s like a reflection of ourselves,” said comic book writer Robert Kirkman. “Vampires are different things, and werewolves are different things ... but zombies are just, you know, us. Dead. Which is, aside from public speaking, everyone’s biggest fear. It’s kind of a personification of our fear of death, walking around, coming after us.”

A relatable creature

Video   Woody and Jesse on ‘Zombieland’ Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg sit down to talk about their great chemistry while filming "Zombieland." Plus, can you guess who makes a surprise cameo in the movie? Access Hollywood

That familiarity is at the heart of zombie mania. People relate to what they can envision, and in a world of zombies, all it takes is one bite to become one of them.

Kirkman’s Image comic book “The Walking Dead” has been a top seller since its 2003 debut. The series, which is being developed into a TV show for AMC, follows a group of human survivors trying to survive a post-apocalyptic Earth that’s been overrun by zombies.

“‘The Walking Dead’ is more a character study than anything else,” said Kirkman. “It’s just an exploration of characters trying to live and survive in a destroyed civilization. The zombies are just set dressing.”

Other comic publishers took notice of “The Walking Dead’s” success. Kirkman launched the popular “Marvel Zombies” series in 2005 (yes, that’s zombie versions of “Spider-Man” and the “X-Men”). Helped by artist Arthur Suydam’s zombie homage’s to classic Marvel comics of the past, the series became a best seller.

Video   Emma Stone on ‘Zombieland’ Emma Stone discusses how much fun it was to work with her co-stars, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin while making "Zombieland." Access Hollywood

Suydam thinks zombies in general touch on people’s fear of resurrection.

“Into a negative situation, like Frankenstein. Loss of the peace of the grave. For some of us a long sleep following a tumultuous life and toil might seem a blessing.”

How to survive in a world full of zombies is also the theme of “Zombieland.” The action comedy stars Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin as survivors trying to find the last safe haven for humans in the United States of Zombieland.

Eisenberg’s character follows a list of rules of survival. They include pearls of wisdom such as “The Double Tap”: Don’t be cheap with bullets. Shoot a zombie twice to make sure they’re dead. And Rule No. 1 – “Cardio”: You need to be in good shape to outrun zombies, since they never get tired.

Video   ‘Zombieland’ Woody Harrelson, Bill Murray and Abigail Breslin star in this comedy horror film, in which the earth is being attacked by zombies.

While an unabashed comedy, the film’s premise is built around a very serious — and in this day and age of swine flu concerns, very possible — scenario. A virus similar to Mad Cow disease is behind the zombie outbreak.

“These are realities of modern living, and I think that it’s something that we are all collectively feeling ... could happen,” said director Ruben Fleischer.

“It could actually happen, and that’s terrifying,” Stone pointed out. “Vampires aren’t going to exist, and werewolves probably don’t exist ... zombies really could conceivably exist.”

Harrelson, a noted environmental activist, suggested zombies have their own agenda.

“In my mind,” the actor said, “zombies are pretty ecological because they eat humans, who are causing most of the ecological damage.”

He was joking, but real-life parallels are commonplace in zombie culture.

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