io9 has some amazing concept art from Daniel LuVisi for the film adaptation of World War Z. Although LuVisi “couldn’t officially confirm he’s working on the movie”, if he is involved it bodes well for the film. The Battle for Yonkers piece really gets across the point that it’s the numbers that overwhelms well-equipped troops. Like the defenders at Suez in ZA Recht’s Plague of the Dead, facing tens of thousands of the living dead could panic even troops backed up by armor and aerial support. Love the details in LuVisi’s image. The excitement surrounding WWZ really seems to be building – looks like the film really could mark a new high-point for the zombie genre.

Here’s a link to a high resolution version of the piece.

Meant to post this a while ago. Simon Pegg (of the excellent Channel 4 series Spaced and the magnificent Shaun of the Dead) criticises the modern (specifically in Dead Set) preference for fast zombies.

I know it is absurd to debate the rules of a reality that does not exist, but this genuinely irks me. You cannot kill a vampire with an MDF stake; werewolves can’t fly; zombies do not run. It’s a misconception, a bastardisation that diminishes a classic movie monster. The best phantasmagoria uses reality to render the inconceivable conceivable. The speedy zombie seems implausible to me, even within the fantastic realm it inhabits. A biological agent, I’ll buy. Some sort of super-virus? Sure, why not. But death? Death is a disability, not a superpower. It’s hard to run with a cold, let alone the most debilitating malady of them all.

Read the full article on The Guardian online.

More Dead Snow clips from io9. Looks like the Norwegian film will be released in the US after being acquired by IFC Films.

Zombieland is in the news again now that Emma Stone (Superbad) has been tipped to join the cast.

Amusement parks are always good for horror, although not sure they would be a great place to find refuge from the living dead. But they aren’t really the living dead if this quote from Ain’t It Cool News is anything to go by:

Our Zombies are ferocious, infected people that move erratically. They are diseased, as opposed to undead. These are not the lumbering walking dead of Romero’s zombie movies, but instead the super jacked up 28 Days Later / Dawn of the Dead (2004) zombies. They are scary and gnarly and gross.

They have the abilities of amped up versions of people, similar to when your child is trapped under a car and you lift the car off of them. I see them moving somewhat similar to velociraptors, always alert, sniffing the air for prey, and when they strike, they strike fast and furious. Their movement should be somewhat unnatural, to indicate that they are not human, and because the disease is coursing through their veins, a certain level of jerkiness and a crazed look will reflect their nature like a rabid dog.

Have to say that I hope the days of “lumbering walking dead” aren’t over. That’s the whole point. Running zombies aren’t zombies. That would be a very different apocalypse (same thing goes for intelligent zombies).

In a classic zombie situation it’s the numbers and your own mistakes that get you. And that’s a lot more scary than human velociraptors. Well, packs of super-human cannibals are actually more scary, but they aren’t zombies.

I’ve had Call of Duty: World at War since Christmas and haven’t had a chance to even install it. Very tempted when I saw zombie mode:

And now a weekend of zombie mode for all. Not sure it applies to PC versions, though, and I really should work on some stuff for WotLD…

Dead Snow looks to be an instant classic. Not classic zombies: they can move really fast. But the idea is great. And the reviews are good, too. Sounds very Evil Dead. Plenty more images and trailers at io9

Just ordered Left4Dead. Probably arrive next week so won’t get a chance to play it for a while. Looks like fast zombies are the norm these days, which sort of misses the whole point, but the coop gameplay looks great. So many games and so little time.

Blog is at http://worldofthelivingdead.com/blog now. Old posts getting moved.

I remember having a lot of fun with Zombie Master about  a year ago. As is often the case with multiplayer games where you have a clear objective (Day of Defeat and Red Orchestra are good examples), I really found myself trying to preserve the barricades and help other players when I was on the human team. That level of cooperation disintegrates when the zombies get through and it usually ended up as an “every man for himself” situation. I always looked forward to when it was my turn to control the zombies. Liked setting up traps and having a birds-eye view of the mayhem. Latest post says that development is going to cease, which is a shame. I can recommend it if you haven’t tried it already.