Jack Flacco is proud to announce RANGER MARTIN AND THE SEARCH FOR PARADISE, the final book in the Ranger Martin trilogy, will publish on October 20.
When it comes to zombies, I have favorites. Who can forget the zombie from The Walking Dead the survivors find at the bottom of a well? What about the zombie from apartment 406 in the movie Zombieland? And of course, then there’s R from the film Warm Bodies. I think he’s the most endearing—even though he cracked a victim’s skull with his bare hands in order to get to the victim’s brain.
Let’s talk about favorite zombies for today’s Monday Mayhem. What makes them special? Why are they the way they are?
I mentioned the zombie from The Walking Dead caught in the well. The creature is not only one of my favorites, but the scene itself is hilarious—that is, if you like dark humor. The scene begins with the survivors finding a well. The resource would not only provide usable drinking water, but also allow them a measure of hygiene. The problem? There’s a walker in the well. They figure that if they can haul it out, they have a chance of salvaging what’s left. The plan calls for sending one of the survivors to tie a rope around the walker as a means of hauling it from the hole. Right up until they noose the walker, the plan seems to be working fine. As they heave the walker out of there, they don’t realize how heavy it is. And just as they had pulled half of its body out of the well, what do you think happens?
Well (pun not intended) the walker that had been in the well for such a long time, had absorbed a fair amount of water. The sheer weight of its body and the force the survivors exerted on that body caused it to tear in half. The walker’s lower half, including its entrails, collapsed back into the well. Not only was the scene kind of gross, but if you like that sort of humor, it was funny. Suffice it to say the survivors couldn’t save the well.
Another one of my favorites is the zombie from apartment 406 from the movie Zombieland. She doesn’t start as a zombie, but after a few hours hanging out with our hero Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) in his apartment, she’s ready to tear out his jugular. What I like about this zombie the most is the audience first sees her before she changes. She’s warm, considerate, and true to “the girl next door” moniker, she’s the girl any guy would love to date. Somehow, though, a homeless person bites her and she runs into Columbus’ apartment for safety. He has no problems with that. She’s attractive, what guy could resist not having an attractive girl asking for help?
Several hours later, the effect of that bite takes hold. Columbus runs for his life. What happens next is anybody’s guess.
What I enjoy about the whole scene is watching this beautiful girl turn into one of the zombies that then threatens to take Columbus’ life. A lot goes on in this scene, and it’s worth watching a few times to gain the subtle nuances the filmmaker intended.
Lastly, my other favorite zombie is R from the movie Warm Bodies. He’s the zombie that gains intelligence as the movie progresses to its inevitable conclusion. The theme is simple. A zombie falls in love with a human and wants to change the world with love. As ideal as it sounds, the story works for many reasons. The best reason I can think of is the love he has for the girl. Throughout the film he allows Julia into his world, and he’s the one who ends up changing for the better. R not only redeems himself by granting Julia her freedom, but also grows as a character, which then leads to greater things for him.
Barring from spoiling the entire film, R is one of my favorites because of his potential for growth, regardless if he is undead.
Your turn. What is your favorite zombie?
RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, on sale now.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale now.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE SEARCH FOR PARADISE, on sale October 20.
Do you have a favorite zombie? How about a favorite zombie movie?
Looking to God 
I think my favourite zombie is Bill Murray in Zombieland. But then again, he’s only pretending to be a zombie 🙂
Matt Smith, AKA The Doctor ( 11th regeneration ) has stated that he would like to do a small bit – part as a walker. I can imagine him appearing in a Stetson or a fez, trademark bow tie, carrying something resembling a sonic screw – driver ( Growling ” Geronimo ” ? ).
Congrats on the new publish date. As for favorite zombies, I don’t know if I would say favorite, but I did like R from Warm Bodies because it was such a unique take on the whole zombie mythos. At least, I thought it was a pretty nice change of pace.
Thanks a lot, Russell! I also enjoyed R.
The ” well walker ” zombie from The Walking Dead “. They interviewed the stuntman who played him on Youtube, in MAKEUP with sunglasses. He looked very casual, like this was just another day in blistering deep Southern heat. I don’t envy some of those stunt zombies. That stuff looks uncomfortable.
& Z Nation had some Z’s / Zombies who were flattened by the Liberty Bell in a scene in Philadelphia. Darkly funny. 🙂
I also admire the stunt people who play the zombie parts. They certain possess the resilience to keep that makeup for long periods of time.
My favourite zombie would have to be, Bub from the original Romero “Day of the Dead”, awesome movie, cool zombie!
Ty Burrell, from ” Modern Family ” was in the remake. IIRC, he became a zombie.
First, awesome news, Jack! October is a wonderful month (I’m biased, but….); many congratulations and good wishes on success for Ranger Martin’s final book (though not the last of RM;s adventures, we can hope)! As to favorite zombie, I’m not familiar with the three you mentioned, but I really also like the potential for R that you mention; that’s what literature is all about: growth and conflict. It looks like he has heaping helpings of that. So I’m deferring to your favorite zombies on this one, as I’m not well versed in zombie movies or TV (although I suppose a case could be made for the zombie-like potato-headed [don’t know what else to call them] people, mostly children suggested as being indoctrinated in freethought-squashing schools, that appear in Pink Floyd’s The Wall–which I do thoroughly enjoy, in a dark sort of way). In any case, have a fantastic week of writing, Jack!
Thanks very much, Leigh. Have an awesome week as well!
Shaun of the Dead is probably my favorite zombie movie, but I’m more into the comedic side. The favorite zombie comes from the end of that movie. I can’t say any more. R comes in a close second.
Not sure if you mentioned this in a previous post, but I think it came up. There’s a TV series based on a comic called iZombie. Caught an episode and it’s about a girl turned into a zombie, but she’s holding onto her humanity. She works in a morgue to eat the brains of the dead and if the person was murdered, she catches glimpses of their final moments. Naturally she starts helping the police. It’s an interesting concept.
Shaun of the Dead is also one of my favorite zombie movies. I have yet to watch iZombie. Looking forward to it.