Allow me to explain: In 2008, Chicago Review Press published the paperback book focused on films of the undead, on which there were many to munch. Seeing that Kay found the horror subgenre all but over with, the time to take a comprehensive look was right. It was a blast — a book I relished from cover to cover, and have returned to for reference many times since.
Then, shortly after its publication, a funny thing happened: a zombie craze exploded. Suddenly, the past four years have seen so many zombie movies — and even a blockbuster cable TV series for whose ratings the big four networks would kill — that Kay’s book became dated, lacking the true dawn of the dead.
Hence, an updated edition — not some lame, re-release cash-in with a new intro (although there’s that, courtesy Juan of the Dead director Alejandro Brugués), but approximately 80 more pages of reviews. They cover not only the biggies like TV’s aforementioned The Walking Dead, the sleeper-hit comedy Zombieland or whatever Resident Evil sequels have been released in the interim, but all the straight-to-DVD obscurities and indie-minded efforts. To give you an idea of the book’s sheer breadth, they include Doghouse, Colin, Deadgirl, I Sell the Dead, Make-Out with Violence, The Horde, Pontypool, Dead Snow, Tormented, The Dead, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night and Wake Wood. (There's even an episode of Glee that's covered. That alone should let you know how heavily Kay has scraped the sides of the cesspool.)
Haven’t heard of all those? That’s exactly the point of this lively looking, well-written guide: Expand your zombie horizons! Zombie Movies' subtitle of The Ultimate Guide is warranted, as Kay covers the blood-spattered, brain-sucking cinema of the re-animated from its origins in the 1930s to its unparalleled popularity today, from all corners of the globe. With hundreds of capsule reviews and nearly as many photos and posters, it’s something no self-respecting psychotronic film fan should be without ... especially now that it’s grown even larger. —Rod Lott
Hey! Read This:
• Colin DVD review
• The Dead Blu-ray review
• Dead Snow DVD review
• Deadgirl DVD review
• Doghouse Blu-ray review
• Dylan Dog: Dead of Night Blu-ray review
• The Horde DVD review
• I Sell the Dead DVD review
• Juan of the Dead DVD review
• Make-Out with Violence DVD review
• Pontypool DVD review
• Tormented DVD review
• Wake Wood Blu-ray review
• The Walking Dead: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray review
