Book Review: Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide

If, years from now, there is a college course about the history of zombie movies, Glenn Kay's Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide will be on the required reading list. Kay's book is a 300+ page epic that chronicles the history of undead cinema from the genre's origins in voodoo and Haitian tradition, to the reinvention of the zombie in the 1960's with Night of the Living Dead, to the recent "infection" movies such as 28 Days Later. Zombie Movies touches on almost every aspect of zombie movie fandom. It is comprehensive enough to recommend to hardcore zombie fans, but the book remains totally accessible to new fans as well. In fact, Zombie Movies could work as a great introduction to this wild and fantastic sub-genre.

The structure of the book is simple, but effective. The book is divided into different chapters, with each chapter focusing on a different decade in zombie movie history. At the beginning of each chapter is an introduction that focuses on the major events of the decade that propelled or hindered the development of the zombie sub-genre in that period of time. Following the introduction, the author presents brief reviews and synopses of the different zombie movies that were released in each decade. These reviews generally range in length from around a page or two (for the more landmark titles), to around a small paragraph. In this space, the author details the film's plot, the title's merits and flaws, and some historical information relating to the director, cast members, or production. Movies are ranked on a scale that ranges from "highly recommended" to "so bad it's good", and each rating corresponds with an icon of a cartoon zombie in different emotional states.

Mixed amongst these reviews are interviews the author conducted with various people that have connections to zombie films, including makeup artists, directors, and actors. The author himself writes an entertaining piece about his experiences as a zombie extra in Land of the Dead. These pieces provide an interesting and sometimes humorous look at the behind the scenes aspects of zombie cinema.

All of this content is topped off with numerous images from the zombie movies themselves, an unnecessary, but entertaining top 25 greatest zombie movies list, and, finally, a section of brief reviews on movies that are almost, but not quite zombie movies (films such as The Evil Dead series and 2007's I Am Legend).

The book's contents are organized in a comprehensive manner. There are two indexes (one for directors, another for film titles), and all of the movie reviews are arranged chronologically. This arrangement makes Zombie Movies a great reference guide. That's not to say, though, that those looking for a solid non-fiction book to read cover to cover should skip Zombie Movies. The material is presented in an interesting enough manner that it is entirely possible to read this book straight through and not become bored (I did so before this review, in fact!).

I'm a big fan of this book. Really, if you're a zombie fan, or have even a slight interest in the sub-genre, you'll have a lot of fun flipping through the pages of this guide. It's a book that I can see myself revisiting when I am in the need for an idea on what to rent, buy, or revisit.