Lost In Linkin Park Nostalgia

If you know anything about me, you’ll know I love Linkin Park. I’ve been a huge fan since day one. Not to say I was a fan of them before they were called Linkin Park when they were called Hybrid Theory or Xero, but the first time I heard One Step Closer I was hooked. I rushed to my super old computer, dialed up America Online, booted up Napster and was ready to see what other songs I could find. Low and behold, there was a fresh debut album. I downloaded, burned the CD and popped it into my CD player stereo. I was a changed young man. The next day I was in Best Buy purchasing the actual CD and playing it loudly in my car the whole drive home and have been to this day. Since that time, the band has released seven studio albums, three live albums, two compilation albums, two remix albums, three soundtrack albums, 12 video albums, 10 extended plays, 25 singles, 20 promo singles, and 68 music videos (according to Wikipedia at least). And as of February 09, 2023, we’ve been treated to an additional unreleased track titled “Lost” that is being included on the upcoming 20th Anniversary of Meteora box set available on Linkin Park’s website.

Photo: Revolver

With the release of this new song and the box set, we get more press for the remaining members of the band. Since Chester’s passing, they haven’t said much in the way of creating new music or touring. They did one final show as a tribute to Chester by inviting friends of the band to step into singer’s role and perform. This included some great Linkin Park classics and newer songs that fans hadn’t had the chance to see performed live. Now, Shinoda and the crew are getting asked about the chance for new music. They haven’t confirmed it, but again they have made steps towards that process which begins with getting them all in the same room together and that is what happened when it came to putting things together for this Meteora box set releasing in April.

Back to the topic of a new Linkin Park song. It’s bittersweet, right? I ache for new Linkin Park music, but hearing Chester’s voice does hit me harder every time I hear it now, especially when it’s a new song with such powerful lyrics. Lyrics that are written with such care like in the new song “Lost”. The story Mike and Chester tell with their lyrics is very personal and it’s universally relatable. We’ve all felt pain, we’ve all dealt with anxiety, depression, sadness, loneliness, betrayal, paranoia. It’s all there in the songs. The songs aren’t meant to drive you to depression but to express that you’re not alone. You don’t have to go through it all by yourself. The sad story of Chester is that he appeared always so happy and fun when on stage, on camera or with his friends and family. He seemingly had found it all; Fame, fortune, success, a loving family, right? But depression is deep and no amount of money or fame can take it all away.

To many, Chester had one of the most powerful and beautiful voices in the history of modern music. Not only will his talent for singing be missed, but for relating to the masses with his words. He spoke the truth along with Mike Shinoda, writing about their lives and experiences. Take the music out of it and read some lyrics. There is pain there and we can all identify with that pain. The band was somehow able to imbue their music with these powerful feelings, instruments and led by Chester’s dynamic engine of a voice. As Mike Shinoda said, '“He was born to do this.”

So here we are. Die hard LP fans are getting a special treat with this release of fresh lyrics and music from what I feel to be one of the biggest bands of the century. From the second I heard Hybrid Theory, I made a choice to learn guitar and sing in a band. My roommate and I had dreams of what it would be like performing on the road. I have notebooks of songs and lyrics still with me to this day, writing while working various jobs in my life.

Fast forward to 2017. I never signed a record deal but I played a lot of shows with my best friends and it was a shining moment in my little life. It wasn’t until Chester passed that I realized I need help. That my depression isn’t something I’ll just pull myself out of like the generations before me would tell us to do. No, I needed to speak to someone and I did. I still talk to a professional and I am on some medicine, but I’m no longer as hopeless and alone as I had been at one time. I beg you, if you’re suffering, seek help. Talk to someone. There will always be someone there to listen and to help. Even if its a stranger like one of us through the Atomic Geekdom Twitter DM.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.

If you or someone you need may be feeling depressed, hopeless, lost, alone or any of these things, here’s some information on how you can find help. Please speak with someone.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support via phone or chat for people in distress, resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. Includes information on finding your local crisis center.

Phone: 988

Website: http://suicidepreventionlifeline.org

In Memoriam: Kevin Conroy, Batman, Has Died

By Brandon T. McClure

Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman for generations, passed away this week after a short battle with cancer.

Diane Pershing, who voiced Poison Ivy in Batman: The Animated Series, was the first to announce his death. She posted on Facebook “our beloved voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy, died yesterday.” Shortly after this post, some of the lesser-known outlets began sharing the news to the disbelief of many fans around the world. Then the official word finally came from his representatives that yes, he had indeed passed away. The geek community mourns this passing and will continue to mourn it for days to come. A kind and gentle soul who touched the lives of actors and fans for more than 30 years has passed away. A bat-shaped hole is left in the hearts of those who loved him.

He attended Julliard where he studied alongside the likes of Christopher Reeve and his roommate Robin Williams. After leaving Julliard he pursued stage acting and received rave reviews for performances in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, and others. He starred in films and had recurring roles on television like on Cheers and Murphey Brown. But still, he struggled to find the kind of success that he was hoping for. On a whim, he answered a casting call for the character of Batman, a character he admits to having little to no knowledge of previously. He related to the character's duality and double life and found the voice through that. The rest is history.

Batman: The Animated Series is going to go down as his most influential role. He defined that character in a way few actors ever have. He was one of the first actors to bring a duality to the voice of the character, something he would refine throughout the years and something that live-action and voice actors would continue to emulate. Becoming the definitive voice for the caped crusader, Conroy would go on to voice him in shows including Justice League: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League Action, and many more to list. He guested on almost every Batman show, including Batman: Brave and the Bold where he appeared as the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, the alien Batman from the planet Zur-En-Arrh. He would then gain a whole new popularity with the character when he stepped back into the role with the popular Arkham trilogy of video games from Rocksteady studios. The popularity of those games introducing a new generation of fans to Conroy’s voice can’t be overstated. His most recent turn as Batman was for Warner Bros. Games Multiversus, a game that puts together various Warner Bros. properties in a Super Smash Bros.-style fighting game. 

Conroy would continue to reprise his Batman role in many animated features, notably Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, which many claim to be one of the best Batman movies ever made. He also starred in many direct-to-DVD animated features such as Justice League: Doom and most recently Justice League vs. The Fatal Five. Conroy would finally get to portray Bruce Wayne in live-action during the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event for the CW Arrowverse. During the second part of the five-part crossover, Kate Bishop (Ruby Rose) and Kara Danvers (Mellissa Benoist) travel to the alternate Earth-99 to look for the Batman there. They find an older Bruce Wayne with an exo-suit that he needs to move. Conroy got to play the role of a broken Bruce Wayne who’s murdered his rogue's gallery and the Superman of that Earth. It was exciting to see Conroy finally play the part in live-action and even though some fans weren’t happy with how it was portrayed, Conroy spoke fondly of the experience. He was excited to do something in front of the camera again after so long and “stretch his acting chops”, as he said to Michael Rosenbaum on his podcast. When asked if he would play that version again, he happily said he would 

Before it was announced that DC Pride 2022 was going to include a story written by Kevin Conroy, many fans weren’t aware that he was gay. He had come out in 2016 during an interview with the New York Times, but it went largely unnoticed until recently. His story in DC Pride 2022, talks about his journey as a struggling gay actor and the hardships he went through with his family. He came from a devout catholic family and his father was an abusive alcoholic. The DC Pride 2022 issue details a life that many are unfamiliar with. It’s a touching story that hits even harder now. He kept his private life very personal for his entire life. It wasn’t until DC’s touching tribute to the man did fans learn that he had been married for many years to Vaughn C. Williams. Nothing is publicly known about their relationship, but it’s a comfort to know that he wasn’t alone in the end.

It’s unknown if there were any films or shows that he was working on before his death, but he was reunited with Batman: The Animated Series co-creator Bruce Timm when he was cast as Thomas Wayne in Batman: Caped Crusader. Since that show is currently looking for a new home after being removed from HBO Max, it’s unknown at this time if he recorded any dialogue. Since his passing, there has been an outpour of love for him from his friends and co-stars. The likes of Mark Hammil, Susan Eisenberg, Tim Daly, and many more have all expressed their sorrow for the loss of their friend. He was a unique talent, one that will never be seen again. 

He was Batman.

Indominous Rex: The Perfect Jurassic Antagonist

By Brandon T. McClure

One of the opening scenes of Jurassic Park III has Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neil) giving a lecture to a group of people about the new discoveries that fossilized remains have revealed about raptors. He takes a question about the point of paleontology since there are two islands that hold real living dinosaurs. Grant responds to this young man by saying “what John Hammond and InGen did at Jurassic Park is create genetically engineered theme park monsters. Nothing more and nothing less.” This line would prove to be the entire thesis on which Jurassic World would be based. A thesis perfectly encapsulated by one dinosaur: Indominous Rex.

Since scientists are constantly discovering new things about the animals that lived 65 million years ago, the science that the Jurassic franchise is based on is wildly out of date. Jurassic Park is a technical marvel that continues to age like a fine wine every year, but paleo communities are constantly pointing out the various inaccuracies and it’s only gotten worse as the franchise continued well into the 21st century. By the time Jurassic World was developed, the many scientific theories about the creatures had become irrefutable, so then why don’t the dinosaurs of Jurassic World reflect the new scientific evidence? Why didn’t the Jurassic franchise update with the times? The reasons for this are at the very heart of what the Indominous Rex represents. 

Indominous Rex in Jurassic World

John Hammond's vision of what Jurassic Park could be was a wonderful place filled with majestic creatures that haven’t been seen in millions of years. That park failed, but you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. Now that Jurassic World was open for ten years, visiting a dinosaur had become like visiting an elephant at the local zoo. In order to keep visitors interested, Simon Masrani (Irrfan Khan), the owner of the park, requested a new dinosaur be built from scratch. A completely unnatural scientific creation that would be bigger and scarier than anything the natural prehistoric world could reveal. The Indominous Rex was designed by splicing together a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a Velociraptor, multiple other dinosaurs, and various modern animals that gave it unpredictable genetic traits, such as the ability to camouflage. Indominous Rex is not a dinosaur, she’s a “theme park monster”. She’s the bastardization of John Hammond's vision and the very idea of Jurassic Park taken to its most extreme.

 Jurassic World reminds the audience that it’s a thematic feature of the franchise that the dinosaurs don’t look “scientifically accurate.” Dr. Henry Wu (BD Wong) spells it out in a heated exchange with Masrani by simply saying “nothing in Jurassic World is natural”. Thanks to the gaps in the genetic codes that needed to be filled, the animals would never look the exact way they did 65 million years ago. A concept that was also explored in the TellTale point and click adventure game, Jurassic Park: The Game. In a way, every dinosaur on the island is some kind of hybrid, it’s just far less pronounced. For example, Blue is revealed to be genetically defective in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which is why she’s more responsive than other raptors.

Dr. Ian Malcom (Jeff Goldblum), Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) in Jurassic World: Dominion

As Dr. Ian Malcom (Jeff Goldblum) says in Jurassic Park, “your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.” At the time Dr. Malcom was talking about reviving dangerous super predators that haven’t been alive for millions of years, but now that line could apply to the scientists of Jurassic World. The new park could plan for any eventuality, they had multiple contingency plans in case the known dinosaurs got loose. The Indominous Rex was an unknown dinosaur, capable of abilities that were unpredictable. A genetically cloned dinosaur has millions of years of genetic coding that allows them to inherently know how to act and live. The Indominous, however, had none of that and had to discover it on her own. She had no genetic evolution encoded in her DNA and therefore had no concept of her place in the world.

The confusion in the Indominous Rex’s genetic code makes her far more dangerous than other dinosaurs. She doesn’t kill to hunt like a normal predator, she kills “for sport”. Everyone who ran and designed Jurassic World was so high on their own success that they felt they could handle anything. They knew they could design a dinosaur from scratch but, once again, they failed to ask if they should. Creation is a dangerous power that is incredibly unpredictable. They abused that power, and it fought back. In one single night, everything that was so carefully controlled and built was destroyed and returned to nature. Life will always find a way.

The Indominous Rex is the natural final step to the underlying theme laid out in Jurassic Park. She’s an unholy creature. Everything about her is trying to make the audience's skin crawl. Her skin is unnaturally white and her roar is strategically designed to make the audience uncomfortable. Her head is reminiscent of a skull and her jaw can open unnaturally wide. The Indominous may have been built from the genetic structure of real animals, but nothing about her is right. She is the antithesis of nature and the very thing the Jurassic franchise warns against. In another world, the Indominous Rex would have been a concept saved for Jurassic World: Dominion. Now that the hybrid dinosaur concept has been exploited three times (counting Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous), audiences are rather disinterested in the idea. The Jurassic franchise has always needed a “villain” dinosaur and they developed the perfect one far too soon. She truly was a “theme park monster.”

OPINION / Return of the Summer Blockbuster…sort of

By Patrick Nagy

It’s Memorial Day Weekend in the United States. A time we remember the soldiers of wars and battles past. It’s also is a time that feels like the kickoff of summer and since 1975, it’s the time of the Blockbuster! Technically the first Summer Blockbuster film Jaws was released on June 20th, but two years later Star Wars set the stage for what would be the launchpad for the big summer movie releases. Rambo: First Blood Part II, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, X-Men Days of Future Past, Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End, Mission Impossible, Men in Black III, The Hangover II, Beverly Hills Cop II, Back to the Future III, Return of the Jedi…if it was a sequel to a success or featured a mega action star, it would be out Memorial Day Weekend.

Jaws

This year is a little different though. After two years of a pandemic, vast technology improvements, and just a basic shift on how entertainment is thought of and produced, the Summer Blockbuster is coming home. To your home that is. Sure there is still a push to get people back to theaters like the current release of the long awaited Top Gun: Maverick, but some of the most anticipated releases are from the streaming services. 

Disney+ comes out swinging with the unexpectedly adult humored Chip `N Dales Rescue Rangers full length film and the expanse of the Skywalker Star Wars timeline with Ewan McGregor starring in the Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series.

Chip `N Dales Rescue Rangers - Disney+

Paramount+ pushed up the streaming date of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 having only released less than two months ago in theaters.

HBO Max followed suit by releasing Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore hoping to find new life for the Harry Potter prequel after a disappointing theater run.

Netflix probably has the most anticipated return with the fourth season of their wildly popular Stranger Things franchise. Sticking with the batch release method, binge watchers should rejoice this three day weekend.

Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Max (Sadie Sink) in Stranger Things S4

The point is, things are changing. In some ways entertainment is changing for the better, and in other ways not so much. Is this the last gasp of the super event movie theater summer Blockbuster we all come to love over the past 47 years? Is it the end of waiting in line for tickets to see that one big event movie opening day? The end of cheering, screaming, and applauding in sold out showings for our favorite characters on bigger than life screens while we sip on incredibly huge sodas while downing popcorn, and Junior Mints?

I sure hope not.

Television and films are better than ever, and I’m grateful for the convenience of streaming high definition images onto my large screen in the comfort of my living room, but next year when things are hopefully a little safer, I hope to go to the theater of rabid fans to see the next anticipated Summer Blockbuster. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 perhaps?! 

Disney Marvel - Guardians of the Galaxy

Jurassic World's Joker?

By Brandon T. McClure

The ending of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom promised a very different sequel. In the final moments of the 5th film in the long-running franchise that started with Jurassic Park, Maisie triumphantly decided that these animals deserved to live and freed them to roam the world. Jurassic World: Dominion picks up that thread and returns to a world now changed by these new dinosaurs roaming free. There are a number of new dinosaurs being introduced to the franchise with this film, including one of the largest carnivores that ever walked the Earth: the Giganotosaurus.

Giganotosaurus in Jurassic World Dominion

Fans who saw the IMAX screening of F9: The Fast Saga will probably remember the Jurassic World: Prologue that was available to see for a limited time. It introduced audiences to the prehistoric version of the Giganotosaurus (It’s the one that killed poor Rexy in her past life). Recently director Colin Trevorrow expanded more on what the Giganotosaurus’ role in Jurassic World: Dominion will be by explaining that the enormous dinosaur just “wants to watch the world burn”. With this quote, Trevorrow is channeling Michael Cain’s Alfred Pennyworth from The Dark Knight. He explained that he wanted something that felt like the Joker. But that’s certainly an odd way to describe something that is essentially an animal.

Interestingly, this goes back to a struggle that the Jurassic World films have been facing since the first reboot in 2015. An issue that might have even started in Jurassic World III. Villain dinosaurs have always been important for the franchise. In order to go through any sort of challenges, characters like Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) have to go up against some of the most dangerous predators this world has ever seen. The first two films, Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park relied on the Velociraptors with a healthy dose of Tyrannosaurus Rex action. Not wanting to go back to that well for a third time, director Joe Johnston and writers Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor, used the Spinosaurus and had him kill the Tyrannosaurus Rex to show how dangerous this new dinosaur could be.

Talk of a 4th Jurassic Park film started almost immediately after Jurassic Park III was released. From the beginning, talk of hybrid dinosaurs had dominated the discussions around the film. Initially, concept art pointed to the idea that there would be human/dinosaur hybrids that would be used in some sort of war scenario. Eventually, Colin Trevorrow came on board the project, and that idea evolved into the Indominus Rex. Not wanting to repeat the mistakes fans felt Jurassic Park III made by killing the Tyrannosaurus Rex and a plotline that relied heavily on hero Velociraptors, the Indominous Rex was created to fill the role of the “villain” dinosaur. The Indominous Rex was a large predator that was exploring its place in the world and was created because Masrani, the company that took over InGen, wanted to create something that would scare the visitors who they felt were beginning to get bored with the standard dinosaurs. It was an idea that was handled to the best of their abilities.

Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) in Jurassic World Dominion

In total, the franchise has created three hybrid dinosaurs. One being the Scorpious Rex from the Netflix animated spin-off Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous. Another included the Indo-Raptor from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom which was portrayed as a truly evil and unhinged monster. Quite honestly, Indo-Raptor was not unlike the Joker. It’s refreshing that the creative team for Jurassic World: Dominion didn’t want to go back to the hybrid dinosaur route and going bigger makes a certain amount of sense, so it can go up against Rexy. But giving it the kind of motivation that villains in superhero films have seems like an odd choice for something that has something more in common with a crocodile than a person.

These carnivorous dinosaurs see humans and other animals as food. They’re essentially predators at the top of the food chain. Describing one of the newer dinosaurs like the “Joker” of the Jurassic World franchise creates the idea that it’s an intensely smart and calculating creature that assigns preemptive thought to everything that it does. But, it’s not like the Giganotosaurus has some sort of endgame plan. The franchise isn’t a superhero story and it’s not one with supervillains. The Raptors from the first two films wanted to eat the main characters, the Spinosaurus wanted to eat the main characters, the Indominous Rex and the Indo-Raptor wanted to kill the main characters, and so on. So why is the Giganotosaurus the one that is assigned something more than what has come before? What make’s this animal so special?

Jurassic World Dominion hits theaters on June 10th, 2022.

YEAR IN REVIEW / Best of 2021

By Jenny Robinson

---

Every year, we see headlines of how bizarre, insane and exciting the passing year has been. Although a bit better than 2020, this 2021 year has also been quite the ride.

We started with hopes for an end to covid with the distribution of vaccines. A mob stormed our capital. It was the year NTF’s took their first baby steps and rich people went to space. We saw plenty of memes of the large cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal and Bernie Sanders mittens. As we leave this wacky year, we said goodbye to Norm MacDonald, Anne Rice, Michael K. Williams, DMX, Ed Asner and sadly more. We are still struggling through the pandemic with the new Omnicron variant but also see the return of Hollywood blockbusters. As with each year, we have ups and downs but there has always been amazing entertainment to keep our head in the clouds (and our feet on the ground).

Atomic Geekdom has been busy this year as well. We have relaunched our website with new articles and reviews. We made it back to the Con and excited to post new videos of all the cosplayers again. Dave and Kyle now do live streams on Twitch, Facebook Live and YouTube that are must-see. We added some amazing guest writers (thank you Brandon, Dave2, Annie, Patrick and Allan) and look forward to working with them again, while also adding some other new voices next year.

We are very proud of our direction and momentum moving into 2022.

---

Now…THE LISTS!

It’s sometimes difficult to remember all the awesome stuff from the past 12 months. I loved going through everyone’s favorite lists of the year. Not only does it show how different we each are but also how very similar we seem to be.

In true Justin fashion, Pig topped his movie list. “Probably one of the best modern performances of Nicolas Cage. If you are a fan of Nic Cage in general, this film solidifies how he doesn't have to go "full Cage" to make a film great.” (check out the review Justin and I did for our Four Eyes Review and stay tuned for more of Justin’s “Nic Guage” articles in 2022).

Image Comic’s Stray Dogs also had quite a few top choice awards in the comic category. Stray Dogs is like Lady and the Tramp meets Silence of the Lambs.

Annie tapped in with a “Hard Tie” for her top series by saying “Yellowjackets! Taken a lifetime to get Juliette Lewis and Christina Ricci in a killer script! The wait has been worth it! A mid 90’s female Lord Of The Flies, with so much more! Can’t recommend enough! But then, CHUCKY!!! FINALLY got the continuation we deserved!! AND Tiffany!! Epic writing and casting. Hoping for Glenn & Glenda to make an appearance in s2!”

Comically, many of us struggled to nail it down to just one.

Spider-Man and Ghostbusters topped most lists for those who have been able to see them. The Green Knight (review HERE) and Heels received multiple mentions. Both myself and Matt still hold Relentless in the #1 book spot (reviews HERE).

Safe to say, it was a good year.

For each of the Atomic Geekdom’s team favorites of 2021:

@robiart

MOVIES: Last Night In Soho

SERIES/SHOW: What We Do In The Shadows S3 (Honorable Mentions: Sweet Tooth & Heels)

BOOK: Relentless by Jonathan Maberry

COMIC: Stray Dogs (Honorable Mentions: Bitter Root & BRZRKR)

GAME: n/a

ALBUM: Crawler by Idles

@djclark21 twitch.tv/djclark21

MOVIE: Ghostbusters: Afterlife

SERIES/SHOW: The Stand, Heels & WandaVision

BOOK: Will by Will Smith

COMIC: Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer

GAME: Resident Evil Village

ALBUM: New Low by We Were Sharks

@kylekrause89 twitch.tv/kkrause89

MOVIE: Shang-Chi, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Mortal Kombat, Zack Snyder's Justice League, Spider-Man: No Way Home

SERIES/SHOW: Everything Marvel Disney+

BOOKS: n/a

COMICS: n/a

GAMES: Halo Infinite

ALBUM: Welcome to the Horrorwood - The Silver Scream 2 by Ice Nine Kills

@Skids_World

MOVIE: Spider-Man No Way Home, Shang-Chi

SERIES/SHOW: Yellowstone S4, 1883, Heels

BOOK: n/a

COMIC: DCEASED: Unkillables

GAME: PGA 2K21

ALBUM: n/a

@justin.pomerville @jpomergranite @2BGPod

MOVIES: Pig, The Green Knight

SERIES/SHOW: Sweet Tooth, WandaVision

BOOK: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (Novelization) by Quentin Tarantino

COMIC: Stray Dogs, HaHa

GAME: Guardians of the Galaxy, Pokemon Snap

ALBUM: Songs of Death and Resurrection by Demon Hunter, Servant of the Mind by Volbeat

@2BGPod

MOVIE: Spider-Man: No Way Home

SERIES/SHOW: The Sex Lives of College Girls

BOOK: Relentless by Jonathan Maberry

COMIC: n/a

GAME: n/a

ALBUM: Servant of the Mind by Volbeat

Twitter: @patrick_nagy1 | Instagram: @patricknagy

MOVE: Dune

SERIES/SHOW: Midnight Mass

BOOK: The Eye of the World - Wheel of Time Book 1 (Prime Video) by Robert Jordan

COMIC: Stray Dogs

GAME: The Walking Dead - No Man’s Land

ALBUM: In These Silent Days by Brandi Carlile

@btmcclure @fakenerdpodcast

MOVIE: The Mitchell’s vs The Machines

SERIES/SHOW: Ducktales Season 3

BOOK: The Autobiography of Katheryn Janeway by Una McCormack

COMIC: Radiant Black, Murder Falcon, Birthright

GAME: Guardian’s of the Galaxy

ALBUM: n/a

Twitter @davepal | Instagram: @davepalamaro

MOVIE: Saint Maud

SERIES/SHOW: Midnight Mass

BOOK: n/a

COMIC: Days of Hate

GAME: Forgotten City

ALBUM: A Billion Little Lights by Wild Pink

@hessian_hellcat

MOVIE: Black Friday

SERIES/SHOW: Yellowjackets, Chucky

BOOK: n/a

COMIC: n/a

GAME: Dead by Daylight

ALBUM: If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power by Halsey

MOVIE: Pig, Willy’s Wonderland, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Green Knight

SERIES/SHOW: The Nevers, Hit Monkey, Resident Alien, Only Murders In The Building, Money Heist, Ghosts

BOOK: n/a

COMIC: Save It For Later, Daredevil, Gideon Falls, Something is Killing the Children, Barbalien - Red Planet

GAME: n/a

ALBUM: OK Human by Weezer, Medicine at Midnight by Foo Fighters, Turn Up the Dial by Dropkick Murphys, The Pamphlet by They Might Be Giants

CLASH OF THE MONSTERS - WEEK #4 / THE CONCLUSION

PART 4 of 4 - A Zombie, Werewolf and Vampire walk into a bar…

This month we dove into the love, fascination and strength of some classic monsters. We covered some of the history through the lens of pop culture and tried to wrap our head around the “rules” of each as we determine why each are so nightmarish.

We now discuss the battle’s outcome. Did your monster win?

BATTLE SYNOPSIS:

Its 9pm on a Saturday in October. The full moon is bright. A small corner bar in a hip area of town is super busy. Patrons crowd the bar for a drink. On one side near the entrance sits a vampire. Across the bar you find a werewolf, in the center, a zombie. The fight starts when the zombie turns and takes a fatal bite from a local…and the vampire locks the door.

THE CONCLUSION:

We had a blast hearing everyone’s predictions on who would win our Clash of the Monsters. The scenarios that were shared makes for some really great fight directions.

We also apologize for not including the Energy Vampire. We loved the argument that if Colin Robinson was in the bar, the fight would have never happened in the first place. As we have seen in What We Do in the Shadows, he can drain pretty much anything (co-workers, vampires, even trolls). You would have a very boring bar. 

Mark Proksch as Colin Robinson in What We Do In The Shadows FX

What We Do in the Shadows had a few honorable mentions. One of our favorites was that the vampire would win because it was Laszlo Cravensworth all along. He’ll yell “BAT” and fly up to the ceiling to avoid the action. Once things died out, you’d find him settle behind the bar as “just your average neighborhood bartender Jackie Daytona.” Add in the fact of him being dead, zombies couldn’t detect. Laszlo for the win?

Matt Berry as Laszlo Cravensworth aka Jackie Daytona in What We Do In The Shadows FX

Not so fast, if the ceilings were low, the War Wolf could just knock our pal down.

In the beginning, it seemed Zombies were a guarantee. With the modern zombie being able to spread so quickly, the vampire and werewolf would become overwhelmed. One zombie becomes two, two become four, four becomes eight, and so on. In researching the history of the living dead, I was sure they’d be the winner(s).  Things to think about though… In Shaun of the Dead, Shaun, Ed and team were able to win the zombie fight at the Winchester. Another plus is cue sticks would work against the vampire as well. People win?

Kate Ashfield as Liz, Simon Pegg as Shaun and Nick Frost as Ed in Shaun of the Dead

Then again, a vampire has years of experience and would most likely avoid and out smart them. 

Vampire Clean up at Fangtasia in True Blood (Kristin Bauer van Straten as Vampire Pam, Alexander Skarsgård as Vampire Eric, Stephen Moyer as Vampire Bill and Tara Buck as Ginger)

Werewolves were originally thought to be the big losers. Other than strength, they didn’t bring much to the table. They are still alive so could be detected by zombies but could they actually be infected? Much like vampires, they also have fast healing. Justin decided to go with War Wolves and the predictions started to change yet again.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

The conclusion comes down to simple numbers vs brains and strength. 

Zombies have the numbers, werewolves the strength and vampires the strategic knowledge. 

From our poles: 

Zombies: 17%

Werewolves 25%

Vampires: 58%

THE WINNER IS…. VAMPIRES!

CLASH OF THE MONSTERS - WEEK #3 / WEREWOLVES

PART 3 of 4 - A Zombie, Werewolf and Vampire walk into a bar…

This month we are diving into the love, fascination and strength of some classic monsters. We’ll cover some of the history through the lens of pop culture and try to wrap our head around the “rules” of each as we determine why each are so nightmarish.

We’ll wrap the month discussing the battle’s outcome. Join the conversation on social media to be included in our final CHAMPION discussion. Which monster would win in the situation noted? You decide.

BATTLE SYNOPSIS:

Its 9pm on a Saturday in October. The full moon is bright. A small corner bar in a hip area of town is super busy. Patrons crowd the bar for a drink. On one side near the entrance sits a vampire. Across the bar you find a werewolf, in the center, a zombie. The fight starts when the zombie turns and takes a fatal bite from a local…and the vampire locks the door.

WEEK 3: Werewolves

By Justin Pomerville

Werewolves' earliest origins seem to come from Greek mythology with The Legend of Lycaon. The story goes that Lycaon angered Zeus when he served him a meal made of the remains of a sacrificed boy. Zeus was so angry with this trick, that he turned Lycaon and his sons into wolves. In Nordic folklore, there’s a story called The Saga of the Volsungs which is about a father and son that discovered wolf pelts that had the power to turn people into wolves for 10 days. When the father and son put the pelts on, they went on killing rampages in the forest. The two only stopped when the father turns on the son and attacks him.

Throughout the centuries, there have been all sorts of these kind of stories about werewolves. In the 1700’s, we found a possible medical explanations for those who are accused of being werewolves. Science pointed towards food poisoning, rabies, hallucinations (from consuming herbs), and/or hypertrichosis (a rare genetic disorder that causes excessive hair growth).

Zeus turning Lycaon into a wolf; 1589 engraving by Hendrick Goltzius

Werewolves made their film debut in 1913 in a silent short film called The Werewolf. The film followed a Navajo woman who becomes a witch and teaches her daughter how to transform into a wolf to seek vengeance. Sadly, the film was lost in a fire in 1924. The first mainstream werewolf film was 1941’s Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney Jr. and is considered the blueprint for future werewolf films over the years.

Lon Chaney Jr. and Evelyn Ankers in the 1941 movie The Wolfman

As talked about with the zombies and vampires, there are four different types of werewolves that have significant strides to adding to the lore of werewolves within media:

War-Wolf: Seen in films like The Howling, Dog Soldiers, and The Underworld series, these are the menacing wolves that dominated the 80’s horror scene. Characteristics of these monsters were that they didn’t have tails, had black or grey fur, usually stood about 7’ tall, fueled by rage, long fingers and claws, and can transform at will.

Action scene from 2002’s Dog Soldiers movie

Quadruped Wolf: Seen in The Twilight series and An American Werewolf in London are giant wolves. They don’t stand upright and are not as resilient as their war cousins. Characteristics include being 7’ long from tail to snout, have some self-awareness and rage control, black, brown, or grey fur, prefer biting attacks, and long whip like tails.

The fully transformed werewolf in American Werewolf in London

Pug Wolf: Seen in The Wolfman, Penny Dreadful, Teen Wolf, and Grimm, these are the ones that are more human like. These are the types that are used in most TV shows because they are easily made with prosthetics. Characteristics for them are obvious with the more human stature, elongated ears, long canine teeth, retaining most human self-awareness and control, slight snouts, prefer slashing attacks, least likely to kill their victims or turn them into werewolves, and some fur covering.

Michael J. Fox in 1985’s Teen Wolf

Full Wolf: Seen in True Blood, Wolf, and Wolfen, these ones are pretty self-explanatory. These guys are the most fragile of the bunch. However, they are the most dangerous when in packs, especially if you are a different type of werewolf. If a Full Wolf attacks and wounds any of the other kinds of werewolves, those wolves cannot heal from those wounds.

True Blood werewolf

The weakness of werewolves are all pretty universal. Silver bullets are your best bet to take any of these guys down, but it will take a couple shots. You can also remove their head or heart. Another weakness is that you can turn them on each other, as explained previously in the Full Wolves bio. They don’t play very well with each other. Probably the easiest way to kill a werewolf is to destroy the “human form” because it’s just a person. Easy target, unless they are some sort of specialist in some sort of combat.

Conclusion to "A Zombie, Werewolf and Vampire walk into a bar…" 

It really depends on the type of werewolves that get locked in. Best bet would be a War Wolf because of the ruthless rage. That would be the greatest asset as well as not needing the moon in order to turn (which wouldn’t matter in this case). The other three would not have a chance in this scenario. When it comes to zombies, they can just rip them apart. And not being held back by the moon, they have more of an advantage with strength against vampires.

Honorable mentions:

Teen Wolf 1985 (noted above) Comedy/Fantasy Michael J. Fox is a high school nerd that finds out he’s a werewolf and decides to use those attributes for basketball. It’s totally what I would do.

Werewolves Within 2021 Comedy/Horror A very creative film that is basically Clue with a werewolf twist. Very funny and creative fun cast of mostly up-and-coming actors.

Silver Bullet 1985 Horror Based on Stephen King’s novel Cycle of the Werewolf, not the strongest film, it does have a memorable performance by Gary Busey.

Trick ‘R Treat 2007 Horror Although this movie is more of an anthology film, the section with werewolves is probably some of the best modern usage of the creature.

CLASH OF THE MONSTERS - WEEK #2 / VAMPIRES

PART 2 of 4 - A Zombie, Werewolf and Vampire walk into a bar…

This month we are diving into the love, fascination and strength of some classic monsters. We’ll cover some of the history through the lens of pop culture and try to wrap our head around the “rules” of each as we determine why each are so nightmarish.

We’ll wrap the month discussing the battle’s outcome. Join the conversation on social media to be included in our final CHAMPION discussion. Which monster would win in the situation noted? You decide.

BATTLE SYNOPSIS:

Its 9pm on a Saturday in October. The full moon is bright. A small corner bar in a hip area of town is super busy. Patrons crowd the bar for a drink. On one side near the entrance sits a vampire. Across the bar you find a werewolf, in the center, a zombie. The fight starts when the zombie turns and takes a fatal bite from a local…and the vampire locks the door.

WEEK 2: Vampires

By Patrick Nagy

Vampire lore seems to be as old as the mythical ageless beings themselves. The oldest stories can be traced to the middle ages when plague utterly destroyed villages. People often look to explain away the unexplainable with mythical stories of monsters and dark magic. If an entire family died, it must’ve been the undead draining them of their life while feasting on their blood of course! Through time these stories got more pronounced and overlapped true history. There was Elizabeth Báthory bathing in the blood of peasants to retain her eternal youth, notorious succubus Lilith who’s origins go all the way back to the Garden of Eden, and of course the infamous Vlad the Impaler.  He’s rumored to have killed his enemies in battle by impaling them on a large stake, while enjoying a meal and dipping his bread in their blood. He must be a vampire right? Vlad is believed to been the inspiration for author Bram Stoker’s 1897 literary classic Dracula.

Archival art depicting Vlad the impaler’s spikes.

Much like zombies, there are different types of vampires. We have all sorts of vampires now. Regal vampires, scary vampires, transforming vampires, shimmering vampires, parasitic vampires, funny vampires, breakfast cereal vampires…the list goes on and on.

Dracula is important because at the turn of the last century motion pictures started to take off. From black & white silent films to IMAX full color blockbusters, Hollywood went crazy for movie monsters and there are none bigger than the Vampire!

The classic Dracula vampire is most commonly known. The role was made famous by Hungarian-American actor Bela Lugosi and then brought to life again and again by the likes of British born actor Christopher Lee. There was even a “Blaxploitation” version called Blackula starring William Marshall. Many years later the Gary Oldman and Francis Ford Coppola brought it back to its bloody roots in their version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. 

Movies posters of Dracula staring Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee and Gary Oldman

One of the rare and legendary early adaptations on screen was the German vampire movie Nosferatu starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok. What makes this film so unique was after it’s 1922 release, Bram Stoker’s widow sued the producers of the film for being too close to her late husband’s story even though names and locations were changed. The suit ordered all copies be destroyed, yet a few survived and today it is regarded as an influential masterpiece of cinema. In Nosferatu, Count Orlok does not appear to “make” vampires but does kill his victims. This drove home the lore that vampires existed within the shroud of a plague. 

Max Schreck as Count Orlok in Nosferaut

The Lost Boys with Kiefer Sutherland and the Corys are loosely based on the Dracula rules. To be apart of gang, you must first drink their blood. Even after drinking though, in order to “become” a vampire you must also feed on human. Plus funny blood suckers in movies like What We Do in the Shadows with Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clements also have similar “no sun, avoid wooden stakes” rules. Heck, there are even movies for vampire hunters like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Blade starring Wesley Snipes.

Billy Wirth as Dwayne, Kiefer Sutherland as David, Brooke McCarter as Paul and Alex Winter as Marko as the vampires in The Lost Boys

On the opposite end of the spectrum we also had teen angst vamps in Twilight starring Robert Pattinson and Christen Stewart. The Twilight vampires have very little similarities to the classic Dracula type. They go to high school (despite being hundreds of years old) and can walk in the sun. They have marble like skin so once once sunlight hits them, instead of burning they sparkle. These type of “blood suckers” are as far away from the scary monsters in the lore. They can turn a human into one of them by a simple venomous bite and live forever. They can also have children who then are vampire hybrids. Oh, and believe-it-or-not, they can be vegetarian. 

Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen in Twilight.

The one that seems to be the outlier is Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend. In his 1954 book, vampires bring back the plague idea and become more the evolutionary infected rather than the Dracula type. This idea brings one of the more modern takes on vampires. The 2009 novels (and later the television series and graphic novels) The Strain by Director Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan takes the more infected I Am Legend hive mind approach. They use long stingers to suck the blood of their victims while transferring a worm into their body.  The “Ancients” control them. This is NOT the vampire you’d want to be. This is probably the closest “zombie” like vampire of the group. The vampires aren’t sexy, or even pretty. They can’t fly, or hypnotize, or change into a bat, or even think for themselves.

Will Smith with a vampire in I Am Legend

So to recap:

Folklore Vampires (Elizabeth Báthory, Lilith, Vlad the Impaler)

• Run of the mill tall tales

• Don’t know who caused all this death? Must be a Vampire! (or a Witch)

• Weakness: Dig them up and burn their heart. If that doesn’t work, call a priest!

Dracula Style (Dracula, Nosferatu, The Lost Boys, Interview with a Vampire, True Blood)

• Regal, possibly royal

• All powerful, seductive, can transform, immortal

• Weakness: A wooden stake through the heart, crucifix, holy water, sunlight, killing the master kills the hive

Modern Vampires (Twilight, Discovery of Witches, The Vampire Diaries)

• Slight variations, but mostly still Dracula-esque

• May shimmer in daylight, more lovers than fighters

• Weakness: A broken heart

I Am Legend Vampires (The Strain, Blood Red Sky, Daybreakers)

• Infected

• Weakness: Sunlight, modern weapons, Nuclear bombs to their home soil

"A Zombie, Werewolf and Vampire walk into a bar…" 
Alright, let’s get down to brass tacks. For this battle scenario I’m gonna go with the more “traditional” Hollywood Vampire. The sexy, yet powerful vampire we all grew up with. They’ve been around for hundreds of years, and they’ve seen things. They know how to handle themselves. I see the vampire mostly taking a back seat for the start of the battle and let the Werewolf deal with the current Zombie outbreak. After all werewolves are supposed to be alive and warm blooded so they will attract the brainless undead. Once the werewolves are out of the way, all the vamps have to do is take out what’s left. But then again, what if the sunrise hits and a zombie breaks a window or two? What if the werewolf manages to turn a human to join him? Where are the pool cues?! Who ordered the garlic pizza?!!!!!

Honorable Mentions:

Interview with the Vampire (1994): This movie introduced a larger audience to Anne Rice’s 1976 series where Lestat is a freaking rock star. It also provided a new love for the depressed vampire. It had great character development between Lestat (Tom Cruise) and the sad Louis (Brad Pitt), Also a great introduction to the “interview” style.

Fright Night (1985): Chris Sarandon stars as the mysterious neighbor that may be a vampire.  The main character, a teenage boy witnesses a possible murder which of course nobody believes him. So he has to get his favorite TV vampire slayer (Played by Roddy McDowell) to help him.  It’s like an 80’s campy Rear Window with vampires.

From Dusk til Dawn (1996): Let’s just say Robert Rodriguez makes some fun stuff.  George Clooney as a bad guy vampire slayer and Salma Hayek as a smoking hot striper/vampire. It even has Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Tom Savini and Quentin Tarantino (who wrote the screenplay) to name just a few. WIN!

Let the Right One In (2004 book & 2008 movie): Although Hollywood made a US version, the original Sweedish movie is heartbreaking and terrifying.  Eli (Lina Leandersson) and Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) are spectacular children who have a friendship the world should be afraid of.  It makes being a “Renfield” super sad and extremely disturbing.

The Monster Squad (1987): Super fun nostalgic movie for me. Kids trying to make sure the classic Universal Monsters (including Count Dracula) do not take over the world.

Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries (books 2001 - 2013): Although HBO’s True Blood was a fun adaptation of the books, the vampires in the Sookieverse had a few new rules. Like vampire blood was like a drug that can heal but if you were almost out of blood it would turn you. This brought in more of a political world that not all vampire stories tell (aside from Blade and Underworld to name a few). 

CLASH OF THE MONSTERS - WEEK #1 / ZOMBIES

PART 1 of 4 - A Zombie, Werewolf and Vampire walk into a bar…

This month we are diving into the love, fascination and strength of some classic monsters. We’ll cover some of the history through the lens of pop culture and try to wrap our head around the “rules” of each as we determine why each are so nightmarish.

We’ll wrap the month discussing the battle’s outcome. Join the conversation on social media to be included in our final CHAMPION discussion. Which monster would win in the situation noted? You decide.

BATTLE SYNOPSIS:

Its 9pm on a Saturday in October. The full moon is bright. A small corner bar in a hip area of town is super busy. Patrons crowd the bar for a drink. On one side near the entrance sits a vampire. Across the bar you find a werewolf, in the center, a zombie. The fight starts when the zombie turns and takes a fatal bite from a local…and the vampire locks the door.

WEEK 1: Zombies

By Jenny Robinson

There are basically three types of zombies: Voodoo, Romero and Infected (or Running). Each have interesting histories and terrors.

It can be argued that the voodoo zombie is the “real” zombie but I disagree. In the 1938 movie White Zombie they were just slaves. Bela Lugosi’s "Murder" Legendre character is more a monster than the actual zombies. Those zombies only did what Murder commanded. Mindless dead controlled by a puppet master (or in this case a Voodoo Priest). Don’t get me wrong, I believe that the old Haitian zombies are fascinating and love how the lore dives deep into the real horrors and history of slavery. The idea of curses and enslavement makes for a horrifying story that may play out in actuality. The 1988 movie Serpent of the Rainbow even loosely dove into one of the more fascinating stores of a real life zombie Clairvius Narcisse. With things we know and tangibly have, voodoo zombies feel plausible. I also love the historical narrative. In these older tales, the zombies kill from being possessed and acting on the will of their master. The evil they inflict all comes down to to how evil the master is. So the question is.... wouldn't the master be the monster here (who is NOT a zombie)?

White Zombie - 1938


How do you kill a voodoo zombie? You don't. You kill the master.

Voodoo Zombies made before WW2 were mostly derivative of vampire stories borrowing from Dracula and similar mythology with a romantic overtone (Ouanga -Love Wanga & The Walking Dead both from 1936). During the war you'll find more movies made about Nazi's experimenting with voodoo to create super armies (King of the Zombies - 1941 & Revenge of the Zombies 1943). Movies post WW2 included some form of radiation either by weapons or space (Invisible Invaders & Plan 9 From Outer Space - 1959). There are some overlap in that timeline but I feel noting it does a great job of showing how real life events can effect the zombie lore.

Tor Johnson as Inspector Clay in Ed Wood’s Plan 9 From Outer Space

Moving on...I am just going to say it, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead zombie is the TRUE zombie. On October 1st, 1968 the big screen switched from the old school voodoo slaves to cannibals exposed to radiation from a Venus space probe. This movie makes the nice guy next door into a flesh-eating ghoul. No longer is the need for a master. These "ghouls" function entirely on their own with a simple desire...bite.

George A. Romero & John Russo’s Night of the Living Dead

One similarity Romero zombies have to Voodoo zombies is that they too are borrowed from Vampires. Night of the Living Dead was influenced (and borrowed) from Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. In the book, the lead Neville is in a world where monsters come out at night. Those monsters are his neighbors, his friends. To this day, people confuse I Am Legend as being a zombie story when in actuality it is 100% a vampire tale. The idea that your neighbor can kill you also stands as a strong parallel.

Night of the Living Dead spawned a ton of sequels, remakes and spin offs. Romero was able to dive into new story directions. Moving into the 1970's, the zombie genre also gained speed feeding off of great horror movies like The Exorcist and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This gave brith to zombie hoards and even "smart" zombies.

The Romero Zombie is pretty simplistic. They are dead. They multiply by biting and killing. They can only be killed by destroying the brain.

BRRRRRAAAAAAINS!!!!!!!

Now we get into the complicated legal stuff. Romero actually co-wrote Night of the Living Dead with John "Jack" Russo. After some legal back-and-forth, Romero lost the rights to "Living Dead" which was awarded to Russo (like Return of the “Living Dead”). As a fan, no one considers Russo's "Living Dead" actually being part of "the dead" series. Romero went on to do the "of the dead" movies. Semantics.


What does that have to do with brains you ask? Russo's director in Return of the Living Dead hinted at the idea that the undead felt the need because it somehow made them feel better by easing their pain. In my honest opinion, I feel that is dumb (sorry!). Romero appears to never be a fan of that idea as well.

The cool part of Romero and his take on the zombie is that he believed that the zombie was not the scariest monster. That title fell on us. This was a huge inspiration for the more recent Robert Kirkman The Walking Dead comic series & AMC show. Kirkman tells a story where the zombies are more incontinent threats over the threat of humans trying to survive. The humans do WAY more damage than a walker ever could. TWD zombie is as close to the old school Romero zombie as you can get. They are not smart. They can't run. They decompose. They have no conscious objective. They just eat. As with all things though, there was some growth. Instead of radiation from space, everyone is already a zombie. Once you die, you always come back. WHOA!

Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead - Issue 24 / Robert Kirkman + Charlie Adler

So what happens if you take a Romero Zombie and apply the world as we know it now? Much like the 1940-1950's movies, zombies continue to adapt to the headlines and now we have RUNNING ZOMBIES!

These may be my absolute favorite. Running Zombies are hybrids of Romero Zombies but more advanced.

I blame Danny Boyle.

In 2002 we were introduced to a new apocalyptic world in 28 Days Later. The premiss is that an experimental drug (again much like the 2007 remake of the vampire movie I Am Legend) that channels the reaction of rage is released. The world becomes INFECTED. That single word is the definition of a Running Zombie. With every bite the contagion spreads. Yet, that is not what makes a new “running” zombie it's own. An infection that acts like a virus and urges the host to spread. When you add Rage to this scenario, we now have fast, running and aggressive zombies…OMG.

Cillian Murphy as Jim in 28 Days Later

28 Days Later has by far done the best job with "Running Zombies” to date but there are some honorable mentions. Zack Snyder's 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead would make anyone want to stay home and avoid an Orange Julius. The poorly done 2013 World War Z (lame attempt of an awesome Max Brooks novel) also had this mindset but included a hive mind mentality with swarms and CGI walls of running bitters.

Hive attack in World War Z

Whether a zombie has a reason or origin story has become secondary. Sometime it's cool to figure out "what happened" when looking into the world of the dead. When it comes down to it though, the game of survival is way more entertaining and scary.

So what did we learn?

VOODOO ZOMBIES

How to NOT be a zombie: avoid voodoo priests poisons.

How to KILL a zombie: kill the human master

Weakness: the human master

ROMERO ZOMBIES

How to NOT be a zombie: don't get bit.

*Disclaimer: unless we are talking Kirkman's TWD - then you're screwed.

How to KILL a zombie: destroy the brain (double tap when possible)

Weakness: speed, clumsy, decays and may be missing eaten parts

RUNNING ZOMBIES

How to NOT be a zombie: don't get bit or don't get infected

How to KILL a zombie: destroy the brain (double tap when possible)

Weakness: still trying to figure that one out YOUZERS!

Conclusion to "A Zombie, Werewolf and Vampire walk into a bar…"

Zombies have a HUGE advantage: NUMBERS. If that first bite was fatal, you now have 2 zombies who can quickly become 4, then 8 then 16. I don't see the vampire or the werewolf standing a chance if overwhelmed. But then again, can a werewolf be infected? And since the vampire is already dead, does it matter?

Stay tuned for the opposing arguments.

Honorable mentions:

Sean of the Dead 2004 Comedy - Edgar Wright is always right IMHO. This is the classic Romero zombie in a hilarious adventure staring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. "Take car. Go to Mum's. Kill Phil—"Sorry"—grab Liz, go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all of this to blow over."

World War Z 2006 Book - Max Brooks does an awesome job of "where were you when the Zombie Apocalypse happened” as he recounts various stories of the zombie war. The book is nothing like the Brad Pitt movie.

Train to Busan 2016 Horror - I have always been a big fan of Korean horror movies. This one takes the Running Zombie idea and amps it up placing you in a claustrophobic environment of a train to watch how fast one infected becomes many.

Dead of Night Series Books - Jonathan Maberry's series show one of the fast spreading zombie plagues through the eyes of interesting spectators. It's a fast page turner that then links into some of his other great series (Joe Ledger and Rot & Ruin).

Slither 2006 - James Gunn has a way of making serious things funny. Not sure how to categorize this one. Technically a gory horror but has laugh out loud moments. Add in a cast including Nathan Fillion and Michael Rooker, you're guaranteed a good time. Plus it revisits that old "Alien" hive mind idea of those earlier Plan 9 From Outer Space plots.

Planet Terror 2007 - Robert Rodriguez did not disappoint us with his vampires in From Dusk Til Dawn and he stays true in this. Part of the Quentin Tarantino Grindhouse movies, this is all the fun you can expect from a zombie movie. Thumbs up to Rose McGowen's character's gun leg. Awesome.


Wyrmwood 2014 - An Atomic Geekdom favorite. This is zombies meets Mad Max. It has an epic female lead Brooke (played by Bianca Bradey).

Evil Dead 1980 - It's Sam Rami with Bruce Campbell about the book of the Dead. If you haven't seen this, you should ask yourself "what have i done with my life?. It's a must.