Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema

Considering the seemingly unquenchable thirst for all things zombie over the last few years, it’s been surprising to me that this publication, Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema by Jamie Russell, has managed to escape the kind of rabid reverence that, say, The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks has. I suspect that, for the majority of people who say they like zombie movies, their real interest is rather limited to a handful of new, slick looking films, and have a preference for fiction only; other zombie films (and there are hundreds of them) pique little interest, and certainly books chronicling them don’t fair as well either. This is a real shame, because this book does such a wonderful and thorough job (certainly the most thorough to date) at registering for posterity the evolution of the subgenre.

Book of the Dead, in a way, picks up where Peter Dendle left off in the introduction to his Zombie Movie Encyclopedia. In that, the books might seem like complimentary backwards twins—Dendle provides us with a brief history and criticism of the subgenre—which was desperately neglected up to that point—and then goes on to do what the title suggests; provide us with an almost encyclopedic account of zombie films from 1932 to 1998. His history is revealing, but regrettably short, in that it was not the primary focus of the book. Russell’s book is like Dendle’s book, flipped. There is a filmography of zombie films in the back, giving each film a short personal comment, positive or negative. The body of the book, however, is focused singularly with recording and relaying the history of the subgenre. Both books are essential and neither detracts from the other.

In addition to the laying out of the undead record, Russell’s text displays a fair amount of cinematic criticism that dabbles in all areas that might affect a zombie movie, including social commentary and historicism, taking into account various themes as racism, sexism, economics, and more. That is not to say that the book is passage upon passage of thick, perplexing, academic-like blathering. Quite the opposite; while Russell educates us on the specifics, he engages us with a down to earth dialog flavored with intellectual analysis and peppered with a healthy sense of humor—a must when reading on this subject.

Another aspect in Russell’s approach to writing Book of the Dead is his unusual insistence in covering that which most fans either know about but aren’t very familiar with, or that they don’t know at all. While Russell covers all the basic zombie staples, and spends significant time exploring them, he doesn’t neglect those films that, while intriguing in their own right, seem to fall by the wayside in light of, say, the Romero Dead films. These films, though they may be popular among hardcore fans, seem to have escaped real noteworthy consideration up until now. For one who reads a lot of zombie-related texts—inevitably reading the same information about the same films over and over—this is enormously welcome. Titles privy to this treatment include Sugarhill, The Plague of the Zombies, Shock Waves, Shanks, and The Serpent and the Rainbow, among others. In some cases, Russell might spend a few paragraphs, and in others, a few pages—the point is that he recognizes these films as important enough in the subgenre for more than just the sideways glance that most who cover these films give them.

The service that is truly provided in this book is that it is as up to date as one could ask for, considering the recent, and possibly unexpected, zombie boom we’ve experienced. What was once a landscape belonging primarily to those happy few who felt a true affinity for these films became dominated—for better or for worse—by a popularity unprecedented in the subgenre. Up until that point, from Dendle’s Encyclopedia to Gagne’s Zombies that Ate Pittsburgh to Slater’s Eaten Alive!, didn’t we pretty much know the score? Suddenly, we’re accosted by a handful of decent, legitimate films, and sadly, a barrage of Hollywoodized fodder and backyard trash—and they came, one after the other, barely giving us time to catch our breath, let alone contemplate where they really came from and how such a thing happened.

And here’s where Russell steps in. Here is an account of the last few years, covering the fruition of the new zombie, from the Resident Evil Games and films, 28 Days Later, Dawn ’04, Shaun of the Dead, and Land of the Dead. Though little attention is paid to the ultra-low budget jobs (and thankfully, really), we are lead through a chronology that allows us to view the culmination as a whole, putting it into factual perspective. For those who have read extensively on the subgenre before, some of what is in here you’ll know. But, you know not everything—this book is full of interesting little tidbits and insights that will likely be of some illumination to even the most well-read fan or scholar, especially the closer the book moves towards the present state of affairs.

In addition to being informative, enlightening, and simply a great read, Book of the Dead is also an extremely attractive publication. Sporting a fun title adaptation of a promo poster for Fulci’s City of the Living Dead on the front cover and the famous moldering zombie from Andrea Bianchi’s Burial Ground on the back cover, Book of the Dead is also chocked full of over 300 stills, posters, and promo photos. It features two tantalizing color blocks of splendid zombirific images (totaling 62 pages of the book’s 311 pages).

I highly recommend this book. If you’re just a passing fan of zombies because you like how they run and jump, and the awesome film soundtracks, then maybe you don’t care about this book. But, if you’re a true fan of the subgenre, and see yourself being so long after the current craze has died away (and I imagine you are, really, if you’re reading this), then make some room amongst your other zombie books by Dendle, Slater, and Davis—you’ll definitely want to add this.

Review by Kriscinda Meadows.

Please check out our accompanying interview with author Jamie Russell.