The October Zombie-Thon! - Day 29: Dead Creatures
Posted by Trevor Snyder on 10.29.2007
I wonder, was the title "We Zombies" ever considered?
DEAD CREATURES (2001)
Written & Directed by: Andrew Parkinson
Country: UK
In his first film, I Zombie: The Chronicles of Pain (reviewed yesterday), writer/director Andrew Parkinson unveiled an interesting new twist on the cinematic zombie – presenting the infliction not as a world-devouring plague, but rather a sad, socially-alienating ailment affecting numbers of people right under our noses. Unfortunately, due to the very nature of that film's story (which focused entirely on one young victim of the disease), Parkinson was not able to fully explore some of the larger ramifications and possibilities set-up by this intriguing concept.
Parkinson must have realized there was still a lot of ground to potentially cover, however – as evidenced by the sorta-sequel Dead Creatures. When I say "sorta-sequel," I mean that it's a sequel to I Zombie in the same way that Dawn of the Dead is a sequel to Night of the Living Dead - same universe; completely new characters. This turns out to be just what Parkinson needed to finally deliver on the potential of the idea. With the rules from the first film now set and in place, he is able to instead worry about fully fleshing out some of the themes and concerns that were only mildly touched-on by I Zombie. What results is a superior film, one that is both fascinating and thought-provoking.
One thing viewers of both films will notice is that, unlike Parkinson's freshman effort, things actually happen in Dead Creatures. Now, granted, that's not exactly fair to I Zombie, which was somewhat intentionally monotonous in order to convey the anguish and inescapable repetitiveness of the lead character's condition. However, like I said yesterday, intentional monotony is still monotony, and so I was very grateful for Dead Creatures' mix of different characters and storylines.
This time around, we follow the fate of not one, but a whole group of infected victims – in this case a group of young women trying to deal with the situation as best as they can. Constantly moving from place to place, and forced to make periodic runs for "meat" (usually accomplished by seducing some unlucky schmoe), these girls are doing the best they can to survive, having clearly decided not to let a little thing like being a slowly decomposing zombie ruin what's left of their lives (as was the case in I Zombie, the infection here seems more like a strange cannibalism disease – I never got the sense any of the "zombies" were actually dead and now reanimated).
Lately, their routine has gotten even more difficult. For one thing, one member of their group is in the final stages of the disease. Terribly decomposed, she no longer resembles the young woman she once was, and seems only marginally aware of her surroundings. Even worse is the fact that the women are being stalked by Reese, a self-styled zombie-hunter who, for his own mysterious reasons, has taken it upon himself to eradicate the plague – one zombie at a time.
Meanwhile, a young woman named Sian has recently met a cute young man. He seems like the perfect guy until, during their date, he bonks her over the head and proceeds to bite her. Now infected, but having absolutely no idea what is going on, Sian is taken in by the group of women, who decide to introduce her to the ins-and-outs of her new existence. Her induction into the group couldn't have come at a worse time, however, as Reese is getting closer and closer to catching up with the women.
Now, I know this synopsis might make it sound like an action-packed cat-and-mouse game between Reese and the women. But let me make it clear, Dead Creatures still moves along at the same melancholy pace as I Zombie - we are treated to numerous scenes of characters just sitting around and doing their daily routine. Thankfully, though, there is at least a mixture of characters and stories to cut between, so the film never feels stuck in place, as was the case with I Zombie. Plus, the low-key nature of the film helps give it a particularly realistic feeling that would have been betrayed by pointless action scenes – at times you could almost believe you're watching a documentary about young women who just happen to be cannibalistic zombies.
Still, the introduction of the Reese character is one of the film's biggest improvements over its predecessor, as it's a much-welcomed recognition that there are people out there who know about this disease, and are trying to do something about it. Of course, we might not approve of what Reese is doing; but then again, we don't exactly disapprove, either. Parkinson wisely avoids casting Reese in a villainous light. Because the girls are likable (thanks in large part to the performances of the actresses), we don't want to see them end up captured and exterminated by Reese. At the same time, though, we never hate Reese – we understand his point, even if we don't initially understand why he does it (although some viewers might guess his reason long before the film offers it). In another smart move, actor Brendan Gregory plays Reese not as a bloodthirsty vengeance-seeker who loves his work, but rather a man burdened by his mission, but compelled to see it through to the end.
With its focus on more characters, Dead Creatures is able to present characters who, unlike the first film's Mark, seem to have reached an understanding of their affliction, and have learned to at least handle it, if not cure it. Sure, they seem a little too calm about the whole "murdering innocents" thing – the same major complaint I had with I Zombie - but at least this time around Parkinson gives us scenes of the characters trying to rationalize this to themselves (when Sian first sees her new friends feeling on severed limbs, she is horrified, until one of them does her best to explain that it's the only way for them to survive).
Like I Zombie, Parkinson here uses his clever take on the zombie mythology as a powerful metaphor for disease and the loss of identity and self that can follow as a result. Only this time, by opening up the world and bringing in more characters and storylines, he is also able to present an even more striking vision of a world unknowingly at war with an unstoppable plague - although "war" is a somewhat grandiose term, considering these zombies only kill out of necessity, and have no aspirations toward taking over the world. One can only hope Parkinson one day returns to the series for a final installment – perhaps showing a world where the disease has now become common public knowledge? But even if he doesn't, he can at least be happy that he has created two of the more interesting zombie films of the modern era, and, with Dead Creatures, the rare horror sequel that builds on and improves the ideas and themes of the original.
