Review: The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia--Braaaaains!
The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia by Peter Dendle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a re-issue of a hardcover book that was published in 2000, so if you're looking for an up-to-the-minute guide to zombie movies, this probably isn't the book for you. For zombie movie fans who have been keeping up with the shamblings and nibblings of our undead friends via blogs and Rotten Tomatoes and want a well-written book on the evolution of zombies in film without all the annoying "film studies"ese, this is terrific.
Dendle has some wonderful phrases and one-liners throughout his reviews. My husband is particularly taken with "Spaghetti Zombie" (in reference to Erotic Nights of the Living Dead.) To Dendle's credit, he had trouble seeing a connection between living dead and erotic; I'm glad I'm not alone there.
Zombie movie fans will enjoy Dendle's introduction as he chronicles the evolution of zombies in film around the world and what the trends reflected about fears and anxieties of the times. I consider myself quite the horror movie aficionado, but I found quite a few gems in [The Zombie Move Encyclopedia] that I've missed. I think I'll skip Erotic Nights of the Living Dead, but some of the others are definitely going on my Netflix cue. (Just as a word to the wise: if the quotes from White Zombie tempt you, don't give in. The band was exponentially cooler.)