Zombie Mania!

Recent days have seen the release of not one, not three, but two trailers for zombie-related films that I'm really looking forward to. I've not had much of a chance to say quite how much I like zombies on this here blog'o'mine, but they appear in some of my favourite horror films and/or films in general, and I've been eagerly awaiting both of these trailers.

First up is World War Z, the adaptation of Max Brooks' wonderful novel, chronicling the events of the zombie uprising against humanity around the world from dozens of different viewpoints. The main reason I've been looking forward to the trailer is to see just how director Marc Forster is planning to make a film out of this reportedly unfilmable story, seeing as I'd believed the multi-stranded aspect would be more suitable to a TV series format, rather than a feature film. The Walking Dead stole this thunder a little, so a film was the only way to go really, without being deemed a copycat. Anyway, here's the trailer:

Personally, this trailer has left me slightly less excited about the film than I was beforehand. Instead of the multiple plot strands seen in the book (which I highly recommend everyone reading), this seems to focus solely on Brad Pitt as he travels around, experiencing the outbreak from the start. I hope that there are at least some flashbacks or references to the other stories in the book, particularly the Japanese segment, and if not I'll be even more disappointed. It's doubtless that I'll eventually see this film (released next summer), but I'm no longer looking forward to it as much as I was. Also, the CGI of the hordes or ravenous zombies still needs a bit of work, as it looks a bit video-gamey, especially the constant torrent of them flying over the upturning bus.

The second zombie trailer is Warm Bodies, a film I've been looking forward to since I mentioned it in my Most Anticipated Films For 2012 post, although it's now not being released until February 2013, at least in the UK. This films takes a far less traditional approach to the zombie film, in that Nicholas Hoult's zombie, known only as 'R', is the main character. Here's the trailer:

Traditionally, zombies are renowned for their lack of brain activity, yet here R clearly has the capacity to not only think, but speak, remember and form rudimentary conversations (such as with Rob Corddry's fellow zombie, M). This is a very interesting take on the genre, especially after R sees and falls in love with a non-zombified human, Teresa Palmer's Julie. I think the trailer is perfectly pitched, deftly blending comedy with standard zombie movie tropes, and this one has shot to near the top of my most anticipated movies list. Plus, it's directed by Jonathan Levine, who made the wonderful 50/50, showing he can blend two genres exceedingly well, in that case frat-boy comedy and potential extreme tragedy, here romantic comedy and, well, zombies.