Warm Bodies and the end of the Zombie invasion

Recently, I watched the movie "Warm Bodies", the latest of the zombie craze movies.  And while I really enjoyed it, and thought it brought something new to the genera, I wonder if it represents a tipping point in this current fad.

I've said before that I think we're about to reach our saturation point with zombie movies.  We've already seen it happen with vampire movies, hitting its nexus with the Twilight series.  Again, its not that I think the movie was bad: it was a basic retelling of the "Romeo and Juliet" story, the movie even going so far as to name the main characters "Julie" and "R", and just in case subtlety isn't your thing, "R's" best friend, played by Rob Cordry, was named "Marcus".  The cinematography was quite stunning, and the two leads delivered admirable performances.

But, this film really went out of its way to play it safe.  (Spoilers) Everyone, including "R's" best friend "Marcus" survived to the end.  For a zombie movie, it never felt like the stakes were ever that high, not nearly "post-apocalypses" high, in any case.  But, never the less, the film makers pulled this off without making the film taste overly saccharine.  It really played as a movie about alienation, and resolved itself leaving you with a feeling of hope.

It was a zombie movie that just happened to hit a "main-stream" vibe.  But now that that box has been opened, it gives the green-light for more of its ilk, a prettied-up vision of the undead, to be made, and made without heart.  And that's when you know you've come to the end of a cycle, when the rawness is completely forsaken for things that are pretty and unoffensive, when the risk of alienating anyone with things that are too dark or too scary is replaced by things that are lukewarm and average.

I want to say again, I really liked warm bodies.  It was a movie with heart and soul.  And perhaps if it had been released a bit earlier in this generation of zombie films, I might not see it as the prophesier of doom for the genre itself.  But we've been heading here for a while.  I think the undead still have a few more chances to bring us some bite this cycle.  I would compare this one to the "Underworld" series in terms of timing: marking only the beginning of the end, which, as you know, in Hollywood time can be stretched out for quite some time.

I love me some zombie flicks, and even if this cycle is about to return to the underground, I know it will be back someday.  After all, isn't that what being a zombie is all about?

Cody Hobbs

Better off This Way: a tease

It's occurred to me that in the time that I've been writing this blog I've mentioned on a few occasions that I write screenplays, but I've yet to provide anything I've written; I've talked of being a writer, but  haven't ponied up the goods.  So today, dear internet, I'm going to share with you a snippet of something I've been working on.  It's one that I've had shelved for a while now, but have finally found some direction on.

This is the story of a man who finds himself alone in a strange world.  Two things to note: first, I am only providing a sample of the total screenplay; it's unfinished, and I don't want to give away all of its surprises just yet.  Second, it is in screenplay format, so it won't read exactly like a short story.

And with that in mind, here is a section of: Better off This Way

Some time in the near future...
INT. SUBURBAN HOUSE - DAY
SERIES OF SHOTS:
The front door of a house is kicked open.  A man in his late 20’s wearing a long brown coat and a kerchief covering his face walks through the door.  His gait is calm -- this is something RILEY has become accustomed to doing.  RILEY positions his rifle, then starts his sweep of the house.

RILEY quickly scans the kitchen with his rifle, then lowers it.

P.O.V. -- we scan the kitchen, the camera's gaze quickly swinging from left to right.  As our view drops to the floor, we see three college age kids laying on the floor, dead.  None of them have any apparent injuries.

RILEY walks to the corpses and pokes at each of them with the barrel of his rifle.
After confirming everyone in the room is dead, he hastily tosses food from the cabinets into a satchel slung around his left shoulder.  Attached to the satchel are a water cantina and a red three gallon gas can.

RILEY makes his way down the hallway, stopping at a closed bedroom door.  He tries opening it, but something on the other side is blocking it.
On the other side: teenage lovers, in each-others arms, are dead, laying against the door.
RILEY pushes against the door until the couple are knocked over.  After examining the bodies, he sees that there is nothing of interest to him in this room, and decides to move on.

In the master bedroom a mother is comforting her youngest child, holding her in her arms on the bed.  For a moment, RILEY thinks they are just sleeping but...
CLOSE UP ON MOTHERS NOSE: a bug crawls from her nose and down her face...
RILEY finds a blanket to toss over the bodies.  On the dresser, RILEY eyes a cigarette case he likes and swipes it.  After checking over his shoulder he pockets the case.  Satisfied with his loot, he can finally head home for the day.

EXT. SUBURBAN HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER
RILEY is siphoning the gas from one of the cars parked in the front driveway when he hears an awful screeching sound.  He stands and looks to the sky in time to see two objects quickly streak down and crash into the ground at different near-by locations.
Howls can be heard in the distance.  RILEY finishes filling his gas can, then gets on his way.

EXT. FURTHER UP THE STREET - MOMENTS LATER
RILEY eyes his car and briskly walks toward it.  He hears a close-by growling sound, and hears something stalking him...

RILEY whips around aiming the gun, waiting for the thing to make its next move.  He hears it run behind a near-by car, smashing into it.

As RILEY takes aim, he sees the creatures shadow moving from behind the car.  RILEY slowly stalks around the car.

The thing quickly darts away.  RILEY has time to get off one shot before it’s gone: we never get a good look at it, but it’s certainly part human...
RILEY waits for a moment, surveying the area, then heads to his car.
DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. RILEY’S HOUSE - DUSK
RILEY is sitting outside his house, located in a more isolated area.  He has a fire burning, cooking up his dinner: a can of baked beans and some canned vegetables.  The muffled hum of a generator running in the garage can be heard in the background.
RILEY pours himself a heavy helping of whiskey into a tin coffee cup and takes a swig.
The food is ready; RILEY spoons a generous portion of beans and vegetables onto his plate and walks to a picnic table under an awning.  Before he takes his first bite, he removes a picture from his wallet: him and another man of about the same age: his brother Brian.  He gently props it up on the table and lingers at it.

RILEY
"Hello brother."

RILEY takes another swig from his tin cup.  He digs into his food, taking hefty bites and barely chewing.  He finishes his tin of whiskey, then pours himself another.
RILEY’S plate near clean, he digs into his waist and produces a small revolver.  He whips open the cylinder: it’s fully loaded.  He whips it shut.  He raises the gun to his face, then shoves the barrel into his mouth.  He twists it around, positioning it in an upward diagonal position, gaging himself in the process.  He pulls back the hammer and hovers his finger over the trigger.

To be continued...

I hope you've enjoyed what you read, and I hope even more that this might someday be realized in the form it was meant to be presented...

Cody Hobbs