Keywords: zombie, terrorism, ethics, anxiety propaganda, the other
This article aims to examine the social and political function of zombie
cinema in the years following the attacks on the World Trade Centre and
during the ensuing 'War on Terror'. Recent zombie films have established
a link between the zombie and the figure of the terrorist or political
insurgent, but the concomitant humanisation of the zombie figure has
complicated this simple association. The post-millennial cinematic zombie
subverts its conventional role as representative of the cultural other. By
examining several key films this article will focus on the zombie's increasing
sophistication as a Gothic/horror trope; in particular, the humanising
process and its consequences for the subject positioning of the audience,
who are encouraged to question whether it is the zombie, or the human
response to it, which provides the most significant threat.