Undead apocalypse : vampires and zombies in the twenty-first century /

Abbott, Stacey,

Undead apocalypse : vampires and zombies in the twenty-first century / Stacey Abbott. - Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, (c)2016. - 1 online resource (ix, 225 pages) : color illustrations

Includes bibliographies and index.

Introduction "Needing to Know the Plural of Apocalypse" -- The Legacy of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend -- "Cancer with a Purpose": Putting the Vampire Under the Microscope -- The Cinematic Rising: The Resurgence of the Zombie -- A Very Slow Apocalypse: Zombie TV -- The Hybrid Hero -- "Be Me": I-Vampire/I-Zombie -- How to Survive a Vampire Apocalypse: Or, What to Do When the Vampires are Us -- Afterword They Walk Among Us: Vampires and Zombies in Popular Culture.

Twenty-first century film and television is overwhelmed with images of the undead. Vampires and zombies have often been seen as oppositional: one alluring, the other repellant; one seductive, the other infectious. With case studies of films like I Am Legend and 28 Days Later, as well as TV programmes like Angel and The Walking Dead, this book challenges these popular assumptions and reveals the increasing interconnection of undead genres. Exploring how the figure of the vampire has been infused with the language of science, disease and apocalypse, while the zombie text has increasingly been influenced by the trope of the 'reluctant' vampire, Stacey Abbott shows how both archetypes are actually two sides of the same undead coin. When considered together they present a dystopian, sometimes apocalyptic, vision of twenty-first century existence. Explores the intersection of the vampire and zombie with 21st Century dystopian and post-apocalyptic cinema. Twenty-first century film and television is overwhelmed with images of the undead. Vampires and zombies have often been seen as oppositional: one alluring, the other repellant; one seductive, the other infectious. With case studies of films like I Am Legend and 28 Days Later, as well as TV programmes like Angel and The Walking Dead, this book challenges these popular assumptions and reveals the increasing interconnection of undead genres. Exploring how the figure of the vampire has been infused with the language of science, disease and apocalypse, while the zombie text has increasingly been influenced by the trope of the ÃǾ²Ơ℗reluctant' vampire, Stacey Abbott shows how both archetypes are actually two sides of the same undead coin. When considered together they present a dystopian, sometimes apocalyptic, vision of twenty-first century existence. Key features. Rather than seeing them as separate or oppositional, this book explores the intersection and dialogue between the vampire and zombie across film and television Much contemporary scholarship on the vampire focuses on Dark Romance, while this book explores the more horror-based end of the genre Offers a detailed discussion of the development of zombie television Provides a detailed examination of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend, including the novel, the script, the adaptations and the BBFC's response to Matheson's script



9781474426725 9780748694921 9780748694938


Vampire films--History and criticism.--21st century
Vampires on television--History and criticism.--21st century
Zombie films--History and criticism.--21st century


Electronic Books.

PN1995 / .U534 2016