Undead Apocalypse: Vampires and Zombies in the 21st Century

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.

• 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