Doc of the Dead explores the Zombie genre and the many prominent figures who have helped propel the undead craze to untold depths.

Partially told as an oral history, this documentary tries to cover all the hot topics in one fell swoop. There’s tons of pop-cultural references made here and all the expected big-named people give their thoughts on a variety of different Zombie aspects. Everyone gives social commentary on the subject, from Zombie authors, screenwriters, scholars and Zombie group founders, even a sex Therapist and a Zombie porn director! But the primary highlights include the actors (Simon Pegg, Bruce Campbell, Judith O’Dea, Russ Streiner and Howard Sherman) and filmmakers (George Romero, Robert Kirkman, Tom Savini, Sid Haig, Stuart Gordon, Alex Cox and Brian Yuzna), who give their perspectives of the cinematic genre.

Author Max Brooks gets a lot of facetime as he explores different subgenres of the Zombieverse. The inevitable debate between slow vs. fast walkers is discussed with glee and a few preppers and survivalists offer their two cents, as well. There’s a roving man on the streets who visits with random people to learn what they know about Zombies and the global mythological perspective is also explored.

Be on the lookout for more than a few outrageous statements:
– One guest describes Pixar’s Wall-E as a Zombie movie
– The ghouls in Romero’s first movie weren’t initially flesh-eating Zombies
– Nicotero thanks video games for moving Zombies into mainstream media
– A Haitian speaker believes Zombification isn’t pure evil, but a spiritual process
– Romero believes Zombie cosplayers are making punk statements, choosing to live a different sort of life

Have Zombies reached the saturation point yet? With movies, TV shows, commercials, video games, music videos, Zombie Walks, runs, fashion shows, weddings, parties, car washes, flash mob dances and even pornography, what’s next for the genre? Zombies in space?

There’s plenty of topical information and history offered in this documentary, along with a surprising amount of nudity. While the real-life terror of a Zombie invasion may not be the actual possibility of losing your friends and family, it could be that this genre may never leave the pop-culture consciousness.

Strength: There’s plenty of undead topics to sink your teeth into.
Weakness: Some parts of this doc has been previously presented in other media.
WTF Moment: There’s an actual law within Haitian criminal code that prohibits turning people into Zombies.

Notable Quotes:
– “People gots to die, otherwise it’s just dull.”
– “I do think corpses are a little bit attractive.”
– “Deadites and Zombie are different species.”
– “We all have the potential, within us, to be monstrous.”
– “The Walking Dead was devised as the Zombie movie that never ends.”
– “Night of the Living Dead did not create Zombies, but it rewrote Zombie lore.”
– “Bram Stoker is to Stephenie Meyer as George Romero is to Robert Kirkman.”
– “I thought making Shaun of the Dead would stop my recurring dreams about Zombies, but it hasn’t.”

Review: 3/5