Paul Magne Haakonsen Zombies are a pop culture phenomena, and that is a given. And with good reason, because they are unique in their very own way.Throughout the course of this documentary you are get to visit (or re-visit) many of the iconic and influential movies that helped define the zombie genre. Here movies such as "White Zombie", "Night of the Living Dead", "Return of the Living Dead", "Dawn of the Dead", "28 Days Later", and many others are brought out help flesh out the zombie genre, pardon the pun.We also get interviews and personal opinions from many influential people in the zombie genre, such as directors, writers, producers, actors, etc. Here we come face to face with people such as George Romero, Bruce Campbell, Robert Kirkman, Greg Nicotero, Simon Pegg, Tom Savini, etc.If you enjoy the zombie genre, the "Doc of the Dead" is definitely worth spending an hour and a half on. This documentary shows a lot of good insights and views on the genre and on how influenced on the world and society around us.I have been a fan of the zombie genre since my early teen years, and I must admit that I love anything zombie or even remotely zombiesque. And I delve into anything with zombies, such as movies, books, board games, PC and console games, etc."Doc of the Dead" is diverse and approach the many different subgenres of zombies that there are, such as running zombies ("World War Z", no, not "28 Days Later" as these were infected, and not zombies as such), talking zombies ("Re-Animator"), the archetypical shambler ("Dawn of the Dead"), etc.There is a couple of documentaries on the zombie phenomena, and "Doc of the Dead" is definitely well worth sitting down and watching, especially if you are a life-long fan of the genre. You might actually learn something new, broaden your horizon or actually see things in a whole new light.

Michael_Elliott Doc of the Dead (2014) *** (out of 4) Did we really need another documentary about zombies? Well, yes, actually because this one here looks at the zombie film from a new perspective. Over the past five years or so the zombie movies and television shows have become more popular than any other monster so this documentary takes a look at the recent phenomenon and asks why.Of course, we also take a quick look at zombie history where we learn about WHITE ZOMBIE, I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE and of course how everything changed with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and DAWN OF THE DEAD. From here we see clips from THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD and the current crop of things like The Walking Dead. George Romero, Bruce Campbell, Greg Nicotero, Alex Cox, Tom Savini, Joanna Angel, Stuart Gordon, John Russo, Simon Pegg, Judith O'Dea and Robert Kirkman are just a few of the people interviewed.Overall this is a pretty good look at the recent zombie movement. If you're unfamiliar with some of the older movies then you're going to get a good education on them. The highlight of this is just the debates about whether it's better to be a slow or a fast zombie. Then we get some nice discussions about zombie walks and even zombie weddings. If you're a fan of zombies then you'll find yourself entertained.

Tim Petrone As others have stated, this film doesn't delve too deeply into zombie "history", and contains very little insight into international zombie lore (except that which directly affected the evolution of the modern 'Hollywood' zombie). What this film really examines is zombies of modern American pop culture, and how this "zombie craze" that's sweeping the nation came to be. So if you're looking to be educated in zombie lore through the ages and from around the globe...look elsewhere. If, like me, you're simply a fan of Hollywood zombies and the films/shows/etc. that sparked a pop- culture phenomenon the likes of which the world has never seen...then I highly recommend you watch this film. It features interviews with pretty much EVERY recognizable name from modern zombie cinema, including George Romero; Simon Pegg; Greg Nicotero; Tom Savini; and even Judith O'Dea (a.k.a 'Barbra' from Romero's original Night of the Living Dead). I had the pleasure of meeting Judith O'Dea a few years ago at a zombie festival in my small hometown where I was working security...and she actually sat with me as we watched a screening of 'Night of the Living Dead', and gave me a running commentary throughout the movie...which, for a horror fan and overall film junkie like me...was awesome. We spoke in-depth that day about this zombie sensation that's sweeping the nation...and one thing became VERY CLEAR: whether you're a fan or NOT...American zombie films, TV show's, comic books, etc., have had a HUGE impact on modern society.I don't think anyone can ever know WHY we're so obsessed with the living dead...not definitively...but 'Doc of the Dead' will certainly leave you with a slightly elevated understanding of the phenomenon, and entertain you in the process.

Red-Barracuda In the last decade or so zombies have left the underground and become mainstream. It's a somewhat strange state of affairs and one that this documentary tries to explain. It looks at zombies in two main ways – their evolution in the movies and their appearance in recent culture. The film history part is the more interesting. It looks at the old style somnambulist zombies of the 30's and 40's typified by the likes of White Zombie, through to the more modern incarnation invented by George A. Romero with The Night of the Living Dead. It would only be fair to say that this latter film is truly the year zero in how the vast majority of people in western culture understand zombies, i.e. shambling, rotting, flesh-eating ghouls who attack humans at every given opportunity and can only be killed by a bullet in the head. The old-style Haitian type of zombie is much less seen these days, nor the Japanese variant which…hops! No, its Romero all the way these days, which is what makes it rather a strange phenomenon to become embraced by mainstream culture considering how grotesque and frightening his concept for the living dead actually is. While the film history part is the strongest it doesn't have time to reference a lot of the most loved entries in the genre, particularly the work of Italian director Lucio Fulci. But the reason is simply that the focus is on the zombie idea in general and not just on the movies and there simply isn't time.It did lose steam a bit once it leaves the film history side of things though and moved onto the wider cultural impact. It becomes a bit bitty and spends time looking at aspects that aren't terribly interesting. Not only that but, a very brief passing reference aside, it inexplicably fails to focus on the one true moment when the zombie truly tapped into mainstream culture, namely Michael Jackson's Thriller video. Chronologically it's all over the place and there isn't a feeling of understanding the progression from how we really got from NOTLD to the recent craze for zombie walks. I don't really believe in the assertion that it's to do with the September the 11th terrorist attacks which was suggested. But, whatever the case, the documentary does show that zombies really are everywhere now. It is a fun, if flawed, film. There are several very funny moments too. But unlike the undead themselves, it doesn't have a single purpose it relentlessly pursues and instead kind of splits its focus too much.