The thrilling world of zombies and vampires has become my pandemic solace

I knew my personal pandemic journey had taken a turn when I started cheering at a notification on my laptop.

“Mum! Shhh! I’m in a lecture!” said my daughter, but my excitement could not be contained.
“A new film has dropped!” I cried. “It’s about vampires! On a plane!”

For the past 18 months, I have derived tremendous comfort from movies about zombies and vampires. From the comedic (Zombieland) to the ironic (The Dead Don’t Die), from the horrifying (World War Z) to the romantic (the Twilight movies), from the aristocratic (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) to the badly dubbed German noir (Blood Red Sky), undead movies have been the perfect antidote to my global pandemic ennui.

Why? Well, I want to feel things! I want to be entertained! I want to be thrilled! I want to be scared by something other than COVID-19! And movies about disease and war and environmental catastrophes are just a bit too plausible to be fun. Zombies and vampires give me the thrills without the chills because they are not real, they don’t exist and they never will. (Or, at least, they probably will never exist. This is 2021 and anything could happen, even reanimation of the dead.)

Also, undead movies tend to be unexpectedly uplifting, as zombies and vampires are admirable in so many ways. Sure, they are ruthless killers by nature, but we all have our personal struggles. I try not to judge people for their very worst qualities; I try to judge them for their best.

For a start, zombies and vampires teach us important lessons about playing the hand you are dealt. You don’t see the undead railing against their bad fortune in being bitten, or bemoaning their green bodies or huge fangs. They accept the things they cannot change, they change the things they can, and they have the wisdom to know the difference.

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I know we’re not supposed to identify with the undead, but I always feel a grudging respect for their journeys. Remember: the first thing a newborn zombie must do is climb, decomposing, out of its own grave. I have to psych myself up to get out of bed after a night’s sleep; I can’t imagine the challenge of getting my body moving after 30 or 40 years of being dead.

And vampires have their own crosses to bear. (Metaphorically, of course – literal crosses are to be avoided!) They need to be ruthless about staying out of the sun, and careful to get enough iron in their diet. Watching them resolutely prioritise their own health and wellbeing makes me feel a little less guilty about my afternoon naps.