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Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth

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Finally, a scholar who takes zombie movies seriously. In his nonfiction masterpiece, Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth, Kim Paffenroth explores how legendary filmmaker George A. Romero uses the living dead to criticize American society, covering topics from racism to materialism, from individualism to theology. Paffenroth describes and analyzes each movie in separate chapters, and makes comparisons to Dante's Inferno. But most disturbing, he indicates parallels between Romero zombies and humans; I've long known the sharp teeth that can undercut our hearts and consciences, but nothing has exposed our fangs quite like Paffenroth's deft scalpel of analysis. A must read for zombie fans and for those elitists who demean horror movies as thoughtless escapism--Paffenroth has taken a huge step in proving these critics wrong.

Kim Paffenroth, Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Vision of Hell on Earth (Baylor University Press, 2006)

I have to say that just about the last book I ever expected to see would be a religious deconstruction of George A. Romero's zombie flicks. And yet that's exactly what we have here; divinity student Paffenroth (who has since graduated into horror-writing himself) offers up a dissection of Romero's films that is quite unlike any other I've ever seen-- he's looking for the religious side of Romero's messages about life, the universe, and everything. And while Paffenroth does make some of the same mistakes a number of other amateur film critics do, especially when discussing Night of the Living Dead (there's this odd belief among amateur film critics that the casting of Ben Jones was some sort of attack on the evil empire, rather than a last-minute casting decision because Jones happened to be the only guy around who could act well enough--the guy originally cast for the part was white, and the racial element of the film is entirely accidental, as has been repeatedly stated in more scholarly discussions of the film), it's hard not to be impressed with Paffenroth's logic. The guy's obviously done his homework. Most of it, anyway.

Paffenroth opens his chapters (each is dedicated to a specific film; he considers Romero's first four zombie films and Zack Snyder's 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead for comparison purposes) with a summary of the film he's looking at, and then a pretty standard deconstruction of Romero's criticisms of contemporary society. (This is where the whole overrating of Ben Jones' stature comes into play, obviously.) Where Paffenroth differs from most critics is that he's looking at all this through the lens of being a divinity student. I don't mean to suggest that he's tossing in altar calls at random places, but the Christian viewpoint on things is different than the viewpoint one is likely to find in most film criticism. I grant you, sometimes it's a pretty subtle difference, and critics of the book (metacritics?) who have had a tough time seeing the difference between Paffenroth's take on Romero and that of any hundred others who have written articles about the similarities between zombies and mall shoppers are worth reading; you may find yourself having the same difficulty. I don't believe that makes this book one iota less worth reading, but your mileage may vary. ****

Kim Paffenroth (Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Iona College) presents Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth, a literary exploration of director George A. Romero's hellish zombie horror films such as "Night of the Living Dead" (1968) "Dawn of the Dead" (1978), and "Day of the Dead" (1985), as well as the more recent "Land of the Dead" (2005). Written with scholarly rigor, Gospel of the Living Dead inspects how Romero uses Christian imagery from the Bible and Dante in the macabre examination of the dark sides of human nature - both living and unliving. Romero's zombie films comment upon man's cruelty and inhumanity to man, as well as the degeneration of the social contract into the strong devouring the weak into ruthless individual anarchy. A thoughtful scrutiny of the underlying artistic expressions driving Romero's pop culture horror films.

Paffenroth's treatment of Romero's films offers much by way of theology, something that [....] before in this great of detail. Anyone who has studied/read about Romero will naturally have heard some points made here, but the insights and comparisons to Dante's INFERNO are quite interesting. This one gave me a new interest in the DAWN remake (04), and a new respect for LAND OF THE DEAD (05), despite it being the weakest of the series.

Some people have complained about all the footnotes presented here (there's about 50 pages worth), but I believe it strongly enhances the book, and serves as a fine bibliography (although there's one included, too) for those seeking more material on Romero.

Paffenroth's analysis of Romero's zombie films is nothing if not original. Poring over the plot details of each film, he shows the developing vision of Romero through his career, particularly as the work gives voice to the ways in which humans are corrupted. Getting past the sheer gore factor and plumbing to the deep structure messages of Romero's canon, Paffenroth show that what Romero is after is more than gross-out, but social criticism and indictment.

I recently finished Kim Paffenroth's Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth and enjoyed it. It helped me understand what Romero's artistic motivations were.
This book examines the zombie movies of George Romero. All of Romeros films deal with the end of the world and this scholarly book reads like a text book study of those films. Lots of references are made to Dante's Inferno, American Consumerism and imperfect human survivors. This author has a highly developed understanding of religion and incorporates that into this articulate work.
Some characters in Romero's films, who survive the apocalypse , as in many PA books become filled with malice and are filled with a predatory sense of self importance. They feel no guilt in robbing and killing other survivors in order to steal what they have. If you enjoy zombie genre novels you may enjoy this book? It is a study of the influential post apocalyptic zombie movies that most such novels are based on.

At times, I felt this book was overreaching a bit in its textual analysis, which irks me. Still, I really liked it. The idea is great, and the movie summaries are worth the price alone. I think some Christians might be upset by Paffenroth's compassionate, anti-Fundamentalist Christian beliefs, but I guess if you're buying this book that probably won't be an issue. (It actually really pleased me to find that that was the case.)

Gospel of the Living Dead takes a sharp look at Romero's four zombie films and the 2004 "re-imagining" of Dawn of the Dead, and shows the reader how the impossible and oxymoronic threat of the living dead can shine a light on how we do live and how we might better live. There is interesting theology in the book, but you can read it without worrying you will be bludgeoned with Christian didacticism. The Christian viewpoint is there -- fascinatingly illustrated with ideas from Dante and Milton -- but so is a humanistic viewpoint. Either one by itself would be interesting, but together they make for an unforgettable intellectual experience.

"Gospel of the Living Dead" is a new book written by by Dr. Kim Paffenroth, Ph.D, a professor of religious studies at Ionia College, New York.

It is a critical analysis of the social and moral messages behind the enormously popular "zombie" films of director George A. Romero, encompassing "Night of the Living Dead," "Dawn of the Dead," "Day of the Dead," and "Land of the Dead." In addition to these four films, Paffenroth also offers his analysis of the 2004 remake of "Dawn of the Dead," directed by Zack Snyder.

Although the idea of a religious scholar offering a case for the moral and spiritual value of zombie movies might seem a bit off-putting to some readers - both those holding secular and spiritual values - Paffenroth has written a highly accessible, entertaining and thought-provoking read that will be of immense value to both the ardent Romero fan and the casual student of popular culture.

Each of Romero's movies are individually examined, with Paffenroth offering a summary of the plot, followed by quality, thought-provoking analysis. Romero's movies, according to Paffenroth, offer scathing criticism of society's greatest ills, particularly in the context of the era that each movie was made.

The religious aspect of Paffenroth's book is subtle, and populist in nature; the sins he rails against are secular in nature, and regrettably universal in their manifestation: racism, sexism, hate, greed and violence.

In this context, Paffenroth's Romero is a kind of voice in the wilderness, damning a society that chooses to be vapid, selfish and violent, yet has the freedom to be so much more.

Paffenroth maintains that Romero's movies serve a role to society similar to that once served by the traveling passion plays of the Middle Ages. By providing a vivid example of damnation (manifested in Romero's zombies, who are now beyond the salvation of being able to choose to live differently), the living (both the characters in the movies and the movie's viewers) may be spurred toward actively choosing a more equitable way of life.

Paffenroth refrains from suggesting that a Christian way of life, or religious one at all, is the only way or correct way to address such social ills and individual perfidy. Largely, he leaves the reader to make those decisions him or herself.

In closing, I found "Gospel" to be a very satisfying, thought-provoking read. My only objections were (a) that the book itself was a bit too short, clocking in at less than 200 pages for a book that is almost $20.00, and (b) Paffenroth provided little in the way of quotes from Romero himself. This might have added a bit more substance to his analyses. For these reasons, I rated the book an 8/10.

I'm a longtime fan of Romero's work, so a philosophical look at the living dead and what they have represented over time seemed a welcome treat, and for the most part, it was.
Most of the comparisons I'd overheard over the years were mentioned within this work, and made me quite happy. I won't mention them specifically here as to do so would be a Spoiler.
The book is good...but in my opinion, a whole movie, AND it's philosophical value, go completely missing.
The Remake for Dawn of the Dead got it's own chapter, just like the original.
But.
The Night of the Living Dead remake (1990) that Romero had Tom Savini direct, was not given equal treatment.
If the 'Night' remake were no different from the original, I would certainly understand it's absence in this book, but because there were some VERY specific differences...differences equally representative of the changing cultural times, and most certainly deserving of analysis...I cannot say I'm pleased about the absence.