American Zombie Chronicles the Plight of Real Zombies
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In American Zombie zombies exist in an unseen society right here among us, going about their ‘lives’.
Written by The Zombie Master
August 12, 2009
Buy on Amazon
Release: 2007
Directed by: Grace Lee
Written by: Grace Lee and Rebecca Sonnenshine
Starring:
Grace Lee as Herself
John Solomon as Himself
Austin Basis as Ivan
Suzy Nakamura as Judy
Al Vicente as Joel
Jane Edith Wilson as Lisa
I have spent a good portion of my adult life trying to convince people that zombies do indeed exist. From the dead people who vote on a regular basis in major metropolitan areas to the members of various rock bands, the evidence is all around us. Now I have a little bit of help thanks to Grace Lee and John Solomon.
American Zombie is a documentary that follows the daily life of four zombies that are living in the Los Angeles area; Ivan (Austin Basis), a convenience store clerk, Joel (Al Vicente), a political activist and founder of Z.A.G. (Zombie Advocacy Group), Lisa (Jane Wilson), a florist, and Judy (Suzy Nakamura), a romantic. Through the lives of these four, and�interviews with experts, we learn that zombies are created two ways. Either by a dormant brain
virus that, if in the subject, will activate itself if the subject dies violently, or by a bite from a zombie. We also discover that there are three types of zombies; the feral zombie, the low brain activity zombie, and the high brain activity zombie.
The feral zombie is your stereotypical wild zombie that will attack on site. The low brain activity zombie is a more docile form that can be trained to perform menial tasks. The high brain activity zombies however can lead relatively normal lives. According to Joel, while the docile zombies are treated as slave labor, it is the high brain activity zombies that are the most discriminated against. Job placement is difficult, they have no credit, it is virtually impossible to get a bank loan, etc.
The documentary team culminates their work with a�trip to Live Dead, a festival for only zombies. Grace Lee is able to pull some�strings and allow the filming team 
limited access to the festival that is barred from humans, but the trip has its own twists and turns.
American Zombie is a well done documentary showing the existence and plight of zombies living right under our noses. Grace Lee, an award winning filmmaker and John Solomon, a director and cinematographer, make for an odd team that seems to make their different styles work together. The footage is real, raw, and unapologetic while the stories almost make you feel compassion for the zombies themselves. I said almost.
At first I thought I was watching a propaganda film trying to indoctrinate the viewer with mantras such as “we’re here, we’re dead, get used to it” and “I’m just like everyone else”. While there are those within the film that would want us to be sympathetic, and maybe even the filmmakers originally, they cannot hide their true nature for long.
I recommend American Zombie to all who want to believe, and to those who want their friends and neighbors to believe. They will after about an hour and a half. Questions or comments about American Zombie? Discuss it on The Ossuary Forums!
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