THE DEAD TIMES

DESCRIPTION:

Flyboy is cruelly overlooked in most lists of memorable Zombies, probably because, for three quarters of the only Zombie movie he is in - none other than the legendary original Dawn of the Dead - Flyboy is actually a survivor; one of the "good guys" in this god-forsaken nightmare of undeath, a helicopter pilot struggling to stay sane with the other apocalypse dodgers, isolated in the shopping mall. Following the marauder attack, the non-Zombified Flyboy takes cover in an elevator, a mob of angry undead in hot pursuit, the large elevator doors closing behind the lifeless ghouls as they shuffle inside and manage to give Flyboy multiple bite wounds. It is only when the beige, metallic doors slide open that Flyboy's true Zombified potential is revealed. His head is tilted to one side, neck not working properly, his trusty six-shooter that he carried while he was alive, now dangles from his finger; the trigger guard caught around bony fingers that no longer know how to uncurl. His legs are stiff with rigor mortis giving him a truly awkward gait. Gore has run down his shirt, leaked from his bloody mouth. His face is blank and emotionless, his pupils seemingly trapped in the top of his eyes, the muscles to rotate his eyeballs no longer functioning. His ankle is bent at an almost unnatural angle. In some ways, many ways, Flyboy - and moreover, the actor who played him, David Emge - defined the 'typical' Zombie look; if you think of a Zombie, you think slow, awkward gait, stiff legged, head-drooped, foot-dragged and contorted. It's worth noting that the actor did this all himself; George A. Romero famously never 'taught' extras and actors how to portray wandering ghouls, he just gave them the brief and let them run (or 'shamble') with it. And still, there is more to Zombie Flyboy - he actually retains some memory or reasoning power, leading the other, more dim-witted, Zombies to where the rest of the survivors are; where the meat is, if you will. It could be pure instinct, a simple, mindlessly followed pattern of movement that just happened to lead Flyboy and the other Zombies to near-victory, no sign of intelligence at all, but, either way, Flyboy definitely earns a place in this virtual hall of undead heroes.