Zombies attack Austin

They are relentless, rotting and hungry.

They are flesh-eating zombies, and they are on the loose in Austin this fall.

While the rest of the country is immersed in a pervasive vampire trend, evident through such pop culture phenomena as the Twilight Saga and True Blood, Austinites will be emulating these brain dead movie monsters this Halloween season.

Numerous zombie-themed events are slated for Halloween evening and throughout the month of October. Some of these events will be occurring for the first time, while others are blossoming into Halloween mainstays.

The University Hills branch of the Austin Public Library is hosting its second annual Zombie Fest, a month long series of programming focused on all things zombie.

This year’s lineup of events includes a zombie video game tournament, book club, art show, survival discussion, numerous film screenings and a Halloween blow-out, complete with costume contest and refreshments.

The program’s coordinator, Billy McConnel, dreamed up the Zombie Fest idea with some of his coworkers, after seeing the zombie film “Resident Evil: Extinction.”

The film opened the doors for numerous zombie attack survival discussions and prompted the group to read “The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead.” As their interest grew, the library staff was inspired to fill their empty October programming slot with a zombie-themed event.

McConnel said that before the 2008 Zombie Fest had even finished, attendees were already interested in if the event would return the following year.

So far, McConnel said, the 2009 Zombie Fest has been even more successful than its predecessor, with some of the events doubling in turnout.

So what is it about the living dead that has people so captivated?

“For me, its the psychological fear that any moment you could turn around and one of these zombies could be someone you know,” McConnel said. “That kind of psychological horror entertains me.”

“I just think zombies are such fun movie monsters,” said April Puente, a junior at St. Edward’s University. “I get scared really easily by horror movies, so what I really like about zombies is that they can be terrifying or they can be really hilarious.”

Comedic zombie films, affectionately known as “ZomComs,” have been around for a while. However, the recent release of “Zombieland,” which took the top slot at the box-office its opening weekend, has perhaps brought further attention to the genre.

The film premiered Sept. 25, weeks prior to its national release, at Austin’s Paramount Theatre as part of Fantastic Fest, Austin’s genre-based film festival.

Adding to the undead ambiance of the event were special effects makeup artists from the Zombie Manor haunted house in Arlington Texas. The artists arrived early to transform members of the audience into full-blown zombies.

This Halloween, those attendees and Austinites alike will have the opportunity to drag their feet on the dance floor at two competing zombie parties.

The Alamo Drafthouse has moved its annual Halloween Zombie Prom to the new Highball venue, a retro bar and diner, outfitted with a dance floor, classic bowling lanes and karaoke rooms.
All attendees are required to arrive in zombie attire.

According to the Drafthouse’s website, “The super strict costume regulations are just the beginning.”

The party will also feature a dance party, zombie video backdrops, a photo booth, costume contest, and “human brains” on special from the kitchen all night. As with any Drafthouse party, the coordinators promise further surprises.

Zombie Prom will have some competition on Halloween. The similarly named Zombie Ball, a party featuring live music and art exhibitions, is making its Austin debut as a two-day event Oct. 30-31. The ball will feature performances from musical acts like T Bird and the Breaks and Spoonfed Tribe.
Instead of asking attendees to arrive in costume, the Zombie Ball coordinators are taking its slogan “Come as you are, but a zombie you will become” to heart. They will be supplying the makeup and costumes to everyone, outfitting their own dance for the dead.

With so many of these events slated for the night of Halloween, Austinites may want to brush up on their zombie attack survival skills. There’s always a chance that festering, blood-hungry zombie coming towards you is not a costume-clad trick-or-treater.