The Great Zombie Invasion of 1979 By: J. G. Faherty Star Rating: Sensuality Rating:

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Synopsis

Elmer Dinkley is a self-styled zombie movie buff, so when he sees a group of bloody, battered people staggering across his friend Charlie's field, he knows the zombie apocalypse has started. The two men grab their guns and start picking them off one-by-one, absolutely certain that they'll eventually be hailed as the town heroes. However, when the local sheriff they sent for finally shows up, things quickly go downhill.

Review

"The Great Zombie Invasion of 1979" is a short story written from the POV of a hillbilly-esque character named Elmer who has seen a few zombie movies, so when a group of pale, bloody, and battered individuals start staggering across his friend Charlie's field, he knows the zombie invasion has started. He and Charlie spend most of the story picking them off one-by-one, thinking they're going to be hailed as heroes, but by the time most of the zombies are dead and the sheriff shows up, things quickly go awry.

This was an OK story, but I felt like it leaned too heavily into stereotyping. Elmer and Charlie are classic hillbilly types who are far from being the sharpest tools in the shed. In addition, there were several other offensive elements that IMHO dragged the story down rather than elevating it. More than once, Elmer considers murdering Charlie even though they're supposedly friends. I also felt like the two men took a little too much gleeful pride in picking off the zombies, never giving a single thought for the people they might have once been. Then there was a bit of sexism, as well as a brief (like two sentences) implied reference to bestiality, which I thought was completely unnecessary and over the top. In the end, I guess you could say that Elmer kind of got what he deserved. So, the story was alright, just not anything to get too excited about. "The Great Zombie Invasion of 1979" can be found in the anthology Blood Lite III: Aftertaste.

Note: I wasn't quite sure where to place this story on my sensuality scale. While there is nothing of an explicit sexual nature, because of the sexist reference and the implication of bestiality, I thought it warranted some kind of rating, so I settled on 2, but your mileage may vary.

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J. G. Faherty