Melbourne Zombie Convention, Films & Shuffle

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Sun 06 Oct 2013 - Sat 12 Oct 2013

& #8232 ;There is something riveting about zombies; the rotting flesh, the ragged clothes the glazed over eyeballs. They are generally slow and ponderous and just keep on coming for you with outstretched arms. Bump one off and ten others move in to take his place and then they still keep coming.



Which is a bit like the plague like impact zombies are having on popular culture. Since George Romero's #8206 ;">Night of the Living Dead (1968) there has been a sea of movies, TV shows, comics, games and fan fiction. Hell, even Jane Austen has been infected through the work Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2009). The Seth Grahame-Smith novel combines the plot of Pride and Prejudice with zombie fiction.



It would be interesting to know why we feel this attraction as unlike vampires, zombies just aren't that sexy. The fact that zombie shuffles are sometimes used as public protests suggests they represent in some ways mass mindless conformity that many wish to highlight and object to.



Perhaps there was something in Romero having his zombies lurch mindlessly towards shopping malls. Or perhaps our interest is in the apocalyptic element, the thought of using only our wits and a baseball bat to survive. Or perhaps it's even the idea that we are fed up with the social pressures to dress well and be intelligent all the time and that we just want to zone out and hang with a pack of mindless zombies.



Or then again maybe it is simply the fun of dressing up or should I say down (clothes are usually rent and torn), applying thick vicious bloody make-up, distorting the way your body usually moves, carrying your own entrails and being in the midst of a group of people that enjoy the same sense of theatrical spectacle.



Whatever the reasons it is coming up to that time of year when zombies rule the roads of Melbourne.

First of all there is the inaugural 'Melbourne Zombie Convention' (MelbZomCon) on Sunday 6th October, 2013 from 12pm - 6pm.



It will be held at the Royal Melbourne Hotel at 629 Bourke St, -- a suitably gothic haunt. The focus will be on interactive experiences similar to carnival sideshows with 30 interactive stalls, plus cosplay characters, merchandise such as zombie dolls, accessories and jewellery. They'll be comics and horror props, zombie literature panels, filmmaker discussions, costume competitions and a Zompocalypse Survival Discussion Panel.



There will also be Australia's first dedicated Resident Evil gaming zone, showcasing a retrospective of every Resident Evil game (1996-2013) and they're all playable.

There are only 600 tickets - bookings can be made #8206 ;zzombie2">here .

All proceeds will go towards the Melbourne Zombie Shuffle to ensure that is a safe and successful event.

On that same night the Astor Cinema will screen a George Romero trilogy including Night of the Living Dead (3 Films $20, 2 Films $15, 1 Film $13). You should be able to catch quite a few zombies still in costume seated in the audience. You can buy tickets here.



Then if you wish to participate in the 2013 Zombie Shuffle it is on the following weekend on Saturday October 12th. Keep a glazed eye on their Facebook page for forthcoming details. This year they are expecting a 10,000 strong horde.& #8232 ; And if dressing like a zombie isn't your thing you can still go along for a look. The event is quite rightly becoming a huge tourist attraction.



#conventions
#family
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#october
#unusual_events
#unusual_things_to_do
!date 06/10/2013 -- 12/10/2013
%wnmelbourne