THE DEAD TIMES

DESCRIPTION:

"If these creatures ever develop the power to think... to reason... even in the most primitive way...". This most terrible conundrum is posed at the start of George A. Romero's final cinematic movie in the of the Dead series, Land of the Dead, and the Zombie called Big Daddy provides the answer. Yes, Big Daddy is probably the most infamous of all our memorable Zombies, having a whole film made about him, but tragically, he is also the one most people won't recognise from just a name; he is never named in the film. He is essentially a Zombie of almost human-level intelligence, beyond that of his simple-minded, 'stimulus and response' brethren; a natural evolution of the Zombie named Bub from Romero's previous movie in the series, Day of the Dead. He can also learn (over time), use tools effectively, not be distracted by the things other Zombies are distracted by such as loud noises and fireworks, and can actually teach other Zombies through demonstration - as an example, a horde of mindless ghouls follow their rugged leader into water they previously would not cross. Perhaps Big Daddy's greatest strength is the ability to ignore his basic instincts as a flesh-eating undead; when he senses nearby prey, there is no natural beckoning forcing him to chase and eat that prey. Instead, he can think about the best course of action, plan his method of attack and use his environment to help achieve his goals. It also means that he can 'choose' who he kills in order to ensure the survival of the Zombie 'race' - if someone is clearly no threat to him or the Zombies he leads, he can turn the other cheek, but cross him, or harm his extended Zombie family, and he can bring an army of dead to your door. What's more is that he also seems able to pass this pacifist streak onto other, less clever, Zombies. Glory be to Big Daddy; he has the power to end mankind or to spare it, and, thinking about it that way, is he really that different to any living human today?