Just Do It

Philadelphia Zombie Walk

by Jimmy Viola

Sat., Oct. 25, visit myspace.com/wzdphiladelphia for route and after-party info

Despite their ungodly hunger for human flesh and brain matter, love of the zombie runs rampant. From the smoggy streets of Los Angeles to Lyon to Hong Kong, undead impersonators will swarm more than 40 cities for the first-ever World Zombie Day this Saturday.

Four crawls — on Passyunk Avenue, South Street, Market Street and through NoLibs — await Philly. Leader Matthew Broomfield will summon the ravenous hoards, and is no stranger to all things macabre and bizarre — his other stints include director of the film Unholy Sideshow and singer for dark vaudevillian shock rockers Hydrogen Jukebox.

While some participants may devolve into real zombies at the after-parties and many bars along the way, Broomfield is determined to keep the event friendly and safe. The Center City crawl from City Hall to The Gallery is for the underage undead, and the zombie code of conduct prohibits alcohol outside bars, touching or harassing people and interrupting traffic Night of the Living Dead-style. Zombies are also encouraged to bring nonperishable foods items for a Philabundance drive happening the same day.

According to Broomfield, it's the social commentary entwined in the zombie genre since its earliest incarnations, such as in the films of George Romero, that feeds our fascination with parallels between the undead and the human condition. "There're already zombies walking down the street," he says. "I can play spot-the-zombie around Philly. If we don't wake up, we can all be zombies soon."