subject: How Films Have Affected Fancy Dress Through Creating Influences [print this page] Zombies are incredibly popular members for horror films, Halloween, and any kind of scary story in existence. The thing that makes zombies so terrifying is that they were once human, and when they become bad they still look like humans. Most people find this to be disturbing, but enthralling, which is what makes the zombie subgenre in the genre of Horror such a wide-spread one.
There is a particular strand of horror movies that centres itself around the zombie epidemic, playing on the very real fears of the audience. These horror movies are the Resident Evil series. This series centres itself around a woman, Alice Abernathy, who is the key to survival when it comes to the outbreak of a virus which turns people in to zombies. The films follow Alice, and people whom she takes on as companions, as they put themselves through danger and trials in order to survive.
The zombies in the Resident Evil films have mostly human features, although most of them have parts of limbs or faces missing. This is what makes fake scars and wounds so popular when imitating zombies for any occasion. Halloween sees an increase in sales of blood, and prosthetics for those in the fancy dress business; as more people want to go for the realistic zombie look, as opposed to the budget look of torn clothes and paled out faces.
Horror films are made all throughout the year, without having a set time in their popularities to peak in terms of production. However, many horror films are bought and seen around the time of Halloween, as everyone gets in to the spirit of the night. This means that whilst there is no peak for horror films in how they are brought out, there is a rise in the sale of horror films when Halloween comes about.
This can also be said for horror costumes, sold by many fancy dress retailers. The costumes of zombies, vampires, and werewolves will be purchased at a slow and steady rate throughout the year, for parties or other occasions. Yet it is Halloween when these costumes really see their sales rapidly increasing, as the horror movie world transfers in to the real and everyday lives of many people.
One particularly popular horror movie series is Underworld, a tale of werewolves, Lycans and vampires. The first film (Underworld) was released in 2003, and the most recent film (Underworld: Awakening) saw its debut in January of this year. Four films over the span of nine years, and its popularity is clear when you learn that the first film grossed $51,970,690 domestically, and $95,708,457 worldwide, and the final film made $25.3 million on its opening weekend alone. Underworld: Awakening is the first film in 2012 to pass the $100 million mark worldwide. It is also the highest-grossing film in the Underworld series, domestically and worldwide.
Within the film series of Underworld, the vampires are the most shown, with the main characters plotline revolving at first around finding herself with new revelations on the vampires, and her own Elder. The focus on Lycans and werewolves is just as important, but the character of Selene is closer linked to the vampire community, which is why they play such an important role in the films.
Vampire costumes with inspiration taken from the Underworld film are very popular, as their designs are easily recognisable. The dark and gothic themes within the horror film genre are updated and twisted within Underworld, which makes it a hit with fans all over. The modern touches to the stories that were first thought up around the Victorian era keep the horror genre alive.
With vampires and werewolves showing so popular in the movie world, it is no surprise that they are sold very quickly when incorporated in to fancy dress costumes. These costumes are either loosely based from the movies that are in at the time, or are unique works that come from the designers minds. Most times, inspiration is drawn from the most popular characters of the genres, to work on a base and ensure that the horror movie fans will have the costumes that they want.
These costumes can sometimes spiral out of control and become more popular than anyone ever imagined. This has happened with many costumes and more often than not it is with costumes that have had a lot of effort put into them, because they always look fantastic, which is what everyone wants to have at the very end of the day.
