Yes, you could just throw another zombie party with Walking Dead marathons, rotting flesh latex all over your guests, and screen the classic films of the Zombie genre. But the zombie is too old an idea and to hot right now to be allowed to become too cliché.
So by all means, throw a party with Twinkies on the snack table and fake eyes in the punch, but try these other ideas for even more undead fun!
Zombies Plus
This is best made as a costume party, as it calls for mashing up zombies with something else you and your friends love. Examples include Night of the Living Redshirts, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Undead, Doctor Who and the Walking Dead, Dead Men (zombie Don Draper for the win), Breaking Dead, or anything else you all love besides zombies.
Serve blue crystal cupcakes, or “blood†punch in a scotch glass, or whatever treats from your favorite shows can be gored up a bit. Then all you need are the decorations for a normal party of the non-zombie fandom, some fake blood, and voila—instant crossover party.
Zombie Voodoo Roots
The original idea of the zombie—along with the roots of the word “zombie†itself—is found in Haitian Creole and Haitian Voodoo. So, why not have a party that celebrates the roots of zombies?
Have your friends come dressed like Voodoo sorcerers, or a zombie. Light the party room with candles and placed small globe lights in jars (to represent the captured souls of the zombies that Voodoo sorcerers control, often said to be stored in jars and even sold). Eat some delicious Creole and Cajun cuisine and drink “potion†from a “cauldronâ€. If you choose to screen films at this party, I recommend White Zombie (bonus: the Voodoo sorcerer is played by The Count himself, Bela Lugosi) or I Walked with a Zombie from 1943.
Zombie Movie Heckling
Anyone, whether they work for a construction firm or a website design and development company, loves a good satire or roast. So why not get your friends together for a night of picking apart movies you all love to hate?
Movie Heckling has become something of an art form, especially with Riff Tracks and Mystery Science Theater 3000. And while there have been some amazing efforts in the zombie horror genre, there have also been some doozies. Where there is a Night of the Living Dead, The Last Man on Earth, or Shaun of the Dead, there will always be the rotten remakes or the weird gems buried in the back of a Blockbuster.
So, for a low-fuss night of zombie fun, just pop some popcorn or prepare whatever snacks you will. Then rent or Netflix the cheesiest zombie movies you can find, and enjoy an evening of picking apart plot holes and poorly written lines with a posse of your wittiest friends.
In-Character Parties
This particular costume party is not for the faint of heart—but for any of you with friends who were theater kids in high school (and beyond), this party is ideal.
The idea is that you can come as any character from any zombie movie or franchise you want, but you need to come with as detailed a costume and remain totally in character the whole time.
Daryl Dixons should come with a crossbow and attitude, Shauns should come with machetes and a dirty mouth, and zombies should only communicate through groaning. And if you have multiples of the same character, just make them stay in character and let it play out. Having a fully-charged video camera or two on hand is highly recommended!
Zombie Olympic Games
This party is probably best for outdoors, and therefore summer. Divide your friends into zombies and humans, then pit them against each other in survival games such as climbing, archery, hide-and-seek, capture the flag (or rather, capture the Twinkies), or any other zombie games you can dream up.
Your zombie party doesn’t have to be just shuffling through—these ideas can make it new, original, and fresh!
About the Author:
Georgiah Cook has a passion for finance and accounting, as well as education. This passion has driven her to become a prolific writer on subjects like personal growth and higher education. Georgiah also loves biking, hiking, and people-watching at the beach. Her favorite z-word movie is 1943’s I Walked with a Zombie.
