Zombies are the in thing right now. Whether you’re living for the terrifying nostalgia of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead or the pants shitting rage virus-fueled violence of 28 Days Later the undead are truly walking among us. Sure there’s the fear of dying involved, but the true appeal of these monsters is the risk they bear to our humanity.
People feel, they think, they express themselves, all of which are at risk with zombification. But what happens when the zombie maintains his heart? When he still recognises and harbours love for the woman in his life? When he is not a slave to brains, brains, ergh, ergh? It’s a fun subject to ponder, and one that has been done so masterfully in the new video from Gareth Thomas Gone Cold.
Gareth Thomas finds the humanity of the zombie in his new clip Gone Cold, a poignant look at the chilling loneliness of a relationship in decay.
The clip for Gone Cold was directed by Garth Badger of Thievery Studio and he gets a lot of things right. It’s pretty tempting to have your zombie go on a brain eating rampage at the end of the clip, but the undead protagonist Gareth portrays is one against the typical zombie type. He’s sensitive, he yearns for human connection and the dull ache of loneliness is one that is all too familiar to him. It’s so out of character and is disarming at first to see such a passive monster content with sitting on the couch petting the cat whilst watching television with his wife. There is misdirection at the beginning, the shuffling Gareth smashing through the front door of the house, as if this is a threatening beast but in fact it’s just a lumbering fellow who is too clumsy to open his own front door.
Therein lies the tragedy in the clip. The man who would be a monster becomes the victim, the bleakness of his life brought to fruition by the noir style. The heavy, prevalent shadows masking out protagonists in darkness alluding to the half-hearted relationship they fond themselves in. As the track goes “We’ve gone cold, we talk about the embers“, the atmosphere is indeed one of passion that has long since fizzled out with nothing but the pathetic, smoldering remaining as a sore reminder of what once was. The monotone colour scheme and use of long, heavy shadows is a classic horror troupe, but in this case the true horror is the breakdown of the relationship. Monsters with fangs that will suck you dry is one thing, but there is nothing more horrifying than realising the person you love no longer feels the same way.
It’d be remiss not to mention the incredible practical effects at work in Gone Cold, especially the amazing make-up done by Shay Lawrence who is well known for his facial prosthetics use in The Hobbit. Gareth looks amazing in his zombie get-up, he’s both monster and man which really works to effectively tell the tumultuous thoughts that occur behind those dilated pupils.
Oh, and the song is pretty darn killer too, the swelling arrangements of the instruments weaving wonderfully with Gareth’s voice. If you’re loving Gone Cold then be sure to pick up Gareth’s latest album Lady Alien.
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