In The Old SwitchAroo's second video game for the spooky Halloween season, we were joined by Nick and Josh from Smashing Game Time to play Zombies Ate My Neighbors and Ghoul Patrol. And much like our last episode with Castlevania, there's a lot of strong connections between film and the games. And so in the same vein (get it, vein? vampires?) as last episode's supporting blog post Castlevania's Crazy Cinema Credits, this time we're digging into all the connections in the Zombies Ate My Neighbors references throughout the game.
There's a lot more inferences here, so contrasting this with Castlevania where it's quite clear the specific references being made, this is a bit more speculative, and generally reflects what I think are the references that are reasonable and justifiable, but some may find these unconvincing and others may feel like I didn't draw connections that they would. I'm treating this as a bit of an entry point in the discussion, because there's not too many people that have really tried to go through this bit by bit.
The basics
Before we even get into the individual levels, there's a little bit of ZAMN basics to talk about, particularly the cover and some of the standard neighbors and enemies... I'll leave special enemies to the levels when they show up, though.
The cover of Zombies Ate My Neighbors is one we talk about as iconic, but the zombies on the familiar artwork had already made one notable appearance before this: all three show up in the 1968 groundbreaking horror film, Night of the Living Dead. Not only is this one of the foundations of our modern understanding of zombies (there's a lot of older zombie movies, but they often drew on voodoo instead). Though it's worth noting that while this is squarely considered a zombie movie now, they never use the term 'zombie', instead generally using the term 'ghoul'.
The film's also rather notable because the film was originally going to be called Night of the Flesh Eaters but the distributor decided to change the title to the current, more well-known title. However, the distributor failed to update the copyright notice when they edited the movie and so it was distributed without a copyright notice; at the time, that meant it wasn't protected by copyright. The result was that the movie could easily be duplicated and sold as it was in the public domain. That, likely, also plays a key role as to why some of its zombies made it on to the cover of Zombies Ate My Neighbors.
In the screenshot below from the movie, you can actually see two of the three zombies on the far right of the image. The one more in the foreground is Regis Survinski, who did special effects on the movie. I'm not sure who the other male zombie just to his left is. But the third zombie to make it onto the ZAMN cover isn't next to them, but on the far left, just to the left of the one nicknamed The Goth Ghoul. The leftmost zombie seen in full, Sharon E. Carroll is the third actor from Night of the Living Dead to end up on the ZAMN artwork.
As we move into the game, there's only one neighbor that I think is worth mentioning as a potential reference. One of the neighbors I like the least, the tourists, is so frustrating because not only are there really two of them, but on certain levels there's a timer after which they'll turn into werewolves, which both means that now there's werewolves to deal with and also that a neighbor is gone. Personally, because they're the tourists (and really, when has that ever been a 'neighbor'? Before AirBnB became an infestation, I mean) I think there's a solid case to be made here that the idea of werewolf tourists is drawing on John Landis' horror/comedy An American Werewolf in London (1981), where two American backpackers are attacked by a werewolf.
The Standard Monsters
There's 10 monsters included specifically in the manual. Some are pretty generic (I'd be hard-pressed to say the zombie comes from anywhere specific, for example). But a few feel like they have much more specific references.
Vlad Belmont the Vampire
Clearly a combination of Vlad the Impaler (and if this is the first time you've heard Vlad the Impaler mentioned in the context of vampires, there's a whole lot out there on that connection) and of course, Belmont is the family in Castlevania, starting with Simon Belmont. So a solid combination of history/mythology and some video game connections.
Jelly Blob
The jelly blob does seem a bit nondescript at first, but the weapon that's most effective against them in ZAMN is the fire extinguishers. In 1958's The Blob, with one of the greatest opening songs of any sci-fi movie (and I have a sneaking suspicion that the black and red opening may have also influenced the ZAMN opening), a blob of jelly arrives from space and starts growing. It seems to be unstoppable until townspeople try to stop a fire and realize that the blob recoils at it. In the later 1988 remake of The Blob, again the fire extinguishers prove key to exploiting the blob's weakness against cold, just as they are in ZAMN.
Tommy the Evil Doll
For a movie with an evil doll (though not an assembly line of them), I think we don't have to look any further than Chucky from Child's Play (1988). There's been other evil dolls (going all the way back to Talky Tina from 1963 The Twilight Zone episode "Living Doll"), but I think Chucky fits the bill here. Though as a fun side note on evil dolls, there's a fun connection between Chucky and Talky Tina. Chucky, many people may not remember, is owned by a kid named Andy, and the Toy Story (1995) series is also about toys that comes to life owned by a kid named Andy. And of course, in Toy Story 4 (2019), Woody comes face to face with a more sinister doll that was noted for talking in I think a clear reference to Talky Tina, Gabby Gabby.
Stanley Decker, the Chainsaw Maniac
The first part of this is a bit buried in history now, because at this point in time, one of the largest tool manufacturers in the world is Stanley Black & Decker. However, that's actually the result of a 2010 merger between two large tool manufacturers, The Stanley Works and Black & Decker. So in some sense, his name being Stanley Decker here is almost a bit of life imitating art and I presume his middle name is Black.
Going into his character design, though, the mask he's wearing feels like it's probably meant to be evocative of Jason, from the Friday the 13th (1980) franchise. However, Jason never has a chainsaw in those movies. So I think the chainsaw aspect is likely coming from another masked killer, Leatherface from Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). Older movies like The Wizard of Gore (1970) also used chainsaws, but it didn't reach an iconic level until 1974. Though I think the chainsaw and mask pairing would reach its defining point just a few months after ZAMN came out, when Homer Simpson would decide to show Bart his new chainsaw and hockey mask in the 1993 The Simpsons episode 'Cape Feare'.
Gillman of the Blue Lagoon (a.k.a. Brook Shards)
This one starts off with one of Universal's classic monsters (though I disagree on just how classic he is), the Gill-man from Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). I've always thought it's an underwhelming franchise, but the underwater filming it utilizes does feel fairly notable even if I'm not a fan of the films.
Crossing over with that is the 1980 'coming-of-age romantic survival film' (as Wikipedia describes it) The Blue Lagoon. A film that I feel has shifted more heavily into notoriety now, given the themes in it and some filmmaking decisions. It's actually based on a 1908 book of the same name by Henry De Vere Stacpoole, but what centers this on the 1980 version and not the 1923 or 1949 versions is that, in keeping with the alias of the Gill-man here, the 1980 version stars Brooke Shields.
The Pod Plant
A fairly classic sci-fi concept, the alien doppelganger, is borne of the pod plants in this game. And especially with that name, it feels pretty clearly referring to the pod people that show up in two classic sci-fi films, 1956's The Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the later 1978 sequel of the same name. If I had to guess, I'd think it's probably the latter one starring Donald Sutherland that is the bigger influence here.
Mushroom Men
This one feels far enough out there that I feel like it'd have to be coming from somewhere, but the only thing I can think of is a movie that I only know of by reputation (and so I wonder if only knowing of the movie inspired their choices here). The 1963 Japanese horror film Matango, is about a group of castaways being gradually changed by mushrooms. An edited version of it was released direct to TV in the US in 1965, with the much more evocative title of Attack of the Mushroom People.
The Levels
Now we dig into the rest of the references as we go through the game. If I didn't have anything to add to a level, I've left the level title and number in here, so that it's still easy to tell where all of these levels fit in to the game as a whole, even just beyond the levels. This may see updates if I stumble upon (or anyone sends me) additional credible links.
Rescue the Neighbors in: Level 1: Zombie Panic
Bonus Level: Day of the Tentacle
Not a movie reference, but instead here we have a reference to another LucasArts game that was released just a month earlier, with Day of the Tentacle being a sequel to 1987's Maniac Mansion.
Level 2: Evening of the Undead
While there are some older movies that used "of the Undead" in their titles, like Curse of the Undead (1959), with evening in the title as well, I think this is solidly meant to be in the same vein of George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968) franchise, which was followed up by 1978's Dawn of the Dead and 1985's Day of the Dead.
Level 3: Terror in Aisle Five
Level 4: Chainsaw Hedgemaze Mayhem/Lumberjack Hedgemaze Mayhem
Level 5: Weird Kids on the Block
Another non-film reference sneaks in here in this title, as the boy band New Kids on the Block had big success starting in the late 1980s.
More Shocking than Level 5: Level 6: Pyramid of Fear
A bit of a corporate tie-in it seems, as this is a LucasArts game and Lucasfilm's Graphics Group worked on Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), making it the first full-length feature film to contain a CGI character. However, Young Sherlock Holmes wasn't the title everywhere; when the movie was released in countries like the UK and Australia, the full tile used was Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear.
Level 7: Dr. Tongue's Castle of Terror
For me, the title here feels like it's close enough in structure that I think it may be a reference to the Amicus Productions anthology horror film Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965). Amicus was known for their anthology horror films, and this one has some solid casting with Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Donald Sutherland on a train where Dr. Terror (Cushing) uses his tarot deck to look at the possible demises of everyone else in the compartment.
This is also the first level that I noticed a strong reference in the music; the music on this level uses Dies Irae, a medieval 13th century Latin poem (at least; it could be older) that has been adapted by a huge number of composers, including Berlioz, Brahms, and Beethoven. Cinematically, it's by far most well-known for how its usage in "Symphonie fantastique" by Hector Berlioz was used as the main theme of The Shining (1980). Though other versions can be found in prior horror films, like The Return of Dracula (1958), The Mephisto Waltz (1971) and The Car (1977). It's right up there with Toccata and Fugue in D Minor when it comes to music that's become almost intrinsically linked with horror in films.
Forty Feet of Terror in: Level 8: Titanic Toddler
In level 8 we reach the first boss. Just based off of timing, the idea of a giant baby feels pretty close to the premise of Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992), but I feel like I'd not be surprised if this was a more independent take-off of old classic sci-fi like Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), especially with the feet being mentioned.
Level 9: Toxic Terrors
Bonus Level: Mushroom Men
Level 10: No Assembly Required
Just based on this level having a title tied to something like this with toys, the first title this reminds me of is the sci-fi comedy *batteries not included (1987).
Plants Go Berserk in: Level 11: Weeds Gone Bad
They Came to Earth for One Thing: Level 12: Mars Needs Cheerleaders
A title that I think most people would now associate with the Disney flop Mars Needs Moms (2011), this sort of title goes all the way back to 1968's Mars Needs Women, a movie with one fairly good planetarium scene (I have my weird biases) but is otherwise a really rough watch even though I like the title.
Bonus Level: Cheerleaders Versus the Monsters
Terrifying to the Bone! Level 13: Chopping Mall
In this case, the joke is so obvious that they may have reached the same punchline independently, but this does share a name with a film by "The King of Cult" Roger Corman's production company, 1986's Chopping Mall.
Level 14: Seven Meals for Seven Zombies
This is probably my favorite level name of anything in this game, because while these do generally tend to be references to sci-fi and horror films, this one is a clear reference to one of the greatest MGM musicals of all time, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). In it, seven brothers in 19th century Oregon realize they need wives, so they kidnap seven of them, keep them holed up for the winter, and when the townspeople try to retrieve them in the spring, they're now seven happy families. It's played lighthearted, but given this is based off the Roman story of the Rape of the Sabine Women and the whole concept at hand... maybe this really is a bit more of a horror film than it gets credit for.
Level 15: Dinner on Monster Island
There is a title pretty close to this one, Mystery on Monster Island from 1981, for a movie based on the Jules Verne story Godfrey Morgan. However, I think it's a lot more likely that Monster Island here is a reference to the Monster Island that shows up in the Godzilla franchise, first appearing in All Monsters Attack (1969).
From the Depths of the Earth: Level 16: Ants
Level 16 is another one of the levels that introduces a new enemy, here it's the giant ants that are unquestionably referencing one of the all-time classics in giant creatures, 1954's THEM!, where giant ants caused by atomic testing are the reason behind several mysterious deaths, with one giant ant eventually ending up in the L.A. river.
There is also a made-for-TV movie with practically the same title, Ants! from 1977, but as that's not well known and those ants are normally-sized, that one's just coincidental.
Level 17: Office of the Doomed
Bonus Level: Someplace Very Warm
The Terror is Back in: Level 18: Squidmen of the Deep
There's a few movies that I think this may be influencing this one, between 1965's War-Gods of the Deep (also called City Under the Sea, starring Vincent Price and directed by Jacques Tourneur), 1966's Japanese kaiju film Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, and 1978's Warlords of the Deep. For my money, I think I'm going with Ebirah as the most likely influence here.
Level 19: Nightmare on Terror Street
Another one of the more straightforward references here, Nightmare on Terror Street feels very obviously a take on A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), the movie that introduced the world to Freddy Krueger.
Level 20: Invasion of the Snakeoids
Another boss level (and a boss level I can't get past yet), on level 20 the giant worm/snake things in the ground could seem like they've got a couple possible influences, but given that the level calls them Snakeoids, these almost certainly are the legendary Graboids from the superb horror/comedy film Tremors (1990).
Level 21: The Day the Earth Ran Away
The iconic story of an alien coming to earth to make humanity assess its tendency towards violence and think about its place in the universe, this one is referencing The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Horror fans would also recognize a couple of the words that play a big part of this movie... Klaatu, Barada, and Nikto.
The Scary Sequel to Level Seven: Level 22: Revenge of Dr. Tongue
Bonus Level: The Son of Dr. Tongue
Level 23: The Caves of Mystery
Level 24: Warehouse of the Evil Dolls
Huge Discounts On: Level 25: Look Who's Shopping
Another lighthearted movie sneaks in here with Look Who's Talking (1989).
Level 26: Where the Red Fern Growls
Also the title of a 1960s book, Where the Red Fern Grows (1974) is about a boy that raises two dogs for hunting, so the growling does make sense here.
Level 27: Dances With Werewolves
There actually now is a horror movie of this title, thanks to the release of Dances with Werewolves in 2016, but when ZAMN first came out this would've clearly been a reference to the 1990 epic Western Dances with Wolves, which won 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture.
Scream in Horror on: Level 28: Mark of the Vampire
Another case of just using a title that a movie also has, but here I think it's easier to get away with since the original Mark of the Vampire (with Lionel Barrymore, Bela Lugosi, and Lionel Atwill), came out in 1935 and it feels like a movie that very few people really remembered. Which personally I think is a shame, as this was a great movie to discover. Worth going in with as little information about it as possible, in my opinion.
More Shocking than Level 28: Level 29: Zombie House Party
Level 30: The Horror of Floor Thirteen
While there actually are movies that came out before ZAMN that have something about thirteen floors in the title, there's nothing prominent enough in those I found to make a convincing case for this one.
Level 31: Look Who's Coming to Dinner
Another genre outsider here, it's a bit of an odd choice to reference Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), but here we are.
Get Ready for Big Terror: Level 32: Giant Ant Farm
Level 33: Fish and Crypts
Bonus Level: Curse of the Pharaohs
One of the level titles that shares some similarities to film titles simply because they're straightforward ideas and may not mean one influenced the other, there is Pharaoh's Curse (1957), but this one feels more coincidental.
Level 34: I Was a Chainsaw Maniac / I Was a Maniac Lumberjack
There's several old movies that start off with the "I was a" kind of lines, like Howard Hawks' screwball comedy I Was a Male War Bride (1949) and the noir propaganda film I Was a Communist for the FBI (1951), but I think has to be aiming more at a cliche that popped up in the later 1950s, which was the 'teenage monster' movies that had huge returns. The first of those was I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and it was so successful that another film to cash in on that success followed only a few months later with I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957).
The gimmick had a bit of a resurgence in the late 1980s with I Was a Teenage Zombie (1987), which has not only horrible acting but also surprisingly inept camerawork and editing. There's also a far more obscure German film from 1988 called I Was a Teenage Zabbadoing, and while I have no idea what one of those is, the apparently full title of the movie is truly impressive: I Was a Teenage Zabbadoing and the Incredible Lusty Dust-Whip from Outer Space Conquers the Earth Versus the 3 Psychedelic Stooges of Dr. Fun Helsing and Fighting Against Surf-Vampires and Sex-Nazis and Have Troubles with This Endless Titillation Title.
Interesting, about another 30 years after the last, pre-ZAMN revival of the theme, there was a few more recent additions to the naming scheme with 2016's I Was a Teenage Wereskunk, 2021's I was a Communist Werewolf.
Level 35: Boardwalk of Terrors
Prepare for the Terror: Level 36: Monster Phobia
Level 37: Labyrinth of Horrors
Level 38: Monsters of the Blue Lagoon
Calling back to our discussion of Gillman from the manual, we clearly again here the combination of Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and The Blue Lagoon (1980).
Level 39: Destroy All Vampires
Dipping back into the world of kaiju, this one seems to be based on Destroy All Monsters (1968), what was once planned to be a Godzilla film to end all Godzilla films, so it really unleashed everything it had, and ends up being a real blast of a movie (something about that energy reminds me of 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars).
More Terror than Before: Level 40: Pyramid of Fear Two
The same references as Level 6, but twice.
They Are Back! In: Level 41: Martians Go Home!
I wonder if this is a case of what movie got remembered longer and what didn't. To me, this title feels a lot more like it's based on The Munsters' 1966 film Munster, Go Home! but when ZAMN was being developed, it was pretty close in time to the 1990 Randy Quaid-led film Martians Go Home, so I wouldn't be surprised if that's the real reference, and that movie just seems to have been forgotten while The Munsters maintained more relevance.
Terror has a New Name! Level 42: Spikes
Level 43: Super Fund Cleanup Site
Level 44: The Curse of Dr. Tongue
Horror movies starting with "The Curse of" were pretty popular with British studio Hammer Films for a while. So you can take your pick here from three Hammer films, The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), The Curse of the Werewolf (1961), and The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964).
Level 45: Danger in Picnic Park
A Shocking Sequel to Level 34: Level 46: Day of the Chainsaw / Day of the Lumberjack
Another one of the common movie formats is "Day of the" titles. So some fairly prominent horror films fitting the pattern include The Day of the Triffids (1963) with the walking killer plants, Day of the Animals (1977) with crazy killer animals, and Day of the Dead (1985) with zombies. For some reason, my gut keeps settling on The Day of the Triffids even though it doesn't quite match up. And I do enjoy just how many times I get to mention triffids on this podcast. It's at least twice, which isn't much, but its weird that it happened twice.
More Shocking than Level 46: Level 47: Gridiron Terror
Level 48: Curse of the Tongue
Credit Level: Monsters Among Us
Wrap-Up
One of the things that makes Zombies Ate My Neighbors so much fun, at least for a film fan like myself, is looking at how many familiar influences this is pulling from. Because these are often just influences and those are a bit nebulous, some of these do end up being fairly speculative. And of course, there may be some other connections that I may be missing. So feel free to drop by our Discord with your thoughts on if I missed the mark or overlooked something.
If you want to really dig into the movie list here, there's a Letterboxd list you can work your way through with every movie mentioned here (both as influences and as tangents).
