Bash Compactor: Gimme Brains! Or Drugs!

The Zombie Apocalypse has arrived, at least from a marketing standpoint. In fact, Zombies are to 2010 what pirates were to 2004, they star in the majority of notable horror films that have come out in last year or two, they’re the focus of AMC’s newest series, Walking Dead and they’re pub crawling in droves through the city streets what seems like every other week. What you don’t see or hear about, is where the very notion of the zombie came from, until now.

Hamilton Morris, a filmmaker and journalist for Vice, covers all things mind-altering, and has blazed a colorful and unique trail, becoming a modern daredevil, not unlike the Evel Knievel of drugs  Now, after years of being the go-to drug guy at a magazine known for its propensity for proclivity, Morris has established himself as a bit of a gonzo journalist, equal parts Hunter S. Thompson, Timothy Leary and Paul Bowles. So, on Wednesday night, Vice hosted a screening and party for the premier of Morris’ documentary, NZAMBI.

“Vice doesn’t usually produce films, so I was curious to see what this would be, why they were supporting this film,” said documentary filmmaker Tenzin Phun Tsog outside the screening.

Like most of Morris’ work, NZAMBI revolves around a particular substance, this time though, it’s more a chimera of substances that may or may not have a set recipe. The concoction contains everything from worms to crushed human bones, yielding what’s become known as “Zombie Powder.” The film teaches us that the origin of the Zombie comes from the Haitian Voodoo practice of administering this powder, said to be capable of killing and resurrecting a human being.

The small screening room in the Tribeca Grand Hotel was packed. Throughout the film, Morris, a pale, gaunt and super leggy guy, traverses the world of Haitian Voodoo as he searches for the Zombie Powder, which he vows to take himself. 

Part of Morris’ charm is his willingness to be a lab rat, no matter what the potential cost.  Midway through the film, Morris learns that the main ingredient in the zombie powder is TTX, the active poison found in Puffer Fish, capable of putting a person into a paralysis indistinguishable from death. After a few failed attempts at retrieving the powder from Voodoo communities, Morris goes out on fishing boat to capture and eat the puffer fish itself.

After the screening, the crowd fled to a small lounge in the hotel to join Vice founder Suroosh Alvi, and a still-breathing Hamilton Morris for sweet tea vodka cocktails.

“It was funny how everybody was trying to hustle the guy.  I live in Oakland so I see that shit all the time,” said partygoer Austin Barber.

“Yeah, zombies in Haiti are like crusty punks in Oakland, they have their own underground where they feed off the lives of others,” interjected his friend Megan Delaney.

At the end of the evening, in an empty banquet room reminiscent of the Overlook Hotel from The Shining, I spoke with a slumped, exhausted-looking Morris about his preparation for the film. 

“I read an enormous amount of material.  But, ultimately, what does any of it mean?  There’s no way to prepare yourself for that sort of experience, it’s too out there it’s too weird.”