It was not the first time someone had suggested the Tory party conference was reminiscent of Night of the Living Dead, but they have not been on the podium before.

Boris Johnson introduced himself yesterday with a short video that suggested Toryland had become Zombieland.

Reminiscent of the "found footage" style horror, it was more like a blockbuster about a post-apocalyptic world than a party political broadcast.

Boris was close up and filmed at an artfully weird angle, as if he was talking into a hand-held camera.

He was in front of a background that was both indeterminable and strongly suggested that everyone else was dead. He barked some statistics about how successful he was but failed to explain the deadly virus.

He treated us to some urgent tales of doom from the urban jungle. The Tory faithful started to sit more stiffly in their seats.

However, it became clear Boris was telling us his plan to get us out of this Armageddon.

The overall effect was startlingly clear, but it was unclear if Mr Johnson himself had purposefully created the impression of a scary movie, or whether for him the phrase The Omega Man might conjure up something different from the classic 70s horror flick.

There was another almighty screech, and the close up got even closer. His face suddenly looked suspiciously pale. Surely our hero had not succumbed. Thankfully, that was where the horror ended on film and Boris himself bounced on stage large as life.

He had clearly vanquished the zombies. And he was offering a way to help everyone else do the same.

If nothing else its suggested Mr Johnson had seen at least one horror movie on late night TV recently, though he did stop short of saying I am Legend, instead leaving the idea merely hanging there in the air.