Why zombies? Have they jumped the shark?

[Crusis]

Jonathan Maberry has a new interview round table with "zombie experts" up on his blog. He discusses some interesting things about the genre and why (or why it's not) being done to death. I got to participate in this and it was fun - notice I am not above whoring my work on his page.

http://jonathanmaberry.com/

So what do you think? Is anyone sick of zombies?

-Tim

[Crawley]

It's not at the point of saturation yet but getting very close for me. I'm definitely not readily seeking out zombie films or books like I was a year ago. I'm becoming more selective.

Zombie computer games are pretty much at the point of saturation now and I imagine in the next year the likelyhood of putting zombies in games will not automatically = $$. Just type in the word Zombie in the Steam search and you have 44 entries - about 20 of which are dedicated zombie games. That's quite a bit. I saw an add for a game titled Zombie Pirates where the game looked like it was probably a straight up pirate themed game but they stuck the word Zombie in the title to ride the zombie gaming sales wave.

For gaming the zombie theme has basically become the equivalent to what the WWII theme was for FPS's. I'll still be there for L4D3 but won't be putting money toward B style zombie games like a Zombie Driver 2 or what have you. 

I'll still be there for the Walking Dead show and World War Z movie but don't see myself regularly seeking out some lesser known zombie flicks that make their way around.

[EngineNo9]

So what do you think? Is anyone sick of zombies?

Yes.

[wonderpug]

[metallicorphan]

So what do you think? Is anyone sick of zombies?

-Tim

i love Zombies,i really do....so i am looking forward to games like Dead Rising 2,because that's what that game is about,probably the same if a Resi Evil game was due

but i think its come to a point where Devs are saying 'stick Zombies in it' for dumb reasons

Red Dead Redemption is a perfect example with its future DLC having Zombies...its the Wild West,FFS


Zombies in my movies,i guess only works when its fun or a comedy,like Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland...serious Zombie films don't do it for me,unless they were made some time ago...the Resi Evil Movies i have no love for whatsoever


overall i am not sick of them,but it could do with toning down a bit

[Ironrod]

I never got the zombie fad in the first place. Eventually it will run its course and they will die back...and eventually they'll rise from the dead again, like -- like --

The only zombie film I've enjoyed was Sean of the Dead, but I haven't seen many of them.

[ATB]

I'm not really into zombies, but I do enjoy some of the genre.

I loved Dead Rising. I loved Shawn of the Dead. I loved Left 4 Dead. Dead Rising 2 is one of my most anticipated games ever. I'm planning on reading World War Z.

I don't seek zombies out though and have never seen any of the touchstone zombie films like Dawn of the Dead or whatever the sequels were.  28 days later (if that's what it was called) was horrible imo.

Anyway, to me it's still fresh but I only dabble.

[hitbyambulance]

i blame Max Brooks

[Gratch]

I never got the zombie fad in the first place. Eventually it will run its course and they will die back...and eventually they'll rise from the dead again, like -- like --

The only zombie film I've enjoyed was Sean of the Dead, but I haven't seen many of them.

Same here.  The whole thing has been lost on me.

[Laner]

I enjoy the RE games, but other than that I'm pretty apathetic towards the whole phenomenon.

[YellowKing]

I'm still a huge zombie fan, and have been since before they were a fad. I love the comedy style and the more straight up horror - it's all good to me.

The only thing I hate as a zombie purist are fast zombies. While I'm willing to tolerate it when they are not true zombies but infected humans with a virus or something, if they are true undead and sprinting around like Florence Joyner, it pisses me off. Almost as bad as vampires who walk around in the sunlight because they either glitter like unicorns or have some "magic ring."

[cheeba]

The only thing I hate as a zombie purist are fast zombies. While I'm willing to tolerate it when they are not true zombies but infected humans with a virus or something, if they are true undead and sprinting around like Florence Joyner, it pisses me off.

That sentiment is just weird as hell to me. I've heard it before, of course, but man is it strange. It's perfectly acceptable that a human who died somehow comes back to life with no higher cognitive functions and wants to eat other humans and/or their brains for some reason, but make him fast and then it's just not right? That's fucked up.

[Razgon]

The only thing I hate as a zombie purist are fast zombies. While I'm willing to tolerate it when they are not true zombies but infected humans with a virus or something, if they are true undead and sprinting around like Florence Joyner, it pisses me off.

That sentiment is just weird as hell to me. I've heard it before, of course, but man is it strange. It's perfectly acceptable that a human who died somehow comes back to life with no higher cognitive functions and wants to eat other humans and/or their brains for some reason, but make him fast and then it's just not right? That's fucked up.

I actually think its a matter of wanting to be able to survive zombies... Instinctively, we dont want fast zombies, because we know we are screwed if they can run like that!

[YellowKing]

That sentiment is just weird as hell to me. I've heard it before, of course, but man is it strange. It's perfectly acceptable that a human who died somehow comes back to life with no higher cognitive functions and wants to eat other humans and/or their brains for some reason, but make him fast and then it's just not right? That's fucked up.

The whole point of zombies is that even though they are slow and weak, their sheer numbers will eventually overwhelm you.

Making zombies fast is sort of like making vampires able to shoot laser beams out of their eyes. It's an extra "power" that is unnecessary and feels tacked on and over the top. Making a zombie fast means one zombie can threaten a population. It negates the whole point of the "sheer numbers" thing.

It has less to do with physics, and more with respect for the origins of the popular zombie archetype.

[JohnathanStrange]

I'm a post-apocalyptic fan and for me, zombies are part of the genre, so basically I'm a zombie fan too. Not a big one, and like other people, I have my own preferences in zombieness:

slow moving ( a la the early Romero movie)
no brains (i.e., no evil guiding intelligence like in the Keene books)
plenty of 'em ('cause one or two is weak)
no humor (Shaun of the Dead was cool, as a change of pace, but not a regular diet)
few animal zombies (I feel it dilutes the unique zombie appeal)
no zombie POV (we're shooting 'em 'cause they're dead and hungry, not because they're undead Americans with a different food preference)

But, I'll admit, I'm pretty flexible about the whole thing really. I'll give anything a view or read.

For someone who like zombies in games, videos, and books, I have to admit this: I find most efforts terrible.

Most zombie movies suck (don't get my started on SyFy's efforts), most zombies in videogames are just not terrifying (recently I played Thief:Deadly Shadows and the zombies were actually easier to defeat than virtually everyone in the game), and many of the zombie books are just dreary. So what do I like? The early Romero movie, for one, World War Z, Land of the Dead: The Road to Fiddler's Green, the graphic novel The Walking Dead. But I don't hate the rest, they're mostly justdull.

[cheeba]

Making zombies fast is sort of like making vampires able to shoot laser beams out of their eyes.

I see it as more a small evolutionary change than a totally new power. I mean if someone wakes up from the dead and walks around, doesn't it make sense they could run as well? I liked how they did it in 28 Days Later, though I guess that's more an infection than true zombies. Fact of the matter is it depends on the director. A good director can make fast zombies just as plausible and scary as slow zombies.

It has less to do with physics, and more with respect for the origins of the popular zombie archetype.

[cheeba]

Oh and btw, yeah, I'm also pretty much getting tired of zombies. Werewolves should be the new thing. Werewolves always scared the crap out of me. An American Werewolf in London haunts me to this day.

[metallicorphan]

Zombies are supposed to be Brain Dead,so having them sprint about like Usain Bolt is a bit much...the slow shuffle was a little more suspenseful i reckon...kinda like the Terminator when stripped of flesh and blood...still going,still forever pursuing no matter what


talking about 'Braindead'....that's quite a good film as well,directed by Peter Jackson,although its a comedy gore fest


maybe there should be a slow deterioration of newly dead Zombies who are fast enough,to older dead zombies who's muscles(and brain i guess) are deteriorated while they have been dead so that means they are slower..i dunno


EDIT:@Cheeba +1 on An American Werewolf in London,i love that film,and the soundtrack