Biggest Mistakes in Zombie Movies

[Grimstad]

How the hell does someone wearing a T shirt end up covered head to toe in blood and slime, especially all over the face, and NOT get infected?

AM Radios: If you're trying to reach anyone / everyone within a couple hundred miles, AM is the way to go. Anyone can lay their hands on an AM radio and most average folks wouldn't even think of any other wavelength. "Tune your radio to am 570 for news and alerts". Anyone who drives is familiar with that message.

[VinnieD]

Amazing how most everyone in these movies start out not carrying or even owning a weapon. No guns, no bludgeons, not even a pocket knife. Are these protagonists seriously not even keeping a tire iron in the trunk?

[Tater Raider]

Night of the Living Dead [1968]In the 1968 movie Ben comes out a little better than Harry but still get shot by mistake when people finally come to help.

I think that was a social commentary. That was the Civil Right era after all. IMO the shooting was deliberate.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Night of the Living Dead [1968]In the 1968 movie Ben comes out a little better than Harry but still get shot by mistake when people finally come to help.

I think that was a social commentary. That was the Civil Right era after all. IMO the shooting was deliberate.

One thing that always bugs me about the original Night of the Living Dead, aside from the crap ending, is the fact that Barbara spends most of the movie being utterly useless until almost the end of the film. Though, I suppose seeing your brother and the world as you knew being consumed by zombies would have that effect on some folks.

[squinty]

Night of the Living Dead [1968]In the 1968 movie Ben comes out a little better than Harry but still get shot by mistake when people finally come to help.

I think that was a social commentary. That was the Civil Right era after all. IMO the shooting was deliberate.

One thing that always bugs me about the original Night of the Living Dead, aside from the crap ending, is the fact that Barbara spends most of the movie being utterly useless until almost the end of the film. Though, I suppose seeing your brother and the world as you knew being consumed by zombies would have that effect on some folks.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I liked the ending of the original NOTLD. I don't know how realistic Barbara's catatonia was, it would have worn on my patience after awhile. But we can't all be hardy adaptable survivors after all.
I like that Ben was the more reasonable sympathetic character, and Harry kind of a douche, but Ben survived the night by - hiding in the basement, the strategy Harry had argued for all along.

Biggest mistake in Zombie movies: fighting each other instead of the zombies.

[shiddymunkie]

I was always confused by how these thoughtless, slow, and uncoordinated zombies always get the jump on the living. I mean, are they really that hard to trick? Are they really that hard to hunt? They seem to be mindlessly drawn to things like light and sound -- why not use that to your advantage? I could probably think of a dozen "zombie traps of mass destruction" that would either destroy or at least detain large masses of the undead, without using bullets.

[Foxen]

I was always confused by how these thoughtless, slow, and uncoordinated zombies always get the jump on the living. I mean, are they really that hard to trick? Are they really that hard to hunt? They seem to be mindlessly drawn to things like light and sound -- why not use that to your advantage? I could probably think of a dozen "zombie traps of mass destruction" that would either destroy or at least detain large masses of the undead, without using bullets.

One thing that I think we (ZSers) overlook when watching zombie films is that... most "lay" people are not all that prepared for the zombie apocalypse and psychologically, people get more and more worn down in these kinda crazy scenarios.

For instance, if someone is on the run from zombies (ala Walking Dead...more so the comics), running out of food and water, always on edge and trying to be alert, probably not getting decent sleep and almost certainly waking several times a night from nightmares or insomnia... that person is going to wear down physically, mentally, and emotionally. Their alertness level is going to drop, as is their logic and ability to cope with people and situations. They probably can't always think straight 100% of the time coming up with the best solutions or answers to problems. People freak out... especially if they are dealing with stuff that they have never dealt with before and it quite traumatic.

Big mistakes in films - Emma Stone's character taking her sister to the amusement park... sure HUGE mistake (more so the power should have gone dead lone before that), but psychologically speaking, I thought they were at the point of suicide... at least the big sis. What life is there worth living? Might as well go out with a bang right?

Andy in DOTD remake - although he doesn't say this, but shooting thousands of zombies who were former people in his city... that's gotta do something to the man (and it was in the commentary that he stopped shooting because more zombies showed up... not really working... they probably lived in a city of at least a couple of hundreds thousand if not more). More so, the folks in the mall wanted to leave... partially because of the emotional weariness they were feeling... surrounded by zombies... in a city full of dead, the oppression of the situation... basically jail... stuck there, listening to probably a relentless chorus of zombie moans... that's gotta suck you know?

I'm also sure that most of the characters in the movies don't sit around dreaming of a zombie apocalypse and plan for disasters just in case... Maybe there are a few here and there that are disaster prep types (teacher from Dance of the Dead), but those characters are rarely portrayed in the films (hence why I wanna watch Looking for a Friend for the End of the World...they have a prepper cameo). And I assume most characters in movies haven't watched a lot of modern day zombie mythology films (once upon a time zombies didn't spread their disease through bites)... if they did, the movies would be kinda... boring?

Just my two cents on these zombie flicks.

[majorhavoc]

One thing that always bugs me about the original Night of the Living Dead, aside from the crap ending, is

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you kidding me?

That tragic/ironic ending is one of the things that elevated what could have been just another low budget, oddball monster flick to the iconic status that NOTLD is recognzied to be.

It also established one of the foundational ideas behind the apocalyptic zombie genre: there is no escape - death is a foregone conclusion. That pervasive sense of hopelessness and inevitability is what makes the zombie genre so distinctive.

Crap ending? Herasy! Everyone! Grab your pitch forks and torches! And get thee to 12_Guage_Chimps house!

[Akin]

Meh. I always hate it when there are no survivors... that's one reason why I like the Night Of The Living Dead remake better than the original.

Well, that and Patricia Tallman... mmmmm kick-ass redhead... I'll be in my bunk...

[squinty]

I was always confused by how these thoughtless, slow, and uncoordinated zombies always get the jump on the living. I mean, are they really that hard to trick? Are they really that hard to hunt? They seem to be mindlessly drawn to things like light and sound -- why not use that to your advantage? I could probably think of a dozen "zombie traps of mass destruction" that would either destroy or at least detain large masses of the undead, without using bullets.

Yeah, Zombies are sort of pitiful, and easy to cope with. Their strength is in their tenacity - they never tire, never give up, and there are always more of them - and their numbers increase exponentially. Sooner or later, they getcha.
See my earlier posts, talking about how zombies are almost always a background or secondary threat in most of the great Zombie flicks. The main conflict is always between survivors who turn on each other, or undermine each other, or just fail to cooperate. The zombies are like a rising flood, human conflict and vanity are like cracks in the dyke. sooner or later the water comes pouring through.

[shiddymunkie]

One thing that I think we (ZSers) overlook when watching zombie films is that... most "lay" people are not all that prepared for the zombie apocalypse and psychologically, people get more and more worn down in these kinda crazy scenarios.

For instance, if someone is on the run from zombies (ala Walking Dead...more so the comics), running out of food and water, always on edge and trying to be alert, probably not getting decent sleep and almost certainly waking several times a night from nightmares or insomnia... that person is going to wear down physically, mentally, and emotionally. Their alertness level is going to drop, as is their logic and ability to cope with people and situations. They probably can't always think straight 100% of the time coming up with the best solutions or answers to problems. People freak out... especially if they are dealing with stuff that they have never dealt with before and it quite traumatic.

Yeah, I suppose its easy for me to scoff at the lemming-like nature of zombies when I am warm and cozy in my house, safe, belly full of food, and no zombies/plunderers trying to break in and take my life. I am one of those odd-balls who never really stops thinking about stuff, anything really. If its not one thing, its something else. My mind is just always going and going, to the point where I often have trouble sleeping -- even after several nights of having trouble sleeping. Thank goodness of being able to sleep in on the weekends!

Yeah, Zombies are sort of pitiful, and easy to cope with. Their strength is in their tenacity - they never tire, never give up, and there are always more of them - and their numbers increase exponentially. Sooner or later, they getcha.
See my earlier posts, talking about how zombies are almost always a background or secondary threat in most of the great Zombie flicks. The main conflict is always between survivors who turn on each other, or undermine each other, or just fail to cooperate. The zombies are like a rising flood, human conflict and vanity are like cracks in the dyke. sooner or later the water comes pouring through.

This is one of my biggest concerns with just about any disaster scenario, people. Larges masses of panicky people freak me out most of all, as I know what the desperate are capable of. People, as in large numbers of people, are both clever and foolish at the same time, a dangerous mix. There is always someone out there who is just a little bit stronger or faster than you, a little more determined than you, a little bit smarter than you...or just thinks in a way that makes it hard understand (and counteract) their actions. People are by far the most dangerous animals on the planet, and while zombies are nothing to shrug off -- breathing, thinking, frightened/threatened people are on a completely different level. In fact, I may even keep a few zeds around in ZPAW just to help ward off the living!

[Foxen]

I am one of those odd-balls who never really stops thinking about stuff, anything really. If its not one thing, its something else. My mind is just always going and going, to the point where I often have trouble sleeping -- even after several nights of having trouble sleeping. Thank goodness of being able to sleep in on the weekends!

Hence... why we are a bit different than the average bear. =)

Honestly, though, it would be kinda fun to watch a film about people who did prepare for stuff, or focus on a group of guys who just "think" differently than the people that are most commonly portrayed in the movies. That would be enjoyable... not sure it'll be a hit film, but at least for me, I'd want to see that.

[Silent Kube]

The moment where I was yelling at the screen in dotd04 was strapping a sandwich to the dog and sending him on his way without trying to come up with a better plan. First off, I think the dog would have just bolted as soon as it hit the ground. Second, they established that there was a sporting goods store in the mall. How about at least trying to tie some fishing line to an arrow and shooting it over, then use the fishing line to pull some rope over. From there it wouldn't be hard to rig some sort of trolley system and eventually maybe even get the guy from the gun store over on it. Maybe it wouldn't have worked but it's worth a try.

In general, I can't stand it when people in movies run when hey should fight. While not a zombie movie a perfect example is the strangers. You've got two healthy twenty somethings with access to a shotgun vs 2 small framed girls and a guy with asthma. Why the fuck are you running?

[Lynn LeFey]

Exactly. That cold, ugly irony at the end, turned the look at what the monster was from shambling corpses back to us.

I'm on a coin-toss about total-party-kill (a D&D game term when you have an adventure where everyone dies). One of the things I like about Japanese supernatural horror is the utter inescapable truth of it. Once involved, there is no escape, you die. On the other hand, it's sometimes nice to occasionally get a good Last-Girl movie.

The one thing I don't think I've ever seen was an ending where the sole survivor was the nasty back-stabbing character. I think that'd be a hilarious turn. No, your moral superiority didn't save you. Your virtue didn't save you. Your combat skills didn't save you. Pushing Last-Girl into the zombie horde to save yourself DID. LOL

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

One thing that always bugs me about the original Night of the Living Dead, aside from the crap ending, is

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you kidding me?

That tragic/ironic ending is one of the things that elevated what could have been just another low budget, oddball monster flick to the iconic status that NOTLD is recognzied to be. !

THIS! Absolutely!

That is true, Major Havoc. Had George Romero not made that ending, we may not have the zombie genre we all know and love today. It probably would've faded into obscurity like Theda Bara's films and a score of other great films that are lost to history.

I take back my statement of NOTLD having a crap ending.

Y'all can put down the torches and pitchforks now.

[Akin]

I still don't like it when there are no survivors.

*flees*

[DJH]

"The Dead"

...Really, in a ZPAW in the middle of Africa, you're gonna both go to sleep at the same time and trust your tin can on a string and rock to wake you up in time?

[Texas19Delta]

"The Dead"

...Really, in a ZPAW in the middle of Africa, you're gonna both go to sleep at the same time and trust your tin can on a string and rock to wake you up in time?

I was WTF!!!?!?! watching that scene. I don't care how tired you are, one of them could have stayed awake for zombie-watch.

Also, the main character never geared up. He carries that stupid pistol and never looked for better gear. At least pick up weapons and ammo from one of the zombified soldiers!

[BullOnParade]

Money no Longer Talks
Movie: Survival of the Dead
The Plan: Staff Sergeant Crockett and his depleted gang of miscreants leave a pleasant, if violent, little island and and head back to the mainland with a shitload of cash that no longer means anything.
I guess we, those capitalist Americans, are so obsessed with the concept of money that we're going to remain so even when it becomes worthless. Or, maybe the characters here are just a bunch of fucking idiots. I'm going with the latter. Anyway, they're heading back to the mainland which, they already know, is infested with walking dead bodies. They're leaving an island that can be cleaned out of the dead, and comes complete with two armed groups that might just be persuaded to work together after their Hatfield and McCoy bosses waste each other. They have livestock, houses, enough ammo (I expect) to blast anything dead on the whole island, and they would be living on a lovely little piece of real estate. Why did they leave? What was so important about that cash that they actually based a suicidal plan around it? Crockett himself said it: he's never been about money. He's about staying alive. Great way to show it, Sarge. See if you can pay the zombies not to eat your asshole out. Get back to me on how that works out. The cash might have made more sense if they were heading to The City of the Living from Land of the Dead, but then remember Brubaker? What a mindfuck if he and Crockett had ever met.

I actually assumed they were the same character and that we don't get his story between leaving the island and him arriving in the City of the Living, IMDB proves me wrong though.

[squinty]

Money no Longer Talks
Movie: Survival of the Dead
The Plan: Staff Sergeant Crockett and his depleted gang of miscreants leave a pleasant, if violent, little island and and head back to the mainland with a shitload of cash that no longer means anything.
I guess we, those capitalist Americans, are so obsessed with the concept of money that we're going to remain so even when it becomes worthless. Or, maybe the characters here are just a bunch of fucking idiots. I'm going with the latter. Anyway, they're heading back to the mainland which, they already know, is infested with walking dead bodies. They're leaving an island that can be cleaned out of the dead, and comes complete with two armed groups that might just be persuaded to work together after their Hatfield and McCoy bosses waste each other. They have livestock, houses, enough ammo (I expect) to blast anything dead on the whole island, and they would be living on a lovely little piece of real estate. Why did they leave? What was so important about that cash that they actually based a suicidal plan around it? Crockett himself said it: he's never been about money. He's about staying alive. Great way to show it, Sarge. See if you can pay the zombies not to eat your asshole out. Get back to me on how that works out. The cash might have made more sense if they were heading to The City of the Living from Land of the Dead, but then remember Brubaker? What a mindfuck if he and Crockett had ever met.

I actually assumed they were the same character and that we don't get his story between leaving the island and him arriving in the City of the Living, IMDB proves me wrong though.

One more example of fans thinking more creatively, and paying more attention to detail, than the actual writers. I've read Star Wars fanfic that put Lucas to shame as a storyteller (esp. if we're talking about dialogue!) yet he created the characters and situations the fans write about. Romero has also certainly spawned a fair bit fanfic that's as interesting, or moreso, than his own screenplays. As well as some work that, while more popular than his own, is nevertheless inferior or derivative... His best contribution lay in inspiring other artists. He's like the Ramones of horror films.