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The brain is an really imporant thing here, see. For zombies to be destroyed you have to actually destroy the brain. Also its what keeps the body going even after death. that's the real defination of an zombie– an corspe powered by the brain.
Okay, watch out, unnecessary zombie-pro coming through.
Let me answer some questions, and/or misleading thoughts here.
The easiest general definition for a zombie is: Any living and/or re-living being controlled by means of a master, or object. This could include: being bound to slave work, flesh, or a new house. See definition for slave.
However, I feel the need to go deeper than that, and flesh out a few things.
Shamblers: the cliche, slow moving, flesh eating undead. Shoot them in the 'brain' to kill, because they don't feel 'pain' anywhere else.
-Romero shamblers overtime began to gain knowledge of past lives, and regain memory. The usage of normal everyday objects became more useful, and began to have an actual thought process (Day, and Land show this best)
Runners: The scarier and faster upgrade to the shambler. They are more aggressive, and more likely able to kill you. Although more frightening than the shambler, they are more fantastical to the zombie community; as they're not the classic Romero zombie.
-The 28 Days Later 'zombies' are not the normal zombies per'se, but instead normal humans. They never died, nor ever undied. They don't eat flesh, neither. They are simply humans infected with the Rage virus (which is basically "peace control", and ebola mixed together and gone horribly wrong) causing them to beat the hell out of whatever is in their way.
- How they'd be likely to come about: There are many stories/movies/books that give many different situations and answers. Satellites from outer space, comets, viruses, toxins, no more room in hell, 'evil voodoo'. None are 'certain' except to their own pertaining universe.
Voodoo zombies: are much different than the ones above. They are the more realistic, as well, because they're real. They are not undead, but they still follow one master, and are brought about by a powder from puffer fish (which "kills" a person), and psychoactive drugs which leave the victim with no will of their own. They do not eat the living, and more of slaves to whoever 'raises' them.
um….um…some zombies don't eat animals (Dawn of the Dead–they didn't eat chips the dog)And some do; Night of the Living Dead, a few put mice in their mouths.
does that mean Frankenstein's monster is just a glorified zombieEh. I'd just call him more of a monster. He's got a mind of his own, which tears him away from the zombie definition. I guess an abomination?
also, were the 28 days later rage infectees really zombies or were they just really angry?…Really, really angry. Take the core chemical that creates rage in the brain, mix it with ebola, and then shove it into your blood stream. That's 28 Days Later for you. Red Slayer is correct in what they say. They should also read the comic book "28 Days Later: Aftermath".
I saw a place that claimed animated skeletons was just zombies that had decomposed so badly there was nothing left but the bones. Is it just me or does that sound ..wrong somehow?That just sounds foolish. The brain is what keeps them alive.
Would the zombie re-die when its body began to fall apart too badly to keep it moving, or is there something preventing that?It'd die, as the body is also dead, and over time, rotting.
In the Return of the Living Dead series, the original zombie was sort of, eh, pickled? in Trioxin. Those zombies are HARD to kill, harder than rabid weasels, for sure.Those zombies were completely insane. Had it not been for RotLD2, we'd have no idea how to kill them, and be utterly destroyed. Except, of course, if we just nuked ourselves.
I have, officially, been taught. :)
Thanks everybody, you sure know how to make me interested. I'll have to see a whole lot of zombie-movies to catch up with everybody, but I'm not complaining. I've already planned to see the classic horror movies so it's not a big jump from that.
And being a zombie-cow-thingy is okay Sea_Cow, as long as you don't gnaw my arms off. Making a comic without arms is a bit hard.
Funny how the 28 Days "zombies" are mentioned so much. Truth be told, I never really managed to keep interested long enough to see the end. It was a good start, but as soon as it turned survival-horror, I lost interest. Shame on me.
I have, officially, been taught. :)
Thanks everybody, you sure know how to make me interested. I'll have to see a whole lot of zombie-movies to catch up with everybody, but I'm not complaining. I've already planned to see the classic horror movies so it's not a big jump from that.
I have, officially, been taught. :)
Thanks everybody, you sure know how to make me interested. I'll have to see a whole lot of zombie-movies to catch up with everybody, but I'm not complaining. I've already planned to see the classic horror movies so it's not a big jump from that.
If you're going for classics, I recommend the following:
Night of the Living Dead 1968 and the 90's remake
Dawn of the Dead 1978
Day of the Dead
Re-Animator
Bride of Re-Animator (Jeffrey Combs is really the only reason to actually see these)
Dead Alive (Peter Jackson movie, gory as hell)
Return of the Living Dead I and II
I'm sure there are more, but these are one's I'm knocking off the top of my head. I'd recommend "Zombi", which is held as being the best zombie movie ever, but I really don't see what's so great about it (and it's super rare to find).
Don't forget Vincent Price in "Last Man on Earth." The monsters here are technically vampires, but they are weak and sluggish, they are created by a fast-spreading disease, and they wipe out almost everybody. Clearly, in movie terms, they are an important ancestor for Romero-type Zombies.
Also, you forgot an important zombie category:
Alien Zombies
As seen in a variety of 50s Atomic Horror movies. These zombies are animated by Alien technology, either to use them as soldiers or to allow bodiless aliens to possess them.
Don't forget Vincent Price in "Last Man on Earth." The monsters here are technically vampires, but they are weak and sluggish, they are created by a fast-spreading disease, and they wipe out almost everybody. Clearly, in movie terms, they are an important ancestor for Romero-type Zombies.
"Omega Man" had the "living zombies" problem. I suppose they were trying to make it more "modern" by avoiding the idea of Vampires. But As far as I could tell, the survivors of the outbreak just turned into light-averse albinos. Charlton Heston, for some reason, felt this gave him permission to slaughter them. It gives the whole movie a very disturbing feel.
I mean, I always figured that the whole point of zombie movies was that it was OK for you the hero to slaughter them. It just doesnt work as well if they are alive or curable.
Wow, I know there's a lot of zombie-movies out there, but I still gets amazed every time people starts to list them.
I'll remember the movies you mentioned HAM, they sound familliar and classic-y enough to be something I'd have to see anyway, and then work my way from there.
Thanks again for all the help guys. I'm gleefully on my way to zombie-knowledge now. Heehe.
"Omega Man" had the "living zombies" problem. I suppose they were trying to make it more "modern" by avoiding the idea of Vampires. But As far as I could tell, the survivors of the outbreak just turned into light-averse albinos. Charlton Heston, for some reason, felt this gave him permission to slaughter them. It gives the whole movie a very disturbing feel.
I'll give Will Smith a chance, but Hollywood has mastered the art of lowering my expectations.
But in "I am Legend" the whole point of the book is the way that Neville has to face the nature of his crusade. "Omega Man" skips this - though you could claim that, in high art style, they leave the revelation to the viewer. No, don't they imply that Neville is a Christ-like figure? When Heston was the king of sci-fi action movies, they always had to imply the Heston was Christ - and call me weird, but that never quite worked for me.
See, now I feel an "Omega Man"/"Soylent Green"/"planet of the Apes" film festival coming on. Eew.
But in "I am Legend" the whole point of the book is the way that Neville has to face the nature of his crusade. "Omega Man" skips this - though you could claim that, in high art style, they leave the revelation to the viewer. No, don't they imply that Neville is a Christ-like figure? When Heston was the king of sci-fi action movies, they always had to imply the Heston was Christ - and call me weird, but that never quite worked for me.
See, now I feel an "Omega Man"/"Soylent Green"/"planet of the Apes" film festival coming on. Eew.
I recently found myself doing a surprising amount of research on the undead (a surprising amount for me being a few hours' worth), particularly on zombies and similar types. One thing I wasn't really able to figure out is how this "Romero zombie" idea got started. Obviously from his movies, but aside from an isolated quote from the epic of Gilgamesh, this "overwhelmed with slow-moving undead corpses" seems like a pretty radical departure from the traditional view of those who have returned from the grave.
Can't say I really care for the "zombie movie" genre. Give me draugrs or revenants or a nest of vampires over a zombie horde any day.
As far as I could pin down, it started with Romero (with inspiration from I Am Legend). Apparently, NotLD was originally going to be much different (and as I understand it, cheesy), but Romero re-wrote it in a three day frenzy (and much of the dialog was still ad-libbed).
I believe one of the quotes from Mattheson about I Am Legend went something like: what is more frightening than one vampire but a world of vampires? Romero went with this with the zombies, and added the element of flesh-eating and contagion (which may or may not have been explored before, it's a bit cloudy and I don't have access to all the B-movies mentioned in the literature).
If you still need research material, lemme know and I'll send you my links.
Mainly I was just curious. I was doing research for my comic (which I have decided to start doing again) since I discovered some annoying plot-holes on looking back over my old outline for the first story arc, when the disconnect between historical views on zombies and similar critters versus the Hollywood versions struck me as strange. I know, of course, that media types like to "spice things up" to make them more dramatic, but I was surprised that zombies got to be so different in the movies that you can't even tell they're the same creature as the vodoun type. Say, that'd be another interesting thing to write a paper about … the influence of mass media on popular perception of characters from mythology, folklore and legend.
it all depends on what sort of zombie you're talking about.
Ramero zombies are the toast of the town these days. they are the embodiment of whatever social activity you want to write against. communisim, racisim, consumerisim.
But before Ramero did his business, zombies were evil henchmen controled by a magic user.
then there is the voodoo zombie, which is what the last guy is talking about. read (or watch the movie) serpent and the rainbow. It is pretty interesting.
good luck with your paper.
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