Saturday 1 June 2013

Fast Zombies vs Slow Zombies

28 Days Later vs The Walking Dead, World War Z vs Dawn of the Dead, which do you prefer? While World War Z is yet to be released, I think the trailers give quite a good idea of what to expect from its post-apocalyptic world. At least with regards to how the zombies will behave. 

Firstly, slow zombies. So you have a walking cadaver shuffling along like an old person who has just shit themselves, mumbling 'brains' or some indecipherable groan that expresses a longing for the end of your life. What's scary about that? You walk / run past them, maybe bop them on the head and then go on your way. However, it's the sheer volume of these slow motherfucker's that makes them hard to deal with. To coin a Walking Dead phrase, it's a 'herd' that can be devastating. No matter how slow they are, if you're surrounded, you're fucked. Maybe it's not the zombies that are the treat, maybe it's your own complacency? They're like a rising tide that slowly creeps up on you. Instead of building a boat to sail the hell out of there, you put it off until tomorrow. Before you know it, you're on the roof of your house wishing that you'd built your ark before now. All you have left are roof tiles and no fresh water. Escape is impossible. Your fucked. Movement seems like the best strategy against them. A rolling stone suffers no loss. If you never settle then you can never be trapped. In theory anyway.


Fast zombies. I still have nightmares about 28 Days Later. Not only do you have to have your wits about you, but these fucker's are FAST. It doesn't matter how brave you are, when you have Usain Bolt hungry for your throat, you're fucked. They come in herds, they come in pairs, they come on their own. The fact is, you have to fight and you have to be quicker than they are. You have to be a badass like Selena to survive this apocalypse. I wonder if even Michone would cut it in the 28 Days Later world. World War Z shows another aspect to fast zombies - swarms! I like to think that I have a zombie survival plan, but I think that if I was in that world, I'd see the oncoming infected, curl up into the fetal position, and wait to be eaten.


Fast zombies freak the shit out of me, I think they win out as a story device every time over their slower shuffling cousins. Any thoughts?

Michael Robertson
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