the average casual fan knows George Romero popularized the Zombie film with his “Dead” series, yet, invariably when these casual fans decide to mimic zombie behavior for laughs, they invariably reference the Dan O’Bannon “Return of the Living Dead” zombies, particularly the moaning for Braaaiiiiinnnns!!!
it seems that the general concept of a zombie seems inexorably linked with the “Braaaiiiinnns!!!” moan
why is it that Romero is associated with the genre, but most people are inadvertently referencing the O’Bannon zombies?
secondly, how is it possible for an O’Bannon zombie to bite thru the skull of their victims to get to the Braiiiinnn, human teeth are not designed to penetrate bone, and human jaw muscles (especially the jaw muscles of a decomposing corpse) do not have the strength to drive the teeth to penetrate bone, even if the teeth were capable of this, which they’re not…
the Romero Zombie’s penchant for flesh seems more…“logical” (insofar as it would be logical in a world where human corpses can reanimate), as it’d be easier for the human jaw structure to tear through flesh, Romero zombies don’t seem to be able to penetrate bone, and certainly not skulls
Because “braaaaaaains” is a terrifically catchy, near-iconic, tag line and the Romero zombies don’t have a tag line.
Well, for all we know the process of zombification includes a body-wide mutagenic change that allows for stregthening of the teeth and jaw muscles. As far as we know the O’Bannon zombies don’t feel pain other than the generalized “need to eat brains” pain so any pain normally associated with trying to bite through bone would not bother them.
Probably for the same reason that people always think of Jason Voorhees chasing people with a chainsaw.
Anyway, aside from the fact that a large number of zombie victims were obviously soft-headed [rimshot], a popular theory is that zombies, lacking any kind of pain threshold, are simply overexerting their muscles for bursts of “extraordinary” strength, but suffer irreparable physical damage in the process. So, if a zombie were to bite someone’s head hard enough to breach through a victim’s skull, they may very well shatter their own teeth and blow out most of their jaw muscles in the process.
The true situation lies somewhere in between, according to the Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency website: the virus does induce substantial alteration of the jaw structure, thickening the bone and reinforcing muscular attachments to maximize bite pressure. However, the teeth themselves remain unaltered, and as a result are often broken loose during attacks.
FYI the real world reason why O’Bannon zombies crave brains and not flesh is O’Bannon was required to deliver an R-rated film and he thought it’d be less gorey.
would a Craniophagic zombie (O’Bannon zombie) prefer the brain of, lets say the stereotypical ditzy blonde, or the brain of a Nobel-Laureate physicist (or other intelligent person), would thinking make the brain richer and more flavorful, or tough and gamey, conversly, would a little-used brain have that wonderful “melt in your mouth” consistency, or be bland and flavorless?
Zombies are typcially unpretentious, blue-collar monsters; they’re working stiffs *(ha!) *, not royalty like Egyptian mummies or pale, brooding fops like vampires. As such, they don’t have a refined palate (in fact, some don’t even have a palate! HA!). If they have any preference at all, it’s likely going to be for decent, straightforward home-cooked brains; this is why they tend to congregate in rural areas and mid-to-lower class neighborhoods. The ideal zombie repast is probably going to be a solid, commonsensical brain, practical and alert, yet not too exotic or spicy. It’s worth noting that police officers and paramedics are the only two types of brains that O’Bannon zombies have been known to order out for.
