# What's with all the Zombie Apocalypse films of the past few years? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2007, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516 "2007-05-02T19:47:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2007, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/21 "2007-05-10T00:12:51Z")
[Last year’s Zombie Walk in Cambridge/Somerville, MA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mUd1WZL8Nk). This year’s is next Saturday - get your costumes ready! ---
**Author:** ![anamnesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@anamnesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anamnesis)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/22 "2007-06-10T14:41:18Z")
In light of the release of the trailer for Will Smith’s new film, I thought I’d resurrect this, er, zombie thread … _(rimshot please)_ The trailer for ‘I Am Legend’ is out, and the film is slated for release for the holiday season at the end of the year. I’d submit it for inclusion on the OP’s list. I agree with the preponderance of zombie apocolypse films being a bit much even for a genre revival when you consider that the people who make them can’t even be bothered to think up a unique plot. Is there any reason these filmmakers don’t seem to notice they’re all making the same fucking rehashed idea about a manmade virus being the catalyst? After all the films about viral zombies, one wonders why they can’t just make a goddamn zombie movie with real zombies. The irony of it all is that ‘The Omega Man’ probably pioneered the concept of a viral apocolypse way back when, and all the other zombie fare has done nothing but ape the idea. Poorly. Either way, ‘I Am Legend’ is a remake of the original with Heston, and it looks better than I thought it would be. I almost expected it to be another tongue-in-cheek vehicle for Will Smith to sport a shotgun and a bag full of cheesy one-liners about blowing away zombies, but it appears to be more cerebral than that. It’s pretty clear that the budget will allow for this to be a convincing apocolypse, whereas a film like ‘28 Days Later’ wasn’t convincing to me at all. The quality of the effects to convey the abandonment and emptiness of a city as big as NYC is quite creepy. Gave me goosebumps. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/23 "2007-06-10T14:46:50Z")
[QUOTE=anamnesis] In light of the release of the trailer for Will Smith’s new film, I thought I’d resurrect this, er, zombie thread … _(rimshot please)_ The trailer for ‘I Am Legend’ is out, and the film is slated for release for the holiday season at the end of the year. . [/QUOTE] Wonderful. The feel-good, Holiday Zombie Apocalypse of the Season. :smack: :rolleyes: Will they put a rotting cadaver in a Santa suit, as a treat for the kiddies? Worse, were all gonna hafta watch _months_ of commercials for this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![parthenokinesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cc9497/32.png) [@parthenokinesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parthenokinesis)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/24 "2007-06-10T15:32:11Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] We’re deep into the second term of the Bush Administration. What else are they gonna be making movies about? [/QUOTE] Despite the driveby nature of this post, there is an allegorical truth to the analysis. Living in a democracy (or at least something close to one in practice), people on all sides of the political spectrum feel trapped in the “tyranny of the masses”. Zombies can be viewed as the “sheeple” who are the majority that voted us into the perceived apocalypse of our current administration. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/25 "2007-06-10T16:12:52Z")
[QUOTE=anamnesis] Either way, ‘I Am Legend’ is a remake of the original with Heston, and it looks better than I thought it would be. [/QUOTE] The original with Heston? Vincent Price’s The Last Man on Earth is the original and Heston’s Omega Man was a remake. So this will be the third go around for this particular story. Not that I’m complaining on that, mind you. There’s plenty of room for someone to do I Am Legend again. ---
**Author:** ![beowulf573](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@beowulf573](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulf573)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/26 "2007-06-10T17:23:56Z")
The original “I am Legend” was vampires of a sort instead of zombies. I haven’t head if the Will Smith keeps that intact, goes for the “Omega Man” way, or something new. ---
**Author:** ![anamnesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@anamnesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anamnesis)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/27 "2007-06-10T18:03:21Z")
Just Some Guy: Duly noted. Yes, Price was the original, but I Am Legend is based on The Omega Man, which was a only a reinterpretation of The Last Man on Earth rather than a remake of it. Adding to that … Beowulf: yes, they’re supposed to be more of a vampiric type zombie. Whatever the virus is, it turns people “bloodthirsty”, and one of the main characters is a sort of lead vampire, so the original ‘Last Man on Earth’ vampire aspect is combined with the requisite zombie aspect on this go-around. I guess it’s a zompire. Or a vombie. Or something. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/28 "2007-06-10T19:32:46Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] And I thought _28 Days Later_ was a pretentious piece of crap with its only bright spot being the skewering of environmentalists. [/QUOTE] How did it skewer environmentalists? I don’t recall. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/29 "2007-06-10T19:49:34Z")
The environmentalists were the ones that caused all the death and destruction by breaking into the lab and letting loose the test monkeys carrying the virus, who then proceeded to attack the humans and spread it. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/30 "2007-06-11T00:02:32Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] I wonder if it symbolic of the rising number of Senior Citizens in our society, & the viceral reaction of kids to this trend. [/QUOTE] Hey maybe. In my family there’s a running joke that they’re filming a zombie movie in the local grocery store every weekend - the zombies in question just don’t know they’re being watched by the camera 😉 ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/31 "2007-06-11T03:27:25Z")
IMHO, Carpenter’s [Prince of Darkness](http://imdb.com/title/tt0093777/) is the most hopeless, bleak, and environmentally creepy zombie film ever made. Most people don’t realize that this movie is John Carpenter’s zombie homage. Quite a good take on the genre… time travel, zombies, and pure evil. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/32 "2007-06-11T03:54:57Z")
It’s partly the way of the movie making business. Some genres fall in and out of fashion, like westerns, or fantasy films, or comic book films. One pops up and does well, so more are put into production. Later, when a couple of them flop in a row, production of them will dry up. These films are made in small numbers almost all the the time but when one does well, then many are made and pushed for by the marketing. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/33 "2007-06-11T18:21:12Z")
[QUOTE=pool] The environmentalists were the ones that caused all the death and destruction by breaking into the lab and letting loose the test monkeys carrying the virus, who then proceeded to attack the humans and spread it. [/QUOTE] But although the _animal-rights activists_ (not environmentalists) were fairly bone-headed in their guerilla (no pun intended) actions, it does beg the question as to why this research lab was intentionally developing a ‘rage virus’? What possible motivation could there be to developing such a carnage-inducing toxin? This seems more of a slam against biological weapon-engineering labs than against liberal activists. Anyway, since somebody else brought ressurected (again, pun not intended) this thread, let me just chime in that [this series](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Zombies) (which I just found out about) has got to be the most bizarre cash-in on the recent trend for zombie movies yet. ---
**Author:** ![Smitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Smitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smitty)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/34 "2007-06-11T18:41:51Z")
[QUOTE=The New and Improved Superman] But although the _animal-rights activists_ (not environmentalists) were fairly bone-headed in their guerilla (no pun intended) actions, it does beg the question as to why this research lab was intentionally developing a ‘rage virus’? What possible motivation could there be to developing such a carnage-inducing toxin? This seems more of a slam against biological weapon-engineering labs than against liberal activists. [/QUOTE] The scientist working at the lab said something like, “You have to understand something in order to fight it.” I took that as meaning that they were working on some kind of anger suppressant, and they needed to distill “rage” in order to get the cure. Just my $.02 ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/35 "2007-06-11T19:09:27Z")
[QUOTE=Smitty] The scientist working at the lab said something like, “You have to understand something in order to fight it.” I took that as meaning that they were working on some kind of anger suppressant, and they needed to distill “rage” in order to get the cure. Just my $.02 [/QUOTE] Yes, but IMO that rationale sounds very similar to the Reagan Administration rationale for making nuclear & chemical weapons - “In order to ensure these weapons won’t be used against Americans, we must manufacture TONS of it.” (paraphrasing of course, but not by much). I mean, the rage virus could not possibly be a naturally-occurring substance. Perhaps it originated as some freak mutation of rabies, but such a contagion would have to be genetically engineered in order to cause the effects it did. And given the anti-military position the film takes later on, I think it’s a safe bet that ‘rage’ was a deliberate creation of western military concerns. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/36 "2007-06-11T19:21:22Z")
[QUOTE=The New and Improved Superman] Yes, but IMO that rationale sounds very similar to the Reagan Administration rationale for making nuclear & chemical weapons - “In order to ensure these weapons won’t be used against Americans, we must manufacture TONS of it.” (paraphrasing of course, but not by much). I mean, the rage virus could not possibly be a naturally-occurring substance. Perhaps it originated as some freak mutation of rabies, but such a contagion would have to be genetically engineered in order to cause the effects it did. And given the anti-military position the film takes later on, I think it’s a safe bet that ‘rage’ was a deliberate creation of western military concerns. [/QUOTE] Wonder if that was inspired by the US military’s research into the [“Love Bomb.”](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4174519.stm) > [@](#): > > The US military investigated building a “gay bomb”, which would make enemy soldiers “sexually irresistible” to each other, government papers say. > > Other weapons that never saw the light of day include one to make soldiers obvious by their bad breath. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2007, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/37 "2007-06-13T23:38:28Z")
[QUOTE=pool] The environmentalists were the ones that caused all the death and destruction by breaking into the lab and letting loose the test monkeys carrying the virus, who then proceeded to attack the humans and spread it. [/QUOTE] Environmentalism != animal-rights activism, though there is considerable membership overlap and mutual sympathy between the two movements. ---
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/38 "2007-06-14T01:04:15Z")
I personally love the recent zombie movie trend. If I want some mindless, shoot-em-up entertainment, there’d be zombies involved because I don’t do the renegade cop vs. terrorist action movies. As an aside- I recently had a zombie dream (have them occasionally, they rock) that was unusual in that it scared me, and that the zombies in question were people with severe autism that would bite people when they got frustrated. So, no chance of spreading the zombie-ism, but frightening if you found yourself surrounded by a bunch of them, because they were intelligent, just bite-happy. Interesting dream. If some movie exec steals this idea, I’ll sue the pants off them. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516/39 "2007-06-14T01:18:30Z")
[QUOTE=RedRosesForMe] If some movie exec steals this idea, I’ll sue the pants off them. [/QUOTE] I think you’re safe. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-zombie-apocalypse-films-of-the-past-few-years/402516.md?page=1)