# Zombies and Vampires are dead. What's the next movie monster? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 5, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689 "2010-09-05T16:15:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Caveat\_lector\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@Caveat\_lector\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caveat_lector_1)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/21 "2010-09-05T22:21:42Z")
I wonder if zombies, werewolf, and vampires (oh my!) have more of an appeal because the lore of the monster often allows the normal people to become one. It can add drama to the plot or allow the audience to engage in some amount of Mary Sue-ism. The latter applies more with the vamps and wolfs, but I’m sure that somewhere someone fantasizes about becoming a zombie. Are there any others where the lore of the monster allows this transformation? ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/22 "2010-09-05T22:59:56Z")
Zombies aren’t gone yet. There’s at least two seasons of [The Walking Dead](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg46DWI_fCE) coming to AMC. If it’s as good as the source it’s gonna be interesting. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/23 "2010-09-05T23:08:24Z")
Slasher flicks. Or more zombie/vampire stuff, that no one will watch. After all, nobody ever said Hollywood was either smart, or averse to tossing money down a rat hole. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/24 "2010-09-05T23:53:53Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > [@Erdosain](#): > > > > Well, it has to be something humanoid, otherwise it’s just a creature feature. People need someone recognizable to be the monster. > > What’s wrong with a creature feature? Aliens were popular for quite some time. > > SNIP > > So what’s next? We still have terrorists, unlike the Soviet Union that spawned so many Alien Invasion films. Teens are still alienated. So zombies and vampires still have cultural wells to draw from. But they’re getting played out. The next monsters will have to be something that plays on our widespread cultural fears. Nature gone wild. More mega-crocs, frankenfish, and the return of giant killer insects. We’re screwing Mother Nature at an advanced clip and even the folks who joke about it are getting nervous after the Gulf spill and other things. Look for more of this kind of creature on a screen near you. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/25 "2010-09-06T01:56:48Z")
SyFy has been doing nothing else for years. Not exactly new. ---
**Author:** ![Hentzau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Hentzau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentzau)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/26 "2010-09-06T02:26:48Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > You know what I’d like to see? A shapeshifter as a monster. Not a restricted one like a werewolf, but a versatile one like Odo from Deep Space Nine (except able to flawlessly imitate human features)… It’s been done, pretty close to your notion and deeply scary it was. I’m referring to that adaptation of John w. Campbell’s \*Who Goes There? \*that John Carpenter filmed as \ ***The Thing.** \* Act I, Scene I, when those crazy Swedes (they’re Norwegians, Mac. Not Swedes) are chasing the dog across the snow and everyone is worried about the poor puppy and I know just enough about the story to be cheering for them to blow up the fucker…that _worked!_ But for sheer directing, acting, and writing skill that showed how really scary a film can be with absolutely no special effects, I don’t think there’s much that can touch _ **Fallen** _. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/27 "2010-09-06T03:06:52Z")
There was a string of sci-fi/horror sea monster movies in the late 80’s (Deep Star Six, Leviathan, etc.). They were all essentially **Aliens** underwater, but I think that’s a genre that could use a few high-quality titles. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/28 "2010-09-06T03:18:09Z")
I asked my kid, who’s into horror movies, what he’s most afraid of. “Ending up working in a cubicle.” So maybe, in movies like _Office Space_, we’ve already seen the next generation of movie monster: The Middle Manager. Don’t miss _ **Attack of The Middle Management** _! F E A R his polyester button-down shirt and clip-on tie! T H R I L L to his “Team-building” Exercises! C O W E R before his leatherette padfolio and its weekend work ‘skej’! “Yeaaaah, uhhh… I’m gonna need you to come in Saturday… yeaaaah…” ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/29 "2010-09-06T03:27:45Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > Zombies aren’t gone yet. There’s at least two seasons of [The Walking Dead](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg46DWI_fCE) coming to AMC. > > If it’s as good as the source it’s gonna be interesting. I know and I can’t wait. Finally a zombie television series (a much better format for a zombie apocalypse than a feature film IMHO). And a major zombie project from someone other than George Romero. Yes, he created the genre, but he’s lost his touch. Neither Land or Diary was as good as the original trilogy and Survival was plain awful. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/30 "2010-09-06T03:41:01Z")
[Robots.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHJJQ0zNNOM) ---
**Author:** ![ShallowEnd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@ShallowEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShallowEnd)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/31 "2010-09-06T08:18:33Z")
I know! I read it on the internet, so I know it’s true. [Minotaurs!](http://www.theonion.com/articles/minotaurs-the-new-vampires-says-publishing-executi,17601/) but my kids are really into Chupacabras. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/32 "2010-09-06T15:33:26Z")
Time for Godzilla to make a comeback! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/33 "2010-09-06T17:16:35Z")
I’m waiting for demons to spring up in movies. There are tons of urban fantasy novels with demons as the bad guys, but none of them have been popular enough to form the basis for a tv show or movie. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/34 "2010-09-06T18:48:54Z")
I thought they _were_ dead. It’s kinda part of the definition, right? 😉 > [@Sefton](#): > > The time has come for the [rakshasa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakshasa)! Last year or so, I was reading installments of three different urban fantasies, and all three had rakshasas. Three extremely different intepretations of what a rakshasa is, but the same base mythology. I was wondering whether Hindu mythology was suddenly hot in the publishing world or something. Also- re: zombies. I’m not a big fan of horror, so I don’t know the state of things- are there movies and such about intelligent undead? Not shambling around trying to eat someone, just a normal peson who for whatever reason is a walking corpse. That might be interesting to see. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/35 "2010-09-06T18:56:06Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Also- re: zombies. I’m not a big fan of horror, so I don’t know the state of things- are there movies and such about intelligent undead? Not shambling around trying to eat someone, just a normal peson who for whatever reason is a walking corpse. That might be interesting to see. Mr. Slant (from _Discworld_ – I don’t know about the poster) is an intelligent zombie. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/36 "2010-09-06T19:18:09Z")
Right. Discworld zombies like Mr. Slant and Reg Shoe are just ordinary dead guys walking around. I was just wondering if it was a mainstream phenomena. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/37 "2010-09-06T19:35:22Z")
The closest I can think of at the moment is Lurch, whom I assumed was a zombie. But there are a few references in the show that indicate he’s a ‘flesh golem’, like Frankenstein’s Monster. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/38 "2010-09-06T21:04:00Z")
Pirates of the Caribbean, Johnny? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/39 "2010-09-06T22:13:03Z")
[Political Memes](http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/dickcheney/ig/Dick-Cheney-Pictures/Darth-Cheney.05Y8.htm) There is hope for a newer and scarier monster to come. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/40 "2010-09-06T22:37:10Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Also- re: zombies. I’m not a big fan of horror, so I don’t know the state of things- are there movies and such about intelligent undead? Not shambling around trying to eat someone, just a normal peson who for whatever reason is a walking corpse. That might be interesting to see. [Jeanine Frost’s Night Huntress series](http://jeanienefrost.com/) has intelligent ghouls, which are more than a zombie, but less than a vampire, and still undead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689.md?page=3)