# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/41 "2010-09-07T03:09:12Z")
Here’s an idea I’ve toyed with, based on all those FPS’s where enemies can teleport in at any moment. Let’s say that some menace appears; could be “demons” or “aliens” or whatever their true origin. They’re nasty, they eat (or worse) people, the only thing you can do is shoot them. _ **And they can appear anywhere, anytime**._ No safe areas, no bolt holes, redoubts or bunkers. The only defense against them is people taking shifts standing guard with weapons ready 24 hours a day. So in short order we become a society where everyone is armed, and being ready to fight or die on a moment’s notice becomes a part of daily life; like an Israeli west bank settler, only more so. 😛 Has many of the same features as zombies: guilt-free killing, getting to be a kickass gunman, etc. only civilization adapts and continues. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/42 "2010-09-07T03:21:23Z")
> [@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). Sounds a lot like Dean Koontz’s _Phantoms_. Ignore the movie, the book was better (although not much). ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/43 "2010-09-07T13:56:40Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Here’s an idea I’ve toyed with, based on all those FPS’s where enemies can teleport in at any moment. Let’s say that some menace appears; could be “demons” or “aliens” or whatever their true origin. They’re nasty, they eat (or worse) people, the only thing you can do is shoot them. _ **And they can appear anywhere, anytime**._ No safe areas, no bolt holes, redoubts or bunkers. The only defense against them is people taking shifts standing guard with weapons ready 24 hours a day. > > So in short order we become a society where everyone is armed, and being ready to fight or die on a moment’s notice becomes a part of daily life; like an Israeli west bank settler, only more so. 😛 > > Has many of the same features as zombies: guilt-free killing, getting to be a kickass gunman, etc. only civilization adapts and continues. Why wouldn’t someone just setup an automated turret system? You don’t need that much computing power to keep track of whether something changes dramatically between two frames of surveillance photos. ---
**Author:** ![Mogle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mogle/32/12021_2.png) [@Mogle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mogle)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/44 "2010-09-07T14:59:42Z")
> [@Telperion](#): > > Why wouldn’t someone just setup an automated turret system? You don’t need that much computing power to keep track of whether something changes dramatically between two frames of surveillance photos. No, that would be pretty easy, the hard part would be telling the difference between a demon teleporting in and a person stepping into view. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/45 "2010-09-07T15:25:49Z")
Robots. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/46 "2010-09-07T15:26:35Z")
> [@Mogle](#): > > > [@Telperion](#): > > > > Why wouldn’t someone just setup an automated turret system? You don’t need that much computing power to keep track of whether something changes dramatically between two frames of surveillance photos. > > No, that would be pretty easy, the hard part would be telling the difference between a demon teleporting in and a person stepping into view. I don’t think it would be too terribly hard. Something that moves into frame gradually is a pedestrian while something that suddenly pops into view is not. The whole analysis could be done in milliseconds. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/47 "2010-09-07T16:07:14Z")
> [@digs](#): > > 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…” Have him read this: > **[Resume with Monsters: William Browning Spencer: 9781565049130: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Resume-Monsters-William-Browning-Spencer/dp/1565049136)** > > Resume with Monsters \[William Browning Spencer\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Resume with Monsters 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/48 "2010-09-07T16:08:49Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Succubuses & incubuses could both work. That’s not a bad idea, imo. You can get some T&A to attract the kind of people who want to see it (I would include myself in that category), as well as some creepy visuals, some “Oh my God, they’re breeding!” moments, and the possibility of damnation mentioned by Johnny LA. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/49 "2010-09-09T17:20:32Z")
I think that Zombies will still have a long run yet, they are set in virtually our normal world and have a less suspension of disbelief factor as compared with some other monsters. Also their slow but "inevitableness "is good for scariness. Things that are totally alien are less scary then things that we can relate to on a more ordinary level. Vampires have become a joke, they’re just super cool humans now, with some exceptional powers that many people secretly would like to be, (And many not so secretly) and many school age girls would like to be seduced by. For me Werewolves with the whole"shape, mass and size changing thing " are not very believable no matter how hard I try. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/50 "2010-09-09T17:52:23Z")
> [@Siddhartha\_Vicious](#): > > **Zombies and Vampires are dead.** You know better than that. They’re _un_dead. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/51 "2010-09-09T18:14:49Z")
Ninja-Nazi-mutant-cyborgs from the 9th dimension. Riding dinosaurs. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/52 "2010-09-09T18:20:55Z")
were-virgin ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/53 "2010-09-09T18:36:24Z")
I’d like vampire movies better if they mistakenly called them “draculas” the entire time. I might actually enjoy Twilight if that happened. ---
**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 9, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/54 "2010-09-09T19:49:56Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > were-virgin This idea should be fleshed out. Do they become a virgin every full moon or something else? Is it a physical thing or do they forget all their previous experience? Dose it work for guys? I don’t know why, but this idea just intrigues me… ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/55 "2010-09-09T19:59:47Z")
> [@Caveat\_lector\_1](#): > > > [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > > > were-virgin > > This idea should be fleshed out. Do they become a virgin every full moon or something else? Is it a physical thing or do they forget all their previous experience? Dose it work for guys? I don’t know why, but this idea just intrigues me… Heh, sounds like something you would get in one of the more controversial Hadaths describing the Islamic version of Heaven … 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/56 "2010-09-09T20:55:03Z")
> [@Caveat\_lector\_1](#): > > > [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > > > were-virgin > > This idea should be fleshed out. Do they become a virgin every full moon or something else? Is it a physical thing or do they forget all their previous experience? Dose it work for guys? I don’t know why, but this idea just intrigues me… Well, it has to kill you at some point… Maybe she’s a virgin, who turns into a wolf when, uh, ‘deflowered’ and goes on a killing spree (starting with the lucky fellow), only to turn back into a virgin at the next full moon (with no memory of the wolf form of course). I don’t know - any other thoughts? ---
**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 9, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/57 "2010-09-09T21:07:57Z")
Does it have to kill someone? Maybe its a curse that spreads that turns everyone back into a virgin and erases any memories that came after that point. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/58 "2010-09-09T21:11:43Z")
> [@Caveat\_lector\_1](#): > > Does it have to kill someone? Maybe its a curse that spreads that turns everyone back into a virgin and erases any memories that came after that point. Heh, or a curse that makes everyone as gawky and awkward about sex as they were when they were a virgin. 😃 ---
**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 9, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/59 "2010-09-09T21:25:05Z")
Ha. Sounds like something made for Skinamax or some b-movie. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689/60 "2010-09-09T21:47:52Z")
[ETs who pass for humans, and specifically for attractive teenage humans.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_(TV_series)) It’s got it all, don’t you think? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombies-and-vampires-are-dead-whats-the-next-movie-monster/552689.md?page=4)