Zombies: Fast or Slow?

[Master_Wang-Ka]

@Cervaise

if you’ve got slow zombies, then you have the luxury — or at least the facade of luxury — to stop for a moment to think about what you want to do.

Remember in the original DotD how the biker guys thought it was amusing to run circles around the slow zombies, killing them at their leisure? That would have been impossible with fast zombies. In a very real sense, the slow zombie allows the people to truly show themselves for who they are, which is central to Romero’s themes.

Dammit. Cervaise beat me to the punch here.

The only thing I can add is what I’ve already said in the other thread: slow zombies… can be sympathetic. As Cervaise has remarked, they can be deceptive, too.

One of the central elements of the horror of Romero zombies… for me… has always been this: what would I do if faced with the zombie of someone I know? Or… someone I love? Something we saw in the original NOTLD, as well as the remake, as well as several other zombie films is the inability of some people to accept that their loved ones are now cannibalistic monsters. Some simply can’t defend themselves, and therefore join the zombie horde. Others will go so far as to prevent YOU from killing their children, wife, whatever, to defend YOURself.

And what would I do?

Shit, I dunno.

And that, to me, is a whole new level of horror.

Whereas fast zombies… especially fast zombies with jackal-roars and snarls looped in instead of human voices or human-sounding growls… man, that’s threatening. That trips my fight reflex. You come at me, snarling, growling, rotting, and with your eyes all silvery and screwy-looking, I’ll blow your head off in a second, and not think twice.

…but if you’re slow… shambling… kinda confused-lookin’… and you stagger towards me as if to ask for help… only to put on a sudden burst of speed at the end as you go for my throat–

Well, like Cervaise said, it’s a whole different kinda movie.

True, by halfway through the original Dawn Of The Dead, our heroes are over that. They’re dashing around, cappin’ zombies left and right. The zombies are ceasing to be a threat. They’re losing their horror factor. They’re becoming a bad joke.

…which is why the cycle gang shows up. They use the zombies as bad comic relief, but they themselves are the monsters.

They’re us.

And that’s what it was about all along, no?

[El_Elvis_Rojo]

@Reeder

The speed of zombies is explained in the extras on House of the Dead.

The newer the bodies are…the faster they are. The older the bodies are the slower they they are.

I guess it’s all in how usable the muscles are.

Oh man, you’re quoting House of the Dead as a viable source? As much as I absolutely loath Dulcci’s zombie flicks, this has got to be the absolutely worst zombie movie ever!

Personally, I always found the freshly dead to be the slowest. Sure, they’ve got the best in terms of fresh working muscles and the like, but there’s always that “adjustment” phase, where whatever’s working the brain has to reintroduce itself to the body and figure out how to function properly again. Although much more deteriorated and decomposed, the zombies from Day of the Dead were much more vicious and had more direction and intent on their attacks than those in the prior two films, making them even more dangerous than fresh zombies.

[Master_Wang-Ka]

@El Elvis Rojo

the zombies from Day of the Dead were much more vicious and had more direction and intent on their attacks than those in the prior two films, making them even more dangerous than fresh zombies.

Then again, the Day zombies were old ‘n’ squishy enough that a healthy person could wax one with a shovel…

I think there’s something to both viewpoints. I’m a bit more inclined towards the “fresh zombie is a fast zombie” theory, simply due to the events of the first ten minutes of the new DOTD, this evening. When Hubbins sits up, he’s only been dead a few seconds. Adjustment? What adjustment? RHHAAAARGH!

For those of you who saw the ten-minute preview on USA earlier in the week? They didn’t lie. It’s uncut. Right as that ten minute segment ends, we cut to the opening credits of the film.

I did notice that a couple of the shots looked slightly different, though. On TV, the little zombie girl looked like she had blood on her mouth. In the movie, it became obvious that hunks of her FACE were missing, which explained Hubbins’ reaction somewhat better…

[gobear]

Speaking of opening credits, the choice to use Johnny Cash’s When the Man Comes Round was freakin’ inspired!

[Master_Wang-Ka]

Oh, yass. The end credit music choices had me laughing out loud… (All the people who died! died! All the people who died! died!)

[Diane]

I forget, was the zombie in The Serpent and the Rainbow fast or slow?

[gobear]

@Diane

I forget, was the zombie in The Serpent and the Rainbow fast or slow?

Voodoo zombie, so it doesn’t count. (And it was slow)

[Diane]

@gobear

Voodoo zombie, so it doesn’t count. (And it was slow)

Yeah, but it was scarier because it was all true and shit!

[Baldwin]

What about Bub from Day of the Dead? He manifested individuality, excitement in his accomplishments, remorse in the death of his “father” (which I found wildly ironic…a zombie morning someone’s death), and a sense of vengence.

I think Bub must have been the smartest freakin’ zombie in the world. Once you’ve suspended your disbelief and gotten into the mindset of the movie, it’s genuinely freaky to see Bub attempt to answer a phone. (Too bad we didn’t get to see “Frankenstein” get up as a zombie after being wasted by the psycho Captain.)

I’m definitely a slow-zombie guy. In the Romero movies it’s clear that the zombies’ threat is as much psychological as it is physical: some people simply can’t accept the reality of what’s happening, and give in to despair. In Tom Savini’s underrated 1990 remake of Night, Patricia Tallman’s character, although a good survivor, breaks down in helpless sobs even as she’s evading the slow-moving things. The shambling Romero zombies are creatures of pathos as much as fear. The scenario is really a deeply sad one.

[Johnny_Angel]

When I saw the preview to the new Dawn of the Dead, I felt betrayed. I felt that there had been an implied contract. Zombies were extremely dangerous, but they were slow. But now it seems that they’re not only fast, they’re all goddamned ninjas. Is this the kind of world we want our children to grow up in? A world full of zombie ninjas? If I wasn’t so busy crapping my pants, I’d be vomiting with rage.

[Biggirl]

Fast zombies tell jokes. Send more paramedics!. Slow zombies give you false hope, tortue you for hours and hours, and then finally turn you over to the non-zombies so that they can shoot you between the eyes.
Slow zombies are scarier.

[js_africanus]

@TWDuke

My last post disappeared, too. I’ll look for them in the graveyard. You search the abandoned amusement park.

Good call. We can cover more ground if we split up. Be sure to walk backwards in case you’ve missed something.

[Brown_Jenkin]

eunoia, I’m no expert on HK horror, but the few vampire hunter movies I’ve seen I’ve really enjoyed. And their vampires, by gum, not zombies! They have their own vampire language and hop - I’ve always assumed - because their feet were bound together when they were buried. There seems to be a reasonably consistent lore around them - their language, their susceptibility to certain Buddhist symbols etc. They do look as funny as all hell to most foreigners, but they did grow on me!

[kingpengvin]

@Baldwin

In the Romero movies it’s clear that the zombies’ threat is as much psychological as it is physical: some people simply can’t accept the reality of what’s happening, and give in to despair. In Tom Savini’s underrated 1990 remake of Night, Patricia Tallman’s character, although a good survivor, breaks down in helpless sobs even as she’s evading the slow-moving things. The shambling Romero zombies are creatures of pathos as much as fear. The scenario is really a deeply sad one.

So true
Because as Peter pointed out… “[We] still believe there is respect in dying”

That was the real weakness in most of humanity in the Romero world. The slow movers allow the living to see them, and recognize them. That is the mind fuck they play. If say, good old uncle Joe lumbers up to you, you may take the time to remember the good times with him and seriously question whether you could put a bullet, hammer, screwdriver, or shovel between his eyes. If he suddenly lunged at you snarling like a rabid weasle (in a garbage bag of course ) you would react in a knee jerk way. Killing him becomes a quick matter of the instinct of survival.

The fast zombies were like a tidal wave and yeah they too depend mostly on numbers, but it is less personal. You don’t have time to identify them so you are less likely to give a rats ass about wasting them in large numbers. Hell you would even nuke a city in a heartbeat.

“These are not our loved ones. They must be destroyed on site”

That is easier to follow if you aren’t given the time to recognize

“They are us”

[js_africanus]

@kingpengvin

If say, good old uncle Joe lumbers up to you, you may take the time to remember the good times with him and seriously question whether you could put a bullet, hammer, screwdriver, or shovel between his eyes.

More proof that I’m evil. Ted was right.

Anywho…So, did you see the new one just out? Was it a gore-fest like, say, Day of the Dead? Or was it just a horror flick like the original Night ‘o the Livin’ Dead?

[Diane]

HOLY SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!

OMG GOD, the timing could NOT have been any worse! HOLY CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP

I swear to hell this just happened. If you don’t believe me, I will mail you my poopy underpants.

At THE VERY MOMENT that I was here yucking it up about zombies I hear someone knock on the living room window. There are three windows that run the length of the porch and my kids and their friends always rap the window with their knuckles when they walk past so it didn’t alarm me.

Just a little while earlier my 13 year old Alex and I were talking about Night of the Living Dead and how freaky the advertisements look.

So here I am in the other room typing in this thread, I hear a could of knocks, Alex opens the door, slams it, Duke (my daughter’s dog) is growling, then Alex and Duke (gee thanks dog) come hauling ass down the hall. Alex is white as a ghost, shaking, and saying “SHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT! Theeeeeeeeere’s sommmmmmmmmething on the porrrrrrrrrch!!!”

The word “something” and the way he said it gave me serious goose bumps.

He is shaking like crazy and says “There is a bloody lady on the porch! She is going like this and smiling really scary!!!” He does this arm waving thing then jumps behind my bed.

All this time, I can hear knocking on the window and the doorknob turning.

I am ashamed to say that I was so fucking scared that I didn’t dare look so I called 911. They told me that they had other calls about a woman doing the same thing next door.

The police came and got her. Evidentially, she has Huntington’s Disease, is staying at her sister’s down the street, had walked to the store, fell down (thus the blood), got disoriented, and found her way to my house. I talked to her when the cops got here and she does look seriously scary. Wild hair, pale skin, bloody and scratched face.

I have been putting on a brave face, but Alex is seriously freaked out! He is sleeping in my bed tonight and probably will for a few nights. I am still pretty freaked out myself.

Bad freakin ironic timing!

Bring on the “bullshit”, I don’t care. It happened.

[Fish]

Ah, it must have been a 1920s style Undeath Ray.

[eunoia]

@LMFAP

eunoia, I’m no expert on HK horror, but the few vampire hunter movies I’ve seen I’ve really enjoyed. And their vampires, by gum, not zombies! They have their own vampire language and hop - I’ve always assumed - because their feet were bound together when they were buried. There seems to be a reasonably consistent lore around them - their language, their susceptibility to certain Buddhist symbols etc. They do look as funny as all hell to most foreigners, but they did grow on me!

Fair enough, I’m certainly no expert either. Zompires? Vambies?

[TBG]

@Bryan Ekers

Please, they prefer to be called the living impaired.

Not anymore they don’t, in fact, they’d be quite offended if you called them that today. It’s now Undead-Americans, thank you very much!

[Eternal]

@js_africanus

More proof that I’m evil. Ted was right.

Anywho…So, did you see the new one just out? Was it a gore-fest like, say, Day of the Dead? Or was it just a horror flick like the original Night ‘o the Livin’ Dead?

Day of the Dead was scantly more a gore-fest than Night.

As for Diane’s story, the only thing I found weird is that she’s allowing her pubescent scaredy-cat son to sleep in her bed. You should see this other zombie movie, Burial Ground. That might scare him out.