Poll: Which zombies do you prefer and why

[Tullaryx]

I'm sure there's been a poll like this in the old forum, but I've searched back all the threads since this new one came up and didn't find one. So, I thought to try this and see where everyone stands.

Since Romero started his Living Dead series and pretty much wrote the rules in terms of the proto-typical film zombie, there's been some changes made by others to add their own spin on things. From 28 Days Later's infecteds. ROTLD's brain-eating, quick thinking runners. To Brian Keene's demonic-possession zombies. Which type of zombies do you still consider the best and still the gold standard of all zombies.

[axlish]

Zombies are cool in any form.

[Zombie-A-GoGo]

Agree with thee above.

[Tullaryx]

As much as like all the zombie types I listed, I have to give my vote to GAR's classic shamblers. For if they haven't been born from the mind of George our zombies may still be stuck to just plain old Bela Lugosi White Zombie type of undead.

[bassman]

Romero's...without a doubt.

He's the only one of the zombie genre that can create a REAL horror film. The others are basically nothing more than action flicks to me. Romero also knows how to showcase what really is the problem....humans.

In short, Romero is called the Godfather of horror for a reason. He "made an offer no one could refuse":p

Keep in mind, these are my opinions. I'm sure someone will come along and say something along the lines of "Evil Dead is not..." or "ROTLD is..." but the fact of the matter is....Romero makes "thinking" films. The others tend to make action, teenager's saturday night flicks.

[jdog]

GAR shamblers all the way! only kind of zombie for me.

[Svengoolie]

I voted for all of the above.:D

And GAR, by his own admission, didn't create the genre...all he did was take what he saw in "The Last Man on Earth" and modernize the original idea of vampires--which has more to do with a rotting, shambling corpse out to drink blood than it does with the suave MFs with fangs in tuxedos and capes made popular by Lord Byron, Dr John Palidori, and Bram Stoker.

[Tullaryx]

Well, I have to say that GAR at least introduced the flesheating part and also the shoot them in the head rule. I still think that one rule for his zombies made it his.

[Svengoolie]

Well, I have to say that GAR at least introduced the flesheating part and also the shoot them in the head rule. I still think that one rule for his zombies made it his.

As I said, he simply modernized the original concept of the vampire.

Vampires were killed through the old "stake in the heart" because until modern medecine proved otherwise, the heart was considered the most important organ in the body...and they fed off blood because "life blood" was considered the essence by which life flowed.

All GAR did was take that concept, and add some modern ideas to it--now we know that the brain is the most important organ in the body. Hence, the "destroy the brain" rule. And, GAR probably figured "why just have the ghouls be out for blood? If they're going to eat a part of a person...have them go for the whole person!" and went from there.


The others tend to make action, teenager's saturday night flicks.


I guess that's why GAR's zombie flicks were primarily marketed at teens and young adults and found most of their success in matinee, midnight, and Drive In showings.:D

[bassman]

I guess that's why GAR's zombie flicks were primarily marketed at teens and young adults and found most of their success in matinee, midnight, and Drive In showings.:D

Most of the theaters had to play them late because they were unrated. And who says they were marketed for teens? You? Teens went, saw them, and i'm sure they enjoyed them but the stories were more targeted to(once again) "thinking movie-goers" with the social under currents and REAL horror that Romero incorporates.

Ask someone in about...oh, 10-15 years if they remember Yawn04....

[Tullaryx]

I think people into zombie movies will remember the remake, but the casual filmgoer and critics probably won't.

On a different note, am I the only one who didn't enjoy Brian Keene's book as much as most fans. The new twist on the zombie plague and then how he pretty much superfied them at the end of the first book and through most of the second just didn't sit right with me.

[MinionZombie]

GAR's shambling flesheaters of course.

The most 'realistic' out of the bunch and the most terrifying, the fact that you could deal with one or two quite easily, but en mass you're screwed. Also - the fact that mankind's downfall is half down to mankind itself.

[Tullaryx]

GAR's shambling flesheaters of course.

The most 'realistic' out of the bunch and the most terrifying, the fact that you could deal with one or two quite easily, but en mass you're screwed. Also - the fact that mankind's downfall is half down to mankind itself.

Very true. With the exception of ROTLD's zombies, all the other types really have the zombies as the prime cause of humanity's downfall. Either they were too fast to be handled well or as smart, or smarter than humans. In GAR's world if humans just took their heads out of their asses they could've easily contained the situation. But they didn't and well you all know the rest.

[DjfunkmasterG]

I am of the school that says


All of the above.


However, i am only using shamblers and runners in my flick.:D

[Svengoolie]

Most of the theaters had to play them late because they were unrated. And who says they were marketed for teens? You? Teens went, saw them, and i'm sure they enjoyed them but the stories were more targeted to(once again) "thinking movie-goers" with the social under currents and REAL horror that Romero incorporates.

Ask someone in about...oh, 10-15 years if they remember Yawn04....

Actually, that's not true at all--all three of GAR's original zombie flicks were shown throughtout the day at most venues (I personally remember seeing the ad for Day showcasing the various showtimes at all of the Chicago area theaters that had it)...they simply found a good deal of their success in midnight runs.

And, whether you'd like to admit it or not, most horror films are marketed towards their main audience--teens and young adults....and they were GAR's target demographic at all of those Drive In theaters.

As for your comment about whether or not people will remember the remake in 10-15 years, the general population will probably remember it as well if not better than any of GAR's flicks, depending on whether or not there's a sequel. Hell, GAR is and always has been a cult figure just out of the reach of the mainstream...and while most horror freaks know who he is, the majority of the population doesn't, and lump all zombies into pretty much the same category (I even read an interview of a zombie extra from Land that talked about eating brains:lol: ).

As for MZ...


The most 'realistic' out of the bunch...

Please explain how they're the most 'realistic'.:rolleyes:

[Tullaryx]

I am of the school that says


All of the above.


However, i am only using shamblers and runners in my flick.:D

What?! No demonic, fallen angel who has a beef with God and calls himself Ob?

[Arcades057]

I like the shamblers and here's why...

Shamblers are slow and are more like looming, inevitable death (think cancer, AIDS, something like that). Running zombies are like quick death (like car accidents or bullets). A car accident is quick. Cancer is slow and painful. I'm not really afraid of dying in a car accident or being shot; if it happens it'll be over quickly. Cancer I am afraid of. It sucks.

That's why I'm afraid of slow zombies. :)

[Tri0xin]

Big Daddy and his brood went a little over the top, I think. But I enjoy zombies in any form, to be honest, and that's why I voted for 'all of the above'.

[Exatreides]

Dawn 04, when I'm bored I think of zombie situations like what I would do if it happend, (mostly adapt them for writing) The shamblers always seem like the easiest to come up with a plan against, while the runners are the most difficult and ferocious of them, thats what I voted for Dawn 04 runners baby, hells yea.

[Tullaryx]

And finally, someone breaks the GAr shamblers and All of the Above monopoly! :D

[Andy]

GAR zombies... the original and the best!

and 28 days later infected are NOT zombies :mad:

i also noticed you missed peter jacksons, quite inteligent, almost invincible sex mad zombies off your list :p

[axlish]

I voted for Return of the Living Dead ;)

[Svengoolie]

You're all wrong!

The ultimate zombie of all time is none other than Bernie Lomax!:D

[brenleyman]

I don't bash on george in any way. He is the father of the flesh eater, but I think some of the greatest zombies were the rage infecteds from 28 days later. The film was well done, and I do enjoy it every time I see it. For those who bash it, shame on you.

[Trencher]

I like the slow stupid and relentless zombies best. Because all monsters should have their own niche. Vampires are imortal and sexy who corupts and destroys. Werewolfs are beasts from the dark that hunts. The zombies niche are that they are the monster anyone could defeat but we don't because we are busy with trying to screw over our fellow humans. Make zombies to powerfull and they are just a regular monster.

And why does the braineater zombie have 1984 votes? This thread does not even have that many vieuws.

[DjfunkmasterG]

What?! No demonic, fallen angel who has a beef with God and calls himself Ob?

I would love too, if given the chance... adapt the book, The Rising into a film. In fact I would love to do both The Rising and City of the Dead. I enjoyed both of those books for their character development and the stories in general.

[Tullaryx]

I don't bash on george in any way. He is the father of the flesh eater, but I think some of the greatest zombies were the rage infecteds from 28 days later. The film was well done, and I do enjoy it every time I see it. For those who bash it, shame on you.

I for one enjoy 28 Days Later, but I always thought that its heavy supporters trying to push its infecteds as the new and improved zombie always seemed out of place. Romero's zombies never needed replacing. All it needed was for someone to take what Romero did and create a good story around it. Zombies have always been scary for the simple fact that they can easily be killed because they're slow, relatively weak and dumb. But killing them is different from getting rid of all of them. One thing that always bothered me about 28 Days Later's infected is the fact that they infect other humans so quickly that it really never should've left the British Isles. Hell, it should've have even made it to the outlying islands.

With the slow moving, any death will become one of them type of zombies they can pop up anywhere. Not every death can be accounted for. With all the homeless people and transients in major cities, it's easy to overlook a couple of newly revived bodies which in turn will gradually and exponentially start a new outbreak. That's why they're so scary over the runners and infecteds. It's like the fable of the tortoise versus the hare. In the end, the tortoise wins despite being slow.

[Trioxin245]

I'll go with ROTLD's. Nothings beats indestructible corpses, complaining about screwdrivers going through their heads, seeking brains, sending more paramedics.

;)

[Macabre]

We need more zombies like Tor Johnson, from Plan 9 from Outer Space!

http://www.retrocrush.com/100monsters/tor2.jpg

[Trioxin245]

Ha! I remember that movie, Tor scared the crap outta me as a kid.

But eh, I don't know. Seeing Zombies dying by an bash in the head and then turns to Skeletons?! Sure, it might even earn an Oscar ;)

[axlish]

And why does the braineater zombie have 1984 votes? This thread does not even have that many vieuws.

Alright, I fixed it :lol:

[MinionZombie]

I was wondering what had happened there, what went wrong?

[Andy]

axlish playing with his new powers, thats what :p

[Trencher]

Hooray for Democracy!!

[Trioxin245]

Alright, I fixed it :lol:


B-but thats cruel!

:eek:

[Danny]

well heres my two cents.

the origional night of the living dead zombies were technically ghouls, he said it himself, and they werent technically shambling, they just walked slowly towards people, like voodoo zombies and as cool as they are in the film, if that occured in real life if you got a grip and gave yourself a minutes breather they would be laughably easy to avoid.

the rage infectees would be scary as hell, and i live in britain so that film was eerily creepy, till it whent all rambo in the ****e second half, but it takes the normally lame "bitten" idea of most modern films and turns it on its head, that its there blood that does it ,this is a scarey thought as trying to fight something whilst not getting anything on you would amp up the terror for me.

now this is the one i voted for, they dont say "braaaiiins", which i find a bit more satiracal, there regular zombies ,but faster now i saw a ten minute preview on channel 4 of the dawn remake, which showed the morning of the outbreak, which is easily the best ten minutes of the film and the idea of that happening ,especially the bus driver trying to pull the woman out of her own car would easily be the scariest zombie situation and the fact that the zombies were as agile as you and still silent killers, unlike those dumb ass hissing zombies from the resi films, seemed the most scary to me ,thats why they get my vote.

as for the the return of the living dead "brainsss" zombies, there laughably lame and really didnt seem scarey at all, so no there the worst of the bunch.

cant really remember the next ones, so i guess that says something.

as for rami's zombies, they were cool and very wierd, but were way too vocal and random in there appearance and combine that with magic and they just didnt have the same kinda spark of fear as the others do.

thats my thoughts, do with them what you will.

[Tullaryx]

as for rami's zombies, they were cool and very wierd, but were way too vocal and random in there appearance and combine that with magic and they just didnt have the same kinda spark of fear as the others do.

thats my thoughts, do with them what you will.

They're going to eat your soul! You shall never get the Necronomicon!

[Danny]

nooo!, challenge declined..... tahts it im going to fat-pie.com to watch panathanaikos bear again.

"if i kick him he will turn into a teletext pear"

[erisi236]

*picks all of the above*

what the hell I love 'em all :cool:

[thecoldwarrior]

GAR slow walkers def! Its just too dam perfect. They are sooo slow that you can become common placed in the fact that you can always outrun them. Of course thats just when you get bit, cuz you were too sure of yourself!!! I dont mind watching the other styles, its just another way to look at things. The 28 days later zombies are my 2nd fave, and i can stand the runners in the dawn remake. As for the rest I consider them as comical, just for fun.

[Trioxin245]

GAR slow walkers def! Its just too dam perfect. They are sooo slow that you can become common placed in the fact that you can always outrun them. Of course thats just when you get bit, cuz you were too sure of yourself!!! I dont mind watching the other styles, its just another way to look at things. The 28 days later zombies are my 2nd fave, and i can stand the runners in the dawn remake. As for the rest I consider them as comical, just for fun.


No sweet love for Return of the Living Dead's brain-eating, quick-thinkers, eh?

[Danny]

aye, ditto to that.

[bassman]

I would have to agree with thecoldwarrior. That's pretty much the same way I see it. The ROTLD films are just too cheesey to take seriously. They're good for an occasional laugh, though...

[Danny]

true.

the first time i saw return of the living dead 2 i though "god damn this is cool" when the kids confronted by the first zombie, then it goes "braiins!" and i burst out luaghing.

[erisi236]

the first one has got some pretty creepy undertones tho' :eek:

[thecoldwarrior]

Its like the scifi channel, I dont really take it seriously. I would say that everything on thier sucked, but they do occasionally air DotD. Still dont take offense, rotld is still a good zombie setting and so its better than a lot of things!

[Danny]

yeah, but so did mean girls.

[bassman]

I don't remember too much of the first. It's been about 5 years since I last saw it.

Basically all I remember is they're at a cemetary, the zombies take over an ambulance and call for more(WTF?), and they scream out "Brains".

Seems like I also remember some kind of naked, rocker chick zombie with pink hair or something...

I remember "ROTLD 2 and 3" alot more than the first for some reason...

[Danny]

ive never seen the first, i was born at the end of the 80's so i mainly saw ****e like the howling part 6 on tv or something like that.

and the shining, first horror film i ever saw.

[Trioxin245]

The blue Zombies in Dawn were enough hilarious. I remember one doing an Frankenstein walk.

;)

[Danny]

and yet they were still scary.

the best looking zombies gotta be the ones in p.m.a.c when zombies attack adn shaun of the dead, just the right amount of gore.

[bassman]

The blue Zombies in Dawn were enough hilarious. I remember one doing an Frankenstein walk.

;)


Yeah....I think you're talking about the "nurse zombie". It always gets on my nerves when she walks into a scene.

[thecoldwarrior]

remeber that was the first time they were in color, so they were working with it, trying to figure out what worked. At that point in time i might have thought the same way...ie no oxygen in the body = blue. Makes sense to me. They have gotten better with the rotting flesh though.

[erisi236]

wow, some of you haven't seen the first RotLD? :eek:

go out and rent it post haste! :D

[Danny]

"poste haste"?, are you salad fingers?!?!.

i dont rent shiznit not when music zone sells Dvds like devils rejects for only £2.97.

[Trioxin245]

Yeah....I think you're talking about the "nurse zombie". It always gets on my nerves when she walks into a scene.


Ha yes, there was aswell another one whom hade his arms reached out through an entire shot, cracks me up everytime.

http://www2.gol.com/users/noman/images/charac/dead33.jpg

[erisi236]

"poste haste"?, are you salad fingers?!?!.

i dont rent shiznit not when music zone sells Dvds like devils rejects for only £2.97.

ok, go out and BUY RotLD post haste. :D

[bassman]

"poste haste"?, are you salad fingers?!?!.

i dont rent shiznit not when music zone sells Dvds like devils rejects for only £2.97.

2.97? Damn...that's cheap. With a great film like "The Devil's Rejects" and a price that cheap, I would buy a couple just so I had a backup:p

[Wooley]

Zombies in any form tend to be good watching, if the script and acting are decent, but the fast movers from Dawn '04 and 28 Days Later are scariest because they spread their infection so fast, you know we wouldn't stand much of a chance against them, plus fast targets are so muhc harder to hit.
I'd prefer to deal with Romero's slow shamblers, because I know, with enough ammo, and planning, like knowing when to run, and always having a way or three out of where ever I am, I could take them on and win.

[Danny]

dude i agree completely thats why sppedy zombies get my vote too.

[FearlessZombieKiller]

I would love too, if given the chance... adapt the book, The Rising into a film. In fact I would love to do both The Rising and City of the Dead. I enjoyed both of those books for their character development and the stories in general.

Although I voted for the GAR zombies, I have to say that Ob and company pose a serious challenge to the Romero zombies. I just finished reading both The Rising, and City of the Dead; either one of those would make for a great screenplay. The reason I would fear Ob and his kind is that They are malevolently intelligent, if you shoot one in the head, they simply resurrect in another victims corpse, whether human or animal. They are also able to read the memories of the body they inhabit. So planning against them is difficult to say the least. I really hope you do get to put the two stories to film. Brian Keene has done for zombies what Brian Lumley has done for vampires.
Peace!

[kortick]

I like the GAR zombies
what people are overlooking is the fact that some of them move fast
they dont run like olympic sprinters but they dont all shamble

and his movies played in 1st run theaters when they came out
Dawn was held over for many weeks when it played in Mass.
Day and Land also opened at top theaters

dawn and day were not marketed to teens
they were unrated
under 18 not allowed
not that that stopped us from seeing them
but we were not the target audience
they were after the people who remembered night
and were adult horror patrons

but all zombies are cool in their own way
i liked the dawn remake
but i dont consider the 28 day infected beings zombies
but they are cool nonetheless

[TexasZombie]

GAR's Standard Shamblers...'cause I'm a grouchy old geezer that's set in my ways.

All y'all young whippersnappers with your smart zombies and runnin' corpses got no respect for tradition! ;)

TZ

[LoneCrusader]

I am a really big fan of 28 Days Later, so I must speak on their behalf. The Infected in 28 Days Later are not zombies. They are not dead. They have a pulse. They can die just like any other humans. They are completely human but diseased.




:D

[Combat Zombie]

All of the above. Can't pick one from another. It's just too damn hard. While I love the RotLD Zombies to death (pun intended), I don't think I can choose it without looking at another one and saying "I wish I'd have chosen you instead". So, I pick all of them. :cool:

[LouCipherr]

I voted "all of the above" but if there was a selection for "just runners and shamblers" that's what I would've picked as I can't agree with 'intelligent' zombies for the most part.

I am of the mindset that you can have runners and shamblers. Yeah, the purists don't agree with that, but as far as I'm concered if you're freshly dead or killed (and not devoured) rigor mortis has not set in and you're still somewhat limber. It's the rules of the real world. It takes time to stiffen, so until then if you rise from the dead you're gonna be able to move about pretty easily. This is the approach we took with our movie Deadlands, too.

That being said, any zombies are good. :)

LC

[Bunker65]

I am of the mindset that you can have runners and shamblers. Yeah, the purists don't agree with that, but as far as I'm concered if you're freshly dead or killed (and not devoured) rigor mortis has not set in and you're still somewhat limber. It's the rules of the real world. It takes time to stiffen, so until then if you rise from the dead you're gonna be able to move about pretty easily. This is the approach we took with our movie Deadlands, too.

That being said, any zombies are good. :)

LC

While I agree that a recently dead corpse will be more limber, they should not be able to beat a 4X100 Olympic relay team in a sprint. That's the problem I have with the running zombies. They seem to all have the ability to break the 100m sprint world record :confused:.

As with LouCipherr, I pretty much love all zombies but GAR's shamblers are far & away the best. IMHO anyway :D.

[Tullaryx]

I am a really big fan of 28 Days Later, so I must speak on their behalf. The Infected in 28 Days Later are not zombies. They are not dead. They have a pulse. They can die just like any other humans. They are completely human but diseased.




:D

Which makes their Carl Lewis speed abit more believable than the speed exhibited in the Dawn 04 remake. Diseased but living humans running top speed I can understand, but a recently dead body which has no blood circulation doing the same... abit much.

[MinionZombie]

Especially as a zombie is supposed to be incapable of fully understanding their body - it's like a toddler. They can walk...but they don't do a great job of it. With GAR's zombies the more they're around the more they get used to their bodies - just like children, they stop bumping into walls and falling over themselves ... and start picking up M16s ... exactly like children! :D

[LouCipherr]

While I agree that a recently dead corpse will be more limber, they should not be able to beat a 4X100 Olympic relay team in a sprint. That's the problem I have with the running zombies. They seem to all have the ability to break the 100m sprint world record :confused:.


Oh, I agree - they shouldn't be olympic sports runners, I just think they should be able to do more than just shamble and stumble along, especially when food is nearby! :D

Any zombies, they're all good. ;)

LC

[MinionZombie]

GAR's zombies can be pretty feisty, they get more so as the saga progresses - hence the learning/getting used to their zombie bodies theory. There were a few in Day that just went nuts, lol, like toddlers on cocaine - HA!

[Danny]

Especially as a zombie is supposed to be incapable of fully understanding their body - it's like a toddler. They can walk...but they don't do a great job of it. With GAR's zombies the more they're around the more they get used to their bodies - just like children, they stop bumping into walls and falling over themselves ... and start picking up M16s ... exactly like children! :D


and wearing burberry all the while listening to babycakes on an i-pod they stole from a "gegger":lol:

[DeadJake]

definatly GAR zombies they are just so much scarier

runners arn't as scary

[Danny]

okay so if you look out your window to see a runner youll go "pfft!, wuss!", but if there something slower than a turtule approaching at 0.0002 mph youll scream like a little girl and run to the hills, oh now im off to listen to some iron maiden,lol.

[Adrenochrome]

okay so if you look out your window to see a runner youll go "pfft!, wuss!", but if there something slower than a turtule approaching at 0.0002 mph youll scream like a little girl and run to the hills, oh now im off to listen to some iron maiden,lol.
If I see a runner, it may get to me and eat my face before I have a chance to get freaked. A Slo-Mo-Zom would creep my sh*t out more because I'd have more time to stare with disbelief and horror as it approches me and then eats my face.:D


P.S. Iron Maiden Kicks ASS!!!!! I'm an old MaidenHead from WAAAAAAAAY back in the day. I was one of the kids that etched Eddie into the desks at school with my pocket knife.

[LoneCrusader]

actually, something that is more liable to kill you would be scarier. walking zombies aren't scary per se, but what usually makes them scary is how they walk in swarms and take you apart slowly. and anyway, i thought this was the unofficial fan site to GAR films. not 28 days later. don't link together movies with totally different ideas. that makes no sense to me. but anyway, definately Dawn of the Dead are scarier. (not including non-GAR linked films such as 28 days later)

[Andy]

remeber that was the first time they were in color, so they were working with it, trying to figure out what worked. At that point in time i might have thought the same way...ie no oxygen in the body = blue. Makes sense to me. They have gotten better with the rotting flesh though.

they wern't blue, they were grey :rockbrow:

[Danny]

y'know i saw a kid do that tt'uther day at college, but replaced eddie with a stickman with long hair and a top hat and etched "sweet child 'o' mine!" next to it ,wthen when he finished he gigled like a retard and whent "ahyuk....slash".:lol:


they wern't blue, they were grey :rockbrow:

come on dude, i think after all this time we can give it up, no matter how much we may wish it, they were indeed grey.:skull: