That was a title I recently heard given to zombies in a documentary I had watched recently. At first I laughed when it was said, but then it got the nerd synapses in my head firing and I started to think about movie monsters in general. You know, they just may be right!
Take a minute and think about horror films. Go on, I'll wait.
Done? Cool.
Vampires, werewolves, and even Doctor Victor Frankenstein all can trace their roots back to Europe. They have all been around for a long time, and all have been subject to MANY movies, and even television shows, since the technology had become available.
The giant monster movies are Japanese in origin - with the sole exception being King Kong. Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra...all of them are from the Land of the Rising Sun.
Zombies though...the "modern" zombie as we know it...the undead flesh eaters who shamble about and whose sole purpose is to consume the living...can be directly traced back to the film "Night of the Living Dead" from 1968. Prior to that, zombies were just hypnotised people, plain and simple. It was NOTLD that created the modern zombie as we now know it. It was also an american film, which makes the zombie "ours".
Zombies may not be as flashy as the tuxedo clad, cape wearing Dracula. A zombie isn't as fierce and outright scary as a werewolf. Hell, a child can easily outrun or avoid the average zombie. Zombies tend to be frightened by fire, and everyone knows you can "kill" a zombie by shooting it in the head. Let's face facts, a lone zombie is not really all that scary. Zombies are like the retarded cousins of vampires!
While some foolish, misguided people (mosty girls for some reason) would like to become a vampire, no one wants to be a zombie! Even I will admit that vampires are like superheroes compared to zombies. Vampires look better/cooler, if nothing else. Heck, Kate Beckinsale makes one smokin' hot vampire! There are no hot zombies.
Werewolves are well known to expertly track and hunt their prey by using stealth. They are savage killers who spring upon their hapless meal. Zombies stumble about and have a maximum speed rivaling that of a snail. Werewolves possess incredible strength and have sharp teeth and claws, as well as enhanced senses. Zombies are prone to meandering about aimlessly as they decay. There are no savage zombies.
Despite such obvious limitations, zombies do have one thing in their favor over vampires or werewolves...zombies are, literally, a contagion. If a zombie so much as bites you, you can look forward to becoming one soon enough. A zombie pandemic can mean that zombies would outnumber humans and therein lies the true threat of the zombie! Numbers! Zombies literally overwhelm people with sheer numbers. Why would zombies feel a need to chase you when they can just as easily box you in somewhere and win by waiting you out? Your trapped inside somewhere, watching your food and supplies run low as more and more zombies wait outside to eat you. What do you do then?
Zombies may not be flashy or slick, but they are effective. They are frightening. They are the working class movie monster.
And they are american!
Take a minute and think about horror films. Go on, I'll wait.
Done? Cool.
Vampires, werewolves, and even Doctor Victor Frankenstein all can trace their roots back to Europe. They have all been around for a long time, and all have been subject to MANY movies, and even television shows, since the technology had become available.
The giant monster movies are Japanese in origin - with the sole exception being King Kong. Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra...all of them are from the Land of the Rising Sun.
Zombies though...the "modern" zombie as we know it...the undead flesh eaters who shamble about and whose sole purpose is to consume the living...can be directly traced back to the film "Night of the Living Dead" from 1968. Prior to that, zombies were just hypnotised people, plain and simple. It was NOTLD that created the modern zombie as we now know it. It was also an american film, which makes the zombie "ours".
Zombies may not be as flashy as the tuxedo clad, cape wearing Dracula. A zombie isn't as fierce and outright scary as a werewolf. Hell, a child can easily outrun or avoid the average zombie. Zombies tend to be frightened by fire, and everyone knows you can "kill" a zombie by shooting it in the head. Let's face facts, a lone zombie is not really all that scary. Zombies are like the retarded cousins of vampires!
While some foolish, misguided people (mosty girls for some reason) would like to become a vampire, no one wants to be a zombie! Even I will admit that vampires are like superheroes compared to zombies. Vampires look better/cooler, if nothing else. Heck, Kate Beckinsale makes one smokin' hot vampire! There are no hot zombies.
Werewolves are well known to expertly track and hunt their prey by using stealth. They are savage killers who spring upon their hapless meal. Zombies stumble about and have a maximum speed rivaling that of a snail. Werewolves possess incredible strength and have sharp teeth and claws, as well as enhanced senses. Zombies are prone to meandering about aimlessly as they decay. There are no savage zombies.
Despite such obvious limitations, zombies do have one thing in their favor over vampires or werewolves...zombies are, literally, a contagion. If a zombie so much as bites you, you can look forward to becoming one soon enough. A zombie pandemic can mean that zombies would outnumber humans and therein lies the true threat of the zombie! Numbers! Zombies literally overwhelm people with sheer numbers. Why would zombies feel a need to chase you when they can just as easily box you in somewhere and win by waiting you out? Your trapped inside somewhere, watching your food and supplies run low as more and more zombies wait outside to eat you. What do you do then?
Zombies may not be flashy or slick, but they are effective. They are frightening. They are the working class movie monster.
And they are american!
