Yeah, this has always bothered me a bit. So there you have it from the master. Hard to argue. Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7280793.stm
Yeah, he's mentioned this both times I've seen him talk in person. Personally, I don't mind the idea of running zombies, but I wish they'd handle it more realistically. For instance, given the amount of power they use, when they smash through doors I'd like to see/hear them break their wrists. Little things like that would be nice. On the subject of running/fast zombies: why do people always conveniently forget about RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD? There are a lot of folks on message boards that absolutely HATE running zombies, but then routinely cite ROTLD as one of their favorite horror movies. I just don't get it.
Considering every time you use a muscle you basically damage it, it's frankly impossible for a zombie to maintain any kind of strenuous activity. They would almost literally come unglued. I've always kinda had a problem with that in even Romero's world. Logically zombies would fall apart after only a few days. Suspension of disbelief is fine but the idea that hoards and hoards of zombies would envelope the earth for all eternity is a hell of a stretch. The remaining living would realistically only have to contend with zombies made within a span of a few weeks prior to any given point in time.
No of course they couldn't run, but as long as they don't do it on shaky cam, I really don't care one way or the other.
On the subject of running/fast zombies: why do people always conveniently forget about RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD? There are a lot of folks on message boards that absolutely HATE running zombies, but then routinely cite ROTLD as one of their favorite horror movies. I just don't get it.[/QUOTE] Amen brother! Return Of The Living Dead is one of my all-time favorites and to the best of my knowledge is the first zombie movie to feature sprinting zombies. I personally don't mind either way. The first time I saw ROTLD I never once said to myself, "what a crock, zombies don't run." I was too overwhelmed with cinematic joy to bother picking it apart. So Romero's zombies don't run. Cool. Good for him. If other films want to have running zombies, whatever. It's all make believe anyway, right...? On a side note, I have to defend the ground breaking brilliance that is 28 Days Later on account of Danny Boyle's undead are not actually zombies. The whole concept of the recently deceased becoming infected with a 'rage' virus was a nice change of pace that the genre really needed in my humble opinion. Of course now there's a shitload of copycat films copping that style, but at the time it was released, 28 Days Later was a breath of fresh air in a rather stagnant genre. I saw it in the theater 3 different times and it left a huge impression on the audience every time. Say what you will but I'll defend that movie tooth and nail, running zombies or not!
IMO a zombie's mobility should be a factor of its "freshness". And the more mobile it tries to be, the more its mobility degrades. There just isn't enough caloric intake or cellular regeneration to allow for anything else - if there was, they wouldn't be dead / undead. Or else they'd starve off and effectively be "dead" again. And a common factor in zombie films hasn't just been their physical stability, its their mental speed. Run, walk, or stumble, they all have been fairly slow to react. So even if they did run, it would take them a while to take notice of something to go after, a while to get to speed, and they'd tend to be very late to correct their course to match evasion by what they're running after. What you'd have is a bunch of semi-guided decaying meat missiles. In any case if you add up all the above (as has been said by others) over a fairly short period of time they'd basically all end up shambling or crawling around slowly. Part of the horror of the zombie / ghoul film genre is the slow moving, mindless swarm aspect. If you want fast moving undead, go watch a vampire flick. Personally I don't see the appeal of trying to mix the styles.
THANK YOU GEORGE!!! All those running, hopping zombies ... just didn't do it for me. No scarier than the Boston Marathon but they appeased the short-attention span lot. Keep them slow but menacing. What I loved is that people underestimate the Romero zombies and, in doing that, fall right into their jaws.
Love George and respect his view. For me, I don't care if they walk, run or wear mini skirts (like in the movie FIDO) as long as the movie entertains me.
I think he feels the running zombies took away the scare factor of the slow zombies, and he wasn't behind it. To be honest, I found 28 weeks later more scary in parts then any zombie film I've ever seen, just because the zombies are fast enough to make you run like mad. But the slow zombies are still cool for enclosed areas-smaller stories etc The Dawn of the Dead remake was a major shift in the zombie film history, that film and 28 weeks later are my favorites, as much as I respect George's creations for starting it all off.
Not to mention, if ya wanna be technical, rigor mortis would freeze their joints. And when you take that into account, you only end up with this:
I much more prefer the slow moving zombies, but can't deny my enjoyment of films like 28 Days Later and Nightmare City. Wouldn't consider myself a fan of Dawn of the Dead 2004 and especially the remade zombies.
There's 2 things I really don't like with modern horror. 1 is remakes. 2 is fast moving zombies. I grew up knowing them being as slow beings that'd creep up on you. Now I see ones that are faster than they were when they were living. As if they have super powers or something. That just ain't for me.
Rigor mortis wears off after about 2-3 days (with other factors affecting) due to decay. So newly created zombies might have a period of frustrating impotence, but they'd do fine soon enough.
Fast zombies suck.. slow zombies rule! I love RotLD, but it's a comedy to me, so I don't take it "seriously."
Yep. But being unable to use your 72 hour wood (beats the shit out of "see doctor if lasts more than 4 hours") unless your interest decides to ride you like a dime store pony sure would be frustrating.
