So, zombies. For the last few years, they've appeared in pretty much every form of media. I think we've reached zombie overload, much like we did with vampires about ten years ago and like we did with ghosts forever ago. I like zombies, sometimes, in fiction. It really depends how they're being used and what purpose they serve.
I know, you might be thinking, zombies have a purpose? Well, kind of. Zombies are normally just the massive horde of beings that the protagonists need to avoid. Usually, the zombies are chasing, slowly, after the humans because they're hungry. Unlike other monsters, they aren't trying to create more of their kind, they just want to eat. Usually, the zombies exist because of an outbreak, or in Zombieland's case, an infected burger. When I say "purpose" I mean how they're used, as the villain, in the story. What's the theme or message the film is trying to portray?
For example, George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead is viewed by many to be a reflection of the tensions in the United States during that period in history. Others see is as a criticism of government ineptitude, domestic racism and the politics of the Cold War. The zombies in Night of the Living Dead were so terrifying because, to paraphrase film historian Linda Badley, the monsters weren't aliens or creatures from some unknown land, they're us. Ben, the African-American protagonist, isn't killed by zombies at the end of the film, but by a posse of rednecks who mistake him for being one of the infected.
Other times, zombies exist just to create a post-apocalyptic world. A war, or illness, or some form of nuclear catastrophe could substitute for the zombie outbreak in the story, and the plot wouldn't change that much. These zombies tend to exist in media where a large aspect of the story isn't about trying to cure the infected, or finding some safe haven or even how the world got to this. They're a threat, but the real threat, the real tension comes from some other group of survivors posing a threat to the group the protagonist is in. Later seasons of The Walking Dead fit into this category. People such as the Governor and Negan pose more of a threat to anyone than the zombies. This is also where all the films putting forth the idea of "humans are the real monsters" exists. I don't hate this type of story, but I feel like zombies are used too often as "here's how the world ended" explanation and I'd like to see a more creative reason.
Sometimes, zombies are just zombies and the entire film is about people thrown together randomly trying to get to safety. The 2004 remake Dawn of the Dead is about a group of people trapped in a shopping mall during a zombie outbreak. These are the movies I like the most, because I watch zombie movies for zombies, not to see people do horrible things to others because they can. For as bad as the Resident Evil film series is, and how unfaithful it is to the games, the first two weren't completely awful because the plot was about the zombies, not about weird things with the Umbrella Corporation.
There are, of course, some variations in zombie media. Sometimes the zombies are fast. Sometimes characters don't need to get bitten to become a zombie. Other times, the humans are able to find a cure. There are a few movies out there where, despite being zombies, they still have thoughts and higher brain function. And sometimes, a zombie falls in love with a human and falling love makes them not be a zombie anymore (looking at you, Warm Bodies).
So, in conclusion, I like zombies. They're cool. I think we need to take a break from them being everywhere for a while, but on the while, I can't complain.
