Badmovies.org Forum

Okay, okay, suppose we suddenly ourselves in a Dawn/Night/Day of the Dead type situation: the dead are coming back to life within five or so minutes or of dying and eating people.  Their bites' infectious, causing you to waste away and die within a few days, thus joining their ranks.

Here's the question, do you really think they'd completely take over and ruin society as depicted in many of the films?  

Me, I don't know.. I'd have to go with a "no" on this one.  I mean, yes, I'd believe there'd be a lot of mass panic and a bit chaos at first, but here's the thing, the real world would have resources that NO horror movie (unless it had a HUGE ass budget) would ever be able to portray.  I mean, we'd have armies of soliders with automatic weapons, rocket/granade launchers, flame throwers, you name it.  Not to mention tanks, jet planes, and (if worse comes to worse) nukes at our disposal.  I mean, heck, ONE tank with a full tank of gas could bulldoze right through a crowd of zombies (and that's without even any ammo.)  

Plus I'm not really sure if society woudl collapse as quickly depicted.  I could see some riots and chaos, but I'm not sure it would get that bad (now, in some areas I could see it.)

I know you might site the chaos of New Orleans as an example, but there's some things you have to remember about that... for starters, believe it or not, the vast majority of the looters were NOT Louisiana citizens.  Most of the them were gangs from out of state, who knew the hurricane was coming, and they had boats, teams, communications equipment all ready to storm the city and take what they wanted as soon as the hurricane cleared out.  For the most part, it was not just random unorganized theiving.  And second, the police force in NO was (and probably still is) highly corrupt and unprepared.  They only had like ONE working boat on staff to begin with and many of the officers turned a blind eye to gang activity.  (In fact, of the 3,000 or so looters, they only arrested a few of the locals.)

So, yeah, I can see some areas like that collapsing and adding to the chaos, but the whole world?  

What do you guys think?

You know, depending on the area I could believe it happening, especially now that we have the new and improved [and let's face it, much more dangerous] running zombie rather than the slow and steady approach of years gone by.

It all depends on population density I guess: the effect would spread really quickly in a densely populated area.  

Of course, realistically whilst things may get out of hand quickly, one would like to assume that it would slow to a halt once the army stepped in: mowing down hordes of zombies would eat up a lot of ammo, but there would be [hopefully] less moral qualms about re-killing them, than in a normal war situation.

Of course, all of us here would be sitting pretty either way, given our extensive training in zombie prevention and protection [unless of course you did really bad on that online test someone mentioned a while back.]

The real difficult is that you don't want to kill the zombies, as they would just come back.  You need tp either contain/control them, or utterly destroy them.  Both much more difficult then simply killing them

It's an interesting thought. I suspect that in some places they would be able to take over but in the end, the humans would probably be able to win it all.

To tell the truth, this was one of my biggest fears growing up. I couldn't watch any zombie movies at all for years because of it. Could they take over? Who knows? What I do know is that the situations would be different in different areas.

Actually, I forgot to mention running zombies... I was mainly focusing on the slower GAR types...  Now, I could see humanity going downward if we had the "hyperactive, don't feel pain" type zombies in either the remake of Dawn or 28 Days Later (although with 28DL, zombies (or "infected") aside, I really don't buy the concept of a virus that only takes 30 seconds to activate and completely take over your system.)  I know, I know, nitpicking reality in a thread about zombies is a bit silly, but still...

Course, you know what I wonder?  (And I'm gonna show my political bias a bit here.)  I wonder if maybe we'd have nutballs like the ACLU and certain media types DEFENDING the zombies, saying they're just doing what comes naturally for them, and even trying to SUE private citizens who shoot zombies without "just" cause. 

Silly, you say?  Well, yeah, but I've heard of stuff just as dumb that's really happened.  (Not involving zombies, though..:)

I think place like small towns in the middle of nowhere would be taken over. Big Cities would have problems if zombies are not contained early,

Won't our robot overlords protect us from the zombies?

raj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Won't our robot overlords protect us from the
> zombies?


Of course not. Our squirrel overlords will be protecting us.

The squirrels won't protect us unless they get clearance from the Masters of Space. And you know how hard that is.

rich andrini Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think place like small towns in the middle of
> nowhere would be taken over. Big Cities would have
> problems if zombies are not contained early,
>

I think small towns in the middle of nowhere probably would do fairly well for the fact that there's probably plenty of gun nuts there that are just itching to shoot things in the head.
Cities might be in trouble early on due to the fact that in many cities, owning a gun is very limited so you would need to rely on the police and there's only so many of them to go around.

No. Although the infectious nature of the whole concept is extraodinarily dangerous, the dead, by very definition, do not walk, move, attack, bite, eat, cause havoc, ect. (And they sure as hell don't get stronger the longer they've been dead! Do people get stronger the longer they've been alive??) Unless they infect normal people by expelling some sort of gas that contains contaminants during an autopsy, it'll never happen. However, just to be on the safe side, necrophilia could be classified as "risky business" :P Honestly, if it didn't make Jeffery Dahmer a zombie, what chance do average people have?

Hell, they're already in charge at Vectra Bank in Colorado --
peter johnson/denny crane

If Al Gore or John Kerry had won instead of G.W.Bush,they coulda been President!!!

That Would Make a Good Special For Fox:"When Zombies Attack!!".Plus,Think About The Fun They'd Have With It On Talk Radio!!Bill O'Reilly Would Claim That "The Zombies Are Destroying Family Values!!First It Was Murphy Brown;Then Gay Marriage;Now Zombies Are Attacking!!The Zombies Are Weapons Are Carrying Weapons of Mass Destruction!!".Then Al Franken Woukld Have A Rebuttal on Air Amerrica Claiming That"First Of all,There Is No Proof That Zombies Really Attacked!!It's Just More Hysteria From The White House Beating The '9/11'Drum Like They Did in Iraq!!Secondly,Zombies Have The same Constitutional Rights as Any Americans.Just Because They Rose From The Dead Doesn't Mean That They Should Be discriminated Againsty In The Job Market and In Finding Fair Housing!!"".Them Meryl Streep Would Make A Movie About Them And She'd Say "The Zombies Fed My Baby To The Dingoes!!"and Win An Oscar!!

They have:  It's called Congress.

I think some places would be taken over, but I doubt the whole world.

After All,"The Illuminati"and "the New World Order"Couldn't Handle The Competition!!

Wouldn't it simply be a question of waiting until they fell apart from natural decomposition?

Plus,it would make a great plotline for "Scooby Doo Three"!!

Hey guys (& Susan & any other ladies here), where will we meet up when it does happen?
Plenty of space and not many people down here in Australia, (just watch out for Zombie Meryl Streep feeding the dingos) - you can all crash at my place.....

Sure they would, if they wanted to. i think it was Arthur C. Clarke the one that mentioned ther number of people that had lived and died before our generation. The numerical disadvantage would make any general pale.

If anybody knows the more or less exact number, please mention it, it could be interesting.

Hummm....
Heres a point.
The Zombie is created by converting a normal person into a "Rotter". So...there is a 1 for 1 equasion here.
That means, If the humans get ahead in the "Conversion" process ( Head shots out numbering bite marks ), then a controled area could be established.
Take a town of, say, 20.000. Clear out the zombies in a 30 mile radius. Then after reloading the ammo, and scavaging for more, double the clearance radius. Repeat as often as possable.
And as humans give birth, the losses are replaced. In one generation, the zombies in a state like Ohio, could be redeaded, and the only way the rotters could win, is if the humans panic, and fail to use the brains ( Brains! ) we were given.
Corse, if the rotters exist because of evil goverment types playing God, then we may be boned.
And yes, i'm useing slow Z's for my thought. Fast Z's are a whole nother problim, as the speed of infection goes up exponentialy.

Flangepart, maybe one of your points there should become part 2 of this question - If zombies were to attack, what would the the most likely cause?

Evil Government (I'm looking at you, Mr Bush) - Evil Corporation - Act of God - Accident - Natural Disaster - Alien Attack - any other options?

Actually,I think the Zombies are already among us.Watch some of the "American Idol"Contestants!!Of course,Randy would say "Dawg!!Your'e going back to the Land of the Dead!!";Paula would say"You know,your'e not too bad of a Singer for a Zombie.You do need to learn to say something besides 'Brains!!"all the time,though.".And Simon would say,"I'm Sorry,But You Are A Zombie!!Your'e Nothing But A Walking Case For 'CSI'!!Now Just Go Back To Your Grave For Now and Come Back When Your'e Sure You Won't Stay Dead And You Can Say Something Besides'Brains!!'All The Time!!".

I don't get it, why can't we just call Bruce Campbell,  Hugh Jackman and Milla Jovovich when the zombies attack?

Because Bruce Campbell doesn't want to be typecast, Jackman would be on Broadway and Jojovich is too busy doing photoshoots for magazines.

We're on our own.

I think that the US military is so busy murdering Iraqies that they would not be able to react when the zombies invade them.

The Argentinian military, on the other hand, will deplect and launch a massive counterstrike for the simple reason that THEY HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO.

What you saying is true, but keep in mind the equation would be a little skewed at first because it would probably take people a bit of time to realize zombie bites kill (especially if it happens over a few days) and plus there always gonna be nutballs who refuse to (re) kill their departed loved ones, regardless of what happens.



> Hummm....
> Heres a point.
> The Zombie is created by converting a normal
> person into a "Rotter". So...there is a 1 for 1
> equasion here.
> That means, If the humans get ahead in the
> "Conversion" process ( Head shots out numbering
> bite marks ), then a controled area could be
> established.

I think human survival instinct would make people instantly deduce that a zombie bite kills.

And people would realize that they departed loved ones are dead, and that that is just their CORPSES re-animated.

Well, we could call in Chuck Norris, but even the zombies deserve a fair chance....

;)

What we could do if the Zombies try to take over is get the Spirits of John Wayne;Charles Bronson;Steve McQueen;James Coburn;Robert Mitchum;Jimmy Stewart;Henry Fonda;Humphrey Bogart;Jimmy Cagney and Edward G.Robinson to go after the Zombies!!(I Could Just see The Duke Telling A Zombie "SOMEBODY OUGHTA BELT YOU ONE!!BUT I WON'T!!I WON'T!!AW THE HELL I WON'T!!".).Or get the Ghosts of Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee to put some kinda Kung Fu Whoop Ass on them!!If that don't work,well we can always get Tom Cruise to try to convert them all to Scientology!!Or get Scooby Doo and the Gang to go after them!!(If Scooby and the Gang go after them,they'll rip the mask off one of the Zombies and find out that it's Donald Trump!!(Of course,he'll tell them "Yes,I Did It!!The Old Amusement Park/Airbase/Seaport/Warehouse was where I was going to build the newest Trump Tower!!And I was trying to buy it cheap!!But you Kids had to go meddle into it and you ruined my plans!!Your'e Fired!!By the way,Daphne,how'd you like to be the next Mrs.Trump??).

Er... Thanks The Conqueroo, but that just made mankind's cause more desperate. I didn't realize until now that most of the people you mention (and some of them are serious ass-kickers) are dead and would therefore ve on THEIR side.

Now I won't be able to sleep in all night.

Naw,they wouldn't join the Zombies!!If nothing else,after Tom Cruise tries to convert them to Scientology,they'd kill him,them they'd get sick and die!!

Are YOU a Zombie infiltrator?  You seem to know an awful lot about what they would and would not do. Trying to lull us into passivity with your talk of tactics?

I don't know...can Zombies type?

Naw,I'm not a Zombie!!Plus,I don't practice the Black Art of VooDoo!!I do have IBS,so some time in the AM,I must go DooDoo!!I'm just very well read!!Plus,I watched a lot of "Scooby Doo"when I was a Kid!! "People Call Me Jim.But You Can Call Me..Jim."-Gene Wilder:"Blazing Saddles"."Now To Begin My Most Foul and Evil Plan Yet!!To Wreak Havoc Upon Humanity!!"-Buttes(As Professor Chaos):"South Park".

He's not a zombie, he's just hyperactive.

"I'M NOT A MOUSE!!IM AN ASTHMA HOUND CHIHUHUA!!"-Ren Hoek:"Ren&Stimpy".

Assuming Romero zombies - no, they wouldn't take over.  Only the recently dead would come back, the buried would NEVER get out.  I feel that is an important distinction to make.  We're talking only a few thousand in any geographic area.  And America has lots of guns.  Martial law would end up in many areas, but I don't see it taking that long.

How about the zombies from the "Return of the Living Dead" movies?

Well, yeah!
Fast Zombies spread faster, cause they provide less time to adapt to the threat.
And the RTOLD Z's are smarter, too. Well, the most recent "Converts", maby...

And what would happen when they try to take over the "violent" countries: Iraq, Iran, Lybia, the African countries, Mexico, Taiwan and Pakistan?

You know, where every citizen is a born-and-bred warrior?

plan9superfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And what would happen when they try to take over
> the "violent" countries: Iraq, Iran, Lybia, the
> African countries, Mexico, Taiwan and Pakistan?
>
> You know, where every citizen is a born-and-bred
> warrior?

You don't live in the South in the US, do you?  I buleve we kin handel our share of zombies down here.

plan9superfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How about the zombies from the "Return of the
> Living Dead" movies?

Well, it depends on which film exactly, as they don't share the same continuity.  In the first (and second) film, the only dead that rose were those sprayed (or came into contact with) that toxic chemical from those barrels the government kept misplacing. 

The dead in the first two movies were virtually invincible (I mean, you had to pretty much chop them up to destroy them), unless they got in contact with electricity.  Now, I could see these guys doing a LOT of damage, but I think they'd be neutralized once the army (or whoever) found out their weakness.  (Assuming of course, they don't just say, "Screw it", block off and then nuke whatever town they happen to be in.)

Now, part three (and the others) throw continuity completely out of the window, these dead will try to bite ANYTHING on a living person (first two movies they were only after brains) and their bite spreads the sickness.

Not sure if they're invincible as well, though, I mean, in part three all they seemed to be able to do was freeze them for a bit and then contain them, so either electricity doesn't work on them, or the government never tried it.

(Yes, I know, I watch too much TV...)

Which reminds me of a story about a friend of mine.Seems he always wanted to be a Dolphin Trainer,so he got a job at Sea World and eventually he worked his way up to become a Dolphin Trainer.He became so successful that he wrote a book about it.He titled it "The Porpoise Driven Life".(Rim Shot!!).

I thought that was about Dolphins who kill.
"The Porpoise driven knife."

BTW, has anyone with military experience answered this question?  Was really curious what they'd think (esp Andrew, but he's probably been too busy of late ot answer silly forum questions... ;)

Also, when the zombies invade us, can't we just ask George A. Romero, Lucio Fulci and Edgar Wright for help?

Bruce Willis recently announced that he was going to go to Columbia and personally address their Senate about Drug Smuggling.Just another case of an Actor with too much time on their hands thinking that because theyr'e Actors they're qualified to take on whatever Political Cause comes along.Anyway,if Bruce Willis can stop Narcotrafficantes,he can certainly stop the Zombies!!Even if they kill him,his Zombiefied Corpse will keep on repeating the cycle!!

The Conqueroo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anyway,if Bruce Willis can stop
> Narcotrafficantes,he can certainly stop the
> Zombies!!Even if they kill him,his Zombiefied
> Corpse will keep on repeating the cycle!!

Dude, that sounded so much like a studio CEO announcing more "Die Hard" films...

No, that is Deadly Porpoise you're thinking of

You know, we never did hear from Andrew on this subject...  :wink:

Well I'm a former Marine and I think Zombies would move a little to slow to pose any real threat to mankind. I mean come on, you can take a leisurely stroll and out pace the zombie populous. Provided you are not a 1960's women running in spiked heels through a graveyard at night you should see zombies as much of a threat.

So from a military perspective we find their weakness and exploit it ...

Is it a shotgun blast to the head? Lock and Load.
Is it Fire? Flick your Bic.
Is it pointy sticks? Then whittle some sticks.

and if all else fails use napalm ... napalm is your friend (provided it's not on you)

Bottom line zombies not a threat ... or in these politally correct world do we call them the "formerly living?"

PC is the real threat ...

This all depends on the kind of zombie we are dealing with. If we are dealing with a Night of the living dead scenario were any recently dead individual will come back to life then its much more likely that we could see large areas infected, add this with infectious bites then we could have a large problem. Small community's and large city's would be  rapidly infected if measures are not taken quickly, and even after that the constant threat of a out break would bring are country and the rest of the world down economically. Wars would break out which would mean even more undead and then you have a doomsday scenario.
Now if its only the bites that bring people back to life then are problems are greatly lessened (Dawn of the dead remake and 28 days later scenario). Finding and containing these infected individuals would be much easier. The problem would be with human nature. Family and friends would likely take offence to to having there loved ones rounded up and shot as soon as they are bitten. This would lead to the problem family members harboring infected people and the eventual zombie they would become.
Also we need to take into account what ability's these zombies have. Are they fast and agile like in Dawn of the dead remake, slow yet smart like in Land of the dead, or are they just impossible to kill like in Return of the living dead. Each of these zombies pose there own problems and depending on the way they come back to life then are problems could be very serious are nothing at all.
I guess what it really comes down to is just being prepared for a zombie outbreak. Always make sure you have the proper weaponry (shotgun, axe, pistol, etc.) at the ready, and if you see a zombie make sure you tell your local authority's as quickly as possible.

I spent 10 years as a U.S. Army Combat Engineer.  If it were me, I'd lay a field expedient mine field around my home, and barricade myself into my home.
With enough home made bang and a quick access to Wal-mart and Ace Hardware where they sell rifle and shotgun ammo by the truck load (I live in VERY rural Arkansas, waddaya want?) I think I could establish and maintain a respectable DZZ (de-zombified zone).  From there, it's just a matter of trying to procreate and make enough "born and bred warriors" of my own to strike out and make raids against all zombie kind, thus expanding the DZZ and making room for other non-converts. 
It's a slow and drawn out process but then again, Rome wasn't built in a day.
I WOULD like to see them eat Tom Cruise and all of the Baldwins tho.  They annoy me.
That might make it hard to kill the zombies though, after all, they would have done humanity a great service.

That's because he's busy handling a secret situation  :wink: :wink:

Yeah, the liberals will get all PC and argue for zombie rights.

Not the pro-life, don't pull the plug, religious nuts.  :lookingup:

Be more afraid of the gun nuts who'd go out shooting everyone they felt like, and claiming all their targets were zombies if anyone asks.

Reminds me of that line from Chopper Chicks in Zombie Town...

A woman (upon seeing her mother as a zombie): Moma!  I had enough of you the first time around!

The answer to all of these questions seems to be "It depends on what kind of zombies we're talking about here." Staggering, brainless zombies might be able to perpetrate some atrocities on a small town or even on a sizable city, but any sufficiently well-trained military would be able to take them, even if it had to gather some unusual weaponry for the mission, such as wooden stakes. (For zombies vulnerable to fire, the military already has flame-throwers, napalm, and incendiary materials in stock.) Body armor would also help keep infections from zombie bites to a minimum.

Smarter, faster zombies might pose more of a threat, but it seems more likely that one could reason or bargain with them, since they still have their minds. At least, it seems more likely in theory; whether diplomacy and persuasion would work would tend to depend on what motivates and controls the zombies. If they're all at the mercy of some malevolent mastermind (aliens, mad scientists, crooked corporate CEOs, or whatever's serving as a metaphorical stand-in for some much-despised radical ideology in these movies), the zombies themselves would not be open to persuasion, only the mastermind(s) behind them. As a rule, such megalomaniacs have generally made up their minds well in advance, and the only kind of persuasion that works on them is the kind that comes out of the barrel of a gun. In this case, espionage and targeted killing are the necessary tactics to defeat the zombies, and the battle might go either way.

One further factor that would determine whether the zombies would take over or not is whether they'd have any functioning society; if the zombies need food and shelter, they're not likely to last long if their rampages wipe out the farms and factories that supply their needs. Of course, extinction might be the goal of their mastermind(s), but an army of zombies still has to be sustainable for at least as long as it takes to subdue and defeat all humanity if it is to succeed in this goal.

I've often thought a zombie story might be more interesting if the zombies really did have a plan for society beyond merely devouring it. What if, for example, being a zombie didn't reduce one's mental facilities or free will at all? What if zombies could go on living more or less the way they did before they died or got infected? If being a zombie included all of the semi-immortality and none of the mind control, a great many people would probably welcome it with open arms. ("Man, I'm too young to be dying of lung cancer! I gotta beat this. Say, Fred, suppose you could give me a nice big festering bite right here on my chest?")

I think there are some unexplored possibilities in this whole idea of there being benefits in vampirism, lycanthropy, extraterrestrial symbiosis, and other horror movie genres. What if being or having any or all of these things were a good thing, and people were actually clamoring for more? I can already hear the advertisements. "Be the first on your block to be a vampire!" "Get your patented alien symbiote costume from Parker and Brock Enterprises, now only $99.95!" "E-Canthropy dating services: helping your litters grow up big and strong and healthy for thirty years." "Be all that you can be! Get the edge on death as a zombie!"

Hmm might take them a while to get through the Baldwins.