Are zombies becoming alive?

[Dr. Whom]

Your classic zombie rises from the grave, ie they spend some time dead before they start moving again. Granted this time can vary widely  between movies (or even within a movie, for plot convenience) but the basic sequence is, you get infected/murdered, you die and you wake up.
What struck me when watching #Alive was that here it seems to be a simple viral infection. People get infected and go crazy, without dying first. This seems to be borne out by that fact that these zombies need to eat, and there is no special technique needed to kill them. It also explains why they retain as much of their motoric skills as they do. Now this movie doesn't explain a lot of the details of the zombie apocalypse, it is more a question of 'it is a zombie outbreak, you all know the drill'.

Still, this has got me wondering whether this is a new trend in zombies: the fast virus infected zombie who is basically alive. 'Train to Busan" has similar zombies: I can't remember whether they are  technically dead, but they turn quickly, without spending any length of time as a corpse and remain quite active (as opposed to the classic zombies in, say, The Dead Don't Die).

[indianasmith]

I refer to the two broad divisions as "Romero zombies"  (re-animated corpses) vs. "rage virus zombies" infected humans who only live to kill and eat the non-infected.

[chainsaw midget]

I refer to the two broad divisions as "Romero zombies"  (re-animated corpses) vs. "rage virus zombies" infected humans who only live to kill and eat the non-infected.

Yeah, the Rage Zombies seem to be more common these days. 

I've also heard people refer to them as Runners. 

I prefer the old school Romero style.  The horror had more of a slow burn there and it felt more inevitable as opposed to the quick gore of things that just dash up and eat your face. 

[zombie no.one]

speaking on behalf of all zombies ever, I'm happy to clarify that I don't really know.

[pacman000]

Happened with Voodoo zombies too, before Romero-style ghouls took over.

In 30's & 40's movies zombies were portrayed as re-animated corpses controlled by a master, a traditional Voodoo zombie. By the 60's any hypnotized character could be called a zombie.

[Jim H]

I refer to the two broad divisions as "Romero zombies"  (re-animated corpses) vs. "rage virus zombies" infected humans who only live to kill and eat the non-infected.

Yeah, the Rage Zombies seem to be more common these days.  

I've also heard people refer to them as Runners.  

I prefer the old school Romero style.  The horror had more of a slow burn there and it felt more inevitable as opposed to the quick gore of things that just dash up and eat your face.  

"Runner" is often used for true corpses who are fast and typically unintelligent (Dawn of the Dead remake for instance), but yeah people use it for the "rage" viral type sometimes too.  

There's a lot of variations in zombies.  But I'd definitely say Koreans, Japanese and other East Asian zombie films have trended towards viral zombies more often and usually fast ones that turn quickly and abruptly, especially the past few years.  Another recent Japanese example is I Am A Hero (it's a live action adaptation of a manga, a good one too).  Train to Busan I would say itself was influenced by World War Z, and then Train to Busan was a pretty big hit in Asia so it makes sense it would influence the zombie films since.

If you go back in years a while, they had a lot more of the traditional Romero type zombies.  A Hong Kong example was Bio Zombie (fun film on that note), a Japanese one is Wild Zero, a Thai one is Sars Wars.

[RCMerchant]

I refer to the two broad divisions as "Romero zombies"  (re-animated corpses) vs. "rage virus zombies" infected humans who only live to kill and eat the non-infected.

Yeah, the Rage Zombies seem to be more common these days.  

I've also heard people refer to them as Runners.  

I prefer the old school Romero style.  The horror had more of a slow burn there and it felt more inevitable as opposed to the quick gore of things that just dash up and eat your face.  

I watched some stupid zombie movie called QUARANTINE (2008) where it's so fast and so f**king dark
you can't make anything out at all. Oh- and all sorts of shaky ' found video' footoge.  
I mean, if I was being chased by zombies, I wouldn't be walking around filming it! I'd want my full attention on the situation at hand. 

[chainsaw midget]

While we're talking about zombie types, let's not forget the classic Italian face looks like oatmeal types.

[RCMerchant]

While we're talking about zombie types, let's not forget the classic Italian face looks like oatmeal types.

When you think about it, NIGHTMARE CITY (1980) is the prototype for 'runner' zombies!
They used machine guns!  



I always thought they rolled they're faces in pig sh!t! 

[Dr. Whom]

I do have the impression that there is a trend towards viral rage zombies. This would fit in with a shift in our fears. Zombies in the 70s and 80s were typically caused by exposure to some form of pollution (such as radiation and/or some chemical substance), now it tends to be a virus rapidly sweeping through the population.

Bio Zombie, eh? Now there is an idea. "all our zombies are 100% organic and locally sourced"

[zombie no.one]

Tarantino attempts to explain the difference between classic zombies and 'infected humans', in this strangely uncomfortable vid...

http://youtu.be/qtR5Cxscnu4

[Dr. Whom]

Tarantino attempts to explain the difference between classic zombies and 'infected humans', in this strangely uncomfortable vid...

http://youtu.be/qtR5Cxscnu4

So we should call them 'infected people' in an exaggerated Italian accent?

[zombie no.one]

hey if it's good enough for Q-Tar then who are we to argue? 

[Alex]

For his first four movies, Romero showed a clear progression in the behaviour of his zombies (although admittedly, he called them ghouls in NotLD rather than zombies), getting more intelligent (and possibly stronger?) as the films went on. I can't recall if his last two zombie flicks (Survival of the Dead and Diary of the Dead if I remember the names correctly and haven't gotten them mixed up with some other undead films), continued this theme or not. In Night, the undead are just attacking the closest humans they see. Dawn has them returning to places that were important to them in life. Day sees one learning how to use a gun, and then Land has the undead finding a leader and striking back at the humans. I think one of the other two movies may have one of them riding a horse.

[RCMerchant]

I think is because people like everything faster as the years go on. I thought punk was fast- but then came speed metal. I like both- if the movies good!  #ALIVE (2020) is a great movie!


http://youtu.be/jQ8CCg1tOqc