It has been subject to much debate within the horror movie industry and culture and though many fans enjoy it, there are equally as many that hate it. I am talking, of course, about the controversy surrounding the fast-running zombies vs. the slow-moving zombies. Now, to most moviegoers this is a stupid subject but for people that are die-hard zombie movie fans it’s like a battle between classic and new; the oldies and the new age. First off, I want to state my opinion… which is something that I shouldn’t do considering this more of an informant column. I personally would rather see slow moving zombies then fast running zombies any day and I think that it’s very hard to pull off good running zombies. But, I want to take a further look into this controversy surrounding this and to do that I must go back into zombie movie history.
Before, lets say, 1985, zombies were always slow moving and they always walked with a barreling sense of confusion, misplacement and horror. To the general public, zombies were terrifying and they posed more of a misjudged threat. The zombie would walk so slow, yet no matter how fast you run they still catch up to you because they are in fact like piranha… a few of them won’t kill you but once their numbers start growing around you, they are lethal. Back then, it was just scarier that something so innocent and so awkward could actually kill you. Films like Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Creeps and Zombi II sort of set the standard for modern zombies to walk slow.
Now, lets fast-forward to 1985 when a sequel of sorts to Night of the Living Dead was released in theaters called The Return of the Living Dead. This movie not only revolutionized the face of horror and culture but also the way that zombies would be looked at. Dan O’Bannon rethought the zombie mythology and gave zombies the power of reasoning, language, intelligence and movement. In this film, they talked and gave us a reason why they craved brains, they ran like maniacs after ‘fresh meat’ and they even manipulated cops into traps by using sex appeal. Thought it was controversial back then, people mostly passed it off as comedy. It wasn’t until 2004 when the zombie controversy blew out of proportion.
In the age of remakes, Zach Snyder decided to tackle a very well-loved zombie flick known as Dawn of the Dead and remade it into a fairly good movie. Though, it sparked hoards of controversy because of one simple thing… the zombies in this film run as though they were Olympic track runners and they jump on fences like monkeys. Synder took the slow dumbfounded zombies and turned them into a greater threat to humanity by making them more athletic and fast. In my opinion, he succeeded where others would fail.
See, the positive side of fast moving zombies is: they are even more of a threat to humans then slower zombies. Up until now, all you had to do was outrun them and pray that there weren’t that many after you… now, even if there are only 2 or 3, they’ll surely catch up to you and eat you. However, many directors took this surprise cultural hit one step further and thereby ruining the somewhat originality that Snyder had done. The dreaded remake of Day of the Dead, is one such film. Here, the zombies are steroid induced, energetic gymnast; not only do they run and spider-jump out of windows but they also scale walls and ceilings! This is completely unacceptable because when you are dead and after rigor mortis sets in, you’ll never be able to do anything like that and it turns the zombie lore into a laughing stock.
After that, fast zombies went downhill and directors started going the way of Day of the Dead (remake) by turning them into acrobats. Personally, nothing can ever beat the slow deceiving horror of slow movies zombies. To me, that’s the ultimate fear that you misjudge them and in turn, you lead to your own downfall and demise… not the zombie. However, if done right, I will enjoy running zombies but that’s on a rare occasion. If you enjoy the classic slow zombies, then I applaud you but if you enjoy the newer brand of muscle enhanced zombies… then good, the new generation of zombies are already starting to take over the horror culture.
