Screenwriting : Zombies? by Shara Maude

The genre is about life and death. What does it mean to be truly alive? What is living? When are we just WALKING DEAD? I assure u, it's not soulless and shuffling weirdos. At least not THE WALKING DEAD. It's some of the best writing on tv. Can't speak for other zombie shows. I also believe they're getting played out for now. I have a former zombie feature I switched to cannibals. It plays much better. What are you writing?

The reference in "The Walking Dead" AMC show is to the non-dead as they carry the virus (asymptomatic) that turns them upon physical death. Also, a Zombie bite releases the carried virus.

Thus the stakes are greater and allows for character depth. Most Zombie tropes do not have this twist. Zombies generally thirst for flesh they seek from the living.

In "The Walking Dead" universe, it's revealed in the "Fear the Walking Dead" pilot that Patient Zero is Nick's girlfriend who takes a new, potent drug. There's an inference it's supplied by the government.

I've seen my share of Zombie films and TV. The attraction lies in themes of survival, the loss of rational thought, conflict, the awfulness of cannibalism, and sometimes humor ("Zombieland" and "Shaun of the Dead"). On balance, Zombies are victims, too.

I love them all - from the original voodoo-based White Zombie (1932) to the virus/pandemic-based World War Z (2013). They are great horror/monster films, and are great subject matters for writers to explore. Anything that makes people scared...from subconscious reasons to conscious reasons...with literal intentions or with metaphorical intentions...catches my interest, and can send some serious chills down my spine. I love to be scared - at least in make-believe ways.

A lot has been written over the years regarding the reasons that zombies scare us. It's extra cool when a zombie film can be a metaphor for current conditions - either on purpose by the filmmaker, or interpreted that way by others. Brains-sssss.....brains-ssss.....heh-heh.

Nice topic, Shara! Oh fudge, man....what's that behind you? Run! Run! Heh-heh.

Thanks everybody for the great answers!! I've seen quite a few zombie movies over the years but they're really hit or miss for me. They have to either be really well done, or hilarious.

The zombies in Peter Jackson's Brain Dead, those were pretty hilarious. With that epic lawnmower scene, just pure gold. Also, Zombieland and Shawn of the Dead are great movies. I also like Warm Bodies for some reason. Maybe because of the surprise happy ending.

28 Days Later is probably my favorite when it comes to more serious zombie movies. It had great characters, story, locations. It was just interesting to look at. The Walking Dead never really caught my interest. I watched one season and then I was like, "well that's good enough for me." I think it's because I thought the zombies were actually smarter than the people who were still alive. Personal opinion, lol.

As for me, I've never written one. I'm still trying to make the crossover from having written books for a while. But right now I'm working on an action/thriller type thing, I have one finished historical war/bio-pic finished, and I'm working on some science fictiony stuff as well. But you never know. Zombies might be in my future!! Cheers!

I think it's helpful with these types of questions to go to the source... In the case of zombies, the myth has roots in Haitian folklore (likely of West African origin). In the Haitian tradition, zombies have lost all free will, essentially functioning as slaves to the 'bokor' or witch who has revived their corpse. There is also an incorporeal type of zombie in this tradition, a "zombie astral", which is a part of the human soul, usually captured and sealed in a special bottle by a bokor. In this sense, the two types reflect a dualism, where each type of zombie is missing one half of it's soul (the flesh or the spirit), and is therefore never fully human. Since humanity is largely defined by the possessions of free will and/or a soul, the myth has strong reverberations across cultures... The thought of living a half-life, one in which we essentially carry on as animals because those things we associate with humanity have been taken from us, is truly terrifying.

Following up on what Kelly Krause said....The Serpent and the Rainbow is a really great zombie film in that Haitian/bokor style. The story was supposedly based on a real-life event, but it's been pretty much debunked by the scientific community. Zakes Mokae is absolutely terrifying as the evil Witch Doctor in it, and Bill Pullman is great as the American scientist who gets a little more than he bargained for.

I love zombie movies! But I never wrote a script for a zombie feature. Humans have always had a fascination with the "undead" and spirit realms - spirits, vampires, zombies, etc. As far as movies go, zombies are a lighter cross between the horror and adventure genres. We don't really mourn the loss of zombies getting their butts kicked all over the place. It kind of turns into "cartoon violence". The exception is maybe "Warm Bodies", where Nicholas Hoult went back to being a human being - that was not so much a zombie movie as a very clever remake of Romeo and Juliet (IMO).

"Train to Busan" was an incredible heartfelt take on the genre. Overall, I've had a love/hate relationship with zombies.

Perhaps. Or it could just be the fear of death and the uncertainty as to what comes next? It certainly interesting to ponder. I may have to write a zombie film...after I finish everything else I'm currently working on, haha.

It is about the fear of having to live for ever and ever without really being dead or alive; as a soulles human being.

I think it's a market thing - "zombies gross $$$m - make the monster a zombie"