How would you design a new Zombie series?

[Tyndmyr]

There's a reason Zombie stories tend to skip the Fall of Civilization phase. The Protagonist usually just wakes up after everything has fallen apart and there are zombies everywhere, so as to avoid explaining how something that can be killed with a baseball bat took down the combined might of military, police, and civilian militias. Even if you take Genre Savvyness out of it, eventually somebody is going to go for a headshot then say "HEY! THAT WORKS!"

Which is a shame, really. Because the fall of civilization could be glorious. Say, it's an airborne virus that starts turning people...natural immunity is your only defense. The L4D scenario. Then, the fall could be glorious, and worthy of watching.

But really, I'd make anyone who started suggesting stupid drama ideas watch ALL of Walking Dead. That should terrorize them adequately to set the mood.

[Traab]

Even sprinters aren't that bad. For starters, they don't have the sense to duck/dodge/evade or block incoming baseball bat, golf club, fire ax, wood ax, hatchet, Hammer of any flavor, wrench, knife, screwdriver, ice pick, Pipe, semi-solid stick or gun shot to the head. And don't tell me that cause that last one is harder that it's impossible. Particularly for the large numbers of cops and pro-security and military personnel out there and the large number of people with things like shot guns and lazer sights. Not when on top of that there running head long at you which should make hitting that target even easier.

And then you've gotta consider that at best, at absolute best, they get around the animal problem cause running and faster and somewhat more vicious. All the others still get them. It nominally raises the casualty rate since I refuse to add in the lack of genera savvyness, and other then that, still plays out as I described.

I'm well aware that most zombie media skip this phase, which is why I'd want to focus on it, to show why and make fun of it.

Yeah, all that is nice and all, but for starters, if there are more than two zombies rushing your bat wielding arse, you are going to be bit, secondly, maybe the cops and soldiers could pull off gunshots to the head, but your average person? This isnt the target range folks, you dont have time to aim and no stress to distract you. You have a swarm of very hungry very fast undead sprinting for you. And in an urban environment, you dont exactly get a lot of warning all the time. Every door you open, every opening you pass by, could have a zombie right there waiting to attack at point blank range.

[BRC]

Which is a shame, really. Because the fall of civilization could be glorious. Say, it's an airborne virus that starts turning people...natural immunity is your only defense. The L4D scenario. Then, the fall could be glorious, and worthy of watching.

But really, I'd make anyone who started suggesting stupid drama ideas watch ALL of Walking Dead. That should terrorize them adequately to set the mood.

That could be an interesting idea for a series, or a game.

Zombie Outbreaks happen occasionally, but they're always different. Sometimes the Zombies are fast, sometimes they're slow, sometimes they can open doors and wield blunt instruments, sometimes they just grab and Bite. Sometimes the virus is only spread through bite, sometimes it's airborne and anybody who dies after infection will rise. Sometimes you need to destroy the head, sometimes the spine, sometimes just dealing enough gross physical trauma will deanimate them.

These infections rarely spread that far: A small town, a drilling platform, perhaps a few city blocks, but the Authorities know enough to quarantine the area, and people within the area know to hole up somewhere behind a thick door with enough supplies for a few days. People regularly keep "outbreak kits" in their homes: Some food, a radio, a map of the local area, a can of "Instant Barricade" foam that is sprayed around the edge of a door to keep it sealed and make it harder for Zombies to knock down,
The Team's job is to go in, determine the nature of this particular outbreak (Fast or slow, what kills them, how does it spread, how do they act, ect), then get people out, and figure out a safe way to clean the area. Firebombing usually works, but you don't want to risk putting bits of zombie ash in the air for people to breathe. Sending in HazECom (Hazardous Environment Combat) teams to carefully sweep the area is usually safe, but there's always the chance they'll miss something or get hurt. Also, HazECom sweeps can take a lot of time: good for a few buildings, less so if you've got a whole forest to comb.


Drama can come from different approaches within the Team. Some members just want to handle each individual outbreak as quickly and safely as possible, others want to capture zombies for study and learn everything they can about what causes the Outbreaks. Some members prioritize saving people inside the containment zone above all else, others want to prioritize getting rid of the zombies.


The big, overarching plot could concern how these Outbreaks keep happening despite the containment procedures used.


As a Game, it might make a good RPG or a rougelike strategy game. You show up, the game generates a set of traits for this particular outbreak, and you have to figure out what type of outbreak it is, give orders, rescue civillians, and take the proper precautions to prevent the spread.

[Metahuman1]

Yeah, all that is nice and all, but for starters, if there are more than two zombies rushing your bat wielding arse, you are going to be bit, secondly, maybe the cops and soldiers could pull off gunshots to the head, but your average person? This isnt the target range folks, you dont have time to aim and no stress to distract you. You have a swarm of very hungry very fast undead sprinting for you. And in an urban environment, you dont exactly get a lot of warning all the time. Every door you open, every opening you pass by, could have a zombie right there waiting to attack at point blank range.

1: You vastly under estimate the average marksman, or how useful a lazer sight or shotgun is for hitting a nominally smaller target being conveniently presented by mindless opponent.

2: You Vastly under estimate the value of everyone being Genera Savvy.

3: You vastly over-value the ability of the zombies to reproduce at all. In order for there to be 2 Zombies attacking you, there have to be 2 Zombies to attack you inf the first place, which means a loner has to have succeeded at procreating.


Like I said, fast zombies inflict a few more casualty's total, and then get put down hard and that's the end and I doubt you even loose half a city's population spread out everywhere the outbreak is at the absolute worst possible scenario. That's your realism right there. That even fast Zombies are in the grand scheme of things not a massive threat unless you totally throw all conceivable logic out the window to get them there.

[HandofShadows]

yoink'd

The strange animated movie Heavy Metal has one segment that takes place in a damaged american bomber over the pacific. One of the gunners got killed and turns into a zombie.

I've heard from several people it's considered the best part of the film.

It's the 7th story of the movie and called "B-17". Yeah and it's one of the best. (Nuts, now I want to go watch it.)

[Traab]

1: You vastly under estimate the average marksman, or how useful a lazer sight or shotgun is for hitting a nominally smaller target being conveniently presented by mindless opponent.

2: You Vastly under estimate the value of everyone being Genera Savvy.

3: You vastly over-value the ability of the zombies to reproduce at all. In order for there to be 2 Zombies attacking you, there have to be 2 Zombies to attack you inf the first place, which means a loner has to have succeeded at procreating.


Like I said, fast zombies inflict a few more casualty's total, and then get put down hard and that's the end and I doubt you even loose half a city's population spread out everywhere the outbreak is at the absolute worst possible scenario. That's your realism right there. That even fast Zombies are in the grand scheme of things not a massive threat unless you totally throw all conceivable logic out the window to get them there.

Zombies already dont meet the logic criteria, yes, if there is a single sprinter, that will get shut down hard, im talking one of those, "Omg zombies are everywhere!" Stories where they appear out of nowhere and you learn later on they showed up everywhere. Shamblers you could turn 90% of the world into the undead as the start and it wouldnt wipe out humanity. Sprinters on the other hand, also likely wont wipe out humanity, but in sufficient numbers, could cause unimaginable havoc.

1) You vastly overestimate the average marksman who has likely never shot at a moving target that wants to kill them.

2) Yes, genre savvy means they will try for head shots. Then get eaten. But at least they wont waste a ton of ammo aiming for the torso.

3) Yes, if there is a single zombie it wont go anywhere, well, it might cause some losses at the hospital or wherever it wakes up and starts attacking people, but its unlikely to cause an epidemic. Im not talking about a single zombie. Im talking about an ongoing apocalypse of zombies. Zombies are everywhere, we dont know where they came from, but suddenly there they are, tearing up and down main street biting everything that moves. Shamblers? Thats still a joke. Sprinters? Thats a really bad situation and no amount of keyboard rambo talk will turn the world into a bunch of action stars. There will be lots of death, lots of new zombies, and massive devastation because the army cant just roll in and fix it, its happening everywhere. The cops cant fix it because there arent enough of them.

[Metahuman1]

Zombies already dont meet the logic criteria, yes, if there is a single sprinter, that will get shut down hard, im talking one of those, "Omg zombies are everywhere!" Stories where they appear out of nowhere and you learn later on they showed up everywhere. Shamblers you could turn 90% of the world into the undead as the start and it wouldnt wipe out humanity. Sprinters on the other hand, also likely wont wipe out humanity, but in sufficient numbers, could cause unimaginable havoc.

1) You vastly overestimate the average marksman who has likely never shot at a moving target that wants to kill them.

2) Yes, genre savvy means they will try for head shots. Then get eaten. But at least they wont waste a ton of ammo aiming for the torso.

3) Yes, if there is a single zombie it wont go anywhere, well, it might cause some losses at the hospital or wherever it wakes up and starts attacking people, but its unlikely to cause an epidemic. Im not talking about a single zombie. Im talking about an ongoing apocalypse of zombies. Zombies are everywhere, we dont know where they came from, but suddenly there they are, tearing up and down main street biting everything that moves. Shamblers? Thats still a joke. Sprinters? Thats a really bad situation and no amount of keyboard rambo talk will turn the world into a bunch of action stars. There will be lots of death, lots of new zombies, and massive devastation because the army cant just roll in and fix it, its happening everywhere. The cops cant fix it because there arent enough of them.

1: I'm just gonna agree to disagree since your not gonna be convinced and this has way too much potential to turn political in a hurry.

2: It means they will have a lot more going for them then that.

3: And I'm talking about trying to get to that point. Which means it has to start with a VERY small number of Zombies. Which means it will get mopped up, and focusing on THAT aspect of it. That getting to a point were Zombies everywhere is ludicrous and could not happen short of magic. Certainly not the way Hollywood plays it.

[Gespenst Ritter]

The whole "zombie apocalypses aren't scientifically accurate" thing is kind of pointless, since we're already suspending our disbelief for a zombie to even exist in the first place, let alone having them able to move around using their horribly-decayed muscles. I'm willing to suspend it a bit further to allow for the premise to happen. We wouldn't have a story otherwise.

I'm not a huge consumer of zombie media, so I have no idea how common this actually is, but Telltale's The Walking Dead presented what was to me a novel idea for how zombies end up being created, and go a little ways towards explaining why so many would show up at once. Not only do you turn into a zombie by being bitten, but...

Spoiler: Telltale's TWD: S1E2

Show

...anyone who dies without getting their brain destroyed becomes a zombie, whether you were attacked by zombie or not.

This of course doesn't explain the zombies' population density, but like I said, suspension of disbelief.

Very important for me to even bother: Make the human characters not their own worst enemy and greatest threat. I know that zombie-stuff is not actually about the zombies but about people living in a post-apocalyptic world, but at least make the characters try to be reasonable and preserve their lives. In a world with no justice system, violent psychopaths who abuse their followers don't become leaders, but get quickly shot in the back of the head.

If you want to make it about zombies, make it about zombies. Most recent zombie-stories seem like they would work perfectly well without zombies at all.

Removing the human/societal conflict from a zombie story is a really good way to make a bad zombie story, since at the end of the day, good zombie stories aren't actually about the threat of the zombie. Because as mentioned multiple times in this thread, zombies in and of themselves usually aren't a huge threat.

And in a scenario where someone is shooting all of the party's violent sociopaths in the back of the head, isn't that person becoming the new violent sociopath?

[Metahuman1]

And in a scenario where someone is shooting all of the party's violent sociopaths in the back of the head, isn't that person becoming the new violent sociopath?

No, there defending themselves after the violent sociopath pulled one to many stunts. The difference between the two is staggering.

[BeerMug Paladin]

I've actually put some thought into this, and come up with some ideas I think would be decent.

Set it during the fall. Show characters as both genre savvy and intelligent. Fear of what's happening will no doubt motivate some compelling villainy and heroism undertaken in response to that villainy. Some places are hit worse than others and most people would try to flee to get into safer regions.

For a variety of reasons others have pointed to, I think the zombie plague being a scientific event is a little silly. I'd give it a supernatural origin, although that fact would not be revealed for a while until the more scientifically inclined characters figure out that something far out of the ordinary is happening. Specifically, something with a cosmic horror undercurrent to it.

As for the zombies themselves, they would have a few traits uncommonly associated with zombies. I'd use the fast variant. They'd have a minor supernatural regeneration. A bite would be very deadly, but not 100% fatal. And also, they would be able to detect nearby human life, in addition to ordinary vision. (As in, they can see you hiding behind the brick wall and will go around it to find you. If their eyes were gone, they would still be able to use this sense.)

The idea is that as it goes on and people adopt effective strategies to defeat them, zombies are still common but facing them directly becomes a background danger in the larger scale of things. And the cosmic horror elements become more notable and important for those within the blighted regions. Effectively, zombies would be mooks for the big bads later on, so you don't suffer villain decay. (A potentially big problem for zombies in a potential series! In more than one way!)

Late in the series, there would be the beginnings of dangerous magic spells (rigorously rules-based magic, based on principles observed and developed by scientist-type characters) and various other monsters within the world. Some places would be hit worse than others, but the main setting later on would be a city near one of the worst hot zones that has managed to gather refugees and eke out an existence upon the edge of madness.

Obviously, there would need to be an underlying mythos, but I haven't quite figured out what I would like that to be.

[JoshL]

Gespenst Ritter, that's how zombies happen in the Romero films too, it's just not explicitly stated (it is in the Walking Dead comics too). Of course, Romero called them Ghouls in Night of the Living Dead (I don't think the word "zombie" was used in the original trilogy at all, but I could be wrong). I'm a big fan, and a big fan of the metaphor: the zombies are not some inhuman monster, or alien creature. They are a reminder of mortality; the characters are literally facing their own inevitable death. That's why the films are about the survivors' interactions; they are exploring how different people react to mortality.

As for the plausibility of an outbreak in a world where we've watched years of zombie films, there are a couple points to consider:
1) How quick are you going to believe that the zombies are real? Doubly so in a world where people regularly dress up like zombies and walk the streets. How can you be sure that it's a real zombie until it starts killing? There is a moral quandry given the basic fact that you might be wrong. If the genre savvy people kill the first few that appear, odds are very good they're going straight to jail for murder (though time will prove them right). But that would be a great way to start a day-of-the-outbreak film in a genre savvy world!
2) Trauma. Soldiers get PTSD, even when they are trained to deal with it. It's how the brain handles extreme stress, and there's no way to predict how you're going to act in that situation. Watching zombie movies can in no way prepare you for the reality of being confronted by a rotting shambling corpse (let alone killing them...even if you are sure they are zombies). If it could, soldiers could watch Saving Private Ryan and no one would ever have PTSD again. One of my favorite scenes in Night is when Ben asks Barbara to get wood to block the doors and windows, and she comes back with a tiny piece of wood. It's a bit of humor, but also a demonstration of just how far her brain had been broken by the trauma.
3) ...and that's how the sociopaths can end up in charge. Sometimes the mental defense is to latch on to the biggest baddest thing that might be able to protect you, and go with it. Sometimes that's reason enough for people to engage in behaviour they otherwise wouldn't (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment for example). Obviously, this won't be everyone's reaction, but the sociopaths are the ones who are going to start shooting first, with less consideration that they actually ARE zombies.

I don't think I'd really have much new to add to the genre, so it wouldn't be my top pick of things to do. But if I did have a chance to work on one, I'd have fun doing it!

[The Glyphstone]

Gespenst Ritter, that's how zombies happen in the Romero films too, it's just not explicitly stated (it is in the Walking Dead comics too). Of course, Romero called them Ghouls in Night of the Living Dead (I don't think the word "zombie" was used in the original trilogy at all, but I could be wrong). I'm a big fan, and a big fan of the metaphor: the zombies are not some inhuman monster, or alien creature. They are a reminder of mortality; the characters are literally facing their own inevitable death. That's why the films are about the survivors' interactions; they are exploring how different people react to mortality.

As for the plausibility of an outbreak in a world where we've watched years of zombie films, there are a couple points to consider:
1) How quick are you going to believe that the zombies are real? Doubly so in a world where people regularly dress up like zombies and walk the streets. How can you be sure that it's a real zombie until it starts killing? There is a moral quandry given the basic fact that you might be wrong. If the genre savvy people kill the first few that appear, odds are very good they're going straight to jail for murder (though time will prove them right). But that would be a great way to start a day-of-the-outbreak film in a genre savvy world!
2) Trauma. Soldiers get PTSD, even when they are trained to deal with it. It's how the brain handles extreme stress, and there's no way to predict how you're going to act in that situation. Watching zombie movies can in no way prepare you for the reality of being confronted by a rotting shambling corpse (let alone killing them...even if you are sure they are zombies). If it could, soldiers could watch Saving Private Ryan and no one would ever have PTSD again. One of my favorite scenes in Night is when Ben asks Barbara to get wood to block the doors and windows, and she comes back with a tiny piece of wood. It's a bit of humor, but also a demonstration of just how far her brain had been broken by the trauma.
3) ...and that's how the sociopaths can end up in charge. Sometimes the mental defense is to latch on to the biggest baddest thing that might be able to protect you, and go with it. Sometimes that's reason enough for people to engage in behaviour they otherwise wouldn't (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment for example). Obviously, this won't be everyone's reaction, but the sociopaths are the ones who are going to start shooting first, with less consideration that they actually ARE zombies.

I don't think I'd really have much new to add to the genre, so it wouldn't be my top pick of things to do. But if I did have a chance to work on one, I'd have fun doing it!

You should read the books, they're quite good. Human civilization gets mauled by the rising, in part because of the worldwide delivery vector (airborne plague that infects all living humans, but stays latent until vital signs cease). Plenty of individuals suffer PTSD, can't cope, etc. - but it's still unique for being the only zombie media I know of where zombies are a cultural phenomena, and for how that cultural incubation is credited with saving us (George Romero is a global hero; his zombified corpse is kept in a preserve). People recognize it for what it is, use social media to spread the world fast, and the government/authorities aren't given plot-enforced stupidity. We don't just wipe out zombiedom in an afternoon the way some people expect, but we still win, and adapt to continued existence in a zombie-infested world. Heck, the first book is about a team of political bloggers/journalists following the campaign trail of a US presidential candidate...life goes on.

[Kislath]

Remember the movie Land of the Dead, in which the zombies were smarter than we're used to seeing them? They were able to almost remember things from their lives, communicate, problem solve, and work together. They even had emotions.

Here's my take on zombies:

What if the raving, slavering, kill & devour everything trait of a zombie is only a phase, a growing pain, something that all new zombies go through for a time?
What if they start out as the slow, trudging sort of mindless shamblers and get faster and smarter over time, changing from "slow zombies" to "fast zombies?"
What if, after they adjust to their new physiology, they start to get their minds back as well?

What if, given enough time, they eventually become almost normal again, but still undead?

What if the whole cause of it is alien spores, purposefully sent to Earth from a "WORLD of the Dead," the people of which thought their immortality was pretty cool and decided to share this great gift with humanity after picking up our signals? They can't reproduce on their own anymore, and so thought to give rise to a whole new planet of new children, namely ours!
They see nothing wrong with this, and can't imagine why we want to be such big babies over it.

[Eldan]

Oh definitely red herring if at all done. Same could be said with native American magic. Nay, I was actually thinking more of Victorian-style alchemy as the basis for zombie creation. This leaves open the possibilities for Frankenstein's monster as another thing to deal with. :3

Actually, I'd do both. Start with some scientist investigating the toxins that are claimed to turn people into zombies. Puffer fish, datura, some mushrooms, rare herbs. Have him find a concoction that makes a soldier temporarily or permanently unable to feel pain or shock or exhaustion, but also puts them into a trance state, where they are varying between catatonic states where they are unresponsive and states of utter uncontrolled aggression.

As the South starts to lose, they begin using the drug. First, on criminals and deserters. Then on slaves. Then on low-class soldiers. The affected, when turned lose, will charge through gunfire without stopping, then throw themselves at enemies with bajonets or knives or their bare hands. Not an effective weapon on its own, maybe, but a terror weapon to break enemy lines.

[Hopeless]

Which is a shame, really. Because the fall of civilization could be glorious. Say, it's an airborne virus that starts turning people...natural immunity is your only defense. The L4D scenario. Then, the fall could be glorious, and worthy of watching.

But really, I'd make anyone who started suggesting stupid drama ideas watch ALL of Walking Dead. That should terrorize them adequately to set the mood.

In my case watching ONE episode accomplished that!

Was wondering what if a potential cure was discovered but certain elements wanted sole control over it or managed to seriously p**s off the people who were researching it that one of them left causing the rest to be either killed or moved to a more secure facility to prevent the "cure" being leaked.

Of course I can't help thinking if even antibiotics are failing what if the cure only works as long as the human body doesn't develop a resistance to it that renders it useless?

Now imagine that revelation if up to that point your main "heroes" have been led to believe the good doctor actually released the epidemic to promote their new drug only to discover they went into hiding after discovering their employer didn't want the epidemic cured only those either able to pay their price or was worth saving from their viewpoint.

Then they find out the supposed traitor kept their secret because telling anyone else would make them a target too fully aware they could be killed at any moment taking their secret to the grave with them.

Of course I was picturing this zombie apocalypse to take generations before civilisation could even begin to recover just to highlight just how bad things really are by making that the good news!

[BWR]

Something like this.

Failing that, something very campy and fun like Død Snø (Dead Snow), or something very obviously supernatural with a couple of intelligent zombies with magical powers pulling the strings, like Anton Misroi or Toben the Many from Ravenloft.

I've never been bitten by the zombie bug. They are not particularly fun or interesting adversaries and apart from Død snø I haven't seen any zombie stuff that I really liked. Sure Romero's zombiese are passable (mostly for the fact that he started the zombie craze) and 28 Days Later was not too bad, but they didn't really grip me.

[Killer Angel]

Something like this.

That wouldn't be bad, but... what was shown in the 2-minutes trailer?

[Pronounceable]

how you would handle a new Zombie series

With plot twists: Zombies are actually vampires pretending to be zombies and they want their spotlight back. The human survivors are all revealed to be secretly ninjas. Further surprise is revealed when there's more survivors out on the seas, who've taken up piracy. The climax will be a battle between the king of all vampires, youngest prodigy in the history of ninjadom and the strongest captain of the seven seas for the fate of pop culture.

[LOTRfan]

I wouldn't mind seeing a historical fantasy film taking place during the Great Plague of Marseille. Particularly if the transmission via flea bite is still a thing. It could focus on survivors attempting to sneak past the Mur de la Peste, or maybe the soldiers who fortify the wall. Were it up to me, the zombifying aspect of the bubonic plague would be explicitly supernatural, likely being started by a powerful ghul in the Middle East.

[Eldan]

That works. Alternatively, Mongol Necromancers.

[DigoDragon]

As the South starts to lose, they begin using the drug. First, on criminals and deserters. Then on slaves. Then on low-class soldiers. The affected, when turned lose, will charge through gunfire without stopping, then throw themselves at enemies with bajonets or knives or their bare hands. Not an effective weapon on its own, maybe, but a terror weapon to break enemy lines.

Good stuff, that would be something I'd watch.

[Traab]

I would too, but knowing our luck the south would rise up as one incredibly pissed voice and shout it down because its attributing some pretty nasty behaviors to them or some such thing. "Omg! Hate speech!"

[Eldan]

The answer, of course, is to insult everyone equally. I suggest Yankee werewolves. Because I've seen vampires and werewolves and vampires and zombies, but never werewolves and zombies.

Alternatively, make some Northerners Deep Ones. They are from New England, after all.

[Traab]

I say we make the north create frankenstein monsters. Why? So we can have massive tanks of slow moving human flesh smashing into swarms of zombies trying to drag them down.

[Eldan]

That works. Also, the fun fact that someone is reviving the dead to bring down zombies.

Still like Deep Ones, though. Maybe the English could be Deep Ones. Or Mexicans. Where there Mexicans in that war?

[Traab]

That works. Also, the fun fact that someone is reviving the dead to bring down zombies.

Still like Deep Ones, though. Maybe the English could be Deep Ones. Or Mexicans. Where there Mexicans in that war?

Canadians. It would explain SO MUCH.

[The Glyphstone]

No, the Canadians are all Wendigo. But they don't show up until Season 2, providing a common enemy that the North and South have to team up against.

[Eldan]

I don't know... Canadians could fit as werewolves. They hulk out, kill someone they love and then, instead of the usual angstfest that an American werewolf would engage in, they quietly say "sorry" and get back to work.

Flashbacks to the War of 1812 could be used as foreshadowing.

[Tyndmyr]

It's odd, because on the one hand it seems horribly arrogant to assume that one would survive a zombie apocalypse, but realistically it probably wouldn't get very far in the first place, even though everyone's baseline competence is low enough that they probably wouldn't be able to handle being overrun by zombies. I guess it's an emergent effect.

Why not? Zombies are effectively a disorganized, brain dead military force restricted to only using short range melee weapons. Also, as they can't use vehicles, they're reduced to walking/running speed. As threats go, that's a pretty mild one. Even if we ignore the issues of them forming and staying functional to begin with, ever tried clawing through walls of a house with your teeth and hands? Seems awkward. So, the vast majority of people are living in zombie resistant castles, too...

So, basically, one dude with a gun on a rooftop is basically immortal, and can kill as many zombies(because sound draws them) as he has ammo. This makes for a very boring movie, unfortunately.

So, you need some way to give the zombies an edge.

Yeah, all that is nice and all, but for starters, if there are more than two zombies rushing your bat wielding arse, you are going to be bit, secondly, maybe the cops and soldiers could pull off gunshots to the head, but your average person? This isnt the target range folks, you dont have time to aim and no stress to distract you. You have a swarm of very hungry very fast undead sprinting for you. And in an urban environment, you dont exactly get a lot of warning all the time. Every door you open, every opening you pass by, could have a zombie right there waiting to attack at point blank range.

So? If everybody kills two zombies and gets bit, you have a declining number of infected people that rapidly dies out. "but there's a LOT of them" only gets you so far.

Sure, the swarm scenario is scary to the dude facing it, but it doesn't pose an existential threat to society. It's a simple matter of infection rate. A zombie has to, on average, pass the infection on to MORE than one person before dying for the number of zombies to increase.

The walking dead option gives you a way to skew it in the zombie's favor some. I think it's not a HUGE deal, since precautions will normally be taken after it's learned, but it helps. Sprinters instead of shamblers somewhat helps. Adding some cosmic horror to it is glorious. Lovecraftian zombies are underrepresented, IMO. It also gives you a fun escalation so it isn't just "more zombies vs an increasingly genre aware(or unfathomably stupid) team"

[123456789blaaa]

There was an interesting idea I saw on Spacebattles:

Or Necromancers, I'd totally buy a show or movie where the zombie apocalypse was brought upon by a coven of necromancer.

Double points if it's billed as a traditional Zombie Apocalypse, but the Necromancer(s) show up at the first season finale.

Ooo! Ooo! You could make it Urban Fantasy, actually, but slow play it. The "main character" (or at least one of the leads, for a bigger ensemble cast) comes into her magic just as the apocalypse happens and struggles with keeping it a secret while helping the survivors. Cast it as psychic power at first, but, then with the revelation about Necromancers, it's all NOPE MAGIC.

The "zombie's caused by necromancers" idea was mentioned a couple of times before in this thread but I think the idea above is an interesting twist on it.