Does the above picture of zombies overturning a bus with sheer numbers scare you? If it doesn’t, you’re not alone. Over the years, the tolerance level of the general public toward zombie movies has been steadily increasing, and it’s now approaching 100%. While I can’t speculate as to what will happen once critical mass is hit, I can take a brief look at the hard numbers. World War Z, the new Brad Pitt movie about a zombie apocalypse, has recently inspired an actual scientific study on the matter. Clarence Witherspoon, resident zombie movie specialist at the American Film Institute, walked me through the simple fact that zombie movies are getting ridiculous, and people need more things on-screen to get the same reaction they had a few years ago.
“It’s no secret that people are getting tired of zombies. Since the introduction of the fast-moving types in 28 Days Later, moviegoers have needed more and more to get their adrenaline pumping. Gone are the days of the tar man and not asking bad questions.”
No longer sufficient for today’s zombie audience
As this helpful graph shows, World War Z will cause zombie movie tolerance to hit about 78%
If the graph doesn’t convince you, just have a look at the zombies in World War Z:
You can’t even really tell they’re zombies. They act more like scarab beetles from The Mummy
“People just don’t care anymore,” Witherspoon continued. “How are human beings even supposed to roll over each other like a wave and eat things? Audiences seem to be simultaneously getting smarter and dumber. What could possibly satiate their bloodlust after WWZ?”
It’s hard to say, but Man, I Love Funny has a proposition for the film industry. At this point, people still like zombies. People also like Brad Pitt with surfer hair (at least everyone who runs in my circles). The filmmakers already understood both of those things, but we think they didn’t go far enough with the combination. World War Z has already been plagued with production issues, so what are a few more re-shoots?
Brad Pitt surfing on a wave of zombies will only increase World War Z’s box office
Andrew (13)
Jess (13)
Dave Enkosky (9)
Nick (8)
Wayne (8)
Pat (6)
Heather (4)
Jessica (4)
John (4)
Colin Biggs (3)
Dave Enkosky: Killer Joe is probably at the top of my list of movies I mis…
Wayne: Good to know. I've put it on my instant queue, now I just ha…
Twitter: twitter.com/kloipy
November 13, 2012 2:15 am
One movie was brought to mind when I saw the trailer for this: I am Legend. and that to me is not a good thing at all
Twitter: callmesirphobos
November 13, 2012 1:58 pm
I actually like I Am Legend, but with a big caveat. I hate the horrible CG. They should have been real people with makeup. That, and I didn’t really buy the theatrical ending. It’s been a while since I watched it, but it felt forced. I really dig the stuff with Smith and the dog, though.
Twitter: twitter.com/kloipy
November 13, 2012 2:51 pm
Yeah, then opening stuff was good, until you see them. That cgi looked like total shit. Ruined that movie for me
Twitter: callmesirphobos
November 13, 2012 3:26 pm
The Last Man on Earth > I Am Legend >Omega Man
I’m open to debating how dated Omega Man is, but it’s really ’70s.
I was all right with I Am Legend until the last ten minutes or so, when it went all Jesus-y. Could have been much more interesting than it was.
Twitter: callmesirphobos
November 14, 2012 3:02 pm
I think they didn’t know what to do with the end. Oh, well.
I really like I AM LEGEND, flaws and all. I know I’m one of the few. Sure the CGI isn’t fantastic but it didn’t distract me too much. I ended up reading the short story it’s based on and it was fantastic and creepy and the way it ends is exactly how they should have ended it, but alas, that was never going to happen…
Twitter: callmesirphobos
November 16, 2012 5:52 pm
I haven’t read the story, but I probably should.
I do count myself as a fan of I Am Legend. They just should have done a few things differently.
Twitter: twitter.com/kloipy
November 13, 2012 11:42 am
Though Phobos, I forgot to mention that this was a great article and the Brad Pitt surfing was amazing
Twitter: callmesirphobos
November 13, 2012 1:59 pm
Many thanks, and yes, Brad Pitt surfing is always amazing. I should turn it into a gif and make it my screen saver.
Twitter: agracru
November 14, 2012 10:42 am
Funny stuff, Phobos. And sadly, quite true. Obviously I haven’t seen the movie yet, but Z absolutely pushes what I’m willing to take from zombie movies and how many zombie movies I can really stomach at this point. (Which is to say nothing of the fact that it looks terrible on top of looking really generic.)
Warm Bodies looks way more interesting than this, and I wish that other zombie films would be half as clever in their approach to the genre. Instead, we get standard zombie apocalypse film 1,000,000. But (from appearances at least) far stupider.
If Pitt does crowd surf a zombie horde in this, I’ll go see it, though.
Twitter: callmesirphobos
November 14, 2012 3:24 pm
Dude, Warm Bodies looks awesome! I hadn’t heard of it before, but I’ll be seeing that one for sure. If you haven’t seen it, you should watch Exit Humanity. It’s a zombie movie set in the Civil War era, and Bill Moseley is the main villain. I really liked it.
As for Z, I actually do want to read the book. I don’t know anything about the story, but I like Max Brooks, so…here’s hoping.
Twitter: agracru
November 15, 2012 6:41 am
I get excited for anything Jonathan Levine does (like The Wackness and 50/50), so seeing him tackle a genre as tired as zombie horror comedy is of interest to me. Plus, the trailer looks awesome.
I have not seen Exit Humanity but I know of it and will watch it when I get the chance to. Looks great, and your thumbs-up says a lot about its value.
And I’ll read Z eventually, too. Brooks is awesome, and I do like the Zombie Survival Guide just as a considered and well-researched/though-out work by a very clear fan of zombies.