MattHawkins Online - Film Making Forum

The Format and Rules for:
The Zombie Genre
1.
ZOMBIES ARE SLOW MOVING –A. All Zombies are slow moving. This is because of the decay of their bodies and the stiffness it causes. Their bodies have become rigid, so in turn they can only move slowly. The ONLY exception to this rule, is a fresh zombie. Someone who has died and turned within the last few minutes. Since their body is still relatively fresh, no time to atrophy, they might have the ability to be slightly faster.
2.
ZOMBIES ARE UN-INTELLIGABLE –
A. ALL zombies are completely mindless. Therefore (and this is the mistake most film makers have been making) NO ZOMBIES CAN TALK. There is NO exception to this rule.
B. Similarly, there is no communication between the undead what so ever. No growls. No Hand signals. NO COMMUNICATION. (Even Romero made this mistake in “Land of the Deadâ€

Feel free to submit your own changes, and i will consider them and possibly put them into the rules. I wanna get the format to something we all can agree on.

what about feeding? it seems to easy to say that a zombi will return to its most basic primordial thought processes due to the lack of higher brain function but where does the feeding come into? surely there is some ruling on propagation for example? survival of the species etc. what about vegatarian zombies? (and I dont mean that as a p*** take !!) I was happy with my own thoughts on zombies until you openeed this can of worms! lol.

If they atrophy over time would they not suffer from muscle wastage and therefore become weaker over time and less 'combat effective' as bits drop off through necrosis?

when a Zomie is confronted with a human, (s)he should NOT attempt to do anything more complex than shamble towards them in a straight line and try to eat them.

I believe that zombies should not attack with anything more than the naked fist

Also, zombies should not only not communicate with each other, they should not even aknowledge each others existence, for instance, if two zombies are trying to eat the same corpse, instead of pushing the other zombie away from it, it should try to pull the meat towards it.

1 last thing: I think that animals that are killed by zombies should stay permanently dead, or at the very least, non-primates stay dead.

Take these into consideration

Dispute:

1. ZOMBIES ARE UN-INTELLIGABLE (Unintelligent?)

...

D. Zombies cannot have emotion... looking fierce...

Not disputing this one directly, I just don't think a zombie would have a completly blank expression when trying to bite someone, the teeth would be batred in preparation for biting, and the jaws would open and close. While I agree that a zombie cannot display an emotion I would consider this look to be "fierce" in that it's trying to eat a victim. Coupled with decay and blood this would prove to be rather gruesome looking, and scary, though not a genuine emotion.

4. ONLY CERTAIN TYPES OF ZOMBIE ANIMALS CAN ATTACK

In my opinion no such thing would exist, an animal bitten by a zombie would simply die from it's wounds and (ties into next section) the virus.

5. HOW ZOMBIES ARE CREATED

I'm all for the explination offered in the "Zombie Survival Guide", in that zombies are created by a virus, namely Solanum. The virus is spread only via blood, and human consumption of infected flesh or water only results in death, not reanimation. The virus taints the body, slowing though not stopping decay, and the victims are the slow, mindless killing machines you describe. I like the idea of a fresh zombie having slightly higher levels of animation, though no exhibited sighns of intelligence.

you cant make up rules for this kind of thing its up to whoever is making the movie plus watching somone elses take on the zombie horror genre is whats so good about them

It's all one unified project, If you'd read the other posts in the topic you would have gotten that. These aren't the rules for the genre, they are the rules for one movie.

oh rite sorry for the inconvenience

how many people are taking part in this project ?

Bodysnatcher Productions are (STILL) in. (AGAIN)

I'm in, but Dosent everyone here understand how zombies are? I mean there are 2 sets of rules, we are being asked if were 'in' again, why dont we just get on and make it. I'm pumped and ready to film, but I'm not gonna waste my time if people are just gonna talk the talk, this thing has been going on for ages, lets get on and do it. Its a simple project that could turn out with fantastic results, but no one is actually doing anything. I wanna make the movie, not sit about and talk about it.

I 2nd that.

And britishbulldog. Yeah, everyone can do what the want with their own movie. I was basically attempting outline the classic "Romero" style. But interpret it as you want, your movies are your own.