Poll: Slow vs. Fast: The zombie apocalypse revisited... again

[Kalfira]

Since when did fast zombies become cool? I mean really, perhaps the quintessential zombie film of our time, Dawn of the Dead (or NotLD if you prefer), features slow zombies and everyone was cool with this. That was until 28 days later, or thats as early as I can recall fast zombies. Now everyone likes fast zombies, case in point L4D/2. Now even those crappy 2D flash games feature fast zombies, if you ask me thats just bologna.

Now I intellectually understand how fast zombies are scary. Large numbers, running fast, panic and so on. But basically all that is people with some gore makeup and who are really angry at you. Yes being chased by a mob is stressful but I wouldn't call it scary. Slow zombies on the other hand are just plain creepy. Yes perhaps individually they pose much less of a threat but thats not what zombies are about, the horde. While yes the horde running pushes immediate action upon you it's not scary. Shooting one of the walking recently departed watching him fall to the ground is exhilarating it makes it even more terrifying when he slowing shrugs the blow of and stands back up and starts his shambling walk towards you again.

Escapists, thoughts/opinions?

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

It really depends on the game. But in my opinion the scariest zombies are the once that do both. Shambling towards you to a point, then suddenly rushing you.

 

[gl1koz3]

I doubt human body can mutate so much so damn well into anything beyond an absolutely dysfunctional sack of bones. Slow.

 

[Antiparticle]

I totally agree with you. Slow zombies are creepier, cooler, and less like humans than running ones. Left 4 Dead would be kind of boring with slow zombies (unless they changed some other aspects of the gameplay too), but I wish L4D was an exception, rather than just one example of many 'fast zombies' games/movies.
Ah well, they went from slow to fast, maybe they'll go from fast to slow again at some point.

 

[Billska]

In a real life situation, slow zombies are for me.

 

[Last Bullet]

It really depends on the game. But in my opinion the scariest zombies are the once that do both. Shambling towards you to a point, then suddenly rushing you.

How badass would it be if you were playing a game like that, and you thought they were pure slow? A small mob wandering toward you, "Oh, no problem." You're trying to do something, and don't pay too much attention. Then ten feet away, "? OH, HOLY SH-"

Personally, I like the fast ones in games unless they're in massive numbers (Dead Rising), but I refuse to call them zombies. Because they're usually not, they're just infected. They haven't come back from the grave and refuse to die, they're just rabid or something. That's the only thing that agitates me.

 

[Zorg Machine]

Max Brook's zombie will always be the "real" zombie in my opinion.
I've only ever liked fast zombies in 28 days and 28 weeks later

 

[Skeleton Jelly]

I'm fine with either really. Both don't scare me at all though. And I don't see why people would find either scary/creepy/un-nerving.

Fast ones usually go down fast, and are really human like.

And slow ones are easily out maneuvered.

A zombie is a zombie. I mostly just love the atmosphere of zombie games anyways. The atmosphere is creepy.

Also, I will never understand people and Max Brooks. Seriously, stop taking his fictional books and saying that's how a zombie is. It wasn't meant to be taken seriously and either way, if in the odd chance that the zombie apocalypse does happen, it's most likely going to be the running "zombies". As a zombie is just a person who loses their own will and thought process. You don't need to come back from the dead to be a zombie.

 

[Contextualizer]

hat about...both?

 

[Kalfira]

Ah well, they went from slow to fast, maybe they'll go from fast to slow again at some point.

Well if calculus has taught me anything it's that trends rarely reverse direction. Lets just look at this mathematically.

Night of the living dead made in 1968 the zombies shambled about, lets say 1 mph or ~1.6 kph.
28 days later made in 2002 they ran at full pelt conservatively, 8 mph or ~13 kph.
Using this data we can assess that over a 34 year period zombie movement speed increased 800%. So assuming the trend remains by 2036 zombies will be able to run 64 mph or ~103 kph, faster than the average car. If we go even further in 2070 they will move at 512 mph or 824 kph, thats ~67% the speed of sound. That means that in 2070 zombies will be able to move so fast that by the time you pull the trigger the zombie has already eaten your brains and moved to sleep it off at the local Bed and Breakfast.

I digress on this path to posit that the hot new release of 2070 will be "Ace Combat XLI: Highway to the Infected zone"

 

[padz]

Now I intellectually understand how fast zombies are scary. Large numbers, running fast, panic and so on. But basically all that is people with some gore makeup and who are really angry at you. Yes being chased by a mob is stressful but I wouldn't call it scary.

How could you say being chased by a mob of dead/infected/crazed people who's only thought in their head is to sprint toward you without regard for their own safety or any other distraction with the sole intent to rip your body apart and possibly eat you while you are still alive? I really can't imagine many other things that would shit me up more!

Personally in films and games I prefere fast infected types as they're probably the most likely to actually happen in real life and therefore to me they present a real scare. Allthough as i'm sure most would agreed, slow zombies would be prefered in real life so you can escape easier!

 

[ethan22122]

a massive hord of of zombies slowly shuffling towards you and moaning in a deserted town would be creepier in my opinion.

 

[Nouw]

a massive hord of of zombies slowly shuffling towards you and moaning in a deserted town would be creepier in my opinion.

Agreed. But it will be awesome when you shout out

"OWNED!"

After activating that nuke from the bunker

A swarm of slow zombies for me thanks

 

[Zing]

Definitely fast. They are much scarier, I don't feel that much in danger from slow zombies unless I run out of ammo. I mean look at 28 days later, those zombies were scary as fuck because they were quick and hard to kill.

 

[Get_A_Grip_]

Fast moving zombies seem to be really effective when thrown in with a crowd of very slow moving ones.
It always scares the shit out of me.

 

[Simalacrum]

I would say vs. threads aren't allowed on The Escapist cause they cause flame wars, but... well, its only zombies so I guess its ok

As for me, I think fast is better... just because they're dead doesn't mean they should be reduced to shambling shuffles. Besides, having them run right up to you gives a sense of "oh FUUUUUU-"

Although, that said, if the zombie apocalypse happened in real life then I think walking slow zombies would be better XD

 

[Crysco]

See, but there is a difference between creepy and scary. Creepy is more like something crawling on your back and you know it but it doesn't scare you, too much. Scary is like a freakin' tiger leaping on your back ready to claw at your head. So the slower zombies would be more creepy for they are not relatively as scary. You will be like "oh my god!" and you can maneuver around them and run away with ease. Fast zombies are more like "HOLY SH*T!!!!!" and they would literally scare the crap out of you.

Besides, imagine the howls and growls the fast zombie made on Half-Life 2, but like deeper and from afar while it is running towards you. You can't tell me that wouldn't be the scariest.

 

[Flying-Emu]

Now I intellectually understand how fast zombies are scary. Large numbers, running fast, panic and so on. But basically all that is people with some gore makeup and who are really angry at you. Yes being chased by a mob is stressful but I wouldn't call it scary.

How could you say being chased by a mob of dead/infected/crazed people who's only thought in their head is to sprint toward you without regard for their own safety or any other distraction with the sole intent to rip your body apart and possibly eat you while you are still alive? I really can't imagine many other things that would shit me up more!

Personally in films and games I prefere fast infected types as they're probably the most likely to actually happen in real life and therefore to me they present a real scare. Allthough as i'm sure most would agreed, slow zombies would be prefered in real life so you can escape easier!

If you're trapped by fast zombies, it's over fairly quickly.

If you're trapped by slow zombies, you have no choice but to sit and watch them shamble slowly towards you, intent on nothing but your destruction. That's infinitely more horrifying: watching death approach.

 

[Baby Tea]

If you're trapped by fast zombies, it's over fairly quickly.

If you're trapped by slow zombies, you have no choice but to sit and watch them shamble slowly towards you, intent on nothing but your destruction. That's infinitely more horrifying: watching death approach.

That is the only part I 'get', and agree with, about slow zombies being 'scary'.
Otherwise, I'd say slow zombies just aren't hard to kill anymore.

If their anatomy is the same, but their motor skills aren't, slow zombies would be far less of a threat then fast zombies. Both personally, and in terms of a full-scale 'invasion' (Or outbreak, if you will). I mean, I remember seeing the numbers fo casualties in Afghanistan one year that had just over 100 NATO soldiers killed, and well over 1000 insurgent soldiers killed. And those are guys who are running and shooting back, and the majority of NATO deaths were IEDs!

Now imagine an armed force against slow moving, shambling zombies. It would be the closest thing to the analogy 'fish in a barrel' without including fish, or barrels. They would be destroyed. Fast zombies come out of nowhere, and they run quick. Slow zombies? Slow.

So in an urban setting where an outbreak occurs, fast zombies would have a massive edge over slow zombies in terms of continued and prolonged survival against a military force. Slow zombies would kill, no doubt, but make the outbreak a world-wide catastrophe? Naah. It's be a town-wide problem, but it would be squashed much faster.

So, in the end, I'd say fast zombies are scarier.
For me, at least.

 

[V TheSystem V]

Fast zombies give you less time to react, so they are more of a threat.

Slow zombies are usually in packs, so you have to be accurate with firearms or manage to find somewhere distant and wait it out.