Zombie & Vampire Flicks

[Werewolf]

What does is say about Americans that we seem to love Vampire and Zombie movies so much. At least 1 new one and sometimes more are released every year and they usually do pretty well - even really dumb ones like Shaun of the Dead (which is the one and only zombie movie that in 50 years of watchin' 'em that I actually dislike).

I admit I really enjoy a good zombie or vampire movie with a slight preference for zombie flicks over vampire flicks. I have no idea why.

One would think that watching undead human human monsters in various states of decay who are quite often the friends of major characters in the flick wreak havoc, death and destruction often times devouring humans in the process would not be quite as popular as it is.

So what's up with undead flicks and why people like 'em so much?

[onions!]

Because they're funny.
Ultimently you can't even trust yor best friend not to eat your brains.

[roo_ster]

Blasphemer! Shaun of the Dead was probably the second or third best zombie flick every filmed.

IMO, of course.

[Devonai]

The psychology behind such films is easy to understand.  Humans have always struggled between their baser instincts and the potential to improve themselves.  Zombies represent the ultimate result of abandoning the latter.  Vampires represent unchecked lust and the desire for immortality, but with a price.  Both creatures threaten those who would live peacefully, and allow for heroic figures to rise to oppose them.

Zombies also offer the opportunity to wreak wholesale violence without any social repercussions.  This has broad appeal in our culture.

Both creatures stem from mythological archetypes so I imagine they will be with us for a long time to come.

[MechAg94]

Shaun of the Dead was more of a parody/comedy to me.

Zombie movies are fine with me.  I don't care for a lot of the vampire movies as CGI makes them so supernatural you ask yourself why they don't just take over.  Some show so many deaths by vampire you have to assume that if this were true, humans commit no crime whatsoever and all murders and deaths were the result of vampires.  The recent ones with Kate Beckinsale were pretty good, but mostly just vampires vs werewolf.

[S. Williamson]

Limitless violence.  Sometimes gunplay.

What's not to like? 

[LadySmith]

I used to like vampires movies until the current genre made them so frou-frou that they don't even drink blood very much anymore. All they want to do is walk around in goth/S&M combo outfits and exude angst because they're forced to live forever. Puh-leese!

I like zombies movies because they keep us on our gun-toting toes. Zombies are the ultimate bad guy on the street: they cannot be reasoned with, they don't give a damn how you feel and they want to kill you. However, you can successfully fight against them. They're not some indestructible robot, and they don't get back up once you blow their heads off. With more skill than luck, zombies are survivable. I like that. Plus I just like seeing bad & stupid people get eaten.