Zombie films can teach us a lot about survival, no matter how the apocalypse happens.
Zombie films can teach us invaluable survival skills. I like Naked and Afraid just as much as the next person, but we know that for the participants on that show, help is really just a cameraman away, right? If someone is bitten by a snake or contracts Dengue Fever, they’re medically tapped and whisked away to the nearest hospital.
The true test of survival would be how you are able to fare during a zombie apocalypse, and there is no way to practice for that. The only text book we have to go by are the many zombie movies (hardcore and comedy alike) available to stream. What can these films teach us?
Zombie Tip #1: Family drama will cause trouble every time
On The Walking Dead, the love triangle between Rick, Lori and Shane caused a lot of trouble for our group. There was tension, there were arguments, there was a pregnancy…and then Shane went a little bit crazy, which ultimately led to his demise. All of this negative energy upset the group dynamic, and you have to imagine that it caused our group of pilgrims to lose focus on the ultimate goal, which was survival.
Blood Quantum introduced us to a zombie apocalypse in which indigenous people were immune to zombie bites. They could still be bitten, but a bite did not mean they would necessarily die, and if they did die, they did not come back as zombies. Our band of indigenous survivors is led by Traylor, who is more than willing to provide shelter to white refugees. Younger son Joseph has a pregnant white girlfriend, so he is all on board with Dad’s plan.
Older son Lysol is an angry rebel, and it’s his decision to allow zombies to feast on the non-indigenous folk that brings about the disaster that follows. If Lysol hadn’t spent so much time trying to get back at his Dad, maybe a better family dynamic would have led to a better outcome. And Traylor should have known better than to trust Lysol in his absence, knowing how volatile his son was.
Zombie Tip #2: Family is EVERYTHING
The flip side of family drama in the zombie apocalypse is family togetherness, like that found in the Korean zombie film Train to Busan. Seok-woo has been so tied up in his job that he has emotionally neglected his little girl Su-an. When the train they are taking to see Su-an’s mother is taken over by zombies, Seok-woo finds that he will do anything to save his daughter.
In Shaun of the Dead, one of Shaun’s priorities was saving his Mom. Even though he disliked his stepfather Philip, he knew his mother loved her husband, so he sucked it up and included Philip in his rescue plans. And he also didn’t relish the thought of killing him when Philip was bitten by a zombie.
Zombie Tip #3: You Gotta Work together
Zombieland’s Columbus and Tallahassee have every reason in the world to turn their backs on Witchita and Little Rock, who have tricked them multiple times. Yet they risk their lives to save the girls when they are trapped on an amusement park ride, surrounded by the undead. The sisters would have died without the help of their unlikely knights in shining armor.
One Cut of the Dead tells the story of the cast and crew of a low-budget zombie flick, whose filming schedule is interrupted by, you guessed it: zombies. Zombies or not, the film is only saved when said cast and crew work together to make it all happen.
Zombie Tip #4: Expect the Unexpected
We have to go back to One Cut of the Dead for this one. Whether or not you think of this as a true zombie film, the characters definitely have to think on their feet to ward off disaster.
In the remake of Dawn of the Dead, our survivors had no real reason to suspect that Andre might be keeping a huge secret. They didn’t know that his pregnant wife Luda had been wounded by a zombie, and that he was keeping her hidden (and tied up) so she could give birth. All hell broke loose when Norma stumbled upon Andre’s little secret.
Zombi 2 features an absolutely insane shark versus zombie scene that has to be seen to be believed! The character who happens to witness this smackdown is understandably shocked.
Zombie Tip #5: Things are Definitely Going to Get Messy!
Surviving a zombie invasion is going to result in getting dirty, and even bloody. People are going to die in unexpected and gruesome ways, there is just no way to avoid it.
For example, in Lucio Fulci’s Zombi 2 (also knows as Zombie), Paola tries valiantly to keep a zombie from getting through the door. In one of the hardest-to-watch scenes in any horror movie, her eye is punctured by a large wood splinter, and we get to see it up close and personal.
In Shaun of the Dead, twitchy David is pretty much a pain in the a** throughout much of the film, and his jealousy over Shaun and Liz has caused him to make some bad choices. But, despite the fact that much of the movie is comedic, there is nothing funny about his death scene, when a hoard of the undead rip off his limbs and pull out his entrails.
Hopefully, these helpful hints we have learned from watching countless zombie movies will help all of us survive in the event of a real zombie apocalypse. That’s one of the many perks of being a lover of horror, right? If you only watch historical dramas or romantic comedies, you will never have the skills it takes to outsmart and outrun creatures that want to eat you.
One Cut of the Dead, Blood Quantum and Zombi 2 (AKA Zombie) can be seen on horror streaming service Shudder.
Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland can be seen on Amazon Prime and a variety of streaming platforms.
The Walking Dead series can be seen on Netflix.
Are you a fan of zombie films? Do you think you have learned enough from watching them that you could survive in the event of a zombie apocalypse? Let us know in the comments section.