Zombies, and respecting the traditions

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

So I had to come up with a comical short story for my creative writing class, and I decided to write about two zombies trying to break away from the control of the voodoo bokor that was controlling them. The trouble is, even though I never intended for it to be scary, I know about zombie purists and their disdain for zombies that plan, have agility, or maintain their personality.

However, I liked the idea too much and you can't have your protagonists totally brainless, so I decided to compromise by making it where the reason that they wanted to be free from her so badly was because despite the fact that they were friends with the bokor when they were alive, ever since she resurrected them she had the ability to place them in a trance where they lost their free will and became mindless and shambling puppets that would do whatever she asked of them- their behavior under the spell was almost Romero-esque.

So my question is: Did I effectively show respect to the genre?

[acressl]

Smurf the genre. Zombies deserve to have some fun poked at them I think. It's your story.

[jobber2thestars]

Don't go overboard with trying to make the zombie purists happy. Lokk at the most recent Romero zombie film, Land of the Dead. The zombies went from mindless eating mahinces, to just wanting a place to live. Is that keeping in touch with the original concept of the zombie? No. Just go with your idea and you'll be fine.

['Foretold' Joker]

Zombie - Definition - A corpse revived by witchcraft.

Credit - The Concise Oxford Dictionary

Hey looks like you have more accurate Zombies than Romero! Rock on!

[Sinestro]

As a huge zombie fan and purist, I will say this.


There is nothing wrong with turning the genre on it's ear, and having a bit of fun with it. Plus your dealing with vodoo, (or vodoun) zombies and not romero zombies which are two different things really. (At least in how they revive and their dietary habits...).

Have fun with it, do your own thing, and by all means share the results with us.

[Edison taps to the ARMBAR!]

I like to consider myself of WC's leading zombie experts, and I would say you are ok. A Romero Zombie is much different than what you are writing about. You are writing about a Voodoo zombie, and Voodoo zombies are humans under the control of another person. So go ahead and do what you please, and good luck. You should post it up when you are done.

On a unrelated note, any one who is a zombie purist will realize that Romero is the zombie godfather (The DeadFather) and he can rewrite the rules as he sees fit since he pretty much helped create the current face of what we know about zombies. The zombies in his films tend to be driven by deep rooted, primal instincts and the organization of them in Land of the Dead was, in my opinion, the evolution that we ourselves have gone through, from loosely organized groups working on instincts to a collective, cognitive entitiy.

[Jaffa is behind you.]

Are Planet Terror zombies(Biologically infected humans) counted as zombies as well? They aren't living dead, but they are stumbling humans acting on instinct and creating more of there own by attacking people.

[Sinestro]

I consider them to be part of the 28 days later breed. Though not strictly zombies, they are an obvious homage to them.




Oh and to the original poster, may I humbly recommend in your story you use the term Vodoun instead of Voodoo. Voodoo refers more to the Hollywood conception of the religion, while Vodoun is the actual name.

Unless my research has been incorrect.

[Joe Neglia]

I find it ironic that the people who hold to the genre created by Romero and Fulci, etc. are considered "zombie purists"....what they created was the furthest thing away from a true zombie as you could really get.

[erisi236]

admin said:

I find it ironic that the people who hold to the genre created by Romero and Fulci, etc. are considered "zombie purists"....what they created was the furthest thing away from a true zombie as you could really get.

Indeed, Romero/Fulci-ish Zombies are just an offshoot. The film "White Zombie" is what a real Zombie film is.

Almost anything involving dead people (or even living crazy people) walking/running around is considered a "Zombie movie". Really if "Shock Waves" is a Zombie flick, and "Return of the Living Dead" is a Zombie flick (both of which containing totally different styles of dead people) then the original posters idea is certainly a Zombie flick as well.

[AFN: Judge Shred]

Odd fact, did you know that Ewoks were zombies?

[erisi236]

afacelessname said:

Odd fact, did you know that Ewoks were zombies?

that would explain their dead glass eyes.

[AFN: Judge Shred]

And also why they ate Storm Trooper brains. Cracked the helmets like coconuts.