MovieChat Forums > House of the Dead 2 (2006) Discussion > Too many zombie movies?

Too many zombie movies?

posted 19 years ago by GuitarGod2005
20 replies | jump to latest

I want to know, cuz I've started writing a script for one. It's actually more "Shaun of the Dead" (Although I started writing it before I saw the movie, which was a bummer cuz I had to edit a lot to make them different) than Resident Evil or HotD or anything.

But I want to know, are people going over board with zombie movies? It's actually a trilogy, but zombies are only in the first one. But I don't want to try to sell it or something when people are SICK of zombies. Most of em nowadays seem to be poorly made/reviewed/released.

I just would like to know others opinions...

"Giggety!"

[–] zstar24 19 years ago

According to a keyword search, there are 546 movies on IMDB that come up with "zombie" somewhere as a theme. Is this number too many? It depends, not all zombie films are the same. I'm currently researching zombie movies and horror films in general to analyze trends and styles that have occurred since fear was first portrayed on film. I also have a few friends who are film buffs, especially in the gore realm.

There are really 5 major types of zombie film: 1) the dead return from the grave to seek revenge (usually a single individual or a small localized group), 2) zombies are created and controlled by a voodoo priestess/mad scientist/nazi/government agency in a quest for world domination, 3) zombies are created by the above means but control is lost and they terrorize the world (in these it is usually up to scientists or military teams to take them down), 4) the dead are reanimated by a disease or radiation by sheer chance and terrorize the living (these are usually survival horror), and 5) the reanimation is a tactic being used by invading aliens to conquer earth.

There are of course a few other films that take bits and pieces of the above and incorporate them to various extents. The poorly reviewed zombie films have unintentionally cheesy dialouge and plotlines.

The question is: are you planning on writing something innovative? There are too many zombie movies featuring nothing but hordes of the shuffling undead preying upon screaming, incompetent people protected by one or two heroes, usually military or ex-military. And upping the gore count doesn't really help much with today's already desensitized audience.

The other thing to keep in mind is: are you planning on selling the script to a studio or actually producing/directing it yourself? The most recent zombie scripts produced have been standard video-game spinoffs or campy teen zombie fare. The most gore as of late has been invested in psychological thrillers rather than classic horror.

That's just my 2 cents.
~zstar24

[–] GuitarGod2005 19 years ago

Like I said, it's kind of "Shaun of the Dead" because it's just normal people, no government or superhumans (Okay, there are but not at first), but I decided it to be that way before that movie was released. Also it will be a comedy, with kinda Family Guy humor.

I don't want to say too much, I'm still not too sure how it's gonna play out myself, but the basic thing is kind of #5.

Aliens try to destroy Earth, and the hero, by not so much making everyone zombies, but kind of "Dawn of the Dead" (The fast, athletic, but not martial arts inclined), cannibalistic creatures.

The government has nothing to do with it (Weird, huh?) but they try to keep it on the dl, even though it's spreading across the planet.

They start out as normal high school kids, but most of them WILL survive in the end.

I don't really care about gore, but there probably will be some. I'm not gonna overdo it. There WILL be hordes though.

I'd like to work on it myself, but there would be a lot of cgi involved, so i might need SOME help. I can't just make it in my backyard or even "Evil Dead" it.

It's a semi-original idea, so i don't know if anyone would go for it.

"Giggety!"

[–] SomeRandomAsshole 19 years ago

There are a bit too many, but not enough of the right kind. I plan to make a homage of sorts to Night of the Living Dead by making a black and white zombie movie. The story elements need to be thought out still...

[–] puje12 19 years ago

I just remembered that I once wrote the first 14 pages of a screenplay about a "Zombie Adventure Park". Okay, it basicly Jurassic Park with zombies
I must have been half a year since wrote the first pages, and I totally forgot all about it, maybe I should pick up where I left off...
And just to inform you, I don't plan on releasing it, and selling it out of the question!
Writing screenplays is just not as nerdy as writing novels

[–] sirfunnyboy 11 years ago

I wrote a short E Book about zombies. I borrow elements from the zombie novel "The Rising" and "City of the Dead". Plus I borrow elements from Neon Genesis Evangelion and Resistance: Fall of Man. I call it "Plague- The Zombie War".

Here is a link- http://www.amazon.com/Plague--The-Zombie-War-ebook/dp/B00FZW24HK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383143880&sr=1-1&keywords=plague-+the+zombie+war

[–] xenodolf 19 years ago

there are not that many zombie movies. i have less than a hundred on a list i was making. a lot of movies throw the word "zombie" in the title, and have nothing to do with zombies. there's also a bunch of movies from foreign countries re-released with different names, and the imdb hasn't trimmed down on too many of them.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Jesty 19 years ago

No such thing as too many zombie movies.

"My philosophy is love and dance, not hate and not dance" - Humphrey the Hippo

[–] skotoparavich 19 years ago

Too few!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really!

[–] rko290 19 years ago

Who cares how many zombies movies are out there. If you have a good to great script and you beleive in your product, write and make your own damn movie. Try not to sell to a studio. They want for the most part, a finished picture. I am working on my first 16mm werewolf movie that I will direct,produce and shoot. The money is in the bank, film in the frig, location and crew standing by, all I need is a few more actors in place and shooting starts in a few months. I will show the movie myself. 4 Walling. Rent out places and use digital projection to the mass. Hey! Why pay someone else to do a man's job? Or should I say, an artist's job?

San Diego, Ca Indie Filmmaker

[–] skotoparavich 19 years ago

why are using 16mm? Why not HD 24P Camera?

[–] rko290 19 years ago

Good question. I don't like 24P for horror films. I have the Panasonic 100A DV 24P camera, and I use it to tape school plays and musicals for hire. But I ran tests on the movie that I am making and did not feel the connection. It did not have that look of make beleive. The look of horror. It was to clean. To me, it's about that look. I will leave the 24P for those who like that look, which is not the look of film. I perfer film stock over tape any day. I can afford to shoot 16mm film so that is not a problem for me. Some people don't have the funds for film productions, so they go with the underdog, video. Most movie watching people cannot tell the different between HD 24P and film. But for a guy who has been using film since 1979, well I can spot the best HD 24P a mile away. With the exception of a few that got pass me. Ha..

San Diego, Ca Indie Filmmaker

[–] xredgarnetx 19 years ago

I cannot believe there are sequels to DAY OF THE DEAD and HOUSE OF THE DEAD. Not to mention not one but two recent seqquels to the RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD series. I would say, yes, there are too many zombie films being made. Not much chance of theatrical release at this point. Everything is going straight to video or cable. The mediocre LAND OF THE DEAD (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 4) put the final nail in the coffin, in my opinion.

[–] Zombie-GrrL 17 years ago

There can never be too many zombie movies!

..when there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth..

[–] Warge 17 years ago

Quality, not quantity.

I have seen tons of zombie films and most are crap to tell the truth. Then why do something else that, using all the traditional zombie ingredients probably will bomb? I'd rather see a fresh take on the whole zombie thing, like using a different time frame or environment (think fantasy or Evil Dead 3) instead of Lone Hero with Cutting Edge Technology against hordes of zombies. That is not fun any longer. And of course, a band of survivors (preferably of different races and genders) each dying off through the movie, turning into zombies themselves... Oh, did I spoil anything for anyone now?

Sorry for the rant, but doing a zombie film well can be done. Its just not that common.

---
Top 5: Jaws, Shrek, Fucling Åmål. Add more if I find any top movies

[–] Zombie-GrrL 17 years ago

I'd rather quality over quantity too but, as you said, there are a lot of crap zombie movies. So the more they make, the better the odds are!

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..when there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth..

[–] gjieuh 16 years ago

there are too many zombie movies.
and too many martial arts movies.
and too many comedy romance movies.
and too many sports movies.
and too many epic movies.
and too many children's movies.
and too many movies.
so everybody just stop making movies.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Zombie-GrrL 12 years ago

LOL

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..when there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth..