Bad decisions that survivors make in zombies / apocalyptic movies.

[Deleted member 220895]

People who decide they can actually fight back and think they can win. They're just going to lose eventually.

 

[Cantona7]

What about if you found a way to hold the zombie down though and stop it biting ? I mean a fresher one obviously...

I guess there’s only so much biting they can do with their face in a pillow...

 

[IloveTHIS]

If you have a gun and a vehicle you can get to a store. If you manage to make it to something like a bass pro shop, or even a smaller local store, you can secure it up and bunker down for years.

This is assuming it hasn't already been locked up by other people. But I imagine the vast majority of people would not think to do this, they would try to get home and board up their own living. Eventually they would run out of food and die.

Get to a store of some kind, either partner up or shoot anyone already there, secure doors and windows, easy peasy. Can ride out however long it takes.

If you somehow made it to a Bas Pro, you'd literally be able to live there for the rest of your life because of the snacks, and guns+amo. Only problem would be securing some likely very large windows. You'd probably have to section off a smaller part of the overall store, after moving all the guns and food into the most secure place.

I've thought about this a lot.

Bass Pro:
Huge amount of preserved snacks, such as beef jerky and candy. Calories+protein. You could survive a LONG ass time on beef jerky and candy alone. Jerky for sustenance/protein, candy for carbs/energy. And they will last essentially forever before spoiling. They have other shit too like protein bars, hot sauce, bbq sauce, and hell probably even vitamins somewhere.

Restaurant: Every BPS I've ever been in has had at least on restaurant. Much more and much healthy food and tools to cook it, plus numerous other benefits.

Guns: A lifetime supply of every gun for every situation, every optic for every situation, and enough ammo to singlehandedly put a massive dent in the local zombie population. You could find a way to get up high and just snipe them off all day for any that get too close. Plus potentially trading the guns and ammo for other essentials with other survivors.

Animals: Every BPS has ponds with bass, turtles, and other fish. Not sure if you can breed them, but at the absolute worst eat them. Or when you get real lonely view them as pets

Clothes and shoes: More than enough of that shit so youll never be with out

ATV/4 Wheelers: if shit really hits the fan, at least you have an escape vehicle

 

[Halifax]

My complaint is zombies in general. They would decompose very very quickly due to being exposed to the elements and all that shit. They wouldn’t be as big of a problem as so many shows and movies make it. They would fall apart too quickly. Unless we’re talkijg about running zombies like 28 days later then you have a problem. But normal zombies? Nah.

Depending on the book or movie, The zombie virus typically kills everything, including decomposition bacteria, allowing the corpses to survive longer periods of time.

 

[Tone C]

If you have a gun and a vehicle you can get to a store. If you manage to make it to something like a bass pro shop, or even a smaller local store, you can secure it up and bunker down for years.

This is assuming it hasn't already been locked up by other people. But I imagine the vast majority of people would not think to do this, they would try to get home and board up their own living. Eventually they would run out of food and die.

Get to a store of some kind, either partner up or shoot anyone already there, secure doors and windows, easy peasy. Can ride out however long it takes.

If you somehow made it to a Bas Pro, you'd literally be able to live there for the rest of your life because of the snacks, and guns+amo. Only problem would be securing some likely very large windows. You'd probably have to section off a smaller part of the overall store, after moving all the guns and food into the most secure place.

I've thought about this a lot.

Bass Pro:
Huge amount of preserved snacks, such as beef jerky and candy. Calories+protein. You could survive a LONG ass time on beef jerky and candy alone. Jerky for sustenance/protein, candy for carbs/energy. And they will last essentially forever before spoiling. They have other shit too like protein bars, hot sauce, bbq sauce, and hell probably even vitamins somewhere.

Restaurant: Every BPS I've ever been in has had at least on restaurant. Much more and much healthy food and tools to cook it, plus numerous other benefits.

Guns: A lifetime supply of every gun for every situation, every optic for every situation, and enough ammo to singlehandedly put a massive dent in the local zombie population. You could find a way to get up high and just snipe them off all day for any that get too close. Plus potentially trading the guns and ammo for other essentials with other survivors.

Animals: Every BPS has ponds with bass, turtles, and other fish. Not sure if you can breed them, but at the absolute worst eat them. Or when you get real lonely view them as pets

Clothes and shoes: More than enough of that shit so youll never be with out

ATV/4 Wheelers: if shit really hits the fan, at least you have an escape vehicle

If you're holed up in the shop you'll need fluids though...?

 

[IloveTHIS]

If you're holed up in the shop you'll need fluids though...?

running water in the kitchen, running water in every bathroom. hundreds of gallons in the fishpond. not to mention the likely hundreds of soft drinks/energy drinks in the store/restaurant

 

[Tone C]

running water in the kitchen, running water in every bathroom. hundreds of gallons in the fishpond. not to mention the likely hundreds of soft drinks/energy drinks in the store/restaurant

Water wouldn't run after a while though. I guess you could store it in anticipation of it stopping. If there's purification tablets in the shop or the ability to boil it you could use the fishpond water. Otherwise you have to take the risk with food poisoning. Fair point about the sodas . We don't have bass pro over here so not au fait with all they carry. But by the sound of it it's pretty cool..

 

[jimbob27]

Depending on the book or movie, The zombie virus typically kills everything, including decomposition bacteria, allowing the corpses to survive longer periods of time.

It's covered in the original Day of the Dead. They don't mention the specifics, but the doctor studying them said they showed slowed decomposition and would last about 10-15 years before rotting away. That was one of the original romero trilogy which formed the default lore for zombie films.

One thing zombie movies never seem to account for is how zombies would react to colder climates. If they're dead, they're not producing body heat so they'd be frozen like statues in colder climates. Trek to Northern Canada and there would barely be a problem at all for most of the year.

 

[Halifax]

It's covered in the original Day of the Dead. They don't mention the specifics, but the doctor studying them said they showed slowed decomposition and would last about 10-15 years before rotting away. That was one of the original romero trilogy which formed the default lore for zombie films.

One thing zombie movies never seem to account for is how zombies would react to colder climates. If they're dead, they're not producing body heat so they'd be frozen like statues in colder climates. Trek to Northern Canada and there would barely be a problem at all for most of the year.

World war Z the book goes into depth on this issue.

Something like 20 million Americans died in Northern Canada after fleeing the states lol. Yes Zombies freeze solid at certain temperatures, but those lands cannot support 20 million people. Naturally people started turning on each other and all sorts of other problems.

World War Z Page 130

For a little while it was. We had this great campsite right on the shore of a lake, not too many people around, but just enough to make us feel “safe,” you know, if any of the dead showed up. Everyone was real friendly, this big, collective vibe of relief. It was kind of like a party at first. There were these big cookouts every night, people all throwing in what they’d hunted or fished, mostly fished. Some guys would throw dynamite in the lake and there’d be this huge bang and all these fish would come floating to the surface. I’ll never forget those sounds, the explosions or the chainsaws as people cut down trees, or the music of car radios and instruments families had brought. We all sang around the campfires at night, these giant bonfires of logs stacked up on one another.
That was when we still had trees, before the second and third waves starting showing up, when people were down to burning leaves and stumps, then finally whatever they could get their hands on. The smell of plastic and rubber got really bad, in your mouth, in your hair. By that time the fish were all gone, and anything left for people to hunt. No one seemed to worry. Everyone was counting on winter freezing the dead.
But once the dead were frozen, how were you going to survive the winter?
Good question. I don’t think most people thought that far ahead. Maybe they figured that the “authorities” would come rescue us or that they could just pack up and head home. I’m sure a lot of people didn’t think about anything except the day in front of them, just grateful that they were finally safe and confident that things would work themselves out. “We’ll all be home before you know it,” people would say. “It’ll all be over by Christmas.”
[She draws my attention to another object in the ice, a SpongeBob SquarePants sleeping bag. It is small, and stained brown.]
What do you think this is rated to, a heated bedroom at a sleepover party? Okay, maybe they couldn’t get a proper bag—camping stores were always the first bought out or knocked off—but you can’t believe how ignorant some of these people were. A lot of them were from Sunbelt states, some as far away as southern Mexico. You’d see people getting into their sleeping bags with their boots on, not realizing that it was cutting off their circulation. You’d see them drinking to get warm, not realizing it was actually lowering their temperature by releasing more body heat. You’d see them wearing these big heavy coats with nothing but a T-shirt underneath. They’d do something physical, overheat, take off the coat. Their bodies’d be coated in sweat, a lot of cotton cloth holding in the moisture. The breeze’d come up…a lot of people got sick that first September. Cold and flu. They gave it to the rest of us.
In the beginning everyone was friendly. We cooperated. We traded or even bought what we needed from other families. Money was still worth something. Everyone thought the banks would be reopening soon. Whenever Mom and Dad would go looking for food, they’d always leave me with a neighbor. I had this little survival radio, the kind you cranked for power, so we could listen to the news every night. It was all stories of the pullout, army units leaving people stranded. We’d listen with our road map of the United States, pointing to the cities and towns where the reports were coming from. I’d sit on Dad’s lap. “See,” he’d say, “they didn’t get out in time. They weren’t smart like us.” He’d try to force a smile. For a little while, I thought he was right.
But after the first month, when the food started running out, and the days got colder and darker, people started getting mean. There were no more communal fires, no more cookouts or singing. The camp became a mess, nobody picking up their trash anymore. A couple times I stepped in human shit. Nobody was even bothering to bury it.
I wasn’t left alone with neighbors anymore, my parents didn’t trust anyone. Things got dangerous, you’d see a lot of fights. I saw two women wrestling over a fur coat, tore it right down the middle. I saw one guy catching another guy trying to steal some stuff out of his car and beat his head in with a tire iron. A lot of it took place at night, scuffling and shouts. Every now and then you’d hear a gunshot, and somebody crying. One time we heard someone moving outside the makeshift tent we’d draped over the minivan. Mom told me to put my head down and cover my ears. Dad went outside. Through my hands I heard shouts. Dad’s gun went off. Someone screamed. Dad came back in, his face was white. I never asked him what happened.
The only time anyone ever came together was when one of the dead showed up. These were the ones who’d followed the third wave, coming alone or in small packs. It happened every couple of days. Someone would sound an alarm and everyone would rally to take them out. And then, as soon as it was over, we’d all turn on each other again.
When it got cold enough to freeze the lake, when the last of the dead stopped showing up, a lot of people thought it was safe enough to try to walk home.
Walk? Not drive?
No more gas. They’d used it all up for cooking fuel or just to keep their car heaters running. Every day there’d be these groups of half-starved, ragged wretches, all loaded down with all this useless stuff they’d brought with them, all with this look of desperate hope on their faces.
“Where do they think they’re going?” Dad would say. “Don’t they know that it hasn’t gotten cold enough farther south? Don’t they know what’s still waiting for them back there?” He was convinced that if we just held out long enough, sooner or later things would get better. That was in October, when I still looked like a human being.

 

[k1ngjester]

Here’s a big mistake in zombie movies.

The zombies are always deteriorating. They’re dead, so logically they are decomposing, right? Realistically, the problem would be gone rather quickly.

If they’re in such a state of decomposition, they would try to bite you only to have their teeth fall out. Eventually they’ll just become a pile of bones.

It really wouldn’t take long either especially because of the exposure their dead flesh is going through, you know?

Just wait a few months and you should be fucking fine. Just being realistic about it.


Look at the first episode of TWD. That one zombie crawling around at Rick is in a serious state of decomposition and this is the first episode.

But years down the line the other zombies are somehow still walking around and still have some skin, muscle, etc.

Doesn’t make sense at all.

Zombies would truly not be an issue for us. Just wait a little and they’re gonna be bones. They’re ‘undead’ but that still means they’re dead.

Their bodies would fall apart just like a normal human because technically that’s what they are, right?

Most zombie stuff is fuckin dumb anyway. Werewolves are scarier. Imagine if we had those running around.

EDIT: and how then fuck does the military, all law enforcement, etc, die from the zombies? But random untrained idiots survive for years and kill like hundreds of them. One of the dumbest things to ever happen in zombie movies is this shit. It would be easy work for us to take out the zombies.

Which is why 28 days later is GOAT zombie movie. Although they're not really zombies, but rabid humans that aren't really decomposing.

Their only instinct is to kill and if their bodily fluids enter your body in any way, it turns you.

 

[k1ngjester]

How do the zombies infect most of the world if they are so slow? If 5 people can survive for months against millions of zombies surely 8 billion people can survive the initial outbreak of a few walkers.

And I actually really like the zombie genre.

Survival instinct isn't a priority. If someone is hurt, usually people try to help. And that can be their undoing. A sudden bite from a loved one, a child, and the infection spreads. People are also unwilling to pull that trigger on someone dear to their heart.

 

[Organic Damage]

Well the main theme of zombie movies besides allegories to consumerism and fear of "the other" destroying civilization is that humans are the real bad guys.

If survivors made logical, forward thinking decisions and put aside their petty differences for the good of humanity, it wouldn't be a genre.

 

[MikeMcMann]

Of course if it was meant to be realistic it would suck. Superman is different though. Not really comparable to zombies, lol. That’s a whole different universe. He’s an alien, too. He’s written to be able to do that shit
Whereas zombies there’s no explanation why they don’t fall apart in a few weeks or so like any normal decomposing human. Zombies are just humans. After awhile they’d try to bite you but their teeth would just fall out and they’d gum you to death.

ya and while it may be weird to want some realism in a zombiie movie that is one of my big pet peeves too.

As you say, Superman is an alien so we have a reason for his powers and to suspend belief. Zombie (most) are humans. And while I can believe a human can basically be possessed and into a zombie state and precedent does exist for that on this planet, in the end the zombies still inhabit a frail human body. So whether they have a rabies type rage infection or just a mindless automaton one that is ok but their bodies should still be frail. But the danger they pose due to an unrelenting and lack of fear attack would always be significant. Think of it like a pitbull where even as you injure it they keep coming but you can definitely slow them by breaking bones.

Sure maybe only the head shot kills them but breaking up their body should slow or disable them.

The zombies in World War Z for instance made no sense. They jump off the wall that is hundreds of meters high, land on concrete or objects (cars, etc) and get up and run. No. They should have had broken up nonfunctional bodies and basically stuck in spot hoping to ankle bite someone who gets too close.

Again this does not diminish the threat if written well. Dogged, unrelenting pursuit by a motivated, no pain feeling horde that won't quit until you kill it, but it makes them more believable.

 

[MikeMcMann]

Which is why 28 days later is GOAT zombie movie. Although they're not really zombies, but rabid humans that aren't really decomposing.

Their only instinct is to kill and if their bodily fluids enter your body in any way, it turns you.

And you can bet militaries have tried to weaponize the rage viruses like Rabies. Drop that shit in an enemy territory and just let them tear each other apart.

 

[FyrFytr998]

All the Zombie genre taught me is that nobody is to be trusted.

 

[koolinkunming]

Train to Busan shoulda been over as soon as they discovered the zombies don’t attack when they can’t see you.

 

[cincymma79]

Board up a Home Depot
Materials
Lots of space
Nobody is going there
Some shitty food
Seed sand plants to grow food

 

[Amerikuracana]

More traditional zombies? Get into an attic with a few gallons of water and some food. They don't do ladders, and they aren't reasoning that the small square in the ceiling needs to be got too.

 

[Amerikuracana]

I wish this were good. But it's not.

 

[ufcfan4]

Here’s a big mistake in zombie movies.

The zombies are always deteriorating. They’re dead, so logically they are decomposing, right? Realistically, the problem would be gone rather quickly.

If they’re in such a state of decomposition, they would try to bite you only to have their teeth fall out. Eventually they’ll just become a pile of bones.

It really wouldn’t take long either especially because of the exposure their dead flesh is going through, you know?

Just wait a few months and you should be fucking fine. Just being realistic about it.


Look at the first episode of TWD. That one zombie crawling around at Rick is in a serious state of decomposition and this is the first episode.

But years down the line the other zombies are somehow still walking around and still have some skin, muscle, etc.

Doesn’t make sense at all.

Zombies would truly not be an issue for us. Just wait a little and they’re gonna be bones. They’re ‘undead’ but that still means they’re dead.

Their bodies would fall apart just like a normal human because technically that’s what they are, right?

Most zombie stuff is fuckin dumb anyway. Werewolves are scarier. Imagine if we had those running around.

EDIT: and how then fuck does the military, all law enforcement, etc, die from the zombies? But random untrained idiots survive for years and kill like hundreds of them. One of the dumbest things to ever happen in zombie movies is this shit. It would be easy work for us to take out the zombies.

All your points here had me thinking about one of the better zombie movies, 28 Days Later.

After all, it actually deviates from the "random rag tag survivors are still alive but soldiers are gone" trope that you mentioned, as Raymond Calitri and his fellow military men are not only among the few survivors in England, but have a very well organized and stable means of keeping themselves safe from the infected. Cillian and Naomie Harris and Brendan Gleason and his daughter are just trying to do their best to stay ahead of the infected and survive, but the soldiers have a whole tricked out compound and guard duty shifts and alarms, arms, etc. as one might expect.

Also, Eccleston's whole plan is to wait out the infected like you indicated. They've even got one chained up in an outhouse area of the compound deliberately to see how long before he starves to (full) death.

Spoiler

of course, these guys turns out to be POS heels.