Romero zombies

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Romero zombies are the undead creatures featured in four of the films by George A. Romero: Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead. These zombies conform to a set of rules regarding their actions, behavior, motivations and cause of re-animation. The specific depiction of zombies in Romero's films has become so widely known that perceptions and depictions of them in other media tend to conform to it.

1 Process of infection and reanimation
2 Behavior
3 Locomotion
4 Other notes
5 Zombies based on Romero's works
6 External links

[edit] Process of infection and reanimation

In Romero's Dead series, any human being who dies after the onset of the zombie apocalypse can and will reanimate shortly after death, excluding those who died by massive brain trauma (such as a gunshot wound to the head) or had their brain incapacitated post-mortem. Being bitten by a zombie is not a prerequisite for returning to life, as any deceased human, regardless of exposure to a zombie, will return. No Romero film has revealed the cause of reanimation, but several have featured characters speculating on possible causes, including radiation from a NASA probe, divine intervention and viral infection. The length of time between death and reanimation seems to vary, but generally is only a few minutes.

If a character is bitten by a zombie they will become violently ill and die within three days. The interim till death seems to be dependent on the location and degree of the bite (meaning that bites on or near major arteries or veins will spread the infection much faster than small bites or scratches). Also, massive blood loss caused by one of these bites will speed the death of the victim.

In Day of the Dead a limb is amputated and cauterised in an attempt to stop the infection. The efficacy of this treatment is not revealed, as the character dies of other causes before the infection would have taken effect.

[edit] Behavior

Throughout the Romero films, all zombies are hazardous to human life. Their only instinct is to feed relentlessly on living organisms - they do not feed to satisfy hunger and even specimens who have been completely disemboweled will still desire to feed as long as brain function is present.

While most of the personality of the original victim is gone there have been instances of the zombies seemingly recalling memories of their past lives and performing familiar tasks.

Although seeming incapable of reason, zombies have been shown to be able to learn through a process of trial and error. Both Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead show zombies using firearms in a limited capacity, while blunt objects as weapons have been used by zombies since Night. The full extent of the learning abilities is unknown but the process of discovery for them is not unlike a toddler.

The films include a few rare examples of what can only be described as emotion in zombies. However this emotion has only come after much training, with ample "food" being provided to keep the zombie occupied. A reanimated corpse will attack any and all living humans in its immediate vicinity regardless of past ties to said individuals.

Romero has stated that the rules to zombie behavior and weaknesses that have become popular with his films and used elsewhere change from movie to movie. In Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead the zombies are afraid of fire, in the later films they are not. By the fourth film the zombies have memories and communicative skills.

[edit] Locomotion

The movement of all zombies has been shown to be a shambling walk at best. Individuals more than an arms length away from a zombie will easily be able to out-walk one and avoid their advances. However they have been shown to lunge once in close proximity of a target and will ferociously claw at and bite anything in their grasp. Also their slow gaits cause them to move extremely silently allowing them to sneak up on prey undetected. Zombies have been observed using stairs and even ladders, but they usually have trouble with such obstacles due to their lack of fine motor control.

[edit] Other notes

Only destroying the brain will result in the true death of a zombie. Decapitation will only render the body immobile; the head will still function and is capable of infecting the unwary.
Although medical treatment of bites has been shown to slow the death and resurrection of victims, there is no known cure.

[edit] Zombies based on Romero's works

The zombies from the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead bear a special mentioning here. Though they function in (presumably, given the little evidence available) much the same way as Romero zombies, they have a few unique qualities all their own.

The infection is spread only through bites and scratches. It is not shown whether the "virus" (again the cause is never actually shown, but the DVD case suggests that it is a virus) is passed through fluid contact, but it is unlikely seeing as how on numerous occasions characters are essentially showered with blood and are not infected afterwards.
Unlike the original Dead series, dying will not immediately turn the victim into a zombie. As discussed previously, only bites and scratches will spread the infection.
The most obvious difference in the two classes of zombies are their movement. The original zombies from the Dead series were only capable of walking at a slow pace with the occasional lunge when prey was close. The remake zombies are fully capable of running at top speed. Whether this has something specifically to do with the infection or is just an aesthetic quality introduced by the filmmakers is unknown.
Romero zombies commonly vocalize with only grunts and low moans. The remake zombies do this as well as emit a piercing shriek or a loud growl when provoked.