As the zombie genre has grown and developed, there has been a notable change in the way zombies are written, and much more time has been spent explaining how they perceive the world.
In Night of the Living Dead zombies were drawn by light and movement. They were visual creatures, much like a viewfinder. They looked around until they found something of interest, then they zoomed in on it, it became their centre of attention.
By the time of Dawn of the Dead this motivation had evolved, with zombies swarming to the places they coveted in life. Their needs had become internalised, they wanted to continue their barely remembered lives they were no longer as reactive.
But modern zombies are different. We now have a generation of writers, directors and strategists that have grown up knowing the basics of the zombie genre. New ideas and fresh blood has led to a change of direction. It’s now not about what they see anymore, but what they hear.
As zombies have entered the mainstream they’ve developed personalities. Bub in Day of the Dead is the perfect example. He’s more human, he has his own internal motivations. Also he’s got ears, and his hearing helps him respond to the world.
It’s also a very simple way of explaining why zombies horde together, and also adds another way to really crank up the tension. The logic is flawless. If a zombie hears a loud noise, they’ll come and investigate. To stop this from happening silenced weapons offer a subtle, more intelligent ways of dispatching the rotting undead.
There’s been a huge demand for silent weaponry, led by Max Brooks in his Zombie Survival Guide. Do you kill them quickly and loud, or quietly and systematically? Other groups of survivors might hear you again.
In addition to this, zombies lose bits of themselves and eyes are near the top of that list. It’s easy to make a zombie blind, but how can you tell if a zombie can still smell, or hear?
More and more survival is about keeping quiet. Of course, you might want to make a large amount of noise to draw the zombies to your location for some reason. But that’s another story…
final transmission 