Zombie apocalypse

[[File:Groupofzombiesjoelf.jpg|thumb|A group of actors as zombies during the shooting of the zombie apocalypse film ''Meat Market 3'']]

'''Zombie apocalypse''' is a subgenre of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Usually, only a few individuals or small bands of human survivors are left living.

There are many different causes of a zombie apocalypse in fiction. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack humans is unknown; in others, a parasite or infection is the cause - framing the film like a plague. Some stories have every corpse zombify regardless of the cause of death, whereas others require exposure to the infection, most commonly in the form of a bite.

The genre originated in the 1968 American horror film ''Night of the Living Dead'', which was directed by George A. Romero, who took inspiration from the 1954 novel ''I Am Legend'' by Richard Matheson. Romero's film introduced the concept of the flesh-eating zombie and spawned numerous other fictional works, including films, video games, and literature.

The zombie apocalypse has been used as a metaphor for various contemporary fears, such as global contagion, the breakdown of society, and the end of the world. It has repeatedly been referenced in the media and has inspired various fan activities such as zombie walks, making zombie apocalypse a dominant genre in popular culture.

==Origins== The myth of the zombie originated in Haiti in the 17th and 18th centuries when African slaves were brought in to work on sugar plantations under the rule of France. The slaves believed that if they ended their own lives by suicide they would be condemned to spend eternity trapped in their own bodies as the undead. This myth evolved in the Voodoo religion into the Haitian belief that corpses were reanimated by shamans.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Mariani |first=Mike |date=October 28, 2015 |title=The Tragic, Forgotten History of Zombies |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/10/how-america-erased-the-tragic-history-of-the-zombie/412264/ |access-date=November 2, 2022 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> The zombie concept eventually infiltrated western culture with the publication of the first example of zombie fiction in 1927, which was a book titled ''The Magic Island'' written by William Seabrook. The book was later adapted for cinema as the 1932 film ''White Zombie''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haasbroek |first=Luc |date=June 21, 2022 |title=10 Iconic Zombie Tropes and Their Origins |url=https://collider.com/iconic-zombie-tropes-and-their-origins/ |access-date=November 4, 2022 |website=Collider |language=en-US}}</ref> Directed by Victor Halperin and starring Bela Lugosi, it was the first feature-length zombie film, establishing the sub genre of zombies and paving the way for the zombie apocalypse in cinema.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Collins |first=Sophie |date=January 10, 2022 |title=Explained: Why and How Zombies Became So Popular |url=https://movieweb.com/why-how-zombies-became-so-popular/ |access-date=November 2, 2022 |website=MovieWeb |language=en-US}}</ref>

An early inspirational work of the genre was Richard Matheson's novel ''I Am Legend'' (1954), which features a lone survivor named Robert Neville waging a war against a human population transformed into vampires.<ref name="Clasen">{{cite news|last=Clasen|first=Mathias|year=2010|title=Vampire Apocalypse: A Biocultural Critique of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend|url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/philosophy_and_literature/v034/34.2.clasen.html|work=Philosophy and Literature}}</ref> The novel has been adapted into several screenplays, including ''The Last Man on Earth'' (1964), starring Vincent Price, ''The Omega Man'' (1971), starring Charlton Heston and ''I Am Legend'' (2007) starring Will Smith.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hajducky |first=Dan |date=October 24, 2013 |title=I Am Legend: Why Can't Matheson's Masterpiece be Done Justice on Film? |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/i-am-legend-why-cant-mathesons-masterpiece-be-done-justice-on-film/ |access-date=November 4, 2022 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US |archive-date=November 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104144630/https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/i-am-legend-why-cant-mathesons-masterpiece-be-done-justice-on-film/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> George A. Romero took inspiration from Matheson and developed the idea with his apocalyptic feature ''Night of the Living Dead'' (1968), but for vampires he substituted shuffling ghouls. Romero stated, "I confessed to him that I basically ripped the idea off from ''I Am Legend''. He forgave me because we didn't make any money. He said, 'Well, as long as you didn't get rich, it's okay.'"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Collis |first=Clark |date=June 24, 2013 |title=Richard Matheson dies at age 87 |url=https://ew.com/article/2013/06/24/richard-matheson-dies-obituary/ |access-date=October 27, 2022 |website=EW.com |language=en |archive-date=October 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027211547/https://ew.com/article/2013/06/24/richard-matheson-dies-obituary/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Romero said that he never referred to the monsters in his film as "zombies". Instead, the term appeared in an article in ''Cahiers du Cinéma''. Romero commented that earlier depictions of zombies in film, "were very Caribbean and it was all to do with voodoo". By contrast his versions were flesh-eating monsters returned from the grave: "We thought up very few rules or powers for them. The idea was they are your neighbours in a different state. One of the few early ideas we did have was that you have to shoot them in the head to kill them".<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |title=George A Romero: 'I never called ours zombies. We thought of them as ghouls' |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/george-a-romero-i-never-called-ours-zombies-we-thought-of-them-as-ghouls-1.496394 |access-date=October 27, 2022 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref>

==Story elements== [[File:Zombies NightoftheLivingDead.jpg |thumb|right|''Night of the Living Dead'' established most of the tropes associated with the genre, including unintelligent but relentless zombies.<ref name=Engine>{{cite web |url= https://www.cbr.com/john-seaveys-storytelling-engines-george-romeros-dead-films/ |title= John Seavey's Storytelling Engines: George Romero's "Dead" Films |access-date= December 4, 2008 |author= Brian Cronin |date= December 3, 2008 |publisher= Comic Book Resources |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081206015320/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/12/03/john-seaveys-storytelling-engines-george-romeros-dead-films/ |archive-date= December 6, 2008 |df= mdy-all }}</ref>]] Several themes and tropes commonly appear in zombie-apocalypse films: * Initial contacts with zombies are extremely traumatic, causing shock, panic, disbelief, and possibly denial, hampering survivors' ability to deal with hostile encounters.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} * Official responses to the threat are slower than its rate of growth, giving the zombie plague time to expand beyond containment. This results in the collapse of society. Zombies take full control while small groups of the living must fight for their survival.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Barber |first=Nicholas |date=October 21, 2014 |title=Why are zombies still so popular? |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20131025-zombie-nation |access-date=October 26, 2022 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en}}</ref> * The plot usually follows a single group of survivors caught up in the sudden rush of the crisis. The narrative generally focuses on the characters' attempts to survive on their own, concentrating on their reactions to the catastrophe and the group's consequent safety.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kenreck |first=Todd |date=November 17, 2008 |title=Surviving a zombie apocalypse |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna27770863 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030000057/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna27770863 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |access-date=October 25, 2022 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>

Generally, films have depicted zombies as the slow, lumbering, and unintelligent kind first popularized in the 1968 film ''Night of the Living Dead''.<ref name=Engine/> Zombies were repeatedly shown in slow-walking groups demonstrating herd behavior and overwhelming victims by strength of numbers. In the 2000s, several films featured zombies that are depicted as more agile, vicious, intelligent, and stronger than the traditional zombie. In many cases of these "fast" zombies, e.g., ''28 Days Later'', ''Zombieland'', ''Dying Light'', ''The Last of Us'', and ''Left 4 Dead'', the plot involves not re-animated corpses but living humans infected with a pathogen. Improved CGI technology and the rise of first-person shooter video games resulted in the herd behavior being replaced by zombies capable of running, jumping, and attacking as individuals.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Levin |first=Josh |date=March 24, 2004 |title=How did movie zombies get so fast? |url=https://slate.com/culture/2004/03/how-did-movie-zombies-get-so-fast.html |access-date=October 25, 2022 |website=Slate Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

==Thematic subtext== From the beginnings of the genre, film makers have used the zombie apocalypse as a metaphor for various cultural fears and social tensions, including the spread of disease and plague.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eschner |first=Kat |date=October 30, 2017 |title=Zombie Movies Are Never Really About Zombies |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/zombie-movies-are-never-really-about-zombies-180965321/ |access-date=October 26, 2022 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> The narrative of a zombie apocalypse carries strong connections to the turbulent social landscape of the United States in the 1960s when the originator of this genre, the film ''Night of the Living Dead'', was created.<ref name=4dead>{{cite news |url= http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/01/DD4R14F77J.DTL |title= Playing Games: Left 4 Dead |access-date= December 3, 2008 |author= Christopher T. Fong |date= December 2, 2008 |work= Video game review, San Francisco Chronicle |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081206032020/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2008%2F12%2F01%2FDD4R14F77J.DTL |archive-date= December 6, 2008 |df= mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="Rockoff">Adam Rockoff. ''Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978–1986'' (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2002), p. 35, {{ISBN|0-7864-1227-5}}.</ref><ref>"Zombie Movies" in ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'', ed. John Clute and John Grant (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999). p. 1048. {{ISBN|0-312-19869-8}}</ref>

At the time when Romero was shooting the film, Americans were viewing televised images of various violent events, including the 1967 Newark riots, 1967 Detroit riot and the Vietnam War. Erin C. Cassese, associate professor of political science, commented that public fears over racial tensions are reflected in the faces of the zombie horde in the film and that the dehumanisation of the zombie is a warning about human psychology.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cassese |first=Erin C. |title=George Romero's zombies will make Americans reflect on racial violence long after his death |url=http://theconversation.com/george-romeros-zombies-will-make-americans-reflect-on-racial-violence-long-after-his-death-81583 |access-date=October 26, 2022 |website=The Conversation |date=July 27, 2017 |language=en}}</ref> This commentary on the civil war between races was however accidental. Romero had hired African-American actor Duane Jones simply because he was the best actor, but noted that after finishing the film, "that very night we heard the news that Martin Luther King had been shot. There were race riots everywhere".<ref name=":3" /> Christopher Shaw writing for ''The Guardian'' noted that Romero's 1978 follow-up film ''Dawn of the Dead'' is a satire on consumer society.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 22, 2013 |title=What zombie films tell us about climate change: there's no one happy ending {{!}} Christopher Shaw |url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/22/zombie-movies-climate-change-no-one-happy-ending |access-date=October 26, 2022 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> In the film, zombies overrun a shopping mall where survivors have taken refuge. Javier Zarracina for ''Vox'' commented, "The zombies in ''Dawn of the Dead'' underscore the fears of capitalism and mindless consumption that racked the late 1970s". From the 1980s, the zombie apocalypse was driven by a fear of global contagion, due to the appearance of Ebola in 1976, AIDS in 1980, Avian Flu in the mid-90s and SARS in 2003.

This fear of contagion provided creators with a new explanation for the zombie apocalypse. The contagion concept was used in the 1996 video game ''Resident Evil'' and the 2002 film ''28 Days Later''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Crockett |first=Zachary |date=October 31, 2016 |title=How the zombie represents America's deepest fears |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/10/31/13440402/zombie-political-history |access-date=October 26, 2022 |website=Vox |language=en}}</ref> From the beginning of the post-apocalyptic television series ''The Walking Dead'' in 2010, the predominant theme shifted from a fear of the zombie horde to the fear of other humans. The series focuses on small groups of survivors driven by self-preservation and protected by walls designed to keep out both the zombies and other survivors.<ref name=":0" /> Max Brooks opined that the zombie genre allows people to deal with their own anxiety about the end of the world.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/preview-max-brooks-festival-of-the-living-dead-barbican-london-422481.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/preview-max-brooks-festival-of-the-living-dead-barbican-london-422481.html |archive-date=May 7, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title= Preview: Max Brooks' Festival of The (Living) Dead! Barbican, London |access-date= September 19, 2008 |last=Cripps |first= Charlotte |date= November 1, 2006 |work= The Independent |location=UK}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He commented, "People have a lot of anxiety about the future. They're constantly being battered with these very scary, very global catastrophes. I think a lot of people think the system is breaking down and just like the 1970s, people need a 'safe place' to explore their apocalyptic worries".<ref name=":1" /> Kim Paffenroth noted that "more than any other monster, zombies are fully and literally apocalyptic... they signal the end of the world as we have known it."<ref name="Paffenroth">Kim Paffenroth. ''Gospel of the Living Dead: George Romero's Visions of Hell on Earth''. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2006.</ref>

==Reception== Initial public reaction to the zombie apocalypse genre was immediately positive. When ''Night of the Living Dead'' premiered at the Fulton Theater in Pittsburgh on October 1, 1968, the film was an instant hit and was well received by movie goers in America and Europe. It received praise from ''Sight and Sound'' magazine in Britain and ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' in France. By contrast, critical reception was mainly negative. A reviewer for ''Variety'' commented that the film raised, "doubts about the future of the regional cinema movement and the moral health of filmgoers who cheerfully opt for unrelieved sadism."<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Collis |first=Clark |date=October 28, 2010 |title=From the archives: How the classic zombie movie 'Night of the Living Dead' refuses to die |url=https://ew.com/comic-con/2010/10/28/walking-dead-zombies-night-of-the-living-dead/ |access-date=November 6, 2022 |publisher=EW.com |language=en}}</ref> The graphic violence depicted in the film caused particular controversy. Pauline Kael writing for ''The New Yorker'' described it as, "one of the most gruesomely terrifying movies ever made".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lambie |first=Ryan |date=February 5, 2019 |title=George A. Romero and the Meaning of His Zombies |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/george-romero-zombies-explained/ |access-date=November 6, 2022 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US}}</ref> Roger Ebert wrote a review of the film for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', in which he commented on the reaction of the young audience: "I don't think the younger kids really knew what hit them. They'd seen horror movies before, but this was something else. This was ghouls eating people—you could actually see what they were eating. This was little girls killing their mothers. This was being set on fire. Worst of all, nobody got out alive—even the hero got killed". The film has since been recognised as a classic by film critics.<ref name=":6" /> In October 2018, Steve Rose writing for ''The Guardian'' described it as, "brilliantly perplexing, horrifying and mysteriously allegorical".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rose |first=Steve |date=October 24, 2018 |title=Night of the Living Dead review—still vital, brutal, cryptic and subversive |url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/oct/24/night-living-dead-review-george-romero-horror-1968-classic-ghouls |access-date=November 6, 2022 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> Several decades after the release of ''Night of the Living Dead'', the popularity of the genre has only increased. Films like ''28 Days Later'', ''Dawn of the Dead'', ''Shaun of the Dead'' and ''Zombieland'', as well as video games in the ''Resident Evil'' series and ''The Last of Us'' have been major commercial successes. In 2010, Frank Darabont, executive producer of ''The Walking Dead'' commented, "To be a fan of zombie films was a really sub-cult thing for many decades. In the last five years, it's become massively mainstream".<ref name=":6" />

===Genre controversy=== The release of ''28 Days Later'' in 2002 created a long-running debate over whether the film could be categorised within the genre of zombie apocalypse. This was based on the technicality that the people infected with rage from a virus in the film are still alive rather than returning from the grave. The debate was further fuelled by the director Danny Boyle choosing not to label the film as a zombie movie. Screenwriter Alex Garland finally settled the matter by stating, "Whatever technical discrepancies may or may not exist, they're pretty much zombies".<ref>{{Cite web |title=28 Days Later Actually Is A Zombie Movie, According To Alex Garland—Exclusive |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/28-days-later-zombie-movie-says-alex-garland-exclusive/ |access-date=October 26, 2022 |website=Empire|date=April 12, 2022 }}</ref>

== In other media ==

===Academic research=== {{rquote|right|While aggressive quarantine may contain the epidemic, or a cure may lead to coexistence of humans and zombies, the most effective way to contain the rise of the undead is to hit hard and hit often.|Philip Munz, Ioan Hudea, Joe Imad, and Robert J. Smith? [sic], "When Zombies Attack!" (2009)<ref name=WhenZombies/>}} According to a 2009 Carleton University and University of Ottawa epidemiological analysis, an outbreak of slow zombies "is likely to lead to the collapse of civilization, unless it is dealt with quickly." Based on mathematical modelling, the authors concluded that offensive strategies were the most reliable, due to risks that can compromise a quarantine. They also found that a cure would leave few humans alive, since this would do little to slow the infection rate. The study determined that the most likely long-term outcome of such an outbreak would be the extinction of humans. This conclusion stems from the study's reasoning that the primary epidemiological risk of zombies is the continual growth of the infected population, a phenomenon which would only cease with the infection or death of all surviving humans.<ref name="WhenZombies">"[http://www.mathstat.uottawa.ca/%7Ersmith/Zombies.pdf When Zombies Attack!: Mathematical Modelling of an Outbreak of Zombie Infection]" ({{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210071041/http://www.mathstat.uottawa.ca/%7Ersmith/Zombies.pdf |date=February 10, 2010 }}), by Philip Munz, Ioan Hudea, Joe Imad and Robert J. Smith? {{sic}}. In ''Infectious Disease Modelling Research Progress'', eds. J.M. Tchuenche and C. Chiyaka, Nova Science Publishers, Inc. {{Cite magazine |url=http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/zombies |title=Mathematical Model for Surviving a Zombie Attack |magazine=Wired |access-date=August 21, 2009 |archive-date=March 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317172952/http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/zombies |url-status=bot: unknown |last1=Mason |first1=Betsy }} pp. 133–150, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-60741-347-9}}.</ref>

In 2017, a group of students from the University of Leicester Department of Physics and Astronomy used an epidemiological model called a SIRS model to plot the spread of a zombie infection. Their findings were presented in the ''Journal of Physics Special Topics.'' The study concluded that on the 100th day of the epidemic, only 273 human survivors would remain, outnumbered a million-to-one by the undead. A follow-up study using different parameters showed that the human population could recover.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Woollaston-Webber |first=Victoria |date=January 7, 2017 |title=It would take just 100 days for a zombie infection to decimate the world's population |language=en-GB |magazine=Wired UK |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/zombie-apocalypse-study |access-date=October 26, 2022 |issn=1357-0978}}</ref>

===Government=== {{Main|2011 CDC warning about zombie apocalypse}}

On May 18, 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published an article, ''Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse'' providing tips on preparing to survive a zombie invasion.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters/2011/05/preparedness-101-zombie-apocalypse/ |title=Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse |publisher=Bt.cdc.gov |date=May 16, 2011 |access-date=December 11, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208144927/https://blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters/2011/05/preparedness-101-zombie-apocalypse/ |archive-date=December 8, 2017 }}</ref> In a blog post, assistant surgeon general Ali S. Khan wrote, "That's right, I said z-o-m-b-i-e a-p-o-c-a-l-y-p-s-e. You may laugh now, but when it happens you'll be happy you read this". The post provided instructions for preparing for a zombie onslaught, as a comical way to prepare the public for similar emergencies, such as a hurricane or pandemic. CDC spokesman Dave Daigle said that the campaign was a response to a question about whether zombies were a potential danger due to radiation in Japan.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Joshua Rhett |date=March 27, 2015 |title=CDC Warns Public to Prepare for 'Zombie Apocalypse' |url=https://www.foxnews.com/health/cdc-warns-public-to-prepare-for-zombie-apocalypse |access-date=October 27, 2022 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the unclassified document titled "CONOP 8888", officers from U.S. Strategic Command used a zombie apocalypse scenario as a training template for operations, emergencies and catastrophes, as a tool to teach cadets about the basic concepts of military plans and disaster preparation using its admittedly outlandish premise.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crawford |first=Jamie |date=May 16, 2014 |title=Pentagon document lays out battle plan against zombies {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/05/16/politics/pentagon-zombie-apocalypse/index.html |access-date=October 29, 2022 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>[http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2014/images/05/16/dod.zombie.apocalypse.plan.pdf ''CONOP 8888'']</ref>

===Weather=== On October 17, 2011, The Weather Channel published an article, "How to Weather the Zombie Apocalypse" that included a fictional interview with a director of research at the CDD, the "Center for Disease Development". The interview involved "Dr. Dale Dixon" answering questions about how different weather conditions affect zombies' abilities. Questions included "How does the temperature affect zombies' abilities? Do they run faster in warmer temperatures? Do they freeze if it gets too cold?"<ref name="weather1">{{cite web |last=Morris |first=Casey |title=How To Weather the Zombie Apocalypse |url=http://www.weather.com/outlook/home-family/holidays/articles/zombie-apocalypse-weather_2011-10-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224211909/http://www.weather.com/outlook/home-family/holidays/articles/zombie-apocalypse-weather_2011-10-11 |archive-date=February 24, 2012 |access-date=February 27, 2012 |publisher=Weather.com }}</ref>

== Influence and legacy == Donald Clarke writing for ''The Irish Times'' described ''Night of the Living Dead'' as one of the most influential horror films of all time. He commented, "Romero's dark fantasy dragged in many of the anxieties of its age. And, of course, it gave the horror world a new monster: a being that rises from the grave to feast on human flesh. They came to be known as zombies".<ref name=":3" /> Jon Towlson of the British Film Institute remarked that the ground-breaking legacy of the film lies in, "Romero making the zombies into flesh-eating beings, creating an allegory of a society devouring itself from within. This would become the central metaphor underlying much modern apocalyptic horror".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Towlson |first=Jon |date=October 26, 2018 |title=Why Night of the Living Dead was a big-bang moment for horror movies |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/night-living-dead-george-romero |access-date=October 29, 2022 |website=BFI |language=en}}</ref> Adam Nayman of ''The Ringer'' considered that the power of the zombie apocalypse movie is its plausibility. He said, "''In Night of the Living Dead'' and ''Dawn of the Dead'', Romero had smartly de-emphasized the ''why'' of his zombie outbreaks to focus on the physics (and metaphysics) of human survival: how the end of the world would bring out the best and worst in the human condition".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nayman |first=Adam |date=May 26, 2021 |title=Toward a Unified Theory of Zombie Movies |url=https://www.theringer.com/movies/2021/5/26/22453551/zombie-movies-history-dawn-army-of-the-dead-28-days-later |access-date=October 29, 2022 |website=The Ringer |language=en}}</ref> Nicholas Barber from BBC Culture opined that, "zombies embody the great contemporary fear", noting their "relentless shuffle into the mainstream of popular culture" and particularly highlighted the commercial and critical success of films like ''28 Days Later'', ''Dawn of the Dead'' and ''Shaun of the Dead''.<ref name=":1" /> Devon Maloney writing for ''Wired'' commented that zombie fandom shares a group mentality that has manifested in group activities like zombie walks, and that the concept of seeing a zombie as an "other" has been a complicated metaphor. He said, "The more realistic apocalypse scenarios in movies struggle to be, the more likely people are to consider them seriously".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Maloney |first=Devon |title=Want to Understand a Generation? Look No Further Than Its Zombie Movies |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2013/06/world-war-z-zombie-messages/ |access-date=October 29, 2022 |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> ''Kerrang!''<nowiki/>'s Mike Rampton wrote, "Perhaps the most appealing element of a zombie apocalypse is that it draws people together, forcing them to put their differences aside to unite against a common enemy and set it on fire. Other than the extraordinary violence involved, that sounds like a dream come true".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rampton |first=Mike |date=October 14, 2021 |title=A brief history of zombies in pop culture |url=https://www.kerrang.com/a-brief-history-of-zombies-in-pop-culture/ |access-date=October 29, 2022 |website=Kerrang! |language=en}}</ref> Sophie Collins of MovieWeb considered that the appeal of the genre is that it is an escapist fantasy about survival: "Perhaps people underestimate what it takes to fight off a swarm of flesh-eating zombies, but almost everyone thinks they can handle it, and that's exactly what makes these movies so entertaining."<ref name=":5" /> In 2018, ''The Independent'' reported the findings of a survey conducted by NOW TV, which found that almost 25% of British people had a plan to survive a zombie apocalypse. The survey also found that one in six had considered putting in place a survival kit. Most respondents believed that the zombie apocalypse would begin in New York City and spread to London. It also found that one in ten respondents believed that they would only survive for one week in a post-apocalyptic world.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 10, 2018 |title=One in four British people have plan to survive a zombie apocalypse, survey claims |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/zombie-apocalypse-survival-plan-guide-kit-uk-london-manchester-a8577556.html |access-date=October 27, 2022 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>

==Genre examples== ===Films===  * ''Night of the Living Dead'' (1968), George A. Romero's first film in the ''Night of the Living Dead'' film series, spawned numerous other films in the genre. It follows a group of Pennsylvanians who barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Wiggins |first=Brent |date=October 24, 2022 |title=Every Movie in George A. Romero's Living Dead Series, Ranked |url=https://movieweb.com/george-a-romero-living-dead-series-ranked/ |access-date=October 27, 2022 |website=MovieWeb |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''Dawn of the Dead'' (1978), Romero's follow-up film to ''Night of the Living Dead'', depicts slow-moving zombies in a shopping mall as social commentary on consumerism.<ref name=":2" /> * ''Zombi 2'' (1979), an Italian film inspired by ''Night of the Living Dead'' and directed by Lucio Fulci, aimed to be its unofficial sequel. It centres on the fictional Caribbean island of Matul where a doctor is conducting research on the zombie reanimation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bria |first=Bill |date=May 12, 2022 |title=The Unofficial Sequel To Dawn Of The Dead You Really Should Watch |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/861544/the-unofficial-sequel-to-dawn-of-the-dead-you-really-should-watch/ |access-date=October 27, 2022 |website=/Film |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''Day of the Dead'' (1985) is a post-apocalyptic film directed by Romero in which survivors are forced to live underground after zombies have dominated the world.<ref name=":2" /> * ''The Return of the Living Dead'' (1985), a comedy horror film directed by Dan O'Bannon, introduced several aspects of zombie film lore, including the concept of brain-eating zombies and the idea of zombie bites passing on the contagion. It centres on a bumbling pair of employees at a medical supply warehouse who accidentally release a deadly gas into the air causing the dead to re-animate.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adams |first=Lee |date=April 27, 2022 |title=This Cult '80s Horror Put Brains On The Menu For Zombie Flicks |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/845139/this-cult-80s-horror-put-brains-on-the-menu-for-zombie-flicks/ |access-date=October 27, 2022 |website=/Film |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''28 Days Later'' (2002) is a British post-apocalyptic horror film written by Alex Garland and directed by Danny Boyle. It stars Cillian Murphy as a man who wakes from a coma to find a man-made "rage" virus has been unleashed in Britain. The film reinvented the genre with the concept of the running zombie.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 23, 2021 |title=This Week in Genre History: 28 Days Later reinvented zombie movies 18 years ago |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/28-days-later-zombie-movie-alex-garland-danny-boyle-anniversary |access-date=October 27, 2022 |website=SYFY Official Site |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''Resident Evil'' film series, starting in 2002, based on the video game series of the same name. These films involve a genetically engineered virus turning humans at a genetic research facility into flesh-eating zombies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bankhurst |first=Adam |date=July 22, 2022 |title=How to Watch the Resident Evil Movies in Chronological Order |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/how-to-watch-the-resident-evil-movies-in-order |access-date=October 27, 2022 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref> In ''Resident Evil: Apocalypse'' (2004), the zombies and lore as conceptualized and choreographed by Sharon B. Moore and Derek Aasland advanced the genre by admixing the supernatural with the scientific. Moore and Aasland wrote an "Undead Bible" using script analysis and movement research to devise a "scientific logic" for the T-Virus, accounting for all zombie behaviour envisioned in Paul W. S. Anderson's script. The Undead Bible was used as the guide for the cast of nearly 1000 to ensure both a unified story logic and physicality.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schmeink |first=Lars |title=Biopunk Dystopias Genetic Engineering, Society and Science Fiction |publisher=Liverpool University Press |date=January 1, 2017 |isbn=978-1781383766 |edition=1st |location=Liverpool, UK |pages=214 |language=English}}</ref> * ''Dawn of the Dead'' (2004) is a remake of Romero's ''Dawn of the Dead'' directed by Zack Snyder in his directorial debut with a screenplay written by James Gunn. The film took the concept of survivors taking refuge in a shopping mall as an epidemic causes the infected to turn into flesh-eating zombies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mancuso |first=Vinnie |date=May 19, 2021 |title=Why 'Dawn of the Dead' Is Still Zack Snyder's Best Movie |url=https://collider.com/zack-snyder-best-movie-dawn-of-the-dead/ |access-date=October 27, 2022 |website=Collider |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), a comedy horror directed by Edgar Wright, is the first film in the Cornetto Trilogy. It stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost who take refuge in a pub while Great Britain is under attack by zombies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Malas |first=Rhianna |date=September 22, 2022 |title='Shaun of the Dead' Is Better at Scaring Us Than Some Traditional Horror Movies |url=https://collider.com/shaun-of-the-dead-scarier-than-serious-horror-movies/ |access-date=October 27, 2022 |website=Collider |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''Land of the Dead'' (2005) is a post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Romero in which survivors are ruled by a government that divides the rich from the poor.<ref name=":2" /> * ''28 Weeks Later'' (2007) is a sequel to ''28 Days Later'' directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and starring Robert Carlyle. It follows a father struggling to survive 28 weeks after the initial zombie epidemic.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gaughan |first=Liam |date=June 6, 2021 |title=Why '28 Weeks Later' Is a Successful Horror Sequel |url=https://collider.com/28-weeks-later-is-good-reasons-why/ |access-date=October 28, 2022 |website=Collider |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''Planet Terror'' (2007), a film by Robert Rodriguez was released as part of the double-feature ''Grindhouse''. The plot centres on a biochemical agent causing a worldwide zombie infection.<ref>{{Cite web |last=De Semlyen |first=Nick |date=October 28, 2007 |title=Planet Terror |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/planet-terror-review/ |access-date=October 28, 2022 |website=Empire}}</ref> * ''Zombieland'' (2009) is a zombie comedy directed by Ruben Fleischer and starring Jesse Eisenberg. As the United States is ravaged by a zombie plague caused by a mutated form of mad cow disease, a small group attempts to survive while traveling across country to an amusement park in California.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bradshaw |first=Peter |date=October 9, 2009 |title=Film review: Zombieland |url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/oct/09/zombieland-review |access-date=October 28, 2022 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> * ''World War Z'' (2013), an action horror film based on the book of the same name, was directed by Marc Forster and stars Brad Pitt. The plot centres on the world being plagued by a mysterious infection turning whole human populations into rampaging mindless zombies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=De Semlyen |first=Nick |date= January 5, 2011|title=World War Z |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/world-war-z-review/ |access-date=October 28, 2022 |website=Empire}}</ref> * ''Train to Busan'' (2016) is a South Korean action horror film directed by Yeon Sang-ho. It takes place on a train to Busan, as a zombie apocalypse, caused by a leak from a biotech company, suddenly breaks out in the country and compromises the safety of the passengers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCahill |first=Mike |date=October 27, 2016 |title= Train to Busan review – Korean zombies-on-a-train movie is a terrific ride |url= https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/27/train-to-busan-review-korean-zombie-thriller-yeon-sang-ho |access-date=September 19, 2023 |website=Guardian}}</ref>

===Comics===  * The ''Deadworld'' comic series by Stuart Kerr and Ralph Griffith, which began in 1987.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://calibercomics.com/DEADWORLD/comictitle.htm |title=Deadworld—Information about the comic series from Caliber Comics |publisher=Caliber Comics. |access-date=July 27, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618191729/http://calibercomics.com/DEADWORLD/comictitle.htm |archive-date=June 18, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Jeffrey Bloomer |title=Zombie-Ridden Post-Apocalyptic Graphic Novel Gets Film Treatment |url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/06/zombie-ridden-post-apocalyptic-graphic-novel-gets.html |date=June 12, 2009 |publisher=Paste |access-date=June 20, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615052213/http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/06/zombie-ridden-post-apocalyptic-graphic-novel-gets.html |archive-date=June 15, 2009 }}</ref> * The 2001–2002 manga series ''Gyo'' by Junji Ito presents an unconventional take on the trope, in which Japan is overrun by an experimental species of bacteria, which constructs 'walking machines' to transport their infected 'power sources' and spread the disease. The bacteria initially infects marine life before later mutating to infect terrestrial organisms, including humans.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mangalife.com/reviews/Gyov1.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022133325/http://www.mangalife.com/reviews/Gyov1.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 22, 2007|title=Gyo v1 Review—manga reviews, manga news, manga information, manga comics, manga webcomics, manga artists, Dark Horse, TokyoPop, Viz, Digital Manga Publishing, CMX, CPM, Central Park Manga, Broccoli Books, Del Rey|date=October 22, 2007|access-date=April 11, 2019}}</ref> * The comic series ''The Walking Dead'' by Robert Kirkman, beginning in 2003, chronicles the story of survivors in a world overrun by zombies.<ref>[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16474 WEEK OF THE DEAD I: Robert Kirkman] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101103064557/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16474 |date=November 3, 2010 }}, Comic Book Resources, May 19, 2008</ref> The series was later adapted into a television series of the same name. * The 2005 comic series ''Marvel Zombies'' and its sequels ''Marvel Zombies: Dead Days'', ''Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness'', ''Marvel Zombies 2'', ''Marvel Zombies 3''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.i-mockery.com/comics/longbox8/|title=I-Mockery.com—Tales from the Longbox!|website=www.i-mockery.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202095405/http://www.i-mockery.com/comics/longbox8/|archive-date=February 2, 2009}}</ref> * The manga/anime series ''Highschool of the Dead'', beginning in 2006, features a group of Japanese high school students caught in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yenpress.com/highschool-of-the-dead/ |title=HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD story by Daisuke Sato, art by Shouji Sato |publisher=Yen Press |access-date=August 16, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816144721/http://www.yenpress.com/highschool-of-the-dead/ |archive-date=August 16, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="animenewsnetwork1">{{cite web |url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/high-school-of-the-dead/bluray-complete-collection |title=High school of the Dead BLURAY—Complete Collection—Review |last1=Bertschy |first1=Zac |date=June 14, 2011 |publisher=Anime News Network |access-date=August 16, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807112201/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/high-school-of-the-dead/bluray-complete-collection |archive-date=August 7, 2011 }}</ref> * The 2019 DC Comics title ''DCeased'' has been cited as a variant of the zombie apocalypse, triggered by a new permutation of the Anti-Life Equation.<ref>{{cite web | title=DCeased: How Every Major DC Character Dies in Issue #1 | url=https://www.cbr.com/dceased-dc-comics-zombie-apocalypse-deaths/ | author=Jason Cohen | website=Comic Book Resources | date=May 1, 2019 | access-date=May 15, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite comic | title=DCeased | issue=#1 | date=May 1, 2019 | publisher=DC Comics | writer=Tom Taylor}}</ref>

===Literature===  * ''The Zombie Survival Guide'' (2003) by Max Brooks details how one can survive various sized zombie outbreaks, including a world-wide outbreak that collapses civilization.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121713882|title=Beware, Zombies: This 'Guide' Will Save Humankind|last=Halpern|first=Jake|date=December 23, 2009|website=NPR|language=en|access-date=December 5, 2019}}</ref> * ''Monster Island'', ''Monster Nation'' and ''Monster Planet'' (2004–2004) by David Wellington.<ref>{{cite web |last=Richards |first=Dave |title=Marvel Zombies: The All-Star Return! |url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=21726 |date=June 23, 2009 |publisher=Comic Book Resources |access-date=August 6, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090727013513/http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=21726 |archive-date=July 27, 2009 }}</ref> * ''World War Z'' (2006) by Max Brooks which details humanity's efforts to defeat a worldwide zombie apocalypse.<ref name=eat>{{cite web |url=http://www.eatmybrains.com/showfeature.php?id=55 |title=Exclusive Interview: Max Brooks on World War Z |work=Eat My Brains! |date=October 20, 2006 |access-date=April 26, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928125652/http://www.eatmybrains.com/showfeature.php?id=55 |archive-date=September 28, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="RC">{{cite web |url=http://www.untitledbooks.com/pages/features/index.asp?FeaturesID=74 |title=The End of the World as We Know it |access-date=September 21, 2008 |last=Currie |first=Ron |date=September 5, 2008 |work=Untitled Books |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220092510/http://www.untitledbooks.com/pages/features/index.asp?FeaturesID=74 |archive-date=December 20, 2008 }}</ref> * ''Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'' (2009) by Seth Grahame-Smith which combines Jane Austen's classic 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice'' with elements of modern zombie fiction.<ref name=Time>{{cite news |title=Pride and Prejudice, Now With Zombies! |url=http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1889075,00.html |date=April 2, 2009 |access-date=April 4, 2009 |magazine=Time |first=Lev |last=Grossman |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404014528/http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1889075,00.html |archive-date=April 4, 2009 }}</ref> * ''Warm Bodies'' (2010) by Isaac Marion is set in a zombie apocalypse but is told through the viewpoint of a zombie known only as R who regains his humanity after developing a relationship with a human girl that he spared.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2011/04/warm-bodies-by-isaac-marion.html |title=Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion :: Books :: Reviews :: Paste |publisher=Pastemagazine.com |date=April 26, 2011 |access-date=February 27, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312185809/http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2011/04/warm-bodies-by-isaac-marion.html |archive-date=March 12, 2012 }}</ref> * ''The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor'' (2011) by Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga is set within the universe of The Walking Dead comic books, which were also created and written by Kirkman. It follows one of the most villainous characters of the comics, Philip Blake, a.k.a. "The Governor", as he, two friends, his brother Brian and daughter Penny struggle to survive in a world where an undead plague has rendered the human race outnumbered.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kirkman |first=Robert |title=The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor on Amazon |date=October 11, 2011 |isbn=978-0312547738 }}</ref>

===Television===

* ''Dead Set'' (2008) involves a zombie outbreak and the real television show ''Big Brother UK''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfx.co.uk/page/sfx?entry=charlie_brooker_on_dead_set |title=SFX interview with Charlie Brooker |publisher=Sfx.co.uk |date=October 22, 2008 |access-date=July 27, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903040107/http://www.sfx.co.uk/page/sfx?entry=charlie_brooker_on_dead_set |archive-date=September 3, 2009 }}</ref> * ''The Walking Dead'' (2010–2022), based on the comic book series of the same name, and its spinoffs, ''Fear the Walking Dead'' and ''The Walking Dead: World Beyond''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Draper |first=Joe |date=October 3, 2022 |title=The Walking Dead—how to watch the final season |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a36841296/walking-dead-how-to-watch-uk/ |access-date=November 3, 2022 |website=Digital Spy |language=en-GB}}</ref> * ''Z Nation'' (2014–2018), a zombie/horror/comedy focused around a man who becomes the only person to ever survive being bitten by a zombie. In the show, other survivors believe that he is the key to a cure for the zombie virus, known as the ZN1 virus.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haring |first=Bruce |date=December 22, 2018 |title='Z Nation' Canceled By Syfy After Five Seasons, Announced Online |url=https://deadline.com/2018/12/z-nation-canceled-by-syfy-after-five-seasons-announced-online-1202525329/ |access-date=November 3, 2022 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''Black Summer'' (2019–2021): Six weeks after the start of the zombie apocalypse, Rose is separated from her daughter, Anna, and she embarks on a harrowing journey to find her.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hogan |first=Ron |date=June 24, 2021 |title=Why You Should Watch Black Summer on Netflix |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/why-you-should-watch-black-summer-netflix/ |access-date=November 3, 2022 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''Kingdom'' (2019–2021): Set during the Joseon Dynasty in Korea, three years after the Japanese invasions. The story follows Crown Prince Lee Chang who, along with his subordinates, finds a zombie plague is ravaging the countryside amidst a brewing political conspiracy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/netflix-series-kingdom-review-a-must-see-even-if-youre-not-into-zombie-shows/|title=Netflix series Kingdom a must-see even if you're not into zombie shows|last=Low|first=Aloysius|publisher=CNET|date=January 24, 2019|access-date=February 5, 2019|archive-date=February 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207020756/https://www.cnet.com/news/netflix-series-kingdom-review-a-must-see-even-if-youre-not-into-zombie-shows/|url-status=live}}</ref> * ''All of Us Are Dead'' (2022–): A local South Korean high school is overrun by zombies, leaving trapped students with little left to survive. The series is based on a webtoon series of the same name by Joo Dong-geun.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Velasquez |first=Juan |date=January 6, 2022 |title=All Of Us Are Dead: Everything We Know About Upcoming Korean Netflix Series |url=https://movieweb.com/all-of-us-are-dead-everything-we-know/ |access-date=November 1, 2022 |website=MovieWeb |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 22, 2023 |title=All of Us Are Dead season 2 on Netflix potential release date |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a38942907/all-of-us-are-dead-season-2-release-date-netflix/ |access-date=April 11, 2023 |website=Digital Spy |language=en-GB}}</ref> * ''The Last of Us'' (2023–): An HBO adaptation based on the video game ''The Last of Us''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Travis |title=HBO's 'The Last of Us' has some key differences from the video game. Here's how they compare. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/how-last-of-us-game-compares-to-hbo-series-photos-2023-1 |access-date=March 8, 2023 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Video games===  * ''Dead Nation'': A shoot 'em up for the PlayStation Network.<ref name="Official Playstation Blog US">{{cite web |url=http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/11/29/dead-nation-hits-playstation-store-this-week-eradicate-the-infection/ |title=Dead Nation Hits Playstation Store this Week, Eradicate the Infection! |access-date=April 18, 2011 |author=David Bullshit |date=November 29, 2010 |publisher=Official US Playstation Blog |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614013059/http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/11/29/dead-nation-hits-playstation-store-this-week-eradicate-the-infection/ |archive-date=June 14, 2011 }}</ref> * ''Dead Rising'': A sandbox adventure game series in which the player character is usually trapped in a mall full of zombies and almost any object that can be found in the mall can be repurposed as an improvised weapon.<ref name="Game Informer Review">{{cite web |url=https://www.gameinformer.com/games/dead_rising_2/b/xbox360/archive/2010/09/24/the-apocalypse-shouldn-t-be-this-much-fun.aspx |title=Dead Rising 2 Review: The Apocalypse Shouldn't Be This Much Fun |access-date=April 13, 2011 |author=Jeff Cork |date=September 24, 2010 |publisher=Game Informer Magazine |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025144809/http://www.gameinformer.com/games/dead_rising_2/b/xbox360/archive/2010/09/24/the-apocalypse-shouldn-t-be-this-much-fun.aspx |archive-date=October 25, 2011 }}</ref> * ''Left 4 Dead'' and its sequel ''Left 4 Dead 2'', a co-operative horror, first-person shooter where a rabies-like pathogen infects humanity.<ref name="4dead" /> * ''No More Room in Hell'': A survival horror game set in a zombie apocalypse and featuring "Romero" zombies.<ref name=PCGamer>{{Citation | last =Winchester | first =Henry | author-link = | title =Half-Dead, Too (''No More Room in Hell'' Fills ''Half-Life 2'' with Zombies) | newspaper = PC Gamer | pages = | date = March 2012 | url = }}</ref> * ''Project Zomboid'': An isometric RPG which aims for a degree of realism. It is being developed in a similar way to ''Minecraft''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://projectzomboid.com/blog/ |title=The Zombie Survival RPG |publisher=The Indie Stone |access-date=July 2, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110702235422/http://projectzomboid.com/blog/ |archive-date=July 2, 2011 }}</ref> * ''Resident Evil'' series, created by Capcom, made its debut in 1996 and developed into a multimedia franchise.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sirani |first=Jordan |date=October 31, 2022 |title=How to Play the Resident Evil Games in Chronological Order |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/resident-evil-games-in-order |access-date=November 3, 2022 |website=IGN}}</ref> * ''The Last of Us'': A third-person action adventure game known for its intricate storytelling and literary nature.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Aikins |first=Gabriel |title='The Last of Us' Makes Players Feel Really Bad—and That's Great |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/story/the-last-of-us-makes-players-feel-really-bad-and-thats-great/ |access-date=November 3, 2022 |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> * ''The Walking Dead'': A graphic adventure series based on the franchise. The games have been credited with rejuvenating the adventure game format.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/2026802/how-adventure-games-came-back-from-the-dead.html |title=How adventure games came back from the dead |work=PC World |last=Manuel |first=Rob |date=February 5, 2013 |access-date=July 4, 2018}}</ref> *''Urban Dead'': A free to play HTML/text-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Drake |first=Shannon |date=May 22, 2007 |title=The End Is Definitely Nigh |url=https://www.escapistmagazine.com/the-end-is-definitely-nigh/ |access-date=November 3, 2022 |website=The Escapist |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''Zombie Apocalypse'': Released as a downloadable title for the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade is a shoot 'em up title. The player takes control of four survivors and may fight against hordes of mutated zombies as a team, rescuing other survivors and investigating the cause of the infection.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.konami.com/games/zombie/ |title=Zombie Apocalyse at Konami |access-date=October 16, 2009 |date=October 16, 2009 |publisher=Konami |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001030346/http://www.konami.com/games/zombie/ |archive-date=October 1, 2009 }}</ref> * ''Zombie Panic'': Features a human and a player-controlled zombie team fighting against each other in a zombie apocalypse.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zombiepanic.org/site/index.php |title=A Half-Life 1 & 2 Modification |publisher=Zombie Panic |access-date=July 27, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090918033637/http://www.zombiepanic.org/site/index.php |archive-date=September 18, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.moddb.com/mods/zombie-panic-source |title=Zombie Panic: Source mod for Half-Life 2 |date=December 27, 2007 |publisher=Mod DB |access-date=July 27, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228105333/http://www.moddb.com/mods/zombie-panic-source |archive-date=February 28, 2009 }}</ref>

===Tabletop role-playing games===  * ''All Flesh Must Be Eaten'', a survival horror role-playing game (RPG) produced by Eden Studios, Inc.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gauntlett |first=Adam |date=February 27, 2015 |title=The Gory Glory of All Flesh Must Be Eaten |url=https://www.escapistmagazine.com/the-gory-glory-of-all-flesh-must-be-eaten/ |access-date=November 1, 2022 |website=The Escapist |language=en-US}}</ref> * ''Dead Reign'', published by Palladium Books, set in a world where zombies of various varieties dominate the planet<ref>{{cite web |url=https://palladium-store.com/1001/product/230-Dead-Reign-RPG.html |title=Dead Reign RPG homepage |access-date=June 22, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813205622/http://palladium-store.com/1001/product/230-Dead-Reign-RPG.html |archive-date=August 13, 2011 }}</ref>

===Music===  * The zombie parody of The Beatles, the Zombeatles, began in 2006 with the song "Hard Day's Night of the Living Dead" and is set in a world where the zombies have eaten all the remaining humans.<ref>{{cite web | title=The ZomBeatles: All You Need Is Brains Tastes Funny | url=http://fancinematoday.com/2009/03/24/the-zombeatles-all-you-need-is-brains-tastes-funny/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328070246/http://fancinematoday.com/2009/03/24/the-zombeatles-all-you-need-is-brains-tastes-funny/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 28, 2009 | date=March 24, 2009 | publisher=Fan Cinema Today | access-date=April 9, 2009 }}</ref> * The 2008 Metallica music video for the song "All Nightmare Long" features the Soviet Union using a spore found after the Tunguska event on the United States to covertly create an army of zombies, and then openly destroying all of them, in order to take over the US.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fearnet.com/news/b13980_behold_metallicas_nightmare_zombie.html |title=Behold Metallica's "Nightmare" Zombie Apocalypse! |access-date=December 8, 2008 |last=Burkart |first=Gregory S. |date=December 8, 2008 |publisher=FEARnet |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212051904/http://www.fearnet.com/news/b13980_behold_metallicas_nightmare_zombie.html |archive-date=December 12, 2008 }}</ref> * Metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada released their ''Zombie EP'' on August 24, 2010. The five song EP is about an impending zombie apocalypse, derived from lead vocalist Mike Hranica's strong interest in the subject.<ref>{{cite web|title=Zombie EP|url=http://tdwpslays.com/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201180242/http://tdwpslays.com/|archive-date=February 1, 2011|access-date=March 9, 2018}}</ref>

==See also== * ''Zombie Squad'', a non-profit charitable organization that uses an upcoming zombie apocalypse as its shtick.

==References== {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150414061425/http://emergency.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies_blog.asp US Centers for Disease Control—Zombie tips] * [https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2021/03/04/zombie-apocalypse-prediction-for-2021-cdc-has-a-guide Hilarious quick walk through CDC's key prep for Zombie defense] * [http://www.liberationfrequency.co.uk/the-lf-podcast/2011/6/13/the-lf-007-pt1-the-zombie-apocalypse-cometh.html The LF Audio Podcast ep. 07.1—A discussion about the zombie apocalypse] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805181707/http://www.liberationfrequency.co.uk/the-lf-podcast/2011/6/13/the-lf-007-pt1-the-zombie-apocalypse-cometh.html |date=August 5, 2016 }}) * [http://www.liberationfrequency.co.uk/the-lf-podcast/2011/6/13/the-lf-007-pt2-the-zombie-apocalypse-survival-guide.html The LF Audio Podcast ep. 07.2—Surviving the zombie apocalypse]{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Category:Fiction about zombie outbreaks * Category:Fiction about viral outbreaks Category:Fictional diseases and disorders Category:Apocalyptic fiction Category:Science fiction horror Category:Science fiction themes