Hello all,

I'm thinking of writing my own zombie-apocalypse series and I was just wondering what you, as writers yourselves, expect from such. I'd love to hear things that you would suggest I avoid, include or whatever.

Thanks in advance,
Tyler.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT!! I'm not going to lie, I'm getting a little over the whole zombie phase that just about everybody seems to be going through.

What would I expect? Zombies running around trying to infect a human population. That's how most zombie movies (or series) work, right? I'm not suggesting that you don't write it, but please change it up a bit. Surprise us. Don't go for what we expect, because then we're going to be incredibly bored people.

Good luck with it :)

Dan

Good luck pulling something original out of a zombie spec (or getting anyone to read it).  Zombies taking over, zombies at a rave, a film with a zombie POV, friendly zombies, cannibal zombies... all have been done to death, and the list goes on and on.

I love zombies. The only thing I'd expect from them is that they are entertaining and that the character interactions are believable.


Ideally, I'd like to see something different.

Films have thus far only really dealt with one kind of zombie story...the battle to stay alive against a recently infected horde.

Having read hundreds and hundreds of zombie stories...there are far more avenues to explore than that.

Man, I dont know!

You simply cannot turn the channel without seeing some Zombie buulshit either on or being advertised.

I suppose it's a matter of taste but you would think it would have done run its course by now...

Shawn.....><

I'd say write something you haven't seen done a thousand times already. Whether it's a drastic change in the zombie origin, or an interesting change in setting and characters, do your best to come up with something out of the ordinary, otherwise it'll get lost in the millions of stories like it.

Quoted from danbotha SOMETHING DIFFERENT!! I'm not going to lie, I'm getting a little over the whole zombie phase that just about everybody seems to be going through.

I have to agree with Dan on this one, NO MORE ZOMBIES. unless it is totally unique.

Maybe turn it on it's head and make the people the bad guys !!!!!

Just a suggestion to be different !!!!!

Alex

Hey, come on now. You can't just say Zombie scripts shouldn't even be written. They sell very well, even if they haven't got a unique angle to them.

Don't worry if some people at SS are tired of zombies. Write what you want. Besides, studios love old and familiar because they already come with a built-in fan base. That's from an exec at Universal!  :)

Has there been a zombie film with only zombies and no humans?

Quoted from Alex_212 I have to agree with Dan on this one, NO MORE ZOMBIES. unless it is totally unique. Maybe turn it on it's head and make the people the bad guys !!!!! Just a suggestion to be different !!!!! Alex

That's what I was thinking.  Like a Planet of the Apes type thing where the Zombies are the dominate species and Man comes along and screws it up.  The Zombies, now more "tame" and "civilized" (they play Chess, play golf, in politics, etc.), remember that Mankind "drives them crazy" and they go back to being "normal" Zombies.

I love a good zombie movie too, but I do think they've been done to death. I agree with Pia that there's always a built in fan base, but that only insures you for a good opening weekend. Unless word of mouth is great, it won't last more than a few weeks. It's gotta be great for the fans to see it more than once.

I think the only way to do this is to mix genres. I know the zombie love story has been explored in at least one short (By Phil, right?) but I don't know if it's been done in a feature. There's also SHAUN OF THE DEAD, which is a love story/zombie/buddy flick, that is still wonderful after its tenth viewing.

You need to explore the possibilities and ask yourself questions. What if a zombie outbreak happens during a children's field trip?

Quoted from Scar Tissue Films I love zombies. The only thing I'd expect from them is that they are entertaining and that the character interactions are believable.

Yeah. The idea of stuff being "done" doesn't really hold any weight for me. You know how many movies I've seen about criminal badasses that shoot each other? Kung-fu badasses that kick each other? Gorgeous, privileged white people that love each other? Dedicated young teachers who set out against all odds to change the lives of one classroom full of systematically disadvantaged youths?

And you know how many of those stories I'm tired of? None. Love 'em all. As long as they're entertaining and the characters are good. I don't care how "done" the "vampire thing" was, Thirst was one of the best movies of the decade. And per the above, Drive, Ip Man, Atonement, and Freedom Writers were all pretty darn good. But maybe that's too high a bar to prove my point -- heck, Drive Angry, Killzone S.P.L., How Do You Know, and Take the Lead were all fine by me, because I liked the characters, the stories moved fast, and they all had some sort of vague point.

To the original question I'd say that fast zombies tend to be more likely to bore me, but again, all that really matters is what Rick points out, I think.

Where would you set it?

I've not seen the third series of The Walking Dead yet but personally think it is still fresh (sligfhtly inappropriate word to use regarding zombies :P ) and it's more a drama than fixated on horror.

I remember The Survivors was a great series in the 70s, not zombies but post apocalypptical.

Personally would like to see stories with endings rather than being bored with the never ending stories stringing you along just to get more viewers.

Quoted from Jeremiah Johnson That's what I was thinking.  Like a Planet of the Apes type thing where the Zombies are the dominate species and Man comes along and screws it up.  The Zombies, now more "tame" and "civilized" (they play Chess, play golf, in politics, etc.), remember that Mankind "drives them crazy" and they go back to being "normal" Zombies.

Well, it’s not quite Planet of the Apes style but there is a comedy zombie story on the site where the zombies are pretty civilized and live underground. Maybe more like Beneath the Planet of the Apes.

It’s called “Life With Zombies” and not a bad read at all.

http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-comedy/m-1338644391/

In general, I can’t get enough of zombies so keep ‘em coming. Good luck with your script. :)

Quoted from Jeremiah Johnson That's what I was thinking.  Like a Planet of the Apes type thing where the Zombies are the dominate species and Man comes along and screws it up.  The Zombies, now more "tame" and "civilized" (they play Chess, play golf, in politics, etc.), remember that Mankind "drives them crazy" and they go back to being "normal" Zombies.

There's only so much you can change about a zombie before it's no longer a zombie.  Making them runners was a good move.  Giving them faint personality traits from their former lives can work.

Making them intelligent... doesn't work.  Zombies are supposed to be mindless creatures with a hunger for human flesh.  Giving them intelligence is like allowing vampires to move around in sunlight.

If you want to do something with this genre, make it more than just the humans fighting for survival in a zombie-infested world.  And do more than coming up with an unused location for the humans to make their last stand.


Phil

Quoted from dogglebe There's only so much you can change about a zombie before it's no longer a zombie.  Making them runners was a good move.  Giving them faint personality traits from their former lives can work. Making them intelligent... doesn't work.  Zombies are supposed to be mindless creatures with a hunger for human flesh.  Giving them intelligence is like allowing vampires to move around in sunlight. If you want to do something with this genre, make it more than just the humans fighting for survival in a zombie-infested world.  And do more than coming up with an unused location for the humans to make their last stand. Phil

Agree.  Just trying to think outside the zombie box!  Though, I do work around some "zombies" who claim to be "intelligent"... just saying.

I think that an intelligent zombie is getting too close to vampires.

My two cents.


Phil

I'm a sucker for zombie flicks but as far as originality goes, it's a tough one.  You can tweak the traits of the zombie species but I doubt it'll make a difference in terms of setting the story apart from the pack.

It really comes down to creating unique and interesting characters.  Perhaps someone who's had a crappy life before the whole apocalypse and sees it as a blessing.  I know that people fight for survival but few for fun.

I'm sure it's been done before but making it a bit more psychological than just hack and slash may be a route worth exploring.  A world of killing and hunting versus a world of TV dinners and payment extensions?  No more car payments, no more obese boss barking in your face, no more b****y girlfriend to deal with, just zombies to kill?  Just a thought Tyler.  Best of luck.

I've been trying to write a few zombie projects myself.
I agree you can't alter the zombie too much, or purists will hate you.  The key, IMHO, is how interesting you make your humans and how real you can make the situation and surroundings.
Also, you have to be pretty adept t at writing action sequences.

Thank you all for your input, and I've taken it all on board.

There's one sort of setting that I want to explore; and that is how a government (specifically, POTUS) would attempt to rebuild the nation after such an event. Starting from the ordinary, then perhaps being trapped somewhere (another state) and then trying to get back to the White House and from there begin operations and what not.

It's kind of funny, Just the other day another peer gave me crap for not showing the "zombie outbreak" in my script Rancorium (where a group of zombies are partially cured and  form a 'Dirty Dozen' like unit to get the final antidote from a group of paranoid human survivors) and it wasn't the first time I heard that, even if that outbreak is part of the mystery and mostly backstory.

I actually considered giving at least a page to it even if betrays everything in the script. Until today where I
read this article

Quoted Text [Walking Dead] comic creator and series executive producer Robert Kirkman says he won't be covering the actual outbreak. "I don't find that to be interesting at all," he tells TVGuide.com. "In zombie fiction, you see the outbreak, you see the first days and the craziness in almost every other story told in this realm. I'm very proud of the fact that, for the most part, The Walking Dead has skipped over that part."

It just hit me---the series hasn't really done that, explain how it all the Walker outbreak started, or go into deep flashbacks of what characters were doing before the epidemic. The next question I'm asking is this:  is seeing such an event really needed for the story itself? The answer is no. And nobody has an issue with it.

A fresh take would be plants :) versus zombies maybe :)

Have you played that game???

It's quite possibly the best zombie game.

I could see a story in there:
"They laughed at me when I told them zombies were coming...they laughed at me when I started planting sunflowers and potatoes all over my front yard...well who's laughing NOW!!!"

I love that game :) haha

Zombies are coming!

I grunt sometimes like that newspaper zombie :) him and the bowlegged pogo stick ones are my favs :)