Why Zombie Horror Films Will Always Be Popular

Horror films, as trite and redundant as many of the themes tend to be, are here to stay. Zombie films in particular appear to be going strong. Zombie culture is by no means a new concept-placing its stamp on pop culture somewhere around the 1920s. Technology may change. But for some reason, the world can't seem to get enough of crazed, blood-thirsty zombies. The formula for these films is pretty much the same:

"Something" (disease, witchcraft, voodoo, etc.) turns a person into a zombie; said person then goes on a rampage, infecting others with a single bite-killing others in a frenzy of bloodlust, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera... As the years pass, the "infections" become a little more believable, more clinical---thus contributing to the horror. But with such a formulaic storyline, how is it that these films are continually successful?

Claustrophobia

These films are often accompanied by an extreme sense of claustrophobia. As in 2008 film, Quarantine, the characters are confined by the CDC to a space in which they cannot escape. What's worse, they are trapped with the "monsters" they're trying to avoid. This sense of claustrophobia is prevalent in most of these movies, as the people attempting to escape peril are usually forced to hide out in enclosed areas, safe from the savages who are stalking them.

Loss of Physical Control

People are already afraid of the aging process. That we spend so much time, effort, and money on attempting to reverse aging is evidence of this. Where disease is concerned, the same sentiment applies. Knowing that the body is about to change drastically within a matter of minutes is like tripling that fear. Zombie films are typically centered on the rather abrupt process of transforming ordinary people into bloodthirsty, incoherent fiends. Losing control over our bodily functions (mental or otherwise) is perhaps one of the biggest human fears of all time.

The Taboo of Cannibalism

Infected zombies not only bite and infect others, they feed on their prey as well-acts usually depicted in graphic detail. George Romero's flesh-eating characters evoked more than just gasps in 1968 (Night of the Living Dead); they were downright petrifying, causing some children in theaters to immediately break down into tears. Many films following the "Dead" series contain extreme images of cannibalism-a topic that shall probably remain taboo until the end of time.

An Emotional Appeal

Zombie films (especially modern ones) tend to appeal to human emotion by pitting family members against one another. It's already horrifying to see that a spouse has turned into a ravenous creature. The knowledge that you may have to kill a loved one simply to survive is just too much to bear. Survival in these films typically involves brutal hand-to-hand combat. While slasher flicks and other films of this nature involve "tangential" violence, the scenes depicted in zombie films are usually very personal. This particular element in these films only intensifies the horror.

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