Night of the Creeps: Zombie Movie Or Not?
Where do we draw the line on what is and what is not a zombie movie? We just can’t decide on our own, so every Monday we’ll post a new movie to be debated by, you, our readers and ask the question: Zombie Movie Or Not? Every Sunday we’ll post our findings and possibly strike that movie off our Zombie Movie List. The week should give you enough time to rent the movie if need be or you desire.
What every reader must keep in mind is that there are two basic types of zombie that every zombie movie based off of - the Voodoo Zombie and the Romero Zombie. The Voodoo Zombie, while not always raised by Voodoo necessarily, is basically a person, either undead or entranced, that is controlled by a person or entity for the purpose of completing tasks, often killing. Romero Zombies are basically mindless, flesh-eating undead whose bite will turn victims into zombies. Now, not all movies adhere to all of these rules, but if the basics are there, you got a zombie movie.
This weeks debate is over Night of the Creeps (1986) Directed by Fred Dekker.
IS: They’re the rotting and shambling walking dead after the living.
IS NOT: They’re just a host body for an alien parasite. There’s no infection by bite!
Now it’s up to you, reader. What do you think? Night of the Creeps: Zombie Movie Or Not?
They’re zombies.
It’s a close one - I voted against “Slither” being a zombie movie. The difference here is that these guys are definitely dead, alien parasite or not. They’re shambolic and they seek to infect the living, even if they don’t need to bite people to do it. The lack of flesh-eating is an issue, but overall, enough zombie film conventions are met.
They’re zombies. I will give no explanation, but bonus points for having a character named Romero.
Zombies. Animated dead shambling and seeking to convert the living through superior numbers.
This one fits nicely into the whole survival horror setting, so YES I consider it sort of a zombie movie. Alien life forms are just one option for a living dead concept. Not my favorite one but hey, it beats viral infection (unless they are actually still living)! And since when did a bite become a requisite for zombification? Since Resident Evil? (Originally it was the unburied dead, and later it was the blasted Trioxin. Viruses don’t affect the dead, only the living. They kill the living, and they don’t come back. Sorry.)
Pork-Eater: And since when did a bite become a requisite for zombification? Since Resident Evil?
Are you serious? Seriously.
Zombie. The slugs are just another form of transmission, but they’re classic zombies. Love this movie BTW…
take care,
Tec
Yes — zombie movie!
Nate: Did I say something controversial or did you just not understand what I said? Or is it perhaps my bad English?
What I mean is that you don’t have to be bitten to become a living dead in the Romeroverse. When you think about it, neither do you have to get bitten in the Return of the Living Dead universe. In Fulci’s Zombi 2 there were rotten conquistadors (or whatever) rising from their graves – no one bit them, right?
So when was it that a bite from a zombie became such an important part of the zombie genre? That’s like saying that all zombies eat brains, or at least should wanna eat some. Ridiculous!
(Note that the original post says; “There’s no infection by bite!” as an argument for alien controlled living dead not being actual living dead.)
Pork-Eater: I took it as you were saying that it wasn’t until Resident Evil or so that a bite could “infect/ turn” you. No controversy , I just thought you’d gone off your rocker for a moment. Also, +5 zombie points for Trioxin reference.
Yes. ‘Night of the Creeps’ = Zombie movie!
yes.zombie movie
YES it’s a zombie movie. 100% agree with Don’s comments, as the lack of flesh eating is the only problem for me as well (and oddly I voted FOR “Slither” because though not dead/undead, there was zombie style flesh eating which is what tipped my vote to yes on that one).
Pork-Eater and Nate’s discussion has brought an interesting thing to the forefront: bites were not required to infect even in the “Romero pantheon”. I just re-watched Savini’s 90 remake of NOTLD and at the conclusion Ben is a zombie though he has not been bitten (far as I could tell though he did a lot of tumbling around with the zeddies).
Readers should also check the “Shivers” ZMON installment, which struck me as just as relevant to this as the “Slither” debate.
Kelly: I guess my point is that zombie movies never were movies about “infection”. That came later and really should only apply in movies like 28 [time units] Later where the infected aren’t even dead to begin with. Romero always stated it was the “unburied dead” that re-animated, the bites simply killed you - and then you re-animated because you’re dead. (The infection from the bite kills you. It doesn’t make you a zombie as such.)