by Mike Mougeot

Created on: April 24, 2008

Ever have that dream where you run as fast as you can from some unknown enemy only to never be fast enough? That dream where you wake in the middle of the night terrified of what could come next from the endless imagination of dreams? The idea of a fast zombie is a crippling thought people would never want to face in reality. If you had to choose between a fast zombie or a slow zombie which would you honestly choose? A smart person would choose the easier to escape from. How afraid could you be if you could walk right past the living dead? Sure; it would be uneasy to have to walk past or even look at a walking mutilated corpse, but what if you had to run from one? Actually run for your life, or be torn apart by a disease ridden cadaver that runs faster than a gold medalist in the Olympics?

The idea of an effective zombie is one that not only paralyzes its prey with terror but one that can actually reach its prey. In the movie Shaun of the Dead (2004); how afraid of the zombies where you? Looking at them you could laugh, even run past them or hit them with you car. The thought of a slow moving zombie army would make anybody with working legs laugh as they reload. A fast moving zombie would suck the laughter right out of you. If you had to stare down a fast moving zombie could you steady your aim long enough to kill it before it kills you? I would prefer to have time to reload if I miss. With a fast zombie there is no second chance, you miss, you die. Period.

The movie Dawn of the Dead (2004), made a great example of the effectiveness a fast zombie could have. With the zombies moving faster than they did when they were alive, they could spread the infection faster than people could possibly of imagined. Each bite was a death sentence, each infected became a statistic in the decline of survival. Each moving zombie running at full speed made it already hard enough to take down with head shot, but while on the move? Most people don't have that kind of training to hit a moving target in the head. Even the military would have great difficulty. A slow moving zombie horde would only allow the military to practice their shots, no worries.

To choose a slow moving zombie over a fast moving zombie as the most effective is not only foolhardy but a huge mistake. If there ever where to be a zombie apocalypse, I would pray the zombies where as slow and dumb as most movies portray; survival would be assured. If such is not the case however, keep a sharp weapon at your side, cause if a fast zombie gets to you and they probably will; have something for close combat if you want to live.

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