As long time readers of TG know, we’re not crazy about movies and TV shows that explain every little thing for the audience.
This has grown especially tiresome with the whole prequel craze, where we see how the Death Star was built, how Jason in Friday the 13th became Jason, etc.
While in many cases, it can be great to learn certain additional things in a story, like Darth Vader being Luke’s father, which in fact is one of the best story twists of all time. But some things are truly better left unsaid, or left up to the audience’s imagination. This may also be the case with The Walking Dead, which may never explain or show who or what was responsible for the outbreak that caused the zombie outbreak dead.
Although the original modern zombie film, Night of the Living Dead, left things somewhat vague, you did get the understanding it had something to do with a satellite crashing. And in many modern zombie tales, it’s usually an infection of some sort that brings the dead back to life. But try to imagine if zombies had indeed taken over, and nobody could come up with a logical explanation at all? What if the outbreak just happened, and before we know it, we’re outnumbered by the living dead. That’s pretty scary, no?
Now TV Guide tells us that with the ratings powerhouse The Walking Dead, the first stages of the zombie outbreak may never be shown. As Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman said, “I don’t find that to be interesting at all. 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.”
If you just have to see a zombie outbreak, Kirkman recommended the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead and Shaun of the Dead. The 1979 Dawn of the Dead was cool too, because you assume the zombie outbreak from Night of the Living Dead was never contained, or at least I did.
And maybe it’s ultimately better we never see the first domino falling that starts the chain reaction. They’re dead, they’re back, and now we have to deal with it, so stock up the bunker, and keep working on your sharp shooting skills.
