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DAWN OF THE DEAD - 2004
One of the very cool things about the original three movies is that, in spite of a lot of scientific hand waving, they never figure out exactly why this is happening. A virus? A vengeful God? Alien Space Bats? It just happens and people have to deal with it. The remake takes the same approach but it does give a slight nod in the "virus" direction. I wasn't happy about that because there's no freakin' way a virus could reanimate a dead body. Think about it. A typical zombie is wandering around for months or years, never eating or drinking. No respiration, no heartbeat, and yet they can move. They don't heal but they also don't decay (if they did they'd be bloated, liquefying messes in days). Something is animating them, maintaining their body in its present state, and providing enough biochemical energy for them to move around. I have no idea what could do that but it sure as hell isn't a virus.1
SciMo UPDATE: Kelly Parks answers, "Oh, yeah. That's right." Feo Amante says, "Well so much for THIS freaking Science Moment!"
1But it could be a fungus Is a fungus capable of thought? Is it capable of planning and strategy, at least on an insect scale? Introducing the horrific mind controlling fungi Ophiocordyceps and Ophiocordyceps unilateralis. Wikipedia says there are over 140 species, but in truth there are thousands. Zombie ants controlled by fungus: study Want to learn more about insidious monster fungus? Well of COURSE you do! So spend a mind-expanding day at your local public library! Feel those new neural connections Grow! GROW! GROW! Or maybe that's the cordyceps growing in your brain. Or a brain eating amoeba. Whatevs. You can also check out these quick links of soundbite answers!
Zombie Fungus Enslaves Only Its Favorite Ant Brains The Fungus That Turns Ants Into Zombies Is More Diabolical Than We Realized UPDATE: 2019 - More Scary Discoveries! How a parasitic fungus turns ants into 'zombies' (NatGeo)
This article copyright 2004 E.C.McMullen Jr.
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INTERVIEWSJoe Mynhardt interviews E.C. McMullen Jr. in the book HORROR 201: The Silver Scream. Matt Jarbo's interview with Feo Amante at The Zurvivalist. James Cheetham's Q&A with Feo Amante at Unconventional Interviews *. Megan Scudellari interviews Feo Amante and Kelly Parks (of THE SCIENCE MOMENT) in The Scientist Magazine. Check out our interview at Science on the silver screen. REFERENCESAnthropologist Gretchen Bakke, PhD, references my UNFAIR RACIAL CLICHE ALERT as an expert resource in her 2010 Anthropological Quarterly essay @ Johns Hopkins University, Researcher David Waldron, references my review of UNDERWORLD in the Spring 2005, Journal of Religion and Popular Culture entry, Role-Playing Games and the Christian Right: Community Formation in Response to a Moral Panic (downloadable pdf). E.C. McMullen Jr.Author page at Amazon (Amazon.com)
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