Zombies: slow vs. fast

Classic films taught us that zombies are supposed to be slow, dumb and persistent. They were usually easy to see coming, but they would take humans down with their relentless nature and unbridled pension for human flesh.

However, newer films such as "Resident Evil," "House of the Dead" and the 2004 remake of "Dawn of the Dead," challenge this notion with strong, stealthy, speedy zombies.

While purists of the genre prefer the classic lumbering zombie, does the outcrop of agile zombie flicks prove this to be a welcome transition?

Perhaps.

In the early days of horror, zombies were not the only slow villains. Classic horror icons were never seen running, yet they always had the uncanny ability of catching up to their winded victims.

Today, aside from remakes, our movie villains tend to move faster. It's a combination of better special effects and a move savvy audience. For zombies and other creatures alike, we can now see them move at the speed of light without awkward, primitive editing to make them appear faster, or worse, relying on the physical limitations of the actors.

Because today's horror films tend to rely much more so on blood, guts, gore and "gotcha" moments, we are conditioned to fear swift attacks. Gone are the days when the fear was in the approach, now, the film victims tend to be dead before they even see their killer coming.


So, you certainly have less hope of escaping a fast zombie. They can be everywhere you can be, and they tend to not be halted by small obstacles.

Classic slow zombies on the other hand, usually cannot break into a well-built structure, and are easier to outrun on a straight-away.

If the viewers correctly identify with the human victims, there is some motivation for preferring the zombies slow. The characters have a better chance of escape, and the audience has that hope.

Many fast zombie movies justify the speed of their creatures by including a back story of some kind of genetic modification. A good move, because otherwise the audience would not be likely to assume that a decomposing corpse is suddenly able to achieve startling feets of speed and strength.

On the other hand, they came back from the dead, didn't they? Maybe we shouldn't be so quick to make assumptions about their physical abilities.

Zomcoms, that is, comedic zombie films, tend to parody the slow zombie. This is because most zomcoms highlight the human character's zombie kills, and it has proven to be far more comical when the opponent is much slower.

For purists, and comedic spoofs, slow zombies will always be the desired foe, but fast zombies still instill fear, in their victims and the audience

Stardom no excuse for Polanski

When we think of criminals fleeing the United States to avoid arrest, we often imagine them living off the grid in some exotic country, keeping a low profile by assuming a new identity.

However, after engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor in 1977, filmmaker Roman Polanski fled to France. There, he has continued to live a privileged life, direct high profile films and even receive an Academy Award.

As we know, all of this changed when Polanski was arrested on an outstanding warrant in Zurich, Switzerland, Sept. 26, while visiting the country to accept a lifetime achievement award.

He is currently in custody, awaiting a formal extradition request from the U.S.

The 2008 documentary “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired” illuminates the details of the original Polanski case. While photographing then 13-year-old model Samantha Geimer for the French edition of Vogue, Polanski engaged in sexual intercourse with the teen.

After the victim turned him in, Polanski faced a barrage of charges, including rape by use of drugs, perversion, sodomy, a lewd and lascivious act upon a child under 14, engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and furnishing a controlled substance to a minor.

Polanski pled guilty to the lesser charge of engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.

While the film begins with a transcript of the victim’s chilling testimony, it soon delves into the narrative of Polanski’s life. He survived the Holocaust, suffered the pain of his pregnant wife’s murder by the Manson Family, was hounded by a relentless press and faced a ruthless judge who played fast and loose with the legal system.

After the initial shock, it’s actually easy to feel sorry for the man. Couple this narrative of perseverance with the fact that he is an award-winning filmmaker, and the Hollywood elite would have you believe this is enough to forget about his crime.

But Polanski is not above the law, and his accomplishments do not make his crime any less heinous or illegal. It’s only prestige that separates him from any other sex offender in the registry.

Yes, it was a different time; Polanski was confined for a 42-day observational sentence in state prison, and the victim is currently preaching forgiveness. But no inconsistency, legal injustice or minor technicality excuses what he did and how he subsequently handled it.

As we await his extradition, the thing that should matter above all else is a fact one wouldn’t think needed arguing: that no amount of wealth, talent or connections makes it all right for a middle-aged man to have sex with a 13-year-old child.