Anything Goes : Zombies by Brooke A. Price

Is that what you want to see in a zombie film?

A shotgun blast to a zombie's head, a hatchet burred in a zombie's skull, a piece of rebar thrust through a zombie's eye socket and out the back of its head, all required images for a good zombie flick. How can any of this be implied off screen suspense?

Not likely that you are going to best the master of suspense, Mr. Hitchcock.

Of course you can make a movie without seeing the (insert boogey-man du jour here). Trying to do something different in the genre is refreshing. Seems that everybody wants the same movie made again and again. Kinda sad comment about "creative" people. Perhaps there are 2 questions that apply here: 1-why are there any "rules' about zombies and more importantly 2-perhaps it would be better to make a suspenseful movie that doesn't have zombies.

There are rules, because zombies have become mainstream. They were established long before the current crop of zombie movies and episodic TV shows. Is your target audience going to be enthralled by your suspenseful withholding of the "creature" or bored and disappointed? If your target is festivals, would you want to hear viewers say "I don't get it, all that build up and then nothing. Guess they had zero dollars for effects makeup, what a letdown".

Hmmm... rules for the dead that have come back to life. Has anyone asked the dead who have come back to life if these rules are accurate? As to the original question, The Haunting from the early 60's, Blair Witch Project, and the Paranormal Activities cash machine, seem to do well selling the sizzle and not the steak. If it is well done it will be a good picture, if it is not well done it won't be a good picture. Certainly it is worth trying.

The Haunting, Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity are not zombie movies. If "The Haunting" didn't have any haunting in it it would not have worked. If the Paranormal Activity movies had nothing paranormal happen they would not work. As to the original question; do you know of any zombie movies in the last 45 years that didn't show the zombies but only can hear / see a glimpse or a shadow of them?

They are not Zombie movies, but movies where the scary thingy was not seen.

I understand that. But the question isn't can a movie work when scary things are not seen. the questions is will not seeing zombies in a zombie movie work. It's clear that not seeing some things can work in a horror film. I disagree with you that "The Haunting" is sizzle and not steak - it's use of the unseen is what makes it a great movie about a haunting. I think we see the paranormal activities in Paranormal Activity (only saw the first one) so I don't understand your point. I think the key to a zombie movie is the zombies.

This is all good feedback