In zombie films, the viewer is often treated to an endless horde of undead fodder, there and gone again, soon forgotten. But every so often, we are treated to a special zombie. One who captures the heart of the viewer without gnawing it out of their chest cavity. How many of these friendly, festering fellas have you seen?
1. Bub (Day of the Dead)
When Day of the Dead came out, Romero introduced us to a zombie we could love. Bub is a friendly guy who bonded with mad scientist Dr. Logan in the depths of a military shelter housing some of the last humans. Logan discovered that Bub retains some memories of his former self and is actually quite personable. Bub remembers things like phones, tooth brushes, and even guns. The friendly zombie foregoes attacking people, even when the opportunity presents itself, and actively mourns the loss of his kooky doctor friend when Logan is killed. Bub goes so far as to go hunting for his master’s killers, toting a gun and looking for revenge.
2. Fido (Fido)
This is a more recent zomcom in the style of Lassie. The film takes place in a post zombie apocalypse 50’s where zombies are now productive members of society through the use of control collars which repress their aggression. Fido, the zombie the film is named after, is purchased by a family to help around the house. He bonds with the family, especially little Timmy, and saves the day when the lad gets in a scrape. He loves his family so much he won’t hurt them, even when his collar stops working. By the film’s end, Fido has earned his place as a member of the family.
3. Ed (Shaun of the Dead)
At the end of the day, don’t we all just strive for a zombie friend to play video games with? No? Just me then. Anyway, Shaun of the dead showed us that friendship doesn’t stop with the heartbeat when Shaun’s best mate, Ed, is bit at the end of the film, only to next be seen living in the shed waiting for his buddy to visit and play video games. And though he can be a bit… bitey… there is no denying that this is friendship at it’s best.
4. Sidekick Zombie (Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead)
Undead loyalty reaches new heights with the aptly dubbed Sidekick Zombie from Dead Snow 2 (who I shall refer to as Francis for the remainder of this article). When Martin has the arm from the Nazi zombie leader grafted on at the hospital due to a mixup, he gains some of the villain’s powers, including reanimating and controlling the dead. The first one he reanimates? Francis. Francis follows Martin around with all the loyalty and love of an ugly, decaying puppy. And even if Francis gets banged up (has his skull crushed in or his body used to give a tire traction to get out of the mud), Martin just brings him back again and Francis never falters in his affections.
5. R (Warm Bodies)
Nah! Just kidding! We aren’t going to go there…
What do you think, dear reader? What other zombies fit the bill?
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