Why The Zombie Obsession

The Horror Of Film Mirroring Reality

June 16, 2025
by Mish'al K. Samman

Okay, so… I’ve been thinking — why are there so many zombie movies lately?

Like, not just one or two. It feels like every few months there’s a new show or movie where the world ends, everyone’s infected, and we’re just… trying not to get eaten.

But here’s the thing, I don’t think it’s really about zombies anymore. It’s about how tired everyone is.

Back in the day, zombies were slow, creepy — they kind of stood for mindless society or whatever. Now? They’re fast, they spread like viruses, and they don’t stop. And I feel like that says something about where we’re all at mentally.

We’re all burnt out. We wake up tired. We scroll through disasters on our phones. People are overwhelmed, and we don’t really know who to trust. So the movies reflect that. The world’s ending, no one’s in charge, and you just gotta survive one more day.

And even the main characters — they’re not heroes. They’re just broken people trying to protect someone or find food. Like, that’s it. There’s no big win. Just do not die. That’s it.

It’s not like older movies where you save the day and feel hopeful. These days, it’s more like… “Congrats. You lived. Now do it again tomorrow.”

So yeah, I think zombie movies are basically about survival fatigue now. Not fear of death — fear of being alive in a broken world and not knowing what to do.

That’s where we’re at, I guess. Everyone’s just trying to keep going… even when it feels like the world already ended. And the people we are supposed to trust? Well, let's just say they had other priorities. They tricked us. And now… well…

We got dumbed down enough that we have to resort to being barbarians to survive.

Maybe we’re trying to understand the chaos…
by making movies that don’t make sense…
until they feel like us.

So why the zombie obsession?

Because somewhere deep down, we all feel it:

We’re not afraid the world is ending.
We’re afraid it already has…
and we’re just too numb to notice.

About the Author
Mish’al Samman is a writer, performer, and lifelong fanboy who began his career covering comics, film, and fandom culture for Fanboy Planet in the early 2000s. With a voice rooted in sincerity, humor, and cultural observation, his work blends personal storytelling with pop-culture insight. Whether he’s reflecting on the soul of Star Wars or exploring identity through genre, Mish’al brings a grounded, human perspective to every galaxy he writes about.