Ever noticed that characters in zombie movies rarely call them zombies? We take a look at some of the reasons why they’re mostly called ‘infected’, ‘biters’ or other words other than the ‘z’ one…
I’ve been watching horror movies ever since I was way too young to watch horror movies. It’s always been my favourite genre, and from classics like Romero’s Night of the Living Dead to modern interpretations like Train to Busan, zombie flicks have always been especially interesting to me. From mindless popcorn flicks to some of the earliest parodies of society, they’ve offered a lot of mileage for whatever story you’re trying to tell.
But among this spectrum of dumb fun and high intellectualism, one thing has always bugged me: why does nobody ever just call zombies “zombies”?
It’s not exactly a small oversight. I remember clearly sitting cross-legged in front of the TV, confused as characters danced around the word, calling these brain-munching horrors anything but what they clearly were. “Walkers,” “infected,” “biters”—every name imaginable, except the obvious one. It was like the horror equivalent of refusing to say “Macbeth.” or what I thought swear words were as a kid.
At first, I thought filmmakers were just being pretentious—too cool to use a word as obvious as “zombie.” And there might be something to this. Zombie is a pretty funny word, particularly when you say it in a thick accent. Like, if there was an outbreak in Birmingham, I don’t think it’d sound quite as threatening if Ozzy Osbourne was like “Oh no! There’s a zombie, Sharon!” It also might make sense why films that do mention zombies by name, tend to be comedies. It’s one step away from a seriously tense scene of people running away from the boogieman. It just doesn’t sound that scary.
One film that brilliantly highlighted this oddity was Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead. Shaun literally scolds Ed for using the “Z-word,” even while they’re clearly surrounded by zombies. That moment felt weirdly cathartic—finally, someone acknowledged the ridiculousness of the situation. It might genuinely be the best zombie movie ever made too.
There’s also a historical angle. George Romero, who basically gave us the modern zombie archetype, never explicitly used the term in his original Living Dead series. It feels almost like an act of respect to continue this trend. When he brought the concept to the mainstream, the word zombie was more closely tied to Caribbean mysticism than anything, and it feels almost reverential to follow Romero’s footsteps and leave the word alone, and let audiences fill in the blanks.
Sidebar, I fist bumped George Romero once. He was a super cool dude. Rest in peace.
Then there’s the narrative convenience of it all. If characters aren’t aware they’re dealing with zombies, it makes their struggles seem more believable. Like, you have to just suspend your disbelief that before everything kicks off and people start getting eaten, the world is a carbon copy of our own, only know one’s ever heard of zombies, zombie movies or anything like that. While it’s a stretch in logic you have to accept, it does prevent things from having to be annoyingly meta, instead you get genuinely confused people trying to comprehend an unimaginable horror, which is much more interesting.
This leads nicely to psychological horror. The unknown is far scarier than a clearly labeled threat. Calling them “infected” or “biters” implies something mysterious or uncertain, possibly even reversible. I admit, as a viewer, part of me desperately hoped the “infected” could be cured—maybe someone would discover the antidote, and all would be well again. But once you label them zombies, all that hope goes away pretty quickly.
So maybe filmmakers avoid the term out of tradition, homage, realism, or just to maintain suspense. Whatever the reason, it’s become an unwritten rule of horror cinema. And honestly, as I’ve researched this video, I’ve grown to appreciate it. There’s something oddly charming about characters tiptoeing around the obvious. It’s like a Wilhelm Scream or the Akira Slide. Once you notice it, you appreciate the nod and wink of it all.
But it’s also pretty funny when a character just comes out and says it too.
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Tom Baker
I like Star Wars, heavy metal and BBQ Pringles.
