The Last of Us is a zombie series. Yes, the infected in the already acclaimed video game adaptation, the on Sky/WOW since January 16, 2023 is to stream look different than the classic undead from The Walking Dead and Co. But the story of the grumpy smuggler Joel (Pedro Pascal), who escorts the teenage girl Ellie (Bella Ramsey) past monsters and people through half the USA clearly takes place in a zombie-infected, post-apocalyptic world.
Fans of dystopian horror series and the games of the same name should be all the more surprised that Season 1 of The Last of Us a lot of apocalypse, but hardly any infected indicates. A good decision, after all, the topic of zombies has long since died out – in the truest sense of the word.
The Last of Us games need zombie action, the series doesn’t
HBO
The Last of Us is always at its best when there are no infected to be seen
actually The Last of Us was never about zombies, it was about peoplewho live in a broken world due to a dangerous infection. According to game creator Neil Druckmann from video game developer Naughty Dog, there was even a brief thought about doing without infected people completely in the first game. The fact that it didn’t happen that way also has something to do with the fact that the infected provide variety and interesting game situations in the games.
Slowly figuring out the best way to get through a room full of mushroom zombies undetected, each with different levels of danger, respond to different stimuli, and generally behave very differently from human enemies? the perfect mix of puzzle and thrill.
The biggest difference between series and games? The infected only play a supporting role – and rightly so
In the story itself, however, the infected only play a minor role. That’s exactly why HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation does the only right thing and only shows it when it’s absolutely necessary from a dramaturgical point of view.
When infected appear in The Last of Us — and that happens in a surprisingly small number of scenes in the 9 episodes of the first season — then it means something.
A decision that Zombie horror fans likely to disappoint. In fact, other zombie universes should take a look at how the end-times series deals with its greatest horror aspect. Then:
Let’s be honest: Is it gasping, shuffling undead that caused the biggest surprises and most emotional scenes on The Walking Dead? no Or at most as a threatening equipment element in the background.
Zombies have always been one of the most boring aspects of horror franchises
Zombies are not interesting antagonists. They have no complex motif, no elaborate plans, they remain static. It is enough to use them at regular intervals and very consciously to remind people: The world is broken. That’s why people become monsters and ultimately the real threat of an end-time scenario.
A zombie movie with a difference… Watch the trailer for Fido here:
Fido Good dead people are hard to find – Trailer (German)
zombies and you never-ending hunger for human flesh can be creepy or overwhelming for the characters or just primarily the triggering factor of the dystopian social overthrow, in which the real story is possible in the first place. One thing zombies are never: exciting.
Even if they deviate from the classic image of the shambling undead like in Danny Boyle’s cult film 28 Days Later. One of the few exceptions for me is the film Fido, in which the eponymous zombie befriends a little boy. The zombie is here too, though more human than undead flesh.
Even unusual zombies like in The Last of Us are only scary if you hardly see them
Granted, so did the zombie-like creatures in The Last of Us differ from the classic undead, which can only be eliminated by a shot or a stab in the brain. That alone makes Naughty Dog and HBO’s zombie mushroom apocalypse far more exciting.
The infected in The Last of Us are fascinating, hideous, terrifying and tragically beautiful too. The way the fungus gradually disintegrates the former human shell is visually incredibly immersive. But this visuality is also effective because it is used so sparingly.
Because with zombies it’s like all other horror elements in the end: The unknown is what scares you the mostwhat you think you see in the shadows. What comes to light when you least expect it. Not what you can hear and smell in the brown-green forest from dozens of meters away.
More The Last of Us: Why the video game adaptation has what it takes to be the best horror series of 2023
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Moviepilot Editor-in-Chief Lisa Ludwig and Rae Grimm, Head of GamePro and Head of Publishing at Webedia Gaming, discuss without spoilerswhy they care so much about The Last of Us, what they hope for from Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin’s series adaptation – and what still worries them a bit.
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How do you feel about zombies in films and series? Creepy or mercilessly overused?