Zombie Apocalypse Survival Tip

Hey, folks–

Okay, so I’m still kind of thinking about Resident Evil: Extinction. Last week I noted that one lesson the film gave us was KEEP MOVING.

This week, I’ll pass along another tip that the movie provided; one that I’ve hinted at in the past:

BE WARY OF OTHER SURVIVORS.

Here’s the thing — and not to get too cynical about my species, but still — in a disaster situation, whether it’s natural, human-caused, or a zombie apocalypse, other survivors are not your friends. There’s something funky that happens when all veneer of “civilization” falls away. As a species, we become just other mammals. That is, we become territorial, suspicious, and pretty much focused on ourselves because we’re trying to survive. However, where we differ from other species is our capacity for nastiness. When there are no rules, humans are even bigger rat-bastards to each other than when there ARE rules.

Here, from Resident Evil: Extinction to demonstrate just what I mean. This is the scene where Alice stops at a structure (an old radio station, it looks like) to see if there really are other survivors. She’s been getting a radio broadcast, after all, from someone who “needs help.” But these survivors…well, here. Watch:

linkage, in case embedding doesn’t work anymore.

See what I mean? As an aside, in terms of the entire move, this scene really didn’t serve much purpose except to demonstrate Alice’s ass-kicking abilities and the possible danger of survivors. So it’s useful in that regard.

So if you’re on your own or even with a group of survivors who know you, BEWARE OF OTHER SURVIVORS. They can be far more dangerous than zombies, because they have that nasty human characteristic of sheer cruelty and possible sadism. Bad times can bring out the worst in people. Zombies are predictable. Survivors aren’t.

All rightie! That’s your zombie apocalypse survival tip for today. Happy weekend!