With the release and popularity of Netflix's All of Us Are Dead, the public's interest in zombies has been reinvigorated. Cinema holds no lack of entries centered on the undead, especially in the early 2000s, which saw the release of a big-budget zombie movie almost every year. While many movies can fall into the trap of their zombies feeling the same, some stand out with their unique take on the infected. One such movie is World War Z, which arguably displays the most dangerous zombies to date.
Starring Brad Pitt, World War Z sees the world thrown into chaos within a single morning as hoards of zombies begin furiously tearing through the population. After escaping New Jersey with his family, former-soldier Gerry Lane learns that the zombies ignore the terminally ill and severely injured, as they're not seen as suitable hosts for the virus. After much running and fighting, Gerry gets this information out into the world, and a vaccine is created for survivors, making it so no zombies will target them.
Out of all the zombie movies out there, World War Z has one of the happier endings. Humanity successfully beats the outbreak, and methods are created for killing off huge masses of zombies with a precise explosion. So what is it that makes these zombies more deadly than other cinematic undead?
The most obvious and notable advantage they have is speed, as the zombies in World War Z are among the fastest ever seen. The moment they're infected, the host sprints towards their next prey with unrelenting haste. And as seen when Gerry is stuck in a traffic jam, the zombies will smash against any barrier until they get what they want. Not only does the speed of their running make them dangerous, but also the speed of their transmission. From the moment a victim is bitten, it only takes 12 seconds to transform into a zombie and begin the hunt.
The zombies' next biggest advantage is their herd mentality. While it's unknown if they share a hive-mind or simply share the same goal, the zombies will frantically pile on top of each other to overwhelm and overflow outposts. When Gerry makes it to Jerusalem, he finds a huge wall has been erected around the city. Yet despite its great height, thousands of zombies pile on top of each other to create a ramp, meaning no barricade can hold them back as they spill over like water.
That said, the World War Z zombies hold one of the biggest weaknesses: their reluctance to attack the terminally ill. The movie shows the best possible outcome for this situation, with a successful vaccine being created and distributed throughout the world. Yet if these zombies were placed into the real world, it's likely this happy ending would never happen.
By the time a vaccine was discovered and mass-produced, the human population would be pretty small. Those who survived would have to be incredibly well hidden or terminally ill, meaning they may not last long without healthcare. Contacting other survivors would prove difficult, and as for continuing the human population, any newborn child would be a zombie target if they lacked any illness.
And so, while this film's undead hold one of the biggest zombie-movie weaknesses, their sheer speed and ferocity would likely destroy humanity before anything could be done about it. Despite the movie being criticized for straying from the book, it does a good job of showing the constant chaos as the zombies spread and multiply faster than anyone can react.