B: some men tried to get into the house. S: well, are they still there? B: I'm not sure. We've shut the curtains.

ZOMBIE RULE OF THUMB: in the end, the zombies always win.

The fun/scary part is seeing how close the heroes come, and what trips them up in the end.

FUNNY EXAMPLE:

Shaun of the Dead is fun and funny, because the band of loser "heroes" seems so destined to fail- they're distracted by pettiness!  they just want to hang out at the bar!  and maybe hook up!  and PHILIP IS NOT MY DAD!- yet, they squeak by using their silly, average, commonplace tools and common sense.

SCARY EXAMPLE:

The heroes in Dawn of the Dead (another great movie, btw, but not my absolute fav in the entire world) seem so much more competent.  Every interaction with the zombies seems like a tiny slip down the slope of ZOMBIES WIN!, so the movie is scary but not too funny- or as fun.

My story is definitely more like Shaun of the Dead than Dawn of the Dead...  though a little different from both, because the zombies aren't actually dead.  They're just sick, a la 28 Days Later.

The problem I'm having now is, if the ZOMBIES ALWAYS WIN!, and the hero and villain are pretty recognizable, and the character stories are all kind of heavy (hey, I'm the girl who went ON and ON and ON about Anakin Skywalker's angst- of course the character stories are all kind of heavy).... where's the suspense?

Does suspense come from not knowing what's going to happen (hope not), or not knowing *how* it's going to happen (hope so).  I'm worried that I'm telegraphing who is going die.  But then again- maybe I'm just WAY too familiar with my own story to judge.

Ok, ZOMBIE TROPES:

1.  The zombies always win (check)

2.  They always do it in the most violent way possible (check)

3.  They always look funky doing it (check)

4.  It's ok to hurt them (I switch this up, but acknowledge it, so check)

5.  They go for the brain.  (WHY?  Mine go for the neck or the belly.  They're really really hungry and the neck (full of blood) and the belly (full of fat) seem like good places to feed.  Also good: thighs).

6.  They roam in packs (WHY?  Why don't they eat each other, by the way?)

7.  They NEVER FILL UP (Why do they stay perpetually hungry?  Mine have a physiological reason why they constantly feel hungry but... you can only eat so much before your stomach explodes)

8.  They only go after humans (WHY?  Because eating pets is too gross, and eating farm animals too commonplace?)

9.  They walk funny (check)

10.  They are stupid/unfeeling (WHY?  Especially if they're alive, like in 28 Days Later?  I'm thinking about changing this up a little)

11. They moan, but don't speak (WHY?)

12.  They turn VERY QUICKLY (as opposed to vampires, etc.) (sort of check- mine have a certain physiological trigger).

Any tropes I'm forgetting?  Which of these "rules" are the most/least important?

My particular story is more techno-thriller than horror-fest, so there's a lot of science, etc, and the zombies are sort of a sub-plot.  I know, I know, no fun.  But since zombies are dumb, unfeeling, mute, and not bit on individuality, how much time do I want to spend on them anyway?

THOUGH- I'd love to see a sweet, loving movie a la The Red Balloon about a zombie's journey.  Maybe sniffing out fresh meat or something.  But, you know, existential-like.