20 Mind-Blowing Facts About George A. Romero’s Living Dead Movies
3. Don’t Say The ‘Z’ Word
The unspoken rule of zombie filmmaking is that you do not use the ‘Z’ word. Lurkers, biters and the living challenged are all perfectly fine terms to use, but you should never say the word ‘zombie’. Well, almost never.
As the father of the zombie genre, Romero was well versed in this trope. Throughout his Living Dead series the undead are referred to by a number of terms – ghouls, flesh-eaters, those things, stenches, deadheads – but very rarely are they called zombies.
There are a couple of exceptions to the rule, however. In both Dawn of the Dead and Survival of the Dead the flesh-hungry hordes are referred to in passing as zombies while in Land of the Dead, Romero himself says the ‘Z’ word in his voiceover cameo.
But yeah, in general you should avoid uttering the word zombie should you find yourself starring in a zombie movie.