5. PG-13 Rating
Who makes a zombie film that's rated PG-13? Of all the missed opportunities and terrible ideas in this list, this just might be the most egregious and non-sensical, given the fact that zombie movies by their sheer nature
need to be gory (Warm Bodies also suffered from a similar problem). We've all been reared on George A. Romero zombie flicks, and one of the major appeals of a zombie film is seeing all the brain-munching, none of which is even remotely depicted here. Generally we see distant, blurry images of people being savaged by the zombies - accompanied by the aforementioned editing and directorial flourishes - but the most head-smackingly awful moment comes when Gerry has to cut the hand off of one of his comrades. The scene has no visceral appeal whatsoever; we don't see the slice, nor do we hear it, and instead Forster is forced to awkwardly focus on pained reaction shots as Gerry applies a bandage to the wound. Zombie films are meant to be terrifying, and give the fast-moving zombies this one boasts, it totally should be; instead, it's as meek and mild as they come, a result of a studio clearly clambering for box office receipts. How's about slashing the budget and making it R-rated instead?