History Main / BewareTheLiving

Indeed, in zombie fiction, the protagonists will often come to realize that zombies are the ''least'' of their problems. The real threat will come from [[DisasterScavengers roaming gangs of bandits]], [[ColonelKilgore psychotic military officers determined to mow down everything in sight]], or even normal, everyday people who were DrivenToMadness by the horror going on around them.

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater'', the protagonists face their biggest threat not from the zombies but from the group of soldiers they encounter.
* This trope is a major theme in George A. Romero's ''Film/LivingDeadSeries'', which is also probably the UrExample and TropeCodifier. For example, in ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'', [[spoiler:the sole survivor of the film]] gets shot by some redneck zombie hunter, who doesn't bother checking whether his target is alive or not. In the following parts of the series, that focus more on the effects of the ZombieApocalypse on human society, people fall in complete anarchy. More often than not, the zombies actually end up ''working for the favor'' of the protagonists by killing the humans who pose a more considerable threat to them.

->''"These zombies, they're annoying, sure, but they're easy to kill. Kinda fun, even. The real threat is the ''people''. An outbreak like this ''does things'' to men."''

-->-- '''Chuck Greene''', ''VideoGame/DeadRising2''

->''"I trust those zombies about as far as I can throw 'em, but I trust people even less!"''
-->-- '''Cletus''', ''VideoGame/DeadRising''

Indeed, in zombie fiction, the protagonists will often come to realize that zombies are the ''least'' of their problems. The real threat will come from roaming gangs of bandits, [[ColonelKilgore psychotic military officers determined to mow down everything in sight]], or even normal, everyday people who were DrivenToMadness by the horror going on around them.

* While the titular ''ComicBook/{{Crossed}}'' are psychopathic, sadistic, murderous rapists (and all four those of those can apply in one scene), many of the surviving humans aren't much better. The biggest example would be the ranch owner who started a religious cult (and had been raping his daughter for years). The protagonists also shoot a bunch of children in cold blood (they would likely have starved/become Crossed otherwise, but that doesn't make them feel any better).

* In ''Dead of Winter'' zombies are a constant problem but the real conflict arises from the fact that each player has their own secret agenda despite everyone supposedly playing cooperatively. Some agendas require the player to hoard vital supplies without whom the other players will suffer penalties. Others outright require you to arrange for other characters to get killed off.

* In a similar way to ''VideoGame/DayZ'', this can also happen in ''VideoGame/UrbanDead''. While zombies definitely pose a threat (particularly when organised en masse), other human players can prove to be a pain in the arse in different ways. Free running allows them to get into buildings in order to destroy generators, pick other survivors off one by one and destroy barricades. God help you if you fall victim to a ZergRush (which is supposed to be illegal).

* ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'' includes several examples of this, particularly The Governor, who happily feeds survivors from outside his town to the zombies in order to keep them 'docile'.

* Most of the survivors in ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' are not on your side; or, for that matter, anyone's. At one point, Bill (the hero's CrazyPrepared ally) remarks that he's more afraid of other survivors than infected, since the infected are at least predictable.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

* In the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' franchise, the threat posed by zombie outbreaks is typically just a sign of the much larger threat posed by the Umbrella Corp (and various other {{Big Bad}}s when they [[spoiler: finally get shut down between the events of the first three games and ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'']]) and the [[AttackAnimal weaponised mutants]] they manufacture from the "lucky" few who ''don't'' turn into zombies.

--> '''Cletus''', ''VideoGame/DeadRising''

Let's face it; zombies, on an individual level, aren't really that threatening. Sure, they may be impervious to pain and capable of infecting their victims with a single bite, but they're slow, they're clumsy, and they lack the mental capacity to use any kind of tools. Chances are, as long as you have [[BoomHeadshot good aim]], you'll be able to dispose of them with ease.

But in a ZombieApocalypse, you may find yourself face-to-face with monsters far more terrifying than the living dead. They're cunning, resilient, resourceful, and absolutely ruthless... and by now, you probably know where this is going.

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* While the titular ''ComicBook/{{Crossed}}'' are psychopathic, sadistic, murderous rapists (and all four those of those can apply in one scene), many of the surviving humans aren't much better. The biggest example would be the ranch owner who started a religious cult (and had been raping his daughter for years). The protagonists also shoot a bunch of children in cold blood (they would likely have starved/become Crossed otherwise, but that doesn't make them feel any better).
* ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'' includes several examples of this, particularly The Governor, who happily feeds survivors from outside his town to the zombies in order to keep them 'docile'.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* In ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater'', the protagonists face their biggest threat not from the zombies but from the group of soldiers they encounter.
* This trope is a major theme in George A. Romero's ''Film/LivingDeadSeries'', which is also probably the UrExample and TropeCodifier. For example, in ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'', [[spoiler:the sole survivor of the film]] gets shot by some redneck zombie hunter, who doesn't bother checking whether his target is alive or not. In the following parts of the series, that focus more on the effects of the ZombieApocalypse on human society, people fall in complete anarchy. More often than not, the zombies actually end up ''working for the favor'' of the protagonists by killing the humans who pose a more considerable threat to them.
* The zombies in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland'' never actually try to harm the protagonists. As revealed at the end of the film, the zombies are actually [[spoiler: victims of a life- draining curse cast by the main villains of the movie, Lena and Simone. Every harvest moon, the zombies rise to scare away visitors, keeping their operation secret.]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* ''Literature/TheZombieSurvivalGuide'' devotes one chapter to weighing the pros and cons of different types of shelter, from schools to office buildings to churches. When discussing prisons, the author mentions that it's often safer to confront ten zombies than it is to take on one hardened criminal.
* ''Literature/{{Newsflesh}}'': The living are definitely as big a threat, or worse, than the zombies. They try to control the remaining living with fear, and with weaponized zombie outbreaks.
* In ''Literature/IAmLegend'', Neville realizes that to the vampires, he's the monster - especially since some of the vamps he has been killing have managed to supress the killing urge.
* In ''Literature/TheDayOfTheTriffids'', the triffids are a hazard, but the most dangerous threats faced by the protagonists are humans choosing to take advantage of the associated societal collapse.
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', this trope is in effect beyond the Wall. [[GrimUpNorth There]] roam the Others and their undead hordes, but some of the [[ArmyOfThievesAndWhores Night's Watch]] ([[DangerousDeserter especially the deserters, mutineers and their ilk]]) and many [[BarbarianTribe Wildlings]] can be just as vicious.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* The BBC Miniseries ''Series/InTheFlesh'' features an interesting variation on this trope. It presents a universe in which zombies are actually capable of behaving like completely normal humans, and the main conflict of the story concerns the FantasticRacism they suffer at the hands of the living.

[[AC:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''Dead of Winter'' zombies are a constant problem but the real conflict arises from the fact that each player has their own secret agenda despite everyone supposedly playing cooperatively. Some agendas require the player to hoard vital supplies without whom the other players will suffer penalties. Others outright require you to arrange for other characters to get killed off.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* ''VideoGame/DeadRising''
** The game uses this trope extensively and lampshades it on more than one occasion. Zombies are relatively easy to kill, but the true challenge comes from taking down the bosses of the game (dubbed "Psychopaths") who are generally either regular humans who were driven insane or sadistic sociopaths who are simply taking advantage of the situation. And that's not even getting into the second part of the game, [[spoiler: when the [[DemonicSpiders special forces agents]] show up...]]
** In one scene in ''Dead Rising 2: Off the Record'', Chuck Greene effortlessly restrains a female zombie while commenting on how easy they are to kill compared to psychotic survivors (or as he calls them, 'nutbars').
* Most of the survivors in ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' are not on your side; or, for that matter, anyone's. At one point, Bill (the hero's CrazyPrepared ally) remarks that he's more afraid of other survivors than infected, since the infected are at least predictable.
* In the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' franchise, the threat posed by zombie outbreaks is typically just a sign of the much larger threat posed by the Umbrella Corp (and various other {{Big Bad}}s when they [[spoiler: finally get shut down between the events of the first three games and ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'']]) and the [[AttackAnimal weaponised mutants]] they manufacture from the "lucky" few who ''don't'' turn into zombies.

[[AC:WebComics]]

----

* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', this trope is in effect beyond the Wall. [[GrimUpNorth There]] roam the Others and their undead hordes, but some of the [[ArmyOfThievesAndWhores Night's Watch]] (especially the deserters, mutineers and their ilk) and many [[BarbarianTribe Wildlings]] can be just as vicious.

* This trope is a major theme in George A. Romero's ''Living Dead'' series, which is also probably the UrExample and TropeCodifier. For example, in ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'', [[spoiler:the sole survivor of the film]] gets shot by some redneck zombie hunter, who doesn't bother checking whether his target is alive or not. In the following parts of the series, that focus more on the effects of the ZombieApocalypse on human society, people fall in complete anarchy. More often than not, the zombies actually end up ''working for the favor'' of the protagonists by killing the humans who pose a more considerable threat to them.

* This trope is a major theme in George A. Romero's Living Dead series, which is also probably the UrExample and TropeCodifier. For example, in ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead'', [[spoiler:the sole survivor of the film]] gets shot by some redneck zombie hunter, who doesn't bother checking whether his target is alive or not. In the following parts of the series, that focus more on the effects of the ZombieApocalypse on human society, people fall in complete anarchy. More often than not, the zombies actually end up ''working for the favor'' of the protagonists by killing the humans who pose a more considerable threat to them.

** In ''The Rising'' series, while the zombies may be the most serious threat to the world, the various humans are nothing to laugh at either. In ''The Rising'', a drug gang and a cannibal duo nearly kill three of the protagonists before the ''real'' bastards pop up- [[spoiler:the Pennsylvania National Guard, who are mostly a brigade of psychopathic rapists]]. While ''City of the Dead'' puts the focus almost fully on the zombies, some humans again prove to be a SpannerInTheWorks. ''Selected Scenes From the End of the World'' has living humans fill the role as antagonists throughout the book until the penultimate chapter, [[spoiler:owing to the world being burned to a crisp]].

->"I trust those zombies about as far as I can throw 'em, but I trust people even less!"

* In an interesting version of this trope, in DayZ, other players are often times much more dangerous than the zombies, as organized groups of bandits will shoot you on sight for supplies, to make sure that you don't kill them, or simply For the Evulz.

* While the titular \'\'ComicBook/{{Crossed}}\'\' are psychopathic, sadistic, murderous rapists (and all four those of those can apply in one scene), many of the surviving humans aren\'t much better. The biggest example would be the ranch owner who started a religious cult (and had been raping his daughter for years). The protagonists also shoot a bunch of children in cold blood (they would likely have starved/become Crossed otherwise, but that doesn\'t make them feel any better).
* \'\'ComicBook/TheWalkingDead\'\' includes several examples of this, particularly The Governor, who happily feeds survivors from outside his town to the zombies in order to keep them \'docile\'.

* In \'\'Film/TwentyEightDaysLater\'\', the protagonists face their biggest threat not from the zombies but from the group of soldiers they encounter.
* This trope is a major theme in George A. Romero\'s Living Dead series, which is also probably the UrExample and TropeCodifier. For example, in \'\'Film/NightOfTheLivingDead\'\', [[spoiler:the sole survivor of the film]] gets shot by some redneck zombie hunter, who doesn\'t bother checking whether his target is alive or not. In the following parts of the series, that focus more on the effects of the ZombieApocalypse on human society, people fall in complete anarchy. More often than not, the zombies actually end up \'\'working for the favor\'\' of the protagonists by killing the humans who pose a more considerable threat to them.
* The zombies in \'\'WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland\'\' never actually try to harm the protagonists. As revealed at the end of the film, the zombies are actually [[spoiler: victims of a life- draining curse cast by the main villains of the movie, Lena and Simone. Every harvest moon, the zombies rise to scare away visitors, keeping their operation secret.]]

* \'\'Literature/TheZombieSurvivalGuide\'\' devotes one chapter to weighing the pros and cons of different types of shelter, from schools to office buildings to churches. When discussing prisons, the author mentions that it\'s often safer to confront ten zombies than it is to take on one hardened criminal.
* \'\'Literature/{{Newsflesh}}\'\': The living are definitely as big a threat, or worse, than the zombies. They try to control the remaining living with fear, and with weaponized zombie outbreaks.
* In \'\'Literature/IAmLegend\'\', Neville realizes that to the vampires, he\'s the monster - especially since some of the vamps he has been killing have managed to supress the killing urge.
* In \'\'Literature/TheDayOfTheTriffids\'\', the triffids are a hazard, but the most dangerous threats faced by the protagonists are humans choosing to take advantage of the associated societal collapse.

* The BBC Miniseries \'\'Series/InTheFlesh\'\' features an interesting variation on this trope. It presents a universe in which zombies are actually capable of behaving like completely normal humans, and the main conflict of the story concerns the FantasticRacism they suffer at the hands of the living.

* In \'\'Dead of Winter\'\' zombies are a constant problem but the real conflict arises from the fact that each player has their own secret agenda despite everyone supposedly playing cooperatively. Some agendas require the player to hoard vital supplies without whom the other players will suffer penalties. Others outright require you to arrange for other characters to get killed off.

* \'\'VideoGame/DeadRising\'\'
** The game uses this trope extensively and lampshades it on more than one occasion. Zombies are relatively easy to kill, but the true challenge comes from taking down the bosses of the game (dubbed \"Psychopaths\") who are generally either regular humans who were driven insane or sadistic sociopaths who are simply taking advantage of the situation. And that\'s not even getting into the second part of the game, [[spoiler: when the [[DemonicSpiders special forces agents]] show up...]]
** In one scene in \'\'Dead Rising 2: Off the Record\'\', Chuck Greene effortlessly restrains a female zombie while commenting on how easy they are to kill compared to psychotic survivors (or as he calls them, \'nutbars\').
* Most of the survivors in \'\'VideoGame/TheLastOfUs\'\' are not on your side; or, for that matter, anyone\'s. At one point, Bill (the hero\'s CrazyPrepared ally) remarks that he\'s more afraid of other survivors than infected, since the infected are at least predictable.
* In the \'\'VideoGame/ResidentEvil\'\' franchise, the threat posed by zombie outbreaks is typically just a sign of the much larger threat posed by the Umbrella Corp (and various other {{Big Bad}}s when they [[spoiler: finally get shut down between the events of the first three games and \'\'VideoGame/ResidentEvil4\'\']]) and the [[AttackAnimal weaponised mutants]] they manufacture from the \"lucky\" few who \'\'don\'t\'\' turn into zombies.
* In an interesting version of this trope, in DayZ, other players are often times much more dangerous than the zombies, as organized groups of bandits will shoot you on sight for supplies, to make sure that you don\'t kill them, or simply For the Evulz.

But in a ZombieApocalypse, you may find yourself face-to-face with monsters far more terrifying than the living dead. They\'re cunning, resilient, resourceful, and absolutely ruthless... and by now, you probably know where this is going.

Let\'s face it; zombies, on an individual level, aren\'t really that threatening. Sure, they may be impervious to pain and capable of infecting their victims with a single bite, but they\'re slow, they\'re clumsy, and they lack the mental capacity to use any kind of tools. Chances are, as long as you have [[BoomHeadshot good aim]], you\'ll be able to dispose of them with ease.

Indeed, in zombie fiction, the protagonists will often come to realize that zombies are the \'\'least\'\' of their problems. The real threat will come from roaming gangs of bandits, [[ColonelKilgore psychotic military officers determined to mow down everything in sight]], or even normal, everyday people who were DrivenToMadness by the horror going on around them.

->"I trust those zombies about as far as I can throw \'em, but I trust people even less!"

->\'\'\"I trust those zombies about as far as I can throw \'em, but I trust people even less!\"\'\'
--> \'\'\'Cletus\'\'\', \'\'VideoGame/DeadRising\'\'