Oh my goodness – this is the LAST DAY OF THE A TO Z CHALLENGE!!! I can’t believe it…no, wait, I CAN believe it! This challenge was about to kick my butt, however, looks like I’m writing the Z post for Ladies I Love, so who’s kicking butt now, huh? Speaking of kicking butt, that brings me to the subject of today’s post, my favorite female zombie apocalypse survivors (or as I like to think of them, zombie slayers). But first, a little business:
WARNING: This post contains violence in the context of zombies being killed by badass ladies. You might not want to watch the video clip at the end of this post if you have a problem with blood, gore, or violence against zombies. Although I also feel obligated to tell you that it’s not real zombie blood or gore, and not real violence towards zombies. No actual zombies were harmed in the making of any of these movies or shows.
Whew! Now that that’s off my chest, let’s get started. I don’t know if any of you know this, but I really like zombies. Like, I like them a lot. I read zombie novels, and I get a kick out of zombie humor. To me, there’s something utterly fascinating about the whole “world falls apart and you have to learn how to survive in the face of horror and also other human beings who can also be horrible” scenario. I’ve seen a bunch of zombie movies, of course, so I thought I’d write about my top five favorite female zombie heroines…but, damn, this was a difficult post! Sure, I had my top 2 or 3, but I really had to dig to find a few others. Most of the zombie movies out there star guys who go in to save the girls, or the girls end up taking off their tops and showing their boobs, or the whole thing is just a bad, lame joke. Ugh. Anyway, let’s get this list started!
Fifth on my list is Selena from 28 Days Later. You could argue that 28 Days Later isn’t really a zombie film, but dang, all those people with the “rage virus” sure do act like they’ve lost their minds in a zombie kind of way. Selena, played by Naomie Harris, comes to the rescue of several people in her survivor’s group of four, although she does not hesitate to kill anyone who has been infected (a drop of blood can contaminate and incite rage within 30 seconds of exposure…yikes!). The rage virus continues to spread despite quarantines and Selena and her group continue to evade the infected, although they meet up with a not-so-nice military contingent and things get really messy from there. Great movie and fantastic acting!
I think my favorite zombie movie of all time has to be Shaun of the Dead. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are so hilarious that I couldn’t NOT include this in my list. But who is the leading lady? Easy – Shaun’s on-off-on again girlfriend, Liz, played by Kate Ashfield. First, she can hold her own using a field hockey stick. Second, she does a mean zombie impression which helps the gang get into the Winchester pub for the final standoff with all the zombies. The humor in this movie almost makes me pee my pants every time I see it, and the cast is Ah Maze Zing (Bill Nighy even plays Shaun’s detested stepfather). I always find something new to laugh at, no matter how many times I watch it!
Third on my list is Alice from the Resident Evil movies. This is a long series of movies and the overall plot is a bit complicated, but basically, the world is run by the Umbrella Corporation and has unleashed the T-Virus upon the earth’s populace, creating zombies all over the place. There are pockets of survivors here and there, and Alice, who is kind of a clone of herself in the movies, is there to rebel against the Umbrella Corporation and ultimately take them down. Alice is played by ass-kicking Milla Jovovich, who is captured by Umbrella and experimented upon, and develops superhuman fighting skills and strength due to exposure to the T-Virus. She uses her skills to escape from Umbrella, fight zombies, and destroy the head bad guy (or the Red Queen, shall I say). I love these movies because of the complex story line, the twists and turns it takes, and of course, Milla Jovovich’s portrayal of Alice!
My first and second favorite zombie survivors / slayers both come from The Walking Dead TV series. My second favorite is Maggie Greene, played by Lauren Cohan. The main group of survivors meets up with Hershal and his family (including Maggie) on his farm, and Glenn and Maggie hit it off and have a romance that survives longer than all of the zombies that Maggie and Glenn come into contact with. Whether it’s clearing zombies from the prison compound’s perimeter or killing attacking zombies in riot gear, Maggie gets the hard (and dangerous, and gross) jobs done. Maggie plays it tough but I think she’s a romantic on the inside, and will stop at nothing to get back to Glenn in season 4 when she doesn’t even know if Glenn is still alive. Ahhh…a true apocalyptic love story!
Finally, my favorite zombie slayer of all time has got to be Michonne from The Walking Dead. I’ve kept up with the graphic novels as well as the show, and she’s my favorite in both. Like Maggie, she plays it tough, but as we’ve gotten to know Michonne, we see more of her background and why she has had to toughen up so much. She’s a very complex character, and is portrayed most excellently by Danai Gurira (really, I can’t imagine anyone else doing better – Danai IS Michonne!). Also, Michonne carries a katana sword with her at all times, her signature weapon that allows her to kill zombies from a safe-ish distance quickly and quietly. Check out this video that compiled all of her zombie kills, through season 3 (I think – the video was published July 26, 2013). Pretty amazing, huh?
So what do you think? Are you a fan of zombies or zombie films, comics, books, shows, etc.? If so, who are your favorite survivalists? Any recommendations for me, or additions to this list?
It has been a pleasure blogging the A to Z Challenge with all of you this past April – I hope to see you participating again next year! I definitely will be, but feel free to stop by Fuzzy Undertones in the mean time to say hello! ❤
Fuzzy Undertones 
Honestly, I just don’t get zombies or the attraction to zombies, but they surely have a BIG following. My older daughter once lived in a town that had a Zombie Walk every year. Major attraction.
Congratulations on making it to the end of the A to Z Challenge.
Wendy at Jollett Etc.
Thanks, Wendy! Congrats to you for making it through the challenge as well 🙂 Honestly, I know not everyone is into zombies, but they’ve long been a fascination for me. Portland has a zombie parade, and numerous zombie runs are in the area, so it’s a fun place to live for a fan. Thanks for stopping by – I hope to see you around the blogosphere! 😀
Marcie – congratulations!!! Excellent theme; super interesting posts – you broadened my world immensely. You might want to read following post today http://catsandchocolate.com. A delightful journey to a famous bookstore, and I saw a little surprise connection to you when the blogger talks about what her husband purchased ;-). Cheers! YOU are a Lady I Love!
Thanks so much, Sammy! And you, too, are a Lady I Love! I read the cats and chocolate post; fascinating article, great place to visit. I’m glad they are Marjane Satrapi fans AND fans of cat cafes!!! I hope they enjoy Persepolis. And I hope to see you around the web…I’ll be stopping by Bemuzin’ to see what you’re up to, no doubt. 😀
Congratulations on completing the challenge! 🙂
Thanks very much, Kirsten! Thanks for stopping by! 😀
Congratulations on surviving the challenge Marci! I had a good laugh out loud watching your zombie clip. Your’re right, she is skilled with a sword. I enjoyed this post so much, as well as the others you wrote. It was an excellent theme.
Thank you, Michelle! I’m glad you liked the zombie clip – Michonne is amazing! I really did have fun with my theme – it was all over the board, but I like being unpredictable like that. And I LOVED your updated take on fairy tales! It reminded me a bit of the “Fractured Fairy Tales” bit that they did on the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show – do you remember that? 😀
MICHONNE! Forever. But Alice is pretty cool too. But if I needed one person on my side – well, realistically Michonne bc she is not altered genetically or whatever. 🙂 Visiting from A to Z.
I totally agree!!! Michonne is ultimately my top pick for zombie-apocalypse-survivor buddy. I would want her watching my back, for sure! Thanks for stopping by – congrats for finishing up the A to Z Challenge! 😀
I’ve never gotten into zombies, but man, the Michonne/Walking Dead video was truly spectacular! Clearly, the way to kill a zombie is a sword straight through the forehead and if you cut their heads off, you wanna make sure you stomp them like rotten melons – I’ll remember that. In the meantime, I will most definitely a) check out all your Ladies that I missed and b) stop by to see you here whenever I get the chance : )
Cheers!
Miss A
Hi Miss A! I think that what I like best about zombies is not the zombies themselves (ick!) but the whole apocalypse scenario where there are things out there trying to survivors, and the survivors have to persist in a world that has basically stopped working. Fascinating!!! Anyway, yeah, a sword directly through the forehead will work pretty good against those pesky zombies – Michonne needs to write a 1-2-3 how-to manual on various ways to kill them, I think! Glad you stopped by – I hope to see you around soon! Congrats on finishing A to Z! 😀
I am a zombie fan. In fact, I cannot wait for The Walking Dead to come back on. I was going to do a post about The Walking Dead but I knew it would be a long one. 🙂 Love this post! Congrats on making it through the challenge. I am glad to have met you and I look forward to reading your future post. I had the best time!
Hi Misty! Zombie fans unite! Have you read The Walking Dead graphic novels? That might tide you over until the next season, but I’ve gotta say that the show has really strayed from the story line of the comics. The end of this last season…YIKES!!! I’m glad I met you through the A to Z Challenge as well and I will stop by your blog to see what you are up to from time to time! 😉
I haven’t read them but I want too. I’ve been denying myself because I enjoy the show so much that I’m afraid I will be disappointed. You know, the books better than the movie thing. Yes, yikes! I’m glad I met you as well. Any upcoming plans?
Alice and Michonne are badass! Of course, my favorite zombie movie is Shaun of the Dead, but I don’t consider Shaun’s girlfriend – Liz – badass, at all. I forgot all about Selena, and Maggie from TWD used to bugged the hell out of me when she first came on the scene. However, she’s obviously changed, and now she’s one tough cookie!
Precious Monsters
Hi Jolie! Thanks for stopping by – I’m glad that you, as the A to Z Challenge Zombie Expert, liked my one and only zombie post 🙂 Shaun of the Dead is my favorite zombie movie as well, and I wouldn’t describe Liz as a badass either, EXCEPT for the fact that she has to put up with Shaun’s deficient relationship skills. But perhaps the zombie outbreak brought them closer together? Who knows. Have you seen Simon Pegg’s series Spaced? Awesome show, even without zombies. Anyway, glad I got to know you a bit through A to Z – I’ll stop by Precious Monsters now and again to see what you’re up to! 😀
Some awesome picks. I love me some badass heroines! But what about Wichita and Little Rock from Zombieland? Love that movie right up until the big shoot out in the end where the writers, who had these two awesome heroines who out maneuvered the heroes the entire way, turn into dumb bimbos at the very end so they could have a huge zombie killing battle royale and make the wussy but likeable hero win the day. But the rest of the movie is awesome incarnate.
Loved our atoz theme. It was frickin’ awesome!! I’ll be stopping n for sure. I’m now addicted to your blog!
Hi Ava! You know, I thought about Wichita and Little Rock. I saw Zombieland when it first came out, and recalled those characters, but I didn’t come across much when I was doing my research for this post. And since I couldn’t really remember too much about the movie, I was hesitant to include them. Netflix doesn’t have it streaming (nor does Hulu Plus or Amazon), but I might just pay to watch it again – I might even do an update to this post and include them!
Thanks for stopping by during the A to Z Challenge – I’m glad I found your blog, too! Awesome writing, and I love your humor! I too will definitely be visiting periodically to see what shenanigans and hijinks you’re getting yourself into so that I can live the life of a ‘possum queen vicariously through you! 😉
Great post, thanks for sharing this ….
Thank you, Ayush! I appreciate you stopping by 😀