Some people say, "It's just a movie. There's no need to think so deeply about it."
However, some plotlines are just too problematic not to notice.
Despite people pointing these problems out, they are rarely ever addressed.
These problems can be as minor as a woman having perfectly manicured nails despite being trapped in a cave for an extended period of time to something as big as characters not contracting life-threatening diseases despite not having proper nutrition, shelter, or medical care for years.
Redditors have noticed this too and were ready to share what they think are the biggest problems in apocalyptic films that are never addressed.
It all started when Redditor ShinyDisc0Balls asked:
"What's a problem that's never addressed in apocalyptic movies?"
Vroom, Vroom
"If it goes on long enough, keeping cars operational. Tires going bad, gasoline going bad, even fuel lines going bad if a car's been sitting for a few years. Mice chewing on the wires. Sometimes they'll show the effort to obtain gas (but never address it going bad over time) and sometimes they'll show a battery being jumped, but mostly it's hop in a car you just found and drive off."
– froglover215
"Station Eleven (the novel, haven’t seen the show) was very fixated on the idea that gasoline goes bad after about three years. After that, it’s all horses all the time."
– Yellwsub
Medical Issues
"No one has dysentery. Everyone would have dysentery."
– YaBoyfriendKeefa
"Especially if you’re on the Oregon Trail."
– rapalosaur
""Where are we going?""
"Oregon"
""F**k""
– Buckus93
"Disease. Seriously if most doctors and infrastructure are gone, people would be dying left and right, and zombies or radiation would be the least of their problems."
"Appendicitis. I didn't even think of things like that! People would die of pretty routine stuff that they couldn't get treated easily."
– Affectionate_Ad_7802
"The big killer with food poisoning is all the water you lose when your body literally flushes out whatever you ate."
– P-Tux7
Or Dental Issues
"Dental care. How many people would be straight up dying from abscesses, or in pain from f**ked teeth."
– softcore_UFO
Silence Is Golden
"Why do "traditional zombies" only make noise when they're right up in your business?"
"Zombie moving through the woods in stealth mode, no branches snapping, no leaves rustling, no moaning or growls."
"But right when they're about to get their funky zombie mitts all over your throat, they are loud as sh*t."
"What's the deal?"
No Escape
""Speaking of which, why don't they ever use bicycles to get around? They're quiet, comparatively low maintenance, can go over most ground, and definitely faster than any zombie."
– Sayakai
"Realism" (within the context of zombies) has always been my go-to for why slow zombies are scary enough on their own and fast zombies are a lazy shortcut."
"Yeah, they're slow and loud and clumsy. A brisk walk is enough to get you away from any zombie, or group of zombies. In a fight, they're predictable and slow. But they're immune to pain, and immune to fatigue, immune to fear or bribery or demotivation. And their main physical vulnerability - "destroy the brain" - is way more difficult than TV and movies portray: headshots are tough to pull off with guns, and skulls are actually pretty durable. Get into a physical altercation with one, and that's actually serious trouble - you'll get tired real fast but the zombie will not, and one f**kup will be enough to get you bitten."
"Briskly walk away? Sure, you can probably sustain that for a while. But where are you going? Zombies are everywhere, so you might be briskly walking from one meat grinder to another. And of course there are potential dangers on your chosen path. And still, you'll need to eat food and drink water and sleep and the zombies will not."
"In reference to the old fable of the tortoise and the hare -- the tortoise won the race. And slow zombies are the tortoise."
– effseadot
Perfect Looks
"Body hair for women."
"I mean, you will see this woman in rags, covered in dirt, with the stringiest hair that looks like it hasn't been washed, much less conditioned in a year. Yet, they have perfect brows and look like they've had a full-body wax within the past week. So, they must be doing this somehow."
– zazzlekdazzle
"Also, they'll still have perfectly straight, white teeth."
– Buckus93
Cold, Cold World
"Camp setting in general. You know what is bad for your health? Cold ground. You want to have a failure in your every organ below the ribcage? Couple of months of outdoor sleep would definitely do it. Sleeping bags are great, but they are designed to keep you from losing heat into the air, not into the ground — think of them like of portable blankets. You don't see apocalyptic survivors making an insulated bed or sleeping in a hammock."
– Alex_Downarowicz
"Can You Hear Me? Over."
"Charging their walkie talkie batteries."
"Zombie apocalypse and they always have freshly charged radio batteries that last... forever."
"Just once I wanna see someone sit down and stick their radio in a charging cradle."
– dirtymoney
"Or furiously turning the crank on one of those crank-operated radios or flashlights."
– MedusaStone
Hygiene
"Don't forget tampons!"
– Nightmare_Fuel-
"Ellie in the Last of Us was soo pumped when she found a box in one episode, also Joel was excited to have a fresh pot of coffee as well."
– Will0w536
The Grass Isn't Growing
"Lawncare/overgrowth."
"Not all of them, but TWD for example, all of the lawns were tended to as if there WASN'T you know, a zombie apocalypse happening."
– Plus-Statistician80
Unrealistic Travel
"People in movies often travel a lot of distance with next to no food or water on them. If you are on foot you would need a descent amount of calories to sustain your energy. And a good pair of shoes. Your feet would be a mess in no time. And you would stink to high heaven."
– KevinDean4599
"And that would attract zombies….the scent."
– RedditRee06
Addiction
"Caffeine and nicotine withdrawal. After a week, there are going to be a bunch of very grumpy people around."
"Cigarettes and coffee are going to be valuable exchange items."
– rosanymphae
As if a zombie apocalypse isn't scary enough without thinking about the loss of coffee!
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
