Where (Most?) Zombie Movies Go Wrong

As I was watching Diary of the Dead last night (I don’t know why…I just have this thing for zombie movies), about half ways through the movie, it suddenly dawned upon me that none of the characters had uttered the word “zombie”.  While the movie had many failings – the standard “Stupid Things People Do in Horror Movies” scenarios and taking itself too seriously – I felt that this was the most glaring one.  It’s as if none of the characters had ever watched a zombie movie and didn’t know the standard operating procedures with regards to zombie movies.