And Then John Was a Zombie/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: A character is fighting monsters but eventually becomes one.

  • Straight: John, one of the lead survivors of the Zombie Apocalypse, is turned into a zombie.
  • Exaggerated: John, the last survivor of the Zombie Apocalypse, is turned into a zombie at the end of the movie.
  • Downplayed: John stands up to the school bullies but ends up joining their gang in the third act.
  • Justified:
  • Inverted: One of the zombies is injected with the cure to The Virus. Humanity Ensues.
  • Subverted: John is bitten by a zombie, but does not become one, either because he is immune or because he took the cure to The Virus beforehand.
  • Double Subverted: ...However, a horde of zombies attack John, who is subsequently bitten by so many of them that the anti-virus is no longer effective.
  • Parodied: ???
  • Zig Zagged: John was bitten by a Vampire, And Then John Was a Zombie.
  • Averted: John either survives the Zombie Apocalypse or is killed, but either way he does not become a zombie.
  • Enforced: "Everybody Lives...that's too boring. How can we add some dramatic tension? WAIT! I'VE GOT IT!!"
  • Lampshaded: "One day he was fighting by our side...the next...he was bitten, And Then John Was a Zombie!"
  • Invoked: The Big Bad releases The Virus specifically to make John a zombie.
  • Exploited: John allows himself to get bitten by a zombie, hoping he has the willpower to fight off the horde with his newfound abilities.
  • Defied: John is injected with the cure to The Virus just before it's too late.
  • Discussed: "No, John didn't die. He turned into a zombie."
  • Conversed: "...and then John was a zombie. Wow, way to add some emotional value!"

...and then you went back to And Then John Was a Zombie.