Short Answer
No,
they died to become zombies. That's the defintion of "zombie"
They are now re-animated by some other force, either natural
(creating bio-zombies) or supernatural (true zombies). In most cases,
that re-animating force doesn't stop the body decaying.
Long
Answer
The
kind of zombie that you're thinking of was created by George Romero.
The explanation (such as it is) is that the dead have become infected
with a space virus from a comet tail which is transmitted from host
to host through breaks in the skin from biting or scratching from the
infected. After 2-3 days, the virus has multiplied sufficently to
kill the host and then, by means unknown, keeps the nervous system
alive so that it can take control of the host and use it to spread
the infection by eating human flesh. It is unlikely that the dead
host gains any nutrition from this feasting and it is merely a way of
encouraging the biting and scratching behaviour needed for successful
transmission. Beheading or a simple bullet in the head is enough to
destroy the motor areas of the brain which doesn't kill the host
(because it's already dead) but stops the virus from using the host
as a vehicle for further transmission. Because there is a biological
basis for the disease, it's known as a bio-zombie.
This
has been the basis for all other bio-zombie movies and stories until
the present day. There have been variations from the Romero model but
these are simply to make the zombies tougher
However,
despite all of the improved powers, these bio-zombies are still
really lame.
Here's
why:
Day
1:
Within
hours, flies will smell the dead flesh and plant their eggs in them.
2-3 days later, the body would become a writihing mass of hungry,
meat-muching maggots.In warm weather, conducive to fly growth,
maggots can consume 60 per cent of a human body in less than a week
In
2-4 hours, Rigor Mortis would set in and the body would be unable to
move for a few days until it wore off. However, it is possible that
virus may have some unknown means to counter-act that in order to use
the body.
At
the same time, autolysis starts. This is where the enzymes and
digestive juices that we produce to consume our food start consuming
us.
Day
2:
After
36 hours, putrefaction starts. The bacteria in your gut will chew
through your flesh. Unchecked, gasses and liquids will build up and
this can cause the the gut to explode. Nice
Also
by now, the smell would have attracted scavengers, some like bears,
wolverines and big cats will find a zombie little challenge. Others
like dogs, foxes, buzzards and crows will simply wait until the
corpse is sufficently dismembered to be of no threat to them.
Also,
one point that no film has ever dealt with is that a zombie cannot
sneak up on you unless it is downwind. The stench of decaying flesh
is unmistakeable so you would be able to smell them long before you
turned a corner to confront one. Not to mention the excessive farting
and belching they would be doing because of the putrefaction.
I
told you that they were lame.
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