Undead or Alive: A Zombedy (2007) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Ben is the first victim of Geronimo's curse in the town. The curse turns infected people into zombies who crave human brains. Ben's attack signals that the plague has reached the frontier town, and his violent act marks the beginning of the zombie outbreak that engulfs the community.

Foreshadowing: Earlier references to Geronimo's curse against white men established that something supernatural was coming.

• ben goodman
• curse
• zombie outbreak
• first victim
• brains

The curse spreads through bites. When a zombie bites a living person, the victim becomes infected and eventually transforms into a zombie themselves. This explains why the entire town quickly falls to the undead, each bite creates new zombies that continue attacking survivors.

• zombie bite
• infection
• curse spread
• transmission

Traditional methods of execution like hanging cannot kill zombies because they are already dead. The summary shows that Ben returns after being cut down from the gallows, attacking the townspeople who believed they had eliminated the threat. Only decapitation proves effective against the undead.

Foreshadowing: The townspeople's belief that hanging would end the threat shows they don't understand the supernatural nature of the curse.

• hanging
• ben
• killing zombies
• decapitation
• traditional methods fail

Decapitation is confirmed as the only method that can kill the zombies. This is discovered when the group is trapped at the fort and must fight the undead soldiers. The zombies cannot be killed by conventional means like shooting or hanging.

• decapitation
• kill zombies
• how to destroy
• fort battle

Earlier in the film, Sue explains that the cure for the zombie curse is to eat the living flesh of the medicine man who created it. Since Sue is Geronimo's niece, she is a relative of the curse's creator, making her flesh an effective cure. After transforming due to bites, Elmer and Luke consume her flesh and return to human form.

Foreshadowing: Sue's explanation about the cure being tied to the medicine man who created the curse sets this up.

• sue
• cure
• eating flesh
• geronimo
• medicine man
• transformation

The cure requires eating the flesh of the medicine man who created the curse or their relatives. Sue is Geronimo's niece, making her a blood relative of the curse's originator. This family connection allows her flesh to function as the cure, proving the remedy works for descendants of the curse creator.

• relative
• medicine man
• family
• cure mechanism
• geronimo's niece

The posse arrives at the fort first and turns the garrison soldiers into zombies. When Luke, Elmer, and Sue arrive, they find the entire garrison has already been transformed. The undead soldiers then attack the newcomers, turning more of them in the process.

Foreshadowing: The trio being captured and taken to the fort sets up this confrontation.

• fort
• soldiers
• posse
• garrison
• zombie attack

Cletus was bitten by Ben in the jail cell early in the film and transformed into a zombie. While the film shows him being thrown off a cliff by zombie Elmer, the post-credits scene reveals he survived and continues pursuing the protagonists. His undead persistence adds to the film's darkly comic conclusion.

Foreshadowing: Cletus being bitten by Ben in the jail cell foreshadows his transformation.

• cletus
• deputy
• zombie
• chase
• ending

In the epilogue, Ben digs up his wife and daughter from the cemetery, revealing they have become zombies. The three zombies, along with their dog, skip happily back into town. This ending suggests the curse cycle will continue indefinitely, the undead persist while the living remain trapped in an endless loop of infection.

Foreshadowing: Ben's original attack on his family established they would become zombies.

• epilogue
• ben
• family
• cemetery
• cycle
• ending
• zombie family

Sheriff Claypool is bitten and killed by zombies during the attack on the remaining posse members. Like all victims of zombie bites in this film, he transforms into an undead creature. Sue later kills him with decapitation inside the fort, but his transformation demonstrates how the curse spreads even to authority figures.

Foreshadowing: The zombies attacking the posse members shows the infection spreading to everyone.

• sheriff claypool
• bite
• transformation
• posse attack

Elmer reveals to Luke and Sue that he is an army deserter. He fled his own army, which explains why he is traveling alone and why he is wary of encountering soldiers. This backstory adds tension when they are later captured by Elmer's former colleagues at the fort.

• elmer
• deserter
• union army
• backstory
• fugitive

Sue was kidnapped and taken to New York to be educated, away from her uncle Geronimo. When she returns, she seeks revenge on the soldiers who killed her uncle. Her personal quest for vengeance initially puts her at odds with Luke and Elmer before they form an alliance.

Foreshadowing: The timeline notes mention Sue's kidnapping and education in New York.

• sue
• revenge
• geronimo
• soldiers
• kidnapped
• niece