Maybe the zombie craze is simply a representation of the fear of the mob. Is one zombie scary?
People are afraid that all them (Democrats/Republicans) will get into power and force bad policies down everyone else's throat. Is congress scary if there is just one cranky ideologue? I blame hyper partisan politics.
People are afraid of unchecked immigration overwhelming our institutions. Is one (choose your nationality here) family scary? I blame income inequality and bad immigration policies.
People are afraid of the USA losing their place in the world to the hordes of China and India. Is one foreign IT company scary?
Globalization, urbanization, hackers using denial of service attacks, these can all be seen as a mob versus a few. And we l need to know that the few will win, or that we can win.