I don't think you can really say that a movie without zombies is a zombie movie, because even though films like 28 days later and REC that don't specifically refer to the monsters as zombies are still basing them the idea and the image of a zombie.
I suppose his point might be that things like atmosphere and the presentation of terror are more important than story or character, and it's quite similar to the Gothic literature genre in that sense, but on the other hand, I think a good horror movie is one that doesn't have to sacrifice character and story to maintain atmosphere and horror.
In the same sense, I think that certain genre's of games have specifics, like horror games will rely on atmosphere as much as horror films, but a good game should be one that can honour the legacy of the genre without sacrificing other elements, and you can take away all those elements, but then the game isn't in the same genre any more. Horror games rely on atmosphere as much as a rpg should rely on engaging characters. The whole point of the former is to induce terror, as much as being able to 'role play' as these characters is the whole point of the latter.
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