Shu’s Top 20 Zombie Films (in no particular order)
28 Days Later (2002)
I believe Danny Boyle’s entry into the world of zombies was long-overdue. Some may argue that this film is more a film about an infectious virus that escaped from a medical facility called “RAGEâ€, but whether by a virus, a sickness, or the unexplained phenomena that zombies are- that is just the point-there is no concrete explanation for the phenomena of zombies. People die and zombies are “bornâ€. If they are not possessed by a demon, the corpse come back to life is now a zombie. The track zombie has been born and with the hi-shutter speed camera techniques, John Murphy’s incredible soundtrack, and a dystopian outlook on the world and its living and non-living inhabitants, I can only say the zombie has evolved in this film.
Day of the Dead (1985)
George A. Romero used to make good films and I believe this to be the last epic film that he has made and directed. I saw Survival of the Dead and wanted to stab someone in the eye to relieve the impending explosion of swelling anger that was building up inside. Fortunately, there were no sharp objects nearby and I was viewing Survival of the Dead in the company of pals. Day of the Dead is an uber-gorefest courtesy of Tom Savini. There is no CGI or computer graphics and animation of any kind. Good ‘ol organic gore! I thought everyone in the film gave a believable performance and had character. I was hoping that the movie would be put out on dvd so I could get rid of my crappy Video Treasures copy of it I had back home on VHS.
Re-Animator (1985)
Stuart Gordon has created a most-memorable character in Dr. Herbert West, portrayed in by Jeffrey Combs in a jaw-dropping performance, and is one of my favorite films by Gordon. The film has an added sexual perversity to the plot in David Gale’s character, Dr. Carl Hill, and I particularly enjoyed the amounts of nudity and the greatest oral sex scene in a non-pornographic film by a decapitated head and a woman’s lower nether region. Kudos to Barbara Crampton for baring all and participating in a truly groundbreaking concept for the term “eating outâ€.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
George A. Romero’s second entry in his pack of zombie flicks is one that all mallrats should attain to view and revel in its consumer glory. At the time of its release, the mall used for a large majority of the film was one of the biggest malls in America. This film packs as much gore, violence, and blood in it as it slaps viewers in the face with its humor and delivery. Again, Tom Savini did a superb job on the gore effects and even got to inflate his ego a tad by being a character in the film as the leader of the ragtag biker gang of survivors. I think this film is Ken Foree’s finest performance in any film that I have seen him in. This black man does NOT die at the end of the horror film. (If I spoiled anything for readers, too bad. What are you doing on this site if you haven’t seen this film already?!? Be ashamed of yourself!
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
George A. Romero’s first entry into the zombie genre and probably his finest. Night of the Living Dead pretty much lays the groundwork for the modern-day zombie film. It also stars a black actor, Duane Jones, in the lead. Quite groundbreaking for its time, as well as a bare-ass female zombie shuffling along in one scene. I will always give a director props for tossing in some gratuitous ass now and then. This independent film should have made Romero a millionaire but he forgot to get his film copyrighted so any distributor can throw it on a disc and sell it, play it in a theater, or whatever they want. OOPS George!
Return of the Living Dead (1985)
This is probably one of the funnest zombie flicks to watch, especially if one is a fan of 80’s punk, off-beat humor, Linnea Quigley’s ass and tits in her prime as Trash, and one of the coolest looking zombies I have ever seen, Tarman. Dan Obannon created a humorous zombie flick that packs plenty of blood, gore, laughs, with plenty of entertaining dialogue between characters that may cause one to rupture their spleen from laughing so hard. Just remember to mind the 3rd step, it’s a bitch!
I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
I had to throw in a few oldies. Although lacking any of the gore, blood, and violence that so many of the others on this list have- one must go back to their zombie roots and pay a little respect to the forefathers of the genre. Jacques Tourneur delivers a very atmospheric and creepy black and white tale of lust, desire, and trickery in the West Indies. Oh, and there happens to be zombies running around and performing slave labor. This is one of the many excellent films that Val Lewton produced and its a gem.
Porn of the Dead (2006)
Rob Rotten’s foray into the world of zombies and sex comes at us with Porn of the Dead. This happened to be the first hardcore XXX film I had ever seen in which zombies were depicted screwing non-zombies, performing oral sex, and even going anal. Throw in some gore now and then, usually after the person satisfies his or her’s necrophiliac urges and is then bitten and eaten by the zombie. Not much in terms of a plot, but the make-up for the zombies and gore is not the worst I have ever seen. I think any fan of adult entertainment needs to view this film, at least once!
The Beyond (1981)
One of my favorite directors, Lucio Fulci, comes at us with visually mind-expanding zombie film. The setting is New Orleans and the locals have a little bit more to worry about than levees flooding and out of control oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico for the doorway to hell has been opened and no one is immune to its deadly intentions. I always have questioned how safe it really is to own a German Shepard after watching this film (as well as Argento’s Suspiria), but even more creepier is one scene involving flesh-hungry black tarantulas. Loaded with tons of gore and atmosphere, this is one of Fulci’s finest films.
Zombie a.k.a. Zombi 2 (1979)
Only a couple of years before The Beyond, Fulci had mastered probaby one of the most well-known films in the zombie genre, or at least the most widely worn t-shirt depiciting its cover which happens to be a zombie that looks like it has been dead and buried for quite some time, rotted and ashy. I happen to love this film for its rampant nudity, classic splinter-in-eye scene, and for having a zombie fight a shark underwater. Even Microsoft thought that scene was something special as they used it in their ad campaign this year.
Zombieland (2009)
Yeah, I am going to get a lot of crap for putting such a recent and total Hollywood movie in this list, full of A-List actors and actresses, rampant with a gross amount of comedy, and a pretty big budget. But, I don’t care. I think this film gave a little jump-start to the genre and opened the door for many new viewers that probably would not be caught dead (no pun intended) watching any film whose subject matter was the living dead. Starting off the film with one of the greatest montages of scenes during the opening credits, including one of my favorite songs by Metallica from their 2nd album, “For Whom the Bells Tollâ€. This is one of Woody Harrelson’s more enjoyable performances and Zombieland packs in some gore, an abundance of humor, and one of the finest uses of a cameo from an A-List actor that I have ever seen to date. Again, this film incorporates the modern zombie who is quicker and faster than its previous bretheren.
Dead Snow a.k.a. Død snø (2009)
Nazi zombies, anyone? This Norwegian entry into the world of zombies and comedy, or zomedy if you will, is loaded with gore. Much of it is CGI gore, but nonetheless, it looked pretty damn good. The film is littered with homages to some better and more classic American films in the horror genre and has a fair amount of slapstick humor and physical-gore humor. That is to say, a large amount of the jokes are delivered with a side chunk of flesh. This is not the first Nazi zombie film to be made, nor will it be the last but it definitely is one to be watched and remembered.
Braindead a.k.a. Dead Alive (1992)
After Bad Taste, this is one of my favorite Peter Jackson films pre-Hollywood fame. Braindead is one of the most over-the-top gore-fests I have ever seen executed on a small budget. Again, quite a bit of humor in this one, but the gory payoff in every scene will have you grossed out as much as you are heartily laughing. This kiwi zombie flick may be a stretch in terms of traditional zombie flicks as the zombies are turned into zombies from a rat-monkey’s bite, but nonetheless, I classify it as a zombie flick. Virus or infection, these are dead people whose corpses have been brought back to life and they crave human flesh and blood. On a sidenote, I will never eat pudding again because of this film. EVER.
Cemetary Man a.k.a. Dellamorte Dellamore (1994)
French director Michele Soavi did one of the finest things I have ever seen in a zombie flick, he cast Anna Falchi, an Italian-Finnish model whose measurements during the filming of Cemetary Man were 36C-25-36. Those are some pretty magical numbers, especially when the beauty wearing them is totally nude. If I came across a zombie looking like Anna Falchi, I may be tempted to engage in some filthy corpse-sex. Maybe. Cemetary Man, like so many others, goes the comedy route and has quite a bit of dark humor and decent gore. Rupert Everret stars alongside Falchi in a role that I do not think anyone will ever see him take a role in a film like this. Although after starring in Inspector Gadget, who the hell knows?!
Deadgirl (2008)
I may be stretching the definition of zombie with this film, but Jenny Spain’s character is dead, but not really dead. She gets stabbed, shot, and gets fed nothing yet she still goes on “livingâ€. I consider this a zombie film of different sorts and since there really is no explanation as to why this “dead girl†is still alive, I dub thee a zombie. Why did I like a film about two young high school kids who come across a strapped down naked beauty in an abandoned mental hospital that they decide to use as a sperm depository? Well, I think that question just answered itself, folks. I like this film because its pretty messed up, puts youngsters morals into question, and has some pretty creepy scenes of Spain as she lays strapped to this table naked for the duration of the film. Folks, we are privy to some of the most unkempt jungle bush I have ever seen.
Pontypool (2008)
Again, another film that can be debated for true zombie validity, but its so abstract and vague in its nature, that I had to put it on the list. It was well-done, has some gore and blood in it, and an incredible performance by the lead actor, Stephen McHattie who portrays radio dj Grant Mazzy. The film is even titled “Radio Zombie†overseas in Germany. So there.
Shawn of the Dead (2004)
This Britsh entry into the zombie genre is THE funniest zombie comedy I have ever seen. Add to that the fact that it is filled with incredible gore and blood, one has a winner. The dynamic comedy duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are a winning combination. They play off each other’s characters beautifully and really make the film. Edgar Wright made a definite classic in the annals of zombie humor.
Shockwaves (1977)
Peter Cushing + Nazis plus zombies = awesome! Pre-dating Dead Snow by over 30 years, this tale of nazis reanimating and coming to kill those that are around is still a fun film to watch. It is creepy fun and Cushing’s portrayal of a Nazi commandant breeding zombie soldiers on a desolate island is good fun. Maybe not as gory as any of its zombie counterparts, but fun viewing anyways.
Versus (2000)
Ryuhei Kitamura’s fast-paced, super-frenetic, samurai-ninja zombie action film is full of extraordinary kills, gore, and intense action and camera-work. The body counts pile up as dead yakuza come back to life to kill everyone that happens to set foot on the land where their murdered corpses were buried by other gangsters. No Kitamura flick is cut and dry, so expect some pretty bizarre plot twists in this zombie entry from Japan.
White Zombie (1932)
Again, another oldie but a goodie. This time we have Bela Lugosi as the devious witch doctor who comes to a young man who wishes to lure the woman he loves away from her fiancee, but instead turns her into a zombie. Fun to watch a film from the ’30s whose topic of subject is zombies.
