ZOMBIE MOVIES
THE TEN BEST ZOMBIE FILMS OF ALL TIME
10. FIDO (2008). I found this Canadian film on Fear.net, and was wonderfully surprised. It takes place in the sterile, “everything looks good” world of the 1950s, in a small town where zombies have become the servants of the living, thanks to behavioral control collars around their necks. The scenes with the zombie sex slave are unnerving, and the scenes with the boy playing catch with his zombie are funny and sad. Horror comedy is never easy, but this film is a smashing success.
Both witty and unsettling, this is one I’m sure you’ve never seen. But should.
9. THRILLER (1993). Yeah, the horror video directed by John Landis. It’s fantastic, it’s funny, and it proves that zombies can bring da noise, bring da funk.
8. RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985). A film that’s a little dated, but great horror/comedy nonetheless. My favorite part is the half-dog dissection coming alive in the school science lab. Although this movie also gets the award for best tits on a zombie. I was in love with Trash for about two months after this movie.
7. RE-ANIMATOR (1985). The most disgusting, bloody, gory, wet, dripping, nasty film I’ve ever seen. Terrifying and hysterically funny, it’s old-style bladders-and-latex FX still hold up today.
6. SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004). Yeah, it’s a comedy, but it’s so damn good. Even folks I know who don’t like horror or splatter laugh out loud at this film. It’s not for the squeamish–there’s plenty of bloody violence here–but there’s also humor and real pathos. It’s not until everyone else dies that the hero of the film is finally able to prove to his woman that he’s not a shiftless loser. Gives new meaning to the phrase, “I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on Earth!” Although it owes quite a bit to Joss Whedon’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” in its approach to the genre and in its reliance on a crew of quirky characters, current (underappreciated) TV series “The Reaper” in turn owes much to Shaun.
5. 28 DAYS LATER (2002). Imagine waking up in a hospital bed, from a coma, to be the last person on Earth. The first, silent, twenty minutes of this film were far more chilling than Will Smith’s turn in I Am Legend. One of my favorite movies of all time, and easily one of the scariest movies ever made.
4. DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978). I remember being in a Poughkeepsie mall once, and the muzak on the P.A. system was the tune from this movie. Hilarious! And who can forget the best line of any horror films, after one of the survivors fantasizes about flying a helicopter to an island where there are no zombies. “What island?” another asks. Reply: “Any island.” This also might have been the first action/horror film. It’s the first one I can think of, anyway.
3. DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004). The one that started the debate: Are fast zombies scarier than shambling ones? And extraordinary remake that builds on the intensity and quality of its predecessor. And make sure you don’t leave before the final credits roll, because they tell more of the story.
2. 28 WEEKS LATER (2007). An allegory for the current Iraq war. Brilliant. I’m sure some of you will disagree with my placement of this film above 28 Days Later, but as a movie–as a story with characters we can admire and root for–it is unbeatable in this genre. The idea of one’s own family destroying itself is horrifying in and of itself, but the opening scene is the kind of would-I-have-done-it-different story that speaks long after the credits roll.
1. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968). The one that is responsible for just about every zombie tale since then. I saw this at a revival when I was seven, and had to sleep on my parents’ bedroom floor for a week. Romero understood the brilliance of finding horror in the common: These zombies aren’t decomposing, they’re just like normal folks. Only a little sleepier. Easily the most frightening movie of all time.
OTHER TOP TIER ZOMBIE FLICKS
BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935). This is the only sequel to Frankenstein that I will mention on this page, because he became in the movie world more of a generic zombie than something that was once human. But I’m mentioning Bride because I actually think it is a better film than the original.
CEMETERY MAN (1994). An underrated, underseen movie about a graveyard caretaker charged with killing the undead, starring Rupert Everett.
DEAD ALIVE (1992). I’m not a fan of his mainstream work, like King Kong and The Lord of The Rings Trilogy, but Peter Jackson’s earlier horror films (including The Frighteners, with Michael J. Fox) are fabulous. Dead Alive is about as wild as a zombie film can be, easily as gorey as Reanimator. I’ve read that this film has more blood than any other movie ever, and I believe it.
THE EVIL DEAD 2 (1987). This flim as some of the greatest low-budget horror special FX ever. It’s still used as a textbook example of what a film student can do with a little imagination and an incredible overabundance of talent. Sam Raimi went on to do some other small films, like Spider Man 1, 2, and 3, but this remains his greatest work. Starring the always-brilliant Bruce Campbell, who is virtually the only actor in the movie.
Note: This is more of a ghost story/possession film, but the living dead are in it. In particular: A living dead hand. If there were more zombies, this would have made my top 10, but since they’re not the stars, this one can’t get that high on my list.
FRANKENHOOKER (1990). An R-rated porn version of Frankenstein: A guy makes the perfect woman: Out of the living dead! If you can look past the schlock, you’ll find a very funny film with tons of classic lines and even a great poem about exploding a person. More nudity per minute than any other zombie film in history.
FRANKENSTEIN (1931). Not a classic zombie movie, but truly great nonetheless. And Frank became the prototype for the shambling zombies of the next fifty years.
LAND OF THE DEAD (2007). George returns! And does a pretty good job.
NIGHT OF THE COMET (1984). More teenage SF flick than horror movie, this is about what a bunch of cute valley girls would do if they were the last folks on the planet. The biggest criticism of the film is that it came out in the 1980s, filmdom’s Age Of Boobs-in-horror-and-comedy, but there’s no nudity here at all.
PONTYPOOL (2008). The least gory zombie film ever, it takes place in a radio station to which information comes in from the outside, bit by bit, of a zombie takeover. Highly underrated, well acted, and a terrific script, it keeps the tension without really leaving one room.
RESIDENT EVIL (2002). Far better than it should have been, and a solid action/horror flick. Still, I predict that if any film here inspires people to give me shit about how much I suck, it’ll be this one.
MIDDLE TIER MOVIES
BRIDE OF REANIMATOR (1990). Sequel to Reanimator, with a different writer/director.
CREEPSHOW (1982). Two out of four short films in this movie deal with the returning-from-the-dead, and one has Ted Danson!
DAY OF THE DEAD (1985). George Romero’s third “Living Dead” film, shot like most of his movies on a shoestring budget. Tom Savini is still here, bringing some of the greatest horror makeup of the 1980s, but the film overall is pretty dated. It goes down on my list as the worst Romero zombie film ever . . . In other words, it’s not too bad.
DEADLY FRIEND (1986). Wes Craven’s try at the genre, about a dead girl who gets reanimated by a robotic chip. Sounds stupid, but it’s not so bad. Plus, Kristy Swanson has to be the hottest dead chick of all time.
EVIL DEAD 3: ARMY OF DARKNESS (1993). Again, zombies are not the primary focus of this film, but there are quite a few of them.
GRINDHOUSE (2007). The first of the two mini-films, Planet Terror, is a zombie movie. It sucks because it’s mostly but bloody cliches, but touches like Rose’s gunleg make it better than the average Z movie.
I AM LEGEND (2008). This could have been a great movie, but they didn’t think through the monsters well enough. How did they get turbo power? If there are no bodies on the streets–anywhere–then how are they sustaining themselves? The first half of the film, showing Will Smith going slightly mad with loneliness, are far better than the second half, which just becomes an action shoot-em-up. Note: It’s not entirely clear whether the creatures in this movie are zombies or not. They have some kind of blood disease that may be treatable, which suggests that they are not, but the film certainly makes them look like zombies.
NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (1986). A fairly good B-Movie.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990). The Tom Savini remake that Romero approved simply because he was ripped off in his deal on the original film. Kinda like the word-for-word remake of Psycho.
OMEGA MAN (1971). Charlton Heston in the film remade as I Am Legend. Again, not really a zombie film, but close enough.
PET SEMATARY (1989). The best parts of this movie are the bit part by Fred “I’m not Herman Munster!” Gwynne, and The Ramones title track. Otherwise, this is a pretty lame film.
ZOMBIE (1979). Makes middle tier because of the shark vs. zombie fight scene.
STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THESE, EVEN IF YOU ARE A ZOMBIE YOURSELF
CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (1980)
DAY OF THE DEAD (2007). Shot for theatrical release, but ending up direct to video, this is Ving Rhames’ worst movie. And that’s saying something. It’s a remake of the Romero flick, but it’s just stupid. In one scene, a zombie climbs across a ceiling, like Spiderman. WTF?
THE DEADENING (2008). A short film about a guy who wakes up a zombie.
DEATH VALLEY: THE REVENGE OF BLOODY BILL (2008). Sample quote: “So you’re saying all the major religions are invalid?”
DOOM (2005). Again, more of a shooting-and-killing action film than a zombie movie.
HOUSE OF THE DEAD (2003). P.S.: It’s really an island, not a house.
PET CEMETERY 2 (1992).
PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE (1959). Ed Wood’s foray into the genre, combining sci fi and horror. Two humans are brought back from the dead (one is Vampira) by aliens. One of the worst movies of all time.
PRISON OF THE DEAD (2000). Combining my two favorite genres: Zombies and prisons. Proving that sometimes two great things don’t go together. Like smoked salmon and mint chip ice cream.
RESIDENT EVIL 2 (2004)
RESIDENT EVIL 3 (2004)
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 2 (1988).
SLITHER (2006). Wormy creatures invade the body, kill it, then reanimate it. Not really zombies, but close.
FURTHER READING:
365 Days of the Dead. A blog that reviews a zombie movie every day.
The 26 Best Zombies of All Time. Reviewing the characters, not the films they star in.
Zombierama. Tons of zombie films examined.
31 responses to “ZOMBIE MOVIES”
Gus Randall
June 17th, 2008 at 15:34
Are you nuts? Iron Man is 10 and you have the original Batman rated higher? And what’s with Batman Begins being so low? Honestly, it and Iron Man were the best origin movies around and they were truest to the original source material.
Zilla Rocca
June 18th, 2008 at 19:33
Watch ‘Batman vs. Dracula” and you may have to re-do this list. I agree with it for the most part, though I would put “Blade” in the top tier and probably pull down the first “Spiderman” only because Blade was a character most people never heard of, vampire movies usually suck, and Wesley Snipes was the baddest motherfucker alive in that role.
ekko
June 19th, 2008 at 09:49
Gus-The original Batman was the first attempt to make superhero movies something a little darker than what we expected. it added depth and breadth, and it also represented the first time a major film director and serious actors engaged in such a project. If it weren’t for that movie, there would never have been an Iron Man.
As for Iron Man, it’s in the top 10. It certainly was a good origin story. But as Sam Raimi says, the first 2/3 of any first superhero film tells the origin, and the last third tells the story you really want to see.
And I have a real problem with the direction in Iron Man. The fight scenes were too close and too dark, especially the big finale. It’s the first superfilm where the secret identity is better than the hero. I loved the movie, but it’s barely in my top ten.
Zilla-I think I may agree with you about what you said, but I’m not ready to change my list just yet. Spiderman was the reason I started reading comics, and I can’t demote him just yet.
echer
July 6th, 2008 at 09:27
I wish this page was about superzombies. Batman Dracula kind of is, I guess. Anyway, I agree with you except about Iron Man. It’s too early to tell, but I don’t think it was a real good superhero movie. It was a good movie, yeah, but not nearly enough superhero. I agree with you about the direction, but I disagree about putting it in the top 10.
jim
August 6th, 2008 at 16:40
DUDe
u
did
NOT
just
say
that
DOOM, Resident evil 2, and resident evil 3 sucked!?!?!
u should be shot for saying that – they are DEFINUTELY among the top 10,
if not the top 5
and wtf, night of the living dead as #1, comeon
is this some kinda classic zombie list, cause i know its definutely not the best, though i can agree with dawn of the dead 2004 as among the top 5, and maybe the 28′ series
john
August 13th, 2008 at 15:10
TO WHOME MADE THIS LIST
You need to watch Versus its a japanesse zombie vs. samuri vs. ninja vs. the yakuza vs. some cop with a .50 cal sniper rifle, taking place in the future, past and present at the same time. Video game producer-director Hideo Kojima (of “Metal Gear” fame) was an extra in the film. the writer, as a friend, was later handpicked to direct Kojima’s remake of “Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes.” Versus is attributed to heavily influencing the sword-fighting scenes in the game. The movie is so phenominal, being low bugdet, that there is a U.S. remake being casted . (please look this title up{imdb maybe})
john
August 13th, 2008 at 15:13
oh and jims a loser
FlightDreamz
December 21st, 2008 at 11:59
In regards to “Night of the Comet” quote,”but there’s no nudity here at all” – sure there is! The short blonde (who looks nothing like her so called “sister”) has a topless dream sequence.
Cady
March 8th, 2009 at 18:27
I think these lists are the worst lists of movies ever conceived.
Have you ever seen any of these movies? These movies are way out of order.
ekko
March 9th, 2009 at 03:26
Not sure if you’re talking about the zombie or superhero movies, but you’re right. I haven’t seen ANY of these movies. This was my best guess, based on the titles.
MaxineRevolution
September 5th, 2009 at 16:08
Hell boy 1 and two were dreadful and should be erased from the universe.
Manly Chowder
September 7th, 2009 at 21:44
I’m going to be one of the few to think this, but this list was spot on. All except for 28 Weeks being placed higher than 28 Days, both of which are good, I agree completely.
RJP
October 4th, 2009 at 06:19
You must be joking, surely you should check IMDB.com before creating a list like this,
Batman DN should be first, followed by BM begins then Spider man 1, and why hellboy?? that film was crap
ekko
October 4th, 2009 at 10:30
How would imdb help me decide which movies I like?
pie
February 7th, 2010 at 04:32
Small correction… 28 days later was not a zombie movie, it was an outbreak / infection movie. When the girls father got the drop of blood in his eye and became infected with RAGE he never died, he just went insanely aggressive. (zombies are the walking dead, they don’t die of starvation like we saw at the end of the flick)
Still a great movie, don’t get me wrong… just not a zombie movie
ekko
February 7th, 2010 at 04:59
No, it was a zombie movie. I know it can be interpreted as a disease movie and they call it the “rage virus” taht was passed from animals to humans, but it’s not clear that the disease didn’t kill them while they were walking–and it is so completely influcenced by zombie movies that it qualifies as part of the genre.
pie
February 8th, 2010 at 17:41
it’s very clear the disease didn’t kill them… if it had then they wouldn’t be dying of starvation. Zombies don’t starve, they just decay to a point that they can no longer exist or function. I get what you are trying to say, but again using the example of the girls father in 28 days, he didn’t die. He looked up, got dripped on, reacted to the drip in a conscious manner, then got ridiculously angry/aggressive. If in fact they were dead/zombies I’m betting the scientists at the beginning that were working with the rage infected monkeys would have noticed/mentioned “hey guys… btw before you let these monkeys go I have to warn you that they’re dead/zombies” instead of telling them the bit about how their aggression was elevated and they are essentially psychotic. Just saying even the dumbest scientist is smart enough to notice a lack of heartbeat I’m wagering
cheers
ekko
February 9th, 2010 at 05:45
First of all, zombies aren’t real. So they could starve. In the comic book The Walking Dead, they become increasingly crazed without food. Second, I agree that the disease didn’t stop the zombies from functioning, but clearly the people affected by it were not they way they once were. They had been turned into raging flesh eaters. That’s zombified enough for me. I still maintain that 28 Days is an appropriate film as part of the zombie genre, even if the monsters are infected before they rise from the dead.
pie
February 9th, 2010 at 15:55
By the Romero genre of zombies (generally the one most used) zombies are the walking dead. The infected in 28 days aren’t dead, all I’m saying.
By all means, your list and I enjoyed it but I guess we agree that we disagree here
cheers
Tristan
March 3rd, 2010 at 00:54
you forgot Bud the Chud !!!! its awesomely corny.. or I was a Teenage Zombie. The zombie pimp was incredably hilarious.
ekko
March 3rd, 2010 at 04:48
Is Bud the Chud from C.H.U.D.? Because I thought that wasn’t a zombie film.
LaMont
August 1st, 2010 at 20:56
In order for you to think that The Last Air Bender was even slightly likable makes me question all of your rankings now. As a true fan of the series and now an avid plotter against M. night, to even think this movie was ok is a travesty and should be highly reconsidered….or your gay.
Lex10
April 22nd, 2011 at 12:00
American Zombie
Gram
July 6th, 2011 at 14:47
I’d be interested to see what you think of the Aussie Zombie film “Undead”, and where you might place that in the quality spectrum?
Maybe you’ve already seen it, and place it right out of the spectrum altogether:p
Without giving too much away.. I can say “Undead” has a plot device that probably harkens back to one of the more classic Zomibie films you mentioned.
Also.. what of ‘White Zombie’, possibly the first ever zombie film. No dice??
ekko
July 8th, 2011 at 04:01
Never saw “undead”….but i should re-visit white zombie, you’re right.
Shaun
July 9th, 2011 at 21:25
Batman Begins and The Dark Knight should be the top two films on the list — in either order. Actually, put them both at #1 since they should really go together as a piece (not unlike the LOTR trilogy, for instance).
Then the first Iron Man should probably come right after that (so, #2 or #3). Other than that, your list is fine really… Although I’d rate V For Vendetta and the 2008 Incredible Hulk higher, and I’d put Wolverine on the WORST EVER list, along with Spider-Man 3 and X-Men 3.
And Superman Returns DEFINITELY belongs on the “worst” list too. Iron Man 2 belongs on the lower tier… Not a “worst” pick, but a huge disappointment after that first movie.
This list is old, I know, but I’d give both Thor and X-Men: First Class pretty high marks. Not the best ever, but pretty damned fun. I have high hopes for Captain America in a couple of weeks too!
ekko
July 12th, 2011 at 03:35
Generally agree with you, except I can’t say Wolvie, SM3 or X3 were the worst ever. There are so many far worse movies out there.
Shaun
July 9th, 2011 at 21:27
Oh, and I decided to skip Green Lantern since all the trailers looked like ass, and the reviews were terrible. I’m curious to know where it would end up on a revised list. if you were to make one.
Shaun
July 9th, 2011 at 21:30
One last comment… Superman II in your top 10? Yeesh… Those first two are mostly watchable, I guess, but neither of them has aged well. I liked them as a little kid, when they were new movies, but I can barely sit through the 1978 movie now, and I can’t watch much of Supes II at all.
Gram
July 19th, 2011 at 09:58
Saying, 28 days/weeks etc is not a zombie film is really splitting hairs, they look like zombies and they act like zombies, just really fast
.
You could argue that a lot of the classic Zombie film plots kind of insinuated the zombie outbreak was an infection or disease, whether space or radiation born or whatever – 28 days is more Zombie-ish than Romero’s'The crazies’ though both are quite similar in concept I reckon.
If you want to be real stupid about it you could say the idea of Zombies actually came from voodoo and witchcraft, so hardly any of the classics are valid, eh?
I for one enjoyed the list and am really keen to check out FIDO, which I hadn’t heard of before.
For the lower tier superhero stuff i’ll throw “Condorman” into the mix. I have very vague childhood memories of it. Don’t know if it got much of a stateside release or had the same title. But to see it now would be retro as fuck. I just remember thinking as a kid that it was quite, as we say in Australia, PISSWEAK! haha
Clay Evans
August 13th, 2011 at 03:54
I remember The Omega Man from when I was young, and held out some hope for the remake (despite Will Smith being the lead). The best thing to come from the remake was the fact they re-released Richard Matheson’s novel. If you haven’t read it, you should.
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