Top 10 Best Zombie Movies

If you don't believe that the zombie apocalypse is coming, than you are one of the people who is most likely to become lunch first. Rigorous watching of zombie films and other related material are sure ways to ensure at least a small degree of survivability when the flesh eaters eventually over-run the planet. For those that wish to live past Day One, repeated viewings of the next 10 films will definitely give you a leg up on the rest of your walking-buffet brethren. (Writer's Note: I intentionally did not include any of the Resident Evil franchise, or either House of the Dead films. I like the video games too much.)

#10. Night of the Living Dead. The original from 1968 that really kicked off the genre, George A. Romero's classic will always stand the test of time. Although not the first full-length zombie film (that distinction goes to the 1932 film White Zombie, starring legend Bela Lugosi), this film is the source of inspiration for every other zombie film to come, even though a great portion of them were also done by Romero. While this film was not only ground breaking in the genre, it was also heralded for casting a black man in the hero's role in the midst of a cast full of whites, which, given the recent assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., was unheard of. Romero said there was no racial motivation to the choice, however, simply stating that he (Duane Jones) gave the best audition.


#9. Dead & Breakfast. Two things you don't readily associate together in the annals of film-dom would be musicals and zombie flicks, but Dead & Breakfast does just that. Although not heavy on plot, this one makes up for it in campy-ness and gore, while also throwing in songs and dance numbers. Displaying a surprising cast for an "under-the-radar" film, featuring such notables as Jeremy Sisto, Portia de Rossi, Jeffery Dean Morgan and the late David Carradine, this is an entertaining zombie romp quite like no other. Popcorn fun at it's disgusting, bowel-ripping-ly best, and a great date flick, if your date and yourself are zombie lovers that enjoy musicals as well.



#8. Dead Alive. Before Peter Jackson was an Oscar winner and thin, he was Peter Jackson, fat-guy auteur of one of the bloodiest films to date. With lines like, "That's my mother you're pissing on!", and "I kick ass for The Lord!", Jackson's second feature length film was far from Oscar material, but reveled in it's gory effects and low-brow humor. Featuring the Sumatran Rat Monkey and it's devastating bite with a love story sprinkled in between, this is required viewing for any fan of the genre, and showcased as creative a use of power tool as another horror great, Evil Dead II.  Although it's nice to see what he's doing these days, this and his earlier work Bad Taste are Jackson's TRUE masterpieces.



#7. Dawn of the Dead (2004). A remake of George Romero's sequel to his original, human survivors band together in a mall to fortify against the zombie hordes. Where the original featured the struggle between the human element as well as defending against the undead, this version focuses more on the survival aspect. Opening with Johnny Cash's haunting "When the Man Comes Around", things devolve quickly when a patient is brought in to the local hospital suffering from bites from a homeless person, which is casually referred to by the medical staff. The resulting zombie outbreak quickly sweeps the area, punctuated on-screen by great visuals and effects.

#6. Slither. Not your typical zombie flick, this one features alien parasites that turn their victims into zombies, so, in my eyes, that qualifies it as a zombie flick. Horror veteran Michael Rooker leads an All-Star Hollywood Sci-Fi Line-up featuring Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, and Jenna Fischer. At first criticized as a shameless rip-off of  '80s cult classic Night of the Creeps, this film found a voice of it's own upon release with it's dark humor and hilarious casting of Gregg Henry as Mayor Jack McCready, easily the best performance of the film, and over-the-top special effects. They even had time to throw a love story or two in this one as well.




#5. The Return of the Living Dead. The first zombie flick to feature zombies that craved brains, because they helped with "The pain of being dead.", this also featured zombies that were "smart" and could talk and coordinate. Released in 1985, this film has the zombies being created by a toxic gas that is spread by a rainstorm, directly over a graveyard some punks are partying in. '80s Scream-Queen Linnea Quigley
is memorable for her scenes as Trash, the naked punker who gets zombie-fied  in the first wave.

#4. 28 Days Later. Featuring zombies created by a "rage" virus, these guys ran through the streets and tore everything to shreds. Transferred through blood, and not necessarily through the old stand-by method of biting, anyone could fall victim at any time, and that was the least of your problems. Human survivors had expectantly devolved into an anarchistic society; as a woman, you had the ever present fear of rape on top of having to pick up and run at a moment's notice. That's true fear: an enemy you know and one you don't, facing you on all sides. Unfortunately, the zombies are the enemy you know.

#3. Dead Snow. This Norwegian import has the distinction of being the first zombie movie in the snow.  They have to be quick zombies, of course, to be able to maneuver through said snow, and they also have quite a bit of intelligence on their side to coordinate attacks. But, to top it all off, they are also Nazi zombies. Can you think of a more vile and repugnant creature than a zombie? The only way to make it worse is make it a Nazi, the most vile and repugnant set of humans to walk the earth, or snow for that matter. Featuring enough dark humor to keep the viewer unbalanced, future zombie auteurs can learn a thing or two from this foreign gem.

#2. Shaun of the Dead. The film that introduced Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to audiences across the pond from their native U.K., this was the film touted as "A Romantic Comedy with Zombies", and that was an understatement. Loaded with veteran British comedic actors such as Bill Nighy, Martin Freeman, and Dylan Moran, there are times, albeit briefly, that you forget you are watching a gory zombie movie. Frost and Pegg are perfectly cast as best mates, a pair of slackers who even try to slack their way through the zombie apocalypse.

#1. Zombieland. Barely edging out Shaun of the Dead for the #1 spot is 2009's Zombieland, a movie that literally has it all: violence, comedy, violence, love story, violence, buddy moments, violence and Bill Murray. Jesse Eisenberg is perfectly cast as "Columbus", a guy just trying to find his family, and Woody Harrelson is even better as "Tallahassee" a guy just trying to find a Twinkie. Like Shaun, comedy is spread liberally throughout this film, with the best coming from the much improvised cameo with the aforementioned Murray, and Columbus' rules for survival. The Yang to Tallahassee's and Columbus' Yin are Emma Stone as "Wichita" and up-and-comer Abigail Breslin as her sister "Little Rock", a pair on their own road to survival who must eventually team up with the guys to help ensure their survival. Although everyone on board for this one has expressed interest in doing the sequel, it has stagnated in development hell, possibly never to see the light of day, and leaving this as a true gem of zombie filmdom, and a (new) classic of American cinema.