A couple of weeks ago, I did a post relating vampire movies worth your while. I got a lot of support and feedback on that, so I turned to another monster genre that held it’s own for it’s success. Zombie movies are generally a lot different from the general vampire movie. While vampire movies are more based on the ideas of eternal love, the sexual aspect of blood sucking, and the drama of hiding from the light, zombie movies are more related to the strength of human kind in the face of Apocalypse and the bad-assery of killing as many zombies as possible. Hit the jump for the list of awesome zombie movies. I apologize for missing some, especially any really early zombie movies.
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
I’m aware that this is based on an original, but I haven’t seen the original. I don’t know how good the original one was, but this was a fairly good movie about a group of people stuck in a mall during a zombie Apocalypse. I especially remember the beginning where the little girl is attacking the couple and then when the lead escapes, she stumbles upon a world where all Hell has broken loose.
Shaun of the Dead
Probably the best zombie-horror comedy made, this fantastic dark comedy has British funnymen Nick Frost and Simon Pegg as best buds who are put in a very difficult situation. As two idiots trying to survive the zombie Apocalypse, this film has multiple memorable lines and situations that even puts a smile on your face as the heroes stand on pools of bodies and blood.
28 Days Later
I saw 28 Weeks Later first and I didn’t very much enjoy it. Then I learned that it was a sequel and read that the first one was very good. I was hesitant until I saw who directed the first one: Danny f*cking Boyle. I thought 127 Hours and Slumdog guy made a zombie movie? Holy Sh*t! So I checked it out and found it fantastically excellent. The film packs a surprisingly emotional punch and uses zombies as an undertone for testing the limits of humanity.
Planet Terror
Robert Rodriguez continues his range from absolute gore-fest to children’s movie with Planet Terror to Shorts. It’s remarkable how he swings from such different genres. Planet Terror is a sexy B-movie with a girl who has a machine gun for a leg. Her and a rag-tag group of survivors takes on hordes of zombies in absurd and ridiculous style. Definitely a see for those who just love blood orgies.
Resident Evil Franchise
Sure sure, say what you will about how horrible this franchise is, but Milla Jovavich killing zombies is always fun to some degree. It doesn’t matter how ridiculous the zombies can get or how corny the sci-fi part of it is, the movies are highly stylish in ways how they kill certain zombies and stuff.
Zombieland
Zombieland is probably the best zombie comedy movie since Shaun of the Dead. It’s stylish, funny, and has heart in it’s fun leads. And that f*cking cameo is probably one of the best cameos I’ve seen in a long time. I’ve even heard that they’re trying to make it a TV show where they can implement ‘Zombie Kills of the Week’. I look forward to it, even if it wouldn’t have Wichita in it.
Bonus: The Walking Dead
If you’re not watching this series, you’re seriously missing out on an awesome franchise. The make-up is extremely well done and it’s set in my hometown of Atlanta. This is another example of having human stories with zombies as the interesting undertone.
Honorable Mention: The Hills Have Eyes
It’s hard to say if this is a zombie movie. The creeps in this movie are about as deformed as zombies and I’m pretty sure they have a palette for human flesh. Eh, probably not because they seem to understand ideas like hanging people on burning trees and rape. So probably not.
Let me know what I missed out on.
Great post! If you want a break from the whole flesh eating genre, check out the foreign film Dead Snow. Two words: Nazi Zombies.
Well, I think you pretty much said it. I really enjoyed Shaun of the Dead; it’s a very dark, smart comedy. My husband just didn’t get what I found so funny, by the way… However, I think I enjoyed Zombieland better. L totally loved Woody Harrelson. I’m divided at the idea of a series about it… but if it does come into reality, I’ll watch it. I just hope the original cast could be in it…