Night of the Living Dead, directed by George A. Romero and released in 1968, is widely regarded as the "zombie" picture that had the most impact and significance on the genre, but is it also the finest zombie movie ever made?Night of the Chicken: Poultrygeist Dead is a horrible movie created by Troma. Its criticism of the consumption world is amusing.
Although the idea of a UN investigator hunting for a cure or biological agent to combat zombies is enticing, Globe War Z is one of the poorest adaptations of a fantastic source material.
Zeder is a weird horror-drama with a fresh perspective on the zombie film genre, depicting the story of a young author striving to discover the mystery of the K-Zones and how they operate.
A group of young males argue over who gets to rape the "deadgirl" next in the film Deadgirl, which examines the sexuality of the undead. The film is disturbing and filthy, and it makes the list merely because it suggests a use for zombies that hasn't been explored in this detail in 40 years.
A group of students camp out in a remote cabin in Norway and unwittingly revive a regiment of Nazi zombies by appropriating their Nazi gold. The film is a pretty standard horror-comedy, but the FX and action work are top-notch.
The Serpent and the Rainbow, directed by Wes Craven in 1988, is an unexpected rebirth of the voodoo-style Haitian zombie, as well as a reminder that producing a voodoo zombie film that takes itself semi-seriously and wants to shock is still possible.
Juan of the Dead injects political zeal into zombie flicks, with Juan starting a firm that spirals out of control.
In Romero's last picture, Dennis Hopper plays a ruthless plutocrat who rules over a walled-off Pittsburgh. It's not as subtle as Romero's past efforts, but it looks beautiful and has his rebellious flair.
Cemetery Man (check here) is an offbeat horror art-comedy about a cemetery caretaker who wanders through life without purpose and wonders why he continues with his job. It features characteristics that are similar to American Psycho in terms of the protagonist's despondency and loss of identity.
28 Weeks Later is a thrilling, terrifying, dramatic, and frustrating zombie/horror film, but it breaks one of the unwritten laws of zombie filmmaking by including a "main zombie" who escapes, denying the other infected the opportunity to be considered significant dangers.
A rash of murders breaks out in a small New England coastal town, and people who look just like the murdered visitors are walking the streets as permanent residents. The zombies here are different in their autonomy and ability to act on their own.
One Cut of the Dead is a delightful zombie film that tells the story of a group of actors who try to stage a live broadcast of a zombie short film.
A low-budget zombie film about a former baseball pitcher and catcher who journey across the nation together after the zombie apocalypse. The zombies are around, but they serve as a perpetual impediment and bitter reminder of everything that these guys have lost.
With a room full of zombies and a lawnmower that continues running despite being clogged with a thousand gallons of blood, Peter Jackson's horror-comedy Dead Alive is one of the genre's best triumphs.
Train to Busan is a film that delivers both popcorn entertainment and heartfelt drama in equal measure. It comes to an exciting conclusion with action and makeup effects that I've never seen before.
The characteristics of a zombie are rethought by Pontypool. It is a movie that I like because it critiques humanity's incapacity to connect with one another and talk about significant topics in the 21st century by going the difficult route.
Romero's film established the zombie genre rules, and has influenced every zombie movie since. It's the horror equivalent of Tolkien's influence on high fantasy "races," and you can barely hold a conversation about zombies without having seen Romero's film.
Day of the Dead gave the idea of reanimated corpses a scientific twist, but Re-Animator loves it. Jeffrey Combs shines in a wonderfully manic, campy portrayal of mad scientist Herbert West, who brings the dead back to life via syringes of glowing green ooze.
In terms of key players in the history of zombie film, John Russo is a relative unknown, yet his sequel to Night of the Living Dead is one of the all-time zombie masterpieces.
In terms of presentation, professionalism, thematic intricacy, and breakthrough visual effects, Romero's Dawn of the Dead represents a major stride forward. It takes set in a cheesy mall overrun by zombies and has famous visuals that other zombie films tried to imitate or ridicule.