My Top 10 Zombie Movies

With the success of Zombieland at the box office, I decided to compile a list of my top 10 zombie flicks. These are in order....

1. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
The best zombie movie ever put to film. Hands down. George Romero really blew the roof off with this one. Having a group of survivors holed up in a mall, fighting off zombies and rampaging bikers. The social commentary making the zombies a symbolic representation of american society being mindless consumers is deep. Tom Savini's effects were extremely ahead of their time. I remember seeing this as a kid and the gore was so intense, my sister and I had to stop watching it mid-way through just to re-coop. Romero has recently lost his luster and never been as good as this movie. He has kind of driven the genre in the ground and made boring, meaningless zombie trash. Let's remember him for the visionary he was with this masterpiece.



2. 28 Days Later
I get tired of the whiners saying "they're not zombies!". Shut up! They basically are. They have the same traits other than eating humans. Anyway...I think this movie was awesome. Danny Boyle took the then quite zombie genre and made it exciting, thrilling, edge of your seat terror. Filming on DV gave the movie a gritty almost documentary look and made it more real. And the music used was amazing. It's very atmospheric and helps create the tension. This movie is the best zombie-like movie in the past 20 years.


3. Dawn of the Dead 2004
Before Zach Snyder was making "SPARTA!" a household name, he made this re-imaging of Romero's classic. I have to admit, when I heard this movie was being filmed I was skeptical. Almost to the point off boycotting. I'm glad I chose to be open-minded and optimistic. Snyder took Romero's vision and added steroids. The zombies were fast moving and relentless. The gore, music, characters, setting, and suspense was all perfectly placed. Apologies to Mr. Snyder, he made a modern classic.


4. 28 Weeks Later
The highly anticipated sequel to the flawless original. The first 10 minutes of this movie are the most suspenseful and edge of your seat I've ever witnessed in a theater. I'm a huge fan of Jeremy Renner and he convincingly plays a sniper helping assist survivors in escaping the infected. The movie didn't do well at the box office which proves that most cinema goers are idiots. By the way, this is one of my favorite trailers of all time. The music is perfect.


5. Night of the Living Dead (1990)
Tom Savini goes from make-up master to director in his remake to George Romero's classic. I hate to say it, but he topped Romero's original. I catch a lot of flack from other horror fans for that, but it's true. Now I love the original, but Savini got great actors and a decent budget to do some amazing effects. Even though they are essentially the same film, they are different. Savini's is more in your face and visual. What's weird though is that this is Tom Savini's only directing gig. He's done some tv stuff but nothing on this level. As good as this movie was, that surprises me. Especially when millions of dollars are given to Rob Zombie who has the vision of Ray Charles.


6. Return of the Living Dead
The zombie spoof movie 20 years before Shaun of the Dead. Not officially in "the Dead" series, Return of the Living Dead pokes fun at all the previous zombie movies before it. For example, after pickaxing a zombie in the brain doesn't kill it, we hear "You mean the movie lied?!" I saw this movie in the drive in and remember it blowing my mind. The movie had just enough comedy in it that it didnt take away from the horror element. And the music was amazing. The punk mixed with screaming zombies creates a memorable experience. All the sequels after this one sucked, but Return was/is one of a kind. It also spawned the saying being associated with zombies....BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAINS!


7. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The classic that spawned hundreds of copycats. Romero definitely thought outside the box for this one. It is still just as effective over 40 years later. This one is the most eerie of the bunch and was a first in horror cinema, a black hero. This movie broke all kinds of rules and helped create horror movies as we note. Thank you God for George Romero.


8. Day of the Dead
I do like this movie a lot. I don't think it's anywhere near as good as Dawn, but still a great movie. I personally didn't like the acting so much. But this movie does have a very memorable character, Captain Rhodes. His rants and screaming are comical and make me laugh every time I watch this movie, but he is a very good villain. Now I will say, the ending of this movie is way gorier than anything from Dawn. It is still disturbing to watch. Savini's best work, hands down.


9. Grindhouse: Planet Terror
Who would've thought Robert Rodriguez' grindhouse movie was going to be better than Tarantino's. I know I didn't. As ridiculous and over the top as it was, I enjoyed every minute. I expected it to be what it was, just not so good. As the movie went on it got crazier and crazier. I'm glad I got to see it in the theaters. It was one of the best movie experiences I've had. The audience was having a ball. This movie proved to me that Robert Rodriguez can do anything and I can't wait to see what he's going to do next.


10. HONORABLE MENTION: Shaun of the Dead
I consider this movie a comedy and not a horror flick, but it is so GREAT that it had to be on the list. It pays homage to almost every zombie movie before it. It is a cult classic and made Simon Pegg a star. It is hilarious from opening credits to closing credits. It's a movie you didn't want to see end. No matter how many times I see it, I laugh just as hard as I did the first time.