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Today:
Zombie flicks
Posted: Mar 04, 2008 in Movies
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George A. Romero's "Diary of the Dead," the latest in his series of zombie pictures (though he says none of them are sequels or related to previous films in any offical capacity) opens in Indy this Friday. In honor of that, I thought I'd rehash a few of my favorite undead flicks:
Burial Ground: When I was a kid I remember seeing the drive-in ads for this movie and how it had been banned in several countries because it was just too scary. Later on, I saw the VHS box in video stores, but never rented the movie. At least, not until a few years ago, and I'll never forget this zombie romp, and that's not really in a good way, highlighed by extreme gore and an icky subplot between a woman and her "son" (played by a creepy looking adult little person), who had an Oedipus complex.
Dawn of the Dead (2004): One of the few remakes that reinvents a classic film while maintaining its own voice and style (and it's actually good, too). Zack Snyder ("300") crafts an entertaining, intense, and scary flick with a mainstream cast (including Mekhi Phifer and Ving Rhames), and keeps the gore.
Dawn of the Dead (1978): For my money the greatest zombie movie ever made. While Romero's largely competing against himself ("Night" was groundbreaking in its day), The first "Dawn" is rife with subtext and has a foreboding sense of dread and makes a zombie apocalypse frightening, but offers a sense of envy at the characters for the consumerist fantasy they live out in a zombie-infested shopping mall.
Night of the Living Dead: The granddaddy of 'em all. At the time, there had been nothing like Romero's low-budget zombie flick. It broke all of the rules, was graphic and merciless, and still holds up today. Spawned an entire genre.
Wow, there was one BIG exception left from this list. 1985's Return of the Living Dead. George Romero wasn't involved with this one, but it's based off of the story of his Night of the Living Dead. Without a doubt the best zombie movie of them all, from the story to the special effects, to the best punk rock soundtrack ever. I'm not (too) ashamed to admit that this movie helped shaped me into the person I am today. Zombies forever!
I am aware of Return, but I haven't seen it (yet), so I didn't want to comment on it. I figured someone who had seen it would be able to discuss it in greater length than I could!
Oh come on! No mention of Zombies on Broadway(1945) ??? Caught this little gem one random weekday afternoon on AMC. It's a keeper.
Romero put the zombie genre on the map but other people have been out some great zombie movies over the years. Zombie flicks were sort of low-budget and underground for most of the 80s and 90s but have made a huge comeback in the last few years with big budget franchises like Resident Evil.
I highly recommend the original 'Carnival of Souls' (1962). Though the characters in it were spirits and not flesh-eaters, 'Carnival' set many of the zombie "rules" a good six years before 'Night of the Living Dead.' (I also can't hear a church organist without thinking of that movie.)
Undead - It's an Aussie zombie movie involving aliens who enclose a town in a giant wall and zombifiy the residents. The whole thing is absurd and wonderful. It's a campy comedy. www.undeadthemovie.com
Shaun of the Dead - How can everyone forget this one? It's probably my favorite 'z' word movie ever. Kill Philip. www.shaunofthedeadmovie.com
28 Days Later - Pretty much re-invented the zombie, no longer were they a lumbering unstoppable force. Now they are fast. While the Romero zombies always had a strong social commentary and represented ill's in our society this film turned the zombies into simpler movie monsters. It still had things to say about society, mostly bad ones about the military and the nature of man.
Serenity - Space zombies that fly warships. Never really billed as a zombie movie, too bad. www.serenitymovie.com
Those are few in recent memory, I love Zombies. :-)
Undead - It's an Aussie zombie movie involving aliens who enclose a town in a ...
Glad you mentioned "28 Days Later." I almost put it on there, but decided against it. There's always been a debate about 28 Days Later and whether or not it's a zombie movie. Some people say it should be "classified" as a plague movie rather than a zombie movie.
It's kind of a 'tweener to me, but I personally have no problem calling it a zombie movie, because the people act as violently as zombies do, and their goal is the same.
But how about this as a question: compare it to "I Am Legend," which I definitely wouldn't call a zombie movie, but it's very similar plotwise to "28 Days Later." What do you guys think? Are either of those zombie movies, or neither, or one or the other?
Undead - It's an Aussie zombie movie involving aliens who enclose a town in a ...
Oh, and there's "Zombie Honeymoon," which someone posted about some time ago on indy.com. I actually have that movie DVR'd, but haven't had the chance to watch it yet.
Undead - It's an Aussie zombie movie involving aliens who enclose a town in a ...
Wow, I have one heck of a run on sentence in my original post.
Wow, there was one BIG exception left from this list. 1985's Return of the Living ...
Yes!!!!! I love this movie, and you're right about that soundtrack "Do ya wanna party?"
Joe, you need to watch this film, I think you will be surprised by how good it is, even for the 80's. Especially the zombie in the mourge that they talk to, great special effects.
I'm down. I'll put it in line!