MY FAVORITE ZOMBIE MOVIES OF ALL-TIME

Okay, I am a zombie fan. A fanatic if that sounds more hardcore. Although I’ve never counted, I believe I have seen around 200 zombie films give or take and many of them I have watched dozens of times. I love the entire world of zombie cinema from the United States to Mexico to France to Spain to Italy. My obsession started sometime in the 80s when cable gave us some variety. Romero’s bleak films could be seen on TV right along side the ultra fun Mantan Moreland zombie films. I’m pretty certain that like many of you my first zombie movie was 1968’s Night Of The Living Dead. I was a child, but even as an adult this movie is scary and depressing as Hell. Any nightmares I have about zombies are from this film and this film only. As I continued discovering more and more zombie movies from Return Of The Living Dead to The Beyond to Revolt Of The Zombies, I realized that zombie movies weren’t all trying to be frightening. They could also be humorous, gory or even more boring than buying socks. However these days, I’m almost ashamed to admit to someone that I’m a lover of zombies. I never cared to “run with the crowd” or go along with the latest fad. This boom in zombie culture over the past decade has made me less interested in telling people I’m a zombie fan even though my love for the genre still remains. Say “I’m a zombie fan” these days and the person will immediately start talking about The Walking Dead, a show which I consider one of the most boring things ever put on television. It has nothing to do with the fast paced 80s zombie movies that I love or the more surreal European takes on zombie cinema. Films today about the living dead also disappoint. Oh sure occasionally a good one like Outpost, Død Snø or Flight Of The Living Dead will sneak through, but mostly it’s stupid, unoriginal scripts with bad actors, worse directing and loads of that CGI blood. Zombies are so damn popular today that this year’s Denver Zombie Crawl attracted around 25,000 people! Of course because of this sudden surge I also realize that everyone and their mother has made a list of their favorite zombie films. I’ve seen a few good ones, mostly in the many books I own on the genre, but most lists play it very safe or they get confused as to what film is “best” and which is their “favorite”. These movies are simply my favorite. They are all good and worth a watch, but I would not refer to them as the best. If I had to make a list of the best zombie flicks I’d start with George Romero’s first 3 Dead films. The movies represented here for the most part are a must see for us fans of the genre, but people who only know The Walking Dead TV series will probably be very confused by what zombies used to be. These aren’t particularly important films, they’re just a blast to watch. If I’m being honest, Bela Lugosi’s White Zombie is probably more important than every film in my top 5 put together. If you’re taking the time to read this however, you should have already seen that masterpiece before and it‘s time to move on to some lesser known goodies. Hopefully now you can seek out 1 or 2 of the forgotten treasures that are my favorite zombie movies of all-time…

Honorable Mentions That Almost Made The List:
King Of The Zombies (1941)
Revenge Of The Living Dead Girls (1987)
Zombie (1979)
The Living Dead At Manchester Morgue (1974)
Day Of The Dead (1985)

5. Return Of The Living Dead II (1988)

I know what you’re thinking and don’t worry I consider the original ROTLD one of the best zombie films ever, I just have fonder memories of this sequel. The beginning is what hooked me from the start as it appears to be an homage to the classic Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman. As much fun as the first film was, this one added even more humor. This was one of the zombie movies that was played on pay cable endlessly and I watched it as often as I could. I like the cast, but most importantly I love the zombies and the make up effects. 

4. The Dead Pit (1989)

Unlike the aforementioned mentioned movie, this one was never on any cable station I watched. However it was one of the best VHS boxes in my local video store so I rented it the moment I saw it. After 100+ rentals of The Dead Pit, VHS was dead and the store closed soon after. Despite that somewhat grim ending I have nothing but fond memories of this gem. Cheryl Lawson the lead actress was technically a stunt woman, but I thought she did a great job and having an immaculate body doesn’t hurt her appeal whether in 1989 or today. The scenes with the evil doctor are quite cold and unnerving and the scenes with the zombies are frightening and relentless…a great combination.

3. Grapes Of Death (1978)

A French horror film from surreal, atmospheric director Jean Rollin that you may know by it’s proper French title Les Raisins De La Mort. This film very much feels like a Blind Dead film and if you know zombie cinema that is a high compliment. Elements of Romero’s The Crazies is also obvious, but nonetheless I consider this a very original piece of cinema. The French actresses such as Marie-Georges Pascal and Brigitte Lahaie steal the show, but luckily the sickly, insane villagers are terrifying adversaries. Technically this would be classified as an infection film, but like most movies in that genre it plays out almost exactly like your traditional zombie story.

2. Shock Waves (1977)

Directed by Ken Wiederhorn who happens to be the same guy who did ROTLD II…this guy knows zombie cinema in my book! I had serious conflict on whether to put this masterpiece at #1 or #2. Without question the scenes with the zombies under the water and coming out of the water are the greatest scenes of the living dead ever filmed. I still have no idea how they did these underwater effects. The Nazi zombies are also possibly the most heartless killing machines from any film in the genre. They revel in the pain of others and their blank expressions make them horrifying even in broad daylight. They probably couldn’t afford the best lights so the majority of this horror movie is uncharacteristically filmed in the day on a tropical island. Wiederhorn probably didn’t realize it at the time, but this makes it feel like a horror movie unlike any other you’ve seen.

1. The Dead Next Door (1989)

It took years for director JR Bookwalter to get this film released. He had some help from Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell and thankfully this thing finally saw the light of day. Bookwalter is clearly influenced by Evil Dead and Day Of The Dead and who can blame him but no, this film is nowhere near the quality of those movies. The acting from 90% of the actors is sub par and the special effects are a far cry from Tom Savini (one of many horror legends who share the names of the characters in the film). However this is so damn good because it’s one of those zombie films that you just put on when you and your friends are getting stoned or drunk. It is enjoyable in part because of it’s flaws, but even more so for it’s endless action. The Zombie Squads have to continuously battle zombies and religious cult members. Lead actors are there one minute and dead the next…no one is safe. I often refer to this film as the zombie Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This is how local non-Hollywood horror projects should be done. If you are considering making a movie for the first time you should consider The Dead Next Door as your required viewing.

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