TOP 66 ZOMBIE FILMS OF ALL TIME (Part 4)

PART 4: No.# 50-41

One of the biggest reasons I wanted to conduct my own list of Top 66 Zombie films is the fact that the article in SFX Magazine Special Zombies kept putting films that they didn’t even like at the bottom of the list.  This is a huge travesty as there have been hundreds of zombie films produced and not one zombie film on that UK magazine’s list they should have been ashamed of.  On my list I am not ashamed of any of them.  I’ve seen a whole lot of bad zombie films (ZOMBIE LAKE and FLESH EATER come immediately to mind) but despite the questionable quality of some of the films on my list (and I’m sure you dear zombie lovers won’t agree with all my choices nor their placement on my list) they are all entertaining and films that I would gladly include in my video collection.

In this part of the series I’m going to go into some of the films I deem some of the most entertaining in the bunch.  The one thing to remember about zombie films is that the majority of them are made to simply be entertaining (although there are a few that surpass this expectation) and if it isn’t entertaining then it isn’t any good (hence why PLAGA ZOMBIE and THE DEAD HATE THE LIVING are definitely on this list).  Enjoy them as much as I have.

50. SUGAR HILL (1974)

I lucked out with this film as I just recently saw this film within the last six months and despite the fact that it may be dated it is now a personal favorite of mine.  It’s one of the better “old school” voodoo zombie movies available out there which has a strong female lead that drives the film.  The other big selling point to the film is that it has an almost all African American cast (it is a Blaxploitation film by the way) and it makes no compromises.  It’s one of those films that needs to be seen to be believed.

49. THE DEAD HATE THE LIVING (2000)

A guilty pleasure of mine.  I don’t know if the film is any good but it’s one of my favorite zombie films to just through into the DVD player any day at any time.  It never gets old.  It’s a love song to horror and zombie films and any self respecting fan will pick up on all the homage in the film to other popular horror films.

48. RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE (2010)

This is my second favorite in the RESIDENT EVIL film franchise as it takes a lot from video games to create one of the most satisfying of horror film sequels.  It’s also one of the few 3-D released films that I loved watching in 3-D as the extra added dimension added to my enjoyment of the film.  Great action and suburb make up and visual SFX makes this an excellent addition to the popular franchise.

47. I, ZOMBIE (1999)

Probably the most depressing zombie film ever made as it shows how a man slowly becoming one with his zombie nature after being bitten by an undead ghoul.  Most people think this a boring excuse for a zombie film but I always thought that it explored territory in the zombie genre that just hadn’t been tackled before.  It got into the dark mind of zombie and just continued to decay from there.  Not a film for everyone and certainly not a film for those who simply want to be entertained.

46. DANCE OF THE DEAD (2008)

Filmed in Georgia at locations where I have myself filmed similar indie films this holds a special place on the list because I know many of the actors in the film.  The story also takes a few liberties with the zombie mythos while telling a coming of age story about teenagers who get stuck in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.  It both horrifying and heartwarming while also manages to mix both the comedy and horror in a satisfying way.

45. ZOMBIE HONEYMOON (2004)

The Honeymoon is over for the just married couple in the film when the groom is bitten by a zombie and the bride must figure out a way to cope with her husband’s new appetite for the flesh.  A low budget gem in terms of story and direction as it is a very minimalist film but survivals because of the actors and how authentic they make their characters in such an unusually circumstance.

44. DEAD SPACE: DOWNFALL (2008)

More animated zombies in this of the first DEAD SPACE films.  This is an unrelenting horror masterpiece that is a prequel to the popular video game.  No flesh is spared in this over the top zombie massacre that will have zombie fans wondering why this film didn’t get a theatrical release (I would have loved to have seen this on the big screen).

NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (1986)

If you’re wondering why this film is sandwiched in here it is because when I made the original list I somehow forgot to number this film and didn’t realize it until it was too late but I decided to keep it where it would originally fall on the list.

This is probably one of my favorite horror films from my childhood.  I’ve probably seen this film a hundred times and it never gets old.  This is a flawless film that mixes sci-fi with horror and a big dose of humor.  And it helps that Tom Atkins is along for the ride. I’ve never met a person who didn’t love this film.

43. PLAGA ZOMBIE: MUTANT ZONE (2001)

The most fun you’ll ever have watching a home-grown Mexican zombie film (if you watch both films at the same time its twice as much fun).  This is another one of those it’s so bad its good films.  Despite the questionable logic (which you can forgive because it’s an indie film) this is one of those films that you play in front of a group of your friends (with similar interests in film) while getting drunk and having a good time because that’s what you’ll have from beginning to end with this film.

42. DEAD & BREAKFAST (2004)

The only zombie musical worth watching.  Great cast and over the top violence makes this an excellent time waster.  The musical numbers just put this film on the top.  There is no better fun to be had than in this film.  If you never thought that a zombie film could also be a musical than look no further than here.

41. CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (1980)

If you’ve never seen a Lucio Fulci film than this would be a good one to start off with.  Fulci’s zombie’s are like anyone else’s from those in his film ZOMBI to those in HOUSE BY THE CEMETARY to those in THE BEYOND.  He has created a type of zombie film that is all his own that has not been easily emulated by others.  His films are gory and uncompromising and not for the faint of heart…which is why I love them so much.  Those with a love of Italian zombie mayhem will love this film and despite the holes in logic (as is the case with most Italian horror films of this decade) it is highly enjoyable from beginning to end.

Zombie films have become a regular diet in the film industry.  After years of being the bastard step child to the vampire and werewolf genres, the zombie film has been the most consistent and successful genre in the past decade and there doesn’t seem to be any signs of wear as this year will see the release of RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION and WORLD WAR Z, to name a few.

TOP 66 ZOMBIE FILMS OF ALL TIME (Part 3)

PART 3: No.# 60-51

One of the biggest reasons I wanted to conduct my own list of Top 66 Zombie films is the fact that the article in SFX Magazine Special Zombies kept putting films that they didn’t even like at the bottom of the list.  This is a huge travesty as there have been hundreds of zombie films produced and not one zombie film on that UK magazine’s list they should have been ashamed of.  On my list I am not ashamed of any of them.  I’ve seen a whole lot of bad zombie films (ZOMBIE LAKE and FLESH EATER come immediately to mind) but despite the questionable quality of some of the films on my list (and I’m sure you dear zombie lovers won’t agree with all my choices nor their placement on my list) they are all entertaining and films that I would gladly include in my video collection. 

In this part of the series I’m going to go into some of my personal favorites as well as some that I think every hard core zombie fan should view at least once (if not multiple times).

60. TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS RITUAL (2002)

I’m as surprised as you that this film (a remake of the classic I Walked With a Zombie – 1943) would even be on this list especially since it was the third feature in the Tales From the Crypt feature film series.  This is one of the few remakes that actually were good from the excellent acting to the directing and even the story which was changed and altered (in a good way).  Unlike the previous two Crypt films (Demon Knight and Bordello of Blood) this film was not a campy horror film but retained the atmosphere and dread of the original film.

59. Z.A. ZOMBIES ANONYMOUS (2006)

This low budget zombie film about a world in which zombies just want to be like everyone else is both funny and poignant.  Despite the limitations of the small budget the film succeeds because you believe the characters to be genuine and you take them seriously despite the nature and the circumstances that the characters find themselves in.  There were many such zombie films that surfaced around the same time (low budget to no budget zombie horror comedies) but none were as interesting or as well executed as this film.

58. RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985)

This is a fan favorite but has never been one of my favorites.  Coming out the same year as Romero’s Day of the Dead did not help this film in my opinion.  I’ve always been a Romero fan and this film just never sat right with me because of the whole zombies eating brains and the fact that they could talk and were somewhat smart.  I do commend the filmmakers for the effort and acknowledge the impact this film has had on the genre which cannot be overstated.  The one element of the film that I must point out and which HAS been an influence on me is the soundtrack which has some of the best music ever committed to a horror film at the time.  The film’s soundtrack is one that I pull out at least once a year to remind me of a time in horror film history when the music was important to the story and not just another sales gimmick.   And I must add that most of my friends put this film above Romero’s Day of the Dead any day.

57. RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION (2007)

After the abysmal Resident Evil: Apocalypse I didn’t think the franchise could bounce back but it did with this hyper kinetic sequel.  I’m not afraid to admit that I’m a huge fan of the Resident Evil franchise despite the fact that I’ve never played any of the video games.  Millia Jovovich is the main reason I love these films and they do continue to do new things with the zombie genre that most other films are afraid to do or even think of.  These films continue to add new characters and new ways of looking at a zombie film while also being fresh and exciting and action packed.  The original film kick started the renaissance of modern day zombie film (which was then pushed into the stratosphere by the remake of Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later).  

56. NIGHT OF THE COMET (1984)

Mary Catherine Stewart.  That’s all I have to say.  There’s not much else to say about this valley girls in a world decimated by the arrival of Haley’s Comet and the zombie apocalypse that ensues.   Stewart is magnificent (and I’m sure everyone else is as well but I wouldn’t know since my eyes are always on Stewart).  She’s also the number one reason why The Last Starfighter is also one of my all-time favorite films.  I don’t know if this film is actually any good or not but it has Stewart and that’s good enough for me.

55. SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD (2009)

A lot of people did not enjoy this Romero film because it was so different from all his previous films but that is also one of the reasons why I enjoyed it so much.  Two feuding families whose ideological differences continue even after the dead return to the living.  Romero’s sharp humor.  A very picturesque local (different from all the other films in Romero’s Dead films).  This all adds up to one of Romero’s most unique experiments and most satisfying of his last three films.  I thought Land of the Dead felt too Hollywood and big budget and Diary of the Dead felt a little too repetitive and preachy but this film felt like an old school Romero film from beginning to end.

54. VERSES (2000)

Okay, martial arts and zombies and lots of blood and guts and action!  This film may lack a cohesive story but the sheer audacity of the filmmakers to conceive of such a demented story is pure genius.  The choreography of the fight sequences are beyond reproach which is why this has become a cult classic in many circles.  A friend of mine gave me this film because he knew I was a huge zombie film fan and I was blown away as you will be when you see this film.  It does get repetitive with the action and violence in the third act but this is little consequence when the film is so over the top from beginning to end.  You’ll love it just as much as I did.

53. DEAD SPACE: AFTERMATH (2011)

It’s hard to believe that there is an animated zombie film out there.  Sure there was a segment in the film version of Heavy Metal but it wasn’t until recently that zombies had their own films.  This is one of two  animated films based on the popular video game series.  This one is told in flashback form as a group of survivors from a terrible ordeal recount their experiences to a ruthless military cabal.  The thing I like the most about the Dead Space universe is the fact that they took a page out of the Resident Evil franchise by presenting a new type of zombie.  These re-animated dead are not entirely human but also infected and ruthless and despite this being an animated film not corners are cut on the blood that is shed.  This was a great follow up to the first film (Dead Space: Downfall) and extension to the video game series that fans will enjoy.

52. AUTOMATON TRANSFUSION (2006)

This is just zany good fun.  There is barely a plot point in this film that can’t be questioned and the acting is just as questionable but the film is so much fun and entertaining that you can’t help but be dragged along for the ride.  This is a low/no budget zombie massacre extravaganza that looks like everyone involved had a great time making the film and that translates to the audience.  I had a blast despite knowing how inept the whole film was.  It’s one of those films you invite your friends over to watch and have a couple beers (like VERSES or NIGHT OF THE COMET).  It won’t win any awards or ever be on any (self respecting) critics best lists but it remains one of my favorite zombie films because of its entertainment value and I commend the young filmmakers who went out there and produced such a high octane love letter to the genre.

51. NIGHT OF THE SEAGULLS (1975)

I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with the Tomb of the Blind Dead franchise but this the second best of the lot following the original film.  This film focuses more on the story and myth of the cursed Knights Templar while delivering a satisfactory story with the supporting (and more human) characters.  I’ve learned that the Blind Dead films are better when viewed at the same time.  These films are quite dated and generally for those with knowledge of the franchise but the uninitiated may also learn to love them as well.

I love zombie films and from this sampling of films you may have guessed that my tastes extend all across the board.  The zombie genre remains one of the largest and most influential to the modern day horror film.  As they continue pumping out the next big zombie film whether it be an original film, a remake, or an animated film we can be assured that the stories will continue to go all other the map and I wouldn’t want it any other way.