With the highly anticipated AMC adaptation of The Walking Dead hitting screens next month, and Zombie films in general having dominated my viewing for the past week or so, I thought this would be a good time to speak about some of our favorites of the genre.
I wanted to do a poll, but a favorite Zombie film poll seemed impossible to pull off well, as any serious fan of the genre is sure to have some of their own more obscure favorites. Considering this, I've made a poll to consider which is the best of the popular Romero "...Of the Dead" series. I figure this will come down to Night and Dawn, but no need to exclude the few who may feel otherwise. Feel free to discuss your opinions of the other films as well.
Outside of Romero, What are some of your favorites? Do you prefer the shambling dead or Zombies that could be on a field and track team?
my ranking of the Romero Films, in order....
Dawn of the Dead - The Best Romero film, The best Zombie film, and one of my personal favorite films. In scale this the biggest film Romero made(Land of the dead never seemed as big to me). The amount of carnage on display is impressive. The film also features excellent characters by the standards of this kind of film, They are easy to like and we identify with them. The idea of holding up in a shopping mall is not only a cool fantasy, but allows for some very clever social commentary about consumerism. Even with this subtext, it never detracts from the adventure like some of the later films do. It has a great atmosphere of dread and the end of the mankind, yet has some seriously funny moments. A near perfect movie.
Night of the Living Dead - This is just as good as Dawn, and I believe a preference between one or the other depends on which concept you prefer, and perhaps whether you prefer the more comic book style of Dawn or the straight black and white horror of Night. Duane Jones gives one of the best performances of the series as Ben, and The other characters fill their roles well. This is the most Tense film in the series, and one of the few times zombies were actually frightening as monsters. The main thing I respect about night is the total balls this movie has. They cast an educated black man in the lead, show graphic violence for the time, and the film features of the most shcking and depressing endings ever. I also respect the fact that Mr. Cooper, although the villian of the piece, ended up actually being right about the cellar being the safest place. That's a cool thing that you realize on second viewing or so and it really gets you to think.
Day of the Dead - This is the darkest of the films, and like many I didn't like it much the first time I saw it. Coming off of Dawn, I wanted another big Comic Book adventure, and this movie is very subdued and more serious. It's hard to relate to most of the people in this film, and the underground setting for the majority of the film is bleak. Coming around though, I realise this was exactly the point. There is some fun to be had in the heavy drinking Irish character and Capt. Rhodes, one of the most iconic over the top performance in a Zombie movie ever. I think a zombie movie needs more than good effects to be great, but it is worth mentioning that Day has amazing make-up and gore. It's depressing that most newer zombie movies can't compete with Day of the Dead's effects.
With that we get to the Newer Romero films, which are much weaker. They still hold my interest enough, and I would say they are decent zombie flicks, but a far cry from the earlier entries that defined the genre. The acting is worse, the scripts not as tight, and some of the practical effects often replaced with poor CGI. THey just don't have that bleak feeling anymore. Romero on a bad day is still watchable however.
Land of the Dead - This movie benefits greatly from a studio sized budget. I really like the western feel to some of the early scenes (The bar scene), with the dusters and attitude on display in those scenes giving me a slight Firefly vibe. Dennis Hopper is not so good in this, but seeing him is a pleasure none the less. The star of the film is the awesome Dead Reckoning vehicle.
Survival of the Dead- I like this just slightly over Diary as Diary's Handheld camera conceit just doesn't work for me, and I find O'flynn and the soldiers far more interesting than the Teens of Diary. I think it's cool to See a zombie western, and I kinda wish Romero had just made a western and not a zombie film. That said, this one has a few genuine laughs and Kenneth Walsh (Windom Earle from Twin Peaks) is great as O'Flynn. It has some seriously slow spots in the middle, and outside of O'Flynn and one or two other characters, they are just poor cutouts, beyond those even considered standard for the genre, they are just a waste. The CGI work is also really shoddy here. Not a good film really, but it's worth watching for the hardcore fans.
Diary - My least favorite. It's no worse than survival really, I just hate the handheld camera style used in some films today. It suffers from the same problems as survival, and the social point about New media and our fascination with voyuerism and documenting our lives rather than acting to help ourselves is valid, but I could use less bad writing and more excitement. On the plus side, The Professer character is a real hoot along with the Deaf Amish man. A awful movie made watchable by some amusing bits and it's place in a storied series.
Whew. Outside of the Romero films, I like most of the more recent and popular films like Zombieland, Shaun, Dawn '04, 28 days later (Yes, I know they aren't really zombies.)
I'm very fond of Peter Jackson's Braindead and The first Re-animator Film for being Funny and still delivering the genre goods. Re-animator benefits greatly from Jeffrey Combs considerable acting skills.
Has anyone seen Fido? It may be my favorite Zombie film after Night and Dawn. Really cute twisted movie, but it has genuine heart. I dare say that outside of a shot or two of gore and some sexual innuendos it's a legitimate children's movie. The period detail is impressive, and the acting, even by the children, is great.
Finally, Shamblers all the way. I see the appeal of fast zombies, but they've just never felt right to me.
I wanted to do a poll, but a favorite Zombie film poll seemed impossible to pull off well, as any serious fan of the genre is sure to have some of their own more obscure favorites. Considering this, I've made a poll to consider which is the best of the popular Romero "...Of the Dead" series. I figure this will come down to Night and Dawn, but no need to exclude the few who may feel otherwise. Feel free to discuss your opinions of the other films as well.
Outside of Romero, What are some of your favorites? Do you prefer the shambling dead or Zombies that could be on a field and track team?
my ranking of the Romero Films, in order....
Dawn of the Dead - The Best Romero film, The best Zombie film, and one of my personal favorite films. In scale this the biggest film Romero made(Land of the dead never seemed as big to me). The amount of carnage on display is impressive. The film also features excellent characters by the standards of this kind of film, They are easy to like and we identify with them. The idea of holding up in a shopping mall is not only a cool fantasy, but allows for some very clever social commentary about consumerism. Even with this subtext, it never detracts from the adventure like some of the later films do. It has a great atmosphere of dread and the end of the mankind, yet has some seriously funny moments. A near perfect movie.
Night of the Living Dead - This is just as good as Dawn, and I believe a preference between one or the other depends on which concept you prefer, and perhaps whether you prefer the more comic book style of Dawn or the straight black and white horror of Night. Duane Jones gives one of the best performances of the series as Ben, and The other characters fill their roles well. This is the most Tense film in the series, and one of the few times zombies were actually frightening as monsters. The main thing I respect about night is the total balls this movie has. They cast an educated black man in the lead, show graphic violence for the time, and the film features of the most shcking and depressing endings ever. I also respect the fact that Mr. Cooper, although the villian of the piece, ended up actually being right about the cellar being the safest place. That's a cool thing that you realize on second viewing or so and it really gets you to think.
Day of the Dead - This is the darkest of the films, and like many I didn't like it much the first time I saw it. Coming off of Dawn, I wanted another big Comic Book adventure, and this movie is very subdued and more serious. It's hard to relate to most of the people in this film, and the underground setting for the majority of the film is bleak. Coming around though, I realise this was exactly the point. There is some fun to be had in the heavy drinking Irish character and Capt. Rhodes, one of the most iconic over the top performance in a Zombie movie ever. I think a zombie movie needs more than good effects to be great, but it is worth mentioning that Day has amazing make-up and gore. It's depressing that most newer zombie movies can't compete with Day of the Dead's effects.
With that we get to the Newer Romero films, which are much weaker. They still hold my interest enough, and I would say they are decent zombie flicks, but a far cry from the earlier entries that defined the genre. The acting is worse, the scripts not as tight, and some of the practical effects often replaced with poor CGI. THey just don't have that bleak feeling anymore. Romero on a bad day is still watchable however.
Land of the Dead - This movie benefits greatly from a studio sized budget. I really like the western feel to some of the early scenes (The bar scene), with the dusters and attitude on display in those scenes giving me a slight Firefly vibe. Dennis Hopper is not so good in this, but seeing him is a pleasure none the less. The star of the film is the awesome Dead Reckoning vehicle.
Survival of the Dead- I like this just slightly over Diary as Diary's Handheld camera conceit just doesn't work for me, and I find O'flynn and the soldiers far more interesting than the Teens of Diary. I think it's cool to See a zombie western, and I kinda wish Romero had just made a western and not a zombie film. That said, this one has a few genuine laughs and Kenneth Walsh (Windom Earle from Twin Peaks) is great as O'Flynn. It has some seriously slow spots in the middle, and outside of O'Flynn and one or two other characters, they are just poor cutouts, beyond those even considered standard for the genre, they are just a waste. The CGI work is also really shoddy here. Not a good film really, but it's worth watching for the hardcore fans.
Diary - My least favorite. It's no worse than survival really, I just hate the handheld camera style used in some films today. It suffers from the same problems as survival, and the social point about New media and our fascination with voyuerism and documenting our lives rather than acting to help ourselves is valid, but I could use less bad writing and more excitement. On the plus side, The Professer character is a real hoot along with the Deaf Amish man. A awful movie made watchable by some amusing bits and it's place in a storied series.
Whew. Outside of the Romero films, I like most of the more recent and popular films like Zombieland, Shaun, Dawn '04, 28 days later (Yes, I know they aren't really zombies.)
I'm very fond of Peter Jackson's Braindead and The first Re-animator Film for being Funny and still delivering the genre goods. Re-animator benefits greatly from Jeffrey Combs considerable acting skills.
Has anyone seen Fido? It may be my favorite Zombie film after Night and Dawn. Really cute twisted movie, but it has genuine heart. I dare say that outside of a shot or two of gore and some sexual innuendos it's a legitimate children's movie. The period detail is impressive, and the acting, even by the children, is great.
Finally, Shamblers all the way. I see the appeal of fast zombies, but they've just never felt right to me.
Last edited:
- but here's the scene I was talking about, just a bit later after they managed to chop up their "problem" because the zombie movies lied about the brains.
