13 Good Zombie Movies

Wednesday, December 30, 2009 at 9:41 am

Good zombie movies are filled with shambling undead, lots of doomed teenagers, and plenty of delicious gray matter aka braaaaaiinnnsss. If you’re in the mood to watch people get torn apart and eaten, any of the zombie films on this list should leave you satisfied. Of course, one zombie flick isn’t always enough, so I recommend you invite some buddies over and schedule a double feature of undead goodness.

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Braindead (1992) – A deadly Sumatran Rat-Monkey end up in Wellington, New Zealand, and soon the entire place is filled with hungry undead. It’s up to mild-mannered Lionel Cosgrove to save the day, but he’s also going to have to work through some rather serious mother issues along the way. Directed by Peter Jackson before he was a Hollywood powerhouse.

Cemetery Man (1994) – In this Italian film starring Rupert Everett, the local cemetery inBuffalora, Italy is filled with corpses who just won’t stay in the ground. Enter Francesco Dellamorte (Everett), the caretaker who walks softly and carries a big gun. Over-the-top violence and lots of nudity from Italian babes like Anna Falchi.  Just like Braindead, the film doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Dawn of the Dead (1978) – A must for any list of 13 good zombie movies. This George Romero classic features a world being slowly overrun by the undead, and a group of survivors who barricade themselves in a mall. When it comes to the zombie genre, this film is iconic beyond belief.

Dawn of the Dead (2004) – Director Zack Snyder remakes the Romero classic and hits a modern-day horror homerun. The zombie apocalypse storyline is still present, as is the empty mall, but Snyder’s script manages to give a lot more personality to the survivors, including Ving Rhames, Sarah Polley, Jake Weber, Kevin Zegers and Mekhi Phifer. The sountrack is also all kinds of cool, and look for cameos from Tom Savini, Ken Foree and Scott Reiniger.

Day of the Dead (1985) – The third film in Romero’s zombie series, Day of the Dead visits a world all but lost to the ravenous undead. In an underground military outpost, humanity continues to survive, but their own failings and fears threaten to succeed where the zombies have failed. This film also introduces Bub, the first indication that zombies can retain a portion of their intellect.

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Dead Snow (2009) – In this Norwegian comedy/horror flick, a group of vacationing medical students must contend with the bloody designs of undead Nazis. The premise is actually slightly similar to that of The Fog, but it involves the undead instead of ghostly sailors.

Pet Sematary (1989) – Based on a Stephen King novel, this horror film focuses on a loving family that moves to the country, meets the guy who played Herman Munster, and then runs afoul of a cursed Indian burial ground. Before long, undead cats and creepy children are running amok. Starring Denise Crosby, Fred Gwynne, and Dale Midkiff, it spawned a couple of inferior sequels.

Zombi 2 (1979) – Lucio Fulci’s masterpiece of the bizarre, Zombie 2 features Mia Farrow’s sister, a scientist who resembles Jack Elam, a woman getting pulled eye-first into a splinter of wood, and a boffo showdown between a shark and aquatic zombie. Great fun for both the casual and serious zombie fan.

Versus (2000) – Action and horror are combined in this Japanese film from director Ryuhei Kitamura. Taking place in The Forrest of Resurrection (a place with 666 portals between worlds), prisoners, cops and gangsters battle each other to the death, come back to life, and then battle some more. There’s a crazy plotline involving past and future lives, but you may be too busy watching the bloodshed to care.

Night of the Living Dead (1990) – Tom Savini directs this remake of the black-and-white Romero masterpiece, and his film is just as good as the source material. Patricia Tallman and Tony Todd lead a cast of zombie killers that also features Bill Moseley and Tom Towles. It’s a joy watching Tallman’s transformation from a weeping victim into a kickass female action hero.

Planet Terror (2007) – Part of the Grindhouse double feature, this excellent zombie movie mixes plenty of humor and sex appeal in with the horror. The all-star cast includes Rose McGowan (as a one-legged stripper), Freddy Rodriguez (as a Mexican special agent), Josh Brolin (as a murderous doctor), Marley Shelton (as a hot lesbian nurse), Jeff Fahey (as a BBQ whiz), Michael Biehn (as the local sheriff), Bruce Willis (as the man who killed Osama bin Laden), Naveen Andrews (as a man obsessed with testicles), Stacey Ferguson (as a busty-yet-doomed lesbian), and Electra & Elise Avellan (as the Crazy Babysitter Twins).

Evil (2005) – The first-ever Greek horror film, Evil features a group of survivors trying to make it out of Athens as the dead run wild. The sequel starred Billy Zane, so you know it’s gotta be good.

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The Return of the Living Dead (1985) – My personal favorite when it comes to good zombie movies. A cannister containing a zombie gets opened by a pair of bumbling warehouse employees, and soon unstoppable corpses are on the loose. Features naked zombies (Linnea Quigley at her finest), undercover Nazi war criminals, a re-animated bisected dog, and the ever-awesome Clu Gulager. Great soundtrack, effective acting, and an excellent screenplay from the late Dan O’Bannon (who also directed).

If these 13 good zombie movies don’t do the trick, then you might consider giving up on the genre. Trust me, the films listed above are the cream of the crop in the world of undead cinema, and you’d be hard-pressed to find any better (although you might give Shaun of the Dead or the original Night of the Living Dead a try). If you do decide to look elsewhere, here are a few articles to help you along:

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 9:41 am and is filed under Good Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 Responses to “13 Good Zombie Movies”

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April 4, 2010

Mary A Smith

I love Lucio Fulci. He is the true Italian horror maestro. My favorite film is Gates of Hell aka City of the Living Dead. I love it when the chick pukes up her entrails. Gore horror never gets old.

October 28, 2011

ZombieMovies

I watch horror movies all the time, zombies werewolfs and vampires. Really nice site and a good selection of movies

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