Top 10 Zombie Films

[Despare]

According to IGN at least. It may seem pedestrian compared the lists around here but for a mainstream web site a couple of the picks were at least mildly surprising.

http://movies.ign.com/articles/851/851230p1.html

Or for those who don't want to follow the link...

10. Braindead (Dead Alive)
9. Land of the Dead
8. The Return of the Living Dead
7. Plan 9 from Outer Space
6. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
5. Dellamorte Dellamore (Cemetery Man)
4. Zombi 2 (Zombie)
3. Shaun of the Dead
2. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
1. Night of the Living Dead




Like I said, for us it's a predictable list but for a major site like IGN who seems to cater to the young and the feckless (don't get me wrong I like their site but you know I'm right) it at least gets some of them right.

[Staplez]

I liked numbers 1,2,7, and 10. REALLY liked 1. The rest I can take or leave.

[Smackytherabbit]

Stacey and Tokyo Zombie should be on that list.

[chaibill]

i saw this too. i always liked ign i still use them for game reviews but i wonder if they give fox properties higher scores. probably not

[colubrid660]

I can't really add much, but some that should be at the top would be:

Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Night of the Living Dead (original, 100% un-fucked with)
Night of the Creeps (classic camp with a cool take on zombies)
Dead Alive

If a resident evil flick was in their top 10, or even top fuckin 50.........

[Despare]

I can't really give a good list, but some that should be at the top would be:

Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Night of the Living Dead (original, 100% un-fucked with)
Night of the Creeps (classic camp with a cool take on zombies)
Dead Alive

If anyone lists a resident evil flick in their top 10, or even top fuckin 50.........

I'd rather watch an RE flick, Stacy, Night of the Creeps over the Dawn of the Dead remake, but that's just me. I didn't hate it but it didn't impress me either. Just a hollow action flick with some horror subtext, just like RE but without the lineage to get my hopes up.

[Disease]

10. Return of the Living Dead
9.Dawn of the Dead (Remake)
8.Pet Semetary
7.Land of the Dead
6.Re-Animator
5.Braindesad
4.Planet Terror
3.Dawn of the Dead
2.Night of the living Dead
1.Shaun of the Dead

[Posher778]

1.Planet Terror
2. Return of the Living Dead
3. Dead Alive
...and so on

[colubrid660]

I'd rather watch an RE flick, Stacy, Night of the Creeps over the Dawn of the Dead remake, but that's just me. I didn't hate it but it didn't impress me either. Just a hollow action flick with some horror subtext, just like RE but without the lineage to get my hopes up.

Yeah well, thats just like, your opinion man. :p I suppose DOTD is sort of a one-shot remake i suppose, but it modernized the zombie genre in a way. There was a lot more action than usual, but it was well-done and not over the top like the RE movies.

[Despare]

Yeah well, thats just like, your opinion man. :p I suppose DOTD is sort of a one-shot remake i suppose, but it modernized the zombie genre in a way. There was a lot more action than usual, but it was well-done and not over the top like the RE movies.

You're saying RE went too "over the top" in a genre about dead people returning from the grave to feast on human flesh? Bah...

[_____V_____]

Hmm...Plan 9 and Land in top 10, that too over Dead Alive and RotLD...thats a sacrilege!:mad:

And what about the good ole' classic ones eh? Almost everyone has forgotten stuff like White Zombie, I Walked With A Zombie...

btw, where's Versus? Seems like the person who compiled that IGN list followed main-stream horror and did a search. I doubt that they themselves saw those "Top 10" which they mention.:rolleyes:

[Despare]

Hmm...Plan 9 and Land in top 10, that too over Dead Alive and RotLD...thats a sacrilege!:mad:

And what about the good ole' classic ones eh? Almost everyone has forgotten stuff like White Zombie, I Walked With A Zombie...

btw, where's Versus? Seems like the person who compiled that IGN list followed main-stream horror and did a search. I doubt that they themselves saw those "Top 10" which they mention.:rolleyes:

I don't know what my top 10 would be but I think I'd include Land but I don't know. I'd have to make two top 10's, one for classic and one for modern zombie films. As for Stacy I don't think I could ever put that in my top ten. I'd even put Fido, Evil, SARS Wars, The Happiness of the Katakuris, Flight of the Living Dead, Wild Zero, and plenty more over Stacy. To each their own though.

Not only did they leave out the ones you mentioned _V_ but they left out Re-Animator, the Blind Dead series completely, and loads of other great zombie films. You expected more though? This is IGN we're talking about. I was shocked to see them even mention Cemetery Man or Zombi 2.

[_____V_____]

I don't know what my top 10 would be but I think I'd include Land but I don't know. I'd have to make two top 10's, one for classic and one for modern zombie films. As for Stacy I don't think I could ever put that in my top ten. I'd even put Fido, Evil, SARS Wars, The Happiness of the Katakuris, Flight of the Living Dead, Wild Zero, and plenty more over Stacy. To each their own though.

Not only did they leave out the ones you mentioned _V_ but they left out Re-Animator, the Blind Dead series completely, and loads of other great zombie films. You expected more though? This is IGN we're talking about. I was shocked to see them even mention Cemetery Man or Zombi 2.

Yeah you got a point, Des. Its actually an improvement.;)

Lets see how our Sub-Genre Zombie Top 7 stands up to that.

[VampiricClown]

btw, where's Versus? Seems like the person who compiled that IGN list followed main-stream horror and did a search. I doubt that they themselves saw those "Top 10" which they mention.:rolleyes:

Or it could be, those were the only ones they have seen.

[colubrid660]

You're saying RE went too "over the top" in a genre about dead people returning from the grave to feast on human flesh? Bah...

While I appreciated the subtle references to the games (I can list a bunch), the entire feel of the movie wasn't as gritty as I would expect. The first film has some merits, but by no means does it belong in a top 10 (at least not mine, you are entitled to your opinion...man).

[Psycom5k]

Stacey and Tokyo Zombie should be on that list.

What movies were you watching? Tokyo zombie was a horrible zombie flick. FUnny and cheesy but not top 10 zombie material

[occupier]

HEY most people in here seam to be from america im from uk
i think its great that you realy seem to like shawn of the dead
i agree they realy pulled it off withthat english horror comedy didny they
i love it :p :p :p :p :p

[Posher778]

What's with the RE hate? They weren't made to be amazing they were made to be fun. They were fun. A lot of zombie flicks that were made to be good sucked. Therefore, by some theory that I don't know, Resident Evil dominates over many, many others :D

*ducks from flying toaster*

[Roderick Usher]

Diary of the Dead will soon be on a list like that. Easily Romero's best since Day

[VampiricClown]

What's with the RE hate? They weren't made to be amazing they were made to be fun. They were fun. A lot of zombie flicks that were made to be good sucked. Therefore, by some theory that I don't know, Resident Evil dominates over many, many others :D

*ducks from flying toaster*

I liked the RE series as well.

[moviebuff1084]

1. Night of the living dead
2. Dawn of the dead (remake)
3. Shawn of the dead
4. 28 weeks later
5. Resident evil (all 3)
6. Land of the dead
7. 28 days later
8. Planet terror
9. Dead & breakfast
10. Fido

[crabapple]

Ah, an opinion and $2.25 will buy you a cup of coffee....but I just didn't like very much of anything in the Dawn of the Dead remake.

Even the makeup designs, which were done well by excellent artists, were a bit too subtle and flesh-colored. Not enough gray or green! I wanted the zombies to really look different from the humans, and for the most part, they just looked like crazy, injured humans. A signature skin color, as simple as that sounds, works better and would have helped. At least in the original Dawn of the Dead, you could tell a zombie instantly on sight by its gray skin tone.

[Posher778]

1. Night of the living dead
2. Dawn of the dead (remake)
3. Shawn of the dead
4. 28 weeks later
5. Resident evil (all 3)
6. Land of the dead
7. 28 days later
8. Planet terror
9. Dead & breakfast
10. Fido

Land of the Dead over Planet Terror and 28 Days Later?

...Explain?

[crazy raplh]

I liked night of the comet
Zombi lake.
Redneck Zombie
Let sleeping corpes lie
Dead heat
Dawn of the dead
House by the cemetary.

[clawfoot]

28 days later
love love love that film, but it's not strictly a zombie flick

lent my dvd to a mate ... haven't seen it since

[urgeok2]

10. Braindead (Dead Alive)
9. Land of the Dead
8. The Return of the Living Dead
7. Plan 9 from Outer Space
6. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
5. Dellamorte Dellamore (Cemetery Man)
4. Zombi 2 (Zombie)
3. Shaun of the Dead
2. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
1. Night of the Living Dead





land of the Dead ... and no mention of Day of the Dead ?

plan 9 has no business being on this list - not even for cheeze value. it was in no way shape or form a zombie film as most people define it.

[ChronoGrl]

Yes, I do not understand how Land of the Dead could possibly reside on anyone's list. It was absolute tripe.

After consideration, however, I have formed my list (in no particular order):


Night of the Living Dead
Zombie 2 (Zombie)
Dead Alive
Night of the Comet
Shaun of the Dead
Dawn of the Dead
28 Weeks Later
Return of the Living Dead
Planet Terror
Fido


I actually thought that 28 Weeks was a better film than 28 Days.

Diary of the Dead will soon be on a list like that. Easily Romero's best since Day

Oof. I want to put Diary of the Dead on that list... But it was so belabored and heavy-handed.

If they had gotten rid of the voice over entirely, it would have been a significantly better film.

[urgeok2]

Fido is a definate add to the list.

one of my favorite horror films in a long time. very clever, very well done.

i think Land of the Dead was a good zombie film .. heads and shoulders above what we're used to being offered ...

but it wasnt a good George Romero zombie film.

that particular disappointment made it seem far worse than it was.


haven't seen Diary of the Dead yet but i'm looking forward to it .. especially since i actually touched some of the zombie heads :D

[Despare]

i think Land of the Dead was a good zombie film .. heads and shoulders above what we're used to being offered ...

but it wasnt a good George Romero zombie film.


That's exactly how I feel about it, I enjoyed it but it wasn't as good as Night, Dawn, or Day. Diary was great, the voice-over was ok and made it feel more like you were watching a movie put together by the people involved. In my opinion keeping the vioce-over but using less cameras would have been better for the film. Either way, I really had a great time with it.

[newb]

I was pleasantly surprised with FIDO. Fun movie that really captured the feel of the 50's.

[The Mothman]

Fido is a definate add to the list.

one of my favorite horror films in a long time. very clever, very well done.



I wasnt sure what to think about Fido, really. it didnt really feel much like a horror film. it was kind of heart warming actually. Fido is the most lovable zombie scine Bub.

whats were some of the aspects you found you liked the most?

[urgeok2]

I wasnt sure what to think about Fido, really. it didnt really feel much like a horror film. it was kind of heart warming actually. Fido is the most lovable zombie scine Bub.

whats were some of the aspects you found you liked the most?

the dedication to the 50's look and feel .. the message that was simple, obvious but still so well done (that because of the circumstances people had become cold and inhuman - making Fido the most human of them all)

the performances, the story - everything.

i'm not a purist where i think horror films have to be horrifying (otherwise - for me - horror movies wouldnt exist - i don't find any film horrifying)

there are zombies - other horror elements - i dont care if there is humor or not - i lump everything to do with anything 'exploitive' under the horror label for sake of ease ..

all i care about is - is it a good movie or not by any of my standards.

[ChronoGrl]

Fido Highlights:

A Vision of Life After World War Z. The movie opens with a mock 50s propaganda film extolling the benefits of the company Zomcon, who seemingly has created a way to control and manage the zombie outbreak; by enslaving them. The concept of using the undead to your advantage is not novel; the same device employed in Land of the Dead , Day of the Dead, or, even the epilogue to Shaun of the Dead. The enslaving of zombies becomes a paradigm of human cruelty. Zombies are, afterall, human, though the extent to which one can consider them human is arguable. In Fido, the Zombie Plague is SO under control, in fact, that the survivors live inside a veritable bubble of zombie-free territory. The only persistent problem facing humanity is the radiation permeating through the atmosphere that had begun the horrible catastrophe (the "radiation" was introduced in a rerelease of Night Of the Living Dead, in an attempt to "explain" the cause of the rising), so, essentially, everybody who dies becomes a zombie. Suddenly the old and the infirm are society's greatest threats, which is an incredible notion. Funerals are now controlled and licensed by the government, a ceremony that assures that the head is completely separated from the body and that the undead will never rise again. So your choice upon dying: Either become an undead slave or a desecrated body: How delightfully macabre. The premises that has been set before us is most definitely a horror-buff's wet dream.

Period piece. Taking place after the great Zombie War, society is completely frozen in pre-civil rights and pre-feminist movement. Let's remember that Night of the Living Dead itself was social commentary of the race riots breaking out at the time, encapsulating the spirit of civil racial unrest. This is 4 years before Ira Levin would have written the ground-breaking Stepford Wives, a chilling view of the 50s nuclear family, consisting of their 1 car and 2.3 children. And in Fido's world, The Stepford Wives hasn't been written yet. The feminist movement has been frozen, so what is left is the quintessential 50s world. Fido creates a brilliant period piece of the post-war 50s, from the costumes to the cards to the sets to the brilliant dialogue and campy acting. Dylan Baker as over-worked, stiff, emotionally removed and prudent Dad, focusing not on putting food on his family's table, but on the assurance that he will be able to afford a funeral for all of them, a reverse of the classic model of the nuclear family. Carrie-Anne Moss plays a brilliant Mrs. Cleaver-esque Mom, clean, beautiful, submissive, and dedicated to keeping up appearances, which, in this context, means buying a zombie (Fido) to be the family butler. K'Sun Ray plays their child (aptly named "Timmy") who is the stereotypical ostracized student, beat up by bullies and ignored by his father. The juxtaposition of the 50s family with the civilized zombie culture is an obvious comparison, as in most zombie movies; Who are the real monsters? The metaphor is futher crystalized when Dad loses interest in his familial bonds and the family's zombie, Fido suddenly becomes a surrogate father to Timmy and a confidante to Mom.

Concepts. Life after death after undeath. People die. They become the undead. They are either decapitated or they become zombie slaves. What director Andrew Currie presents us with is a sympathetic zombie culture that can learn, develop, and even manifest some memories of life. Would you want your body desecrated after life? Or would you want to live as a zombie. Dad chooses to pay out for his family to all have elaborate funerals. But Mom and Timmy: They opt for the way of the zombie.
In most zombie movies we see humans become monsters. However, can these monsters become human? In Fido, the answer is yes. While it seems clear that zombies are flesh-eating beasts when not under control, it seems that Fido is able to make the conscious decision not to hurt Billy or his family. He almost serves as a kind of Angel to billy's Buffy. Without, well, the gypsy curse of the sexual tension. I guess the concept of zombies having organic consciousness with the ability to choose right from wrong (NOT eating humans between eating humans), then are they actually zombies? And, biologically, how is that possible?



But I'm probably imposing way too much thought into this...

Anyway.

The Downside:

As much as I found this movie an absolute delight to watch (and I do mean absolute delight; the brights were bright, the nights had huge glowing fanciful moons, and every smile expanded beyond the cheekbones), and as much as I find it unique and unprecedented... Fido was, ultimately... Boring. There is a part off me that argues that being boring was the intent (consider "Leave It to Beaver" monotony... that lasts for an hour and a half), but I'm more willing to believe that this was just an innovative concept that ultimately ran flat.

BUT I think that it definitely belongs in the high ranks of zombie mythos.

[/rant]

[urgeok2]

hmmm .. i didn't find a single frame of Fido boring myself ...

loved every second of it.

[Despare]

hmmm .. i didn't find a single frame of Fido boring myself ...

loved every second of it.

Same here, I thought every second of that film was great. I've never watched a more touching zombie film and I doubt I ever will. Fido did such a good job of blending social commentary (about multiple issues) with fantastic visuals and an engaging story that I believe there won't be another movie quite like it. I honestly thought Fido was going to be a novelty but I loved it and I think it's one of the best zombie films to be released in years.

[ChronoGrl]

Yah - My boredom, truthfully might have been more a testament to my short attention span than anything else. The fact that I can count significantly more pros than cons shows that this is a possibility.

Fido is still a movie that I highly recommend to both horror and non-horror fans alike. My mom absolutely adores it, which just makes me happy.

[X¤MurderDoll¤X]

7. Plan 9 from Outer Space

I think they're missing a couple zeros after the 7

[angrymob]

plan 9 has no business being on this list - not even for cheeze value. it was in no way shape or form a zombie film as most people define it.

I would define the re-animated dead as zombies ..and plan 9 makes my list too!

[crazy raplh]

FIDO is up there for me I just watched it