My 5 Favorite Zombie Movies of all Time (Part 2: The Un-Deathening)

As promised here is the continued list of my all-time favorite Zombie movies.

2). Dawn of the Dead (1978)
This movie really needs no introduction but, for those whose cave-side apartments on Mars are without digital cable, this is the sequel to George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead." The Zombie apocalypse has been taking hold across the country for several weeks and a group of survivors holes up in a shopping mall to try and ride it out. In the mall they find a shopper's paradise: an unmonitored buffet of all things material. They ultimately learn the isolation that getting everything you ever wanted brings, just before they are shown the wanton destruction of mankind as a group of Bandits successfully destroys the peace they had overcome the undead to find. The film, shot entirely on location at a shopping mall in Pennsylvania, has a satirical edge that masterfully blends the blatant and subtle in what could have easily been another mindless gore-fest. Witness Francine demanding an equal stake in the control of the room (a move allegedly stemming from Gaylen Ross' insistence that she not be another Damsel in Distress) or the famous helicopter decapitation scene and you realize the film has a potential for earnest character moments and over-the-top splatter. Legend has it there was an alternate ending, written but never filmed, which would feature a second helicopter decapitation as well as Peter(the Male lead)'s suicide - but it was deemed too disturbing to shoot. Sadly we'll never know how that would've worked out. The movie is not without it's faults -it's a touch long (especially in some of the cuts on the special edition DVD), some of the side character's are brazen caricatures at best - but overall, this is pound for pound the BEST thing George Romero's name has ever been attached to. (All apologies to his children, maybe if I met you I would give you the edge over the film) The movie also stands proudly alongside the Thing From Another World (1951), as one of the only horror movies with an enjoyable remake. Oh, and I would also be remiss if I did not mention the Amazing Effects/acting work of a young Mr. Tom Savini. The Shotgun scene in the opening slums sequence will knock you straight on your ass. All this from a dirt cheap production in 1978. Bravisimo!

So here we are at number 1, but before I deliver the Coup de gracie some honorary mentions:
Best use of Zombies in a non-horror scenario: Shawn of the Dead (2004)
I truly feel sorrow if you haven't seen this movie at this point in your life. The tag line on the poster declared is "A romantic comedy.... with zombies!" and that's exactly what you get. It's funny and brutal and rises above the culture barrier (Britain - US) effortlessly. Go Rent it!
Best use of Zombies in a non cinematic endeavor: Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead
I started reading this comic when Japanese TV became too much, and what I found was an amazingly compelling character drama featuring the dystopic end of the world scenario I've come to expect from my zombie fiction. The art is great and there's great action pieces, but what keeps bringing me back is the writing. These are real people, fully developed emotionally, and they react and interact as such. You see men cry, women die, and children act with a bold sense of heroism - all things typically avoided in similar works of fiction, Kirkman isn't afraid to go there. If this is the end, then bring it on!
Good Movies Disqualified for not featuring real zombies: 28 Days Later, REC
Not Zombies, Nuff Said.

And without further ado,

1). Zombi 1979
Zombie has maybe three different titles depending on when and where you say the film, but I've always known it as "Lucio Fulci's Zombi." Lucio Fulci is the master of Italian horror movies, having crafted works of the macabre that are both disturbing (Zombie Hell House) and beautiful (Suspiria), but always leave an impression. With Zombi, Fulci thought he was making a sequel (of sorts) to Dawn of the Dead - hence it is often listed as Zombi 2. In the movie, a woman seeks to find her missing father in the Carribbean - enlisting the help of a journalist and two American (read, Italian) vacationers to ferry her to the mysterious Island where was last seen. What they find is an island overrun by the walking dead. While the film has the intense spirit of DOD, it does away with the satire in favor of balls-out terror. The real star of the film is the gore. While Romero's zombies (read, Savini's zombies) were - for the most part - actors in blue or gray face makeup, Fulci's zombies are gross machinations of rotted flesh, twisted sinew and dried blood. The attacks are gruesome to say the least. One scene in particular has become quite nefarious as a sort of horror litmus test of your mettle. And it's far from the only memorable scene in the film. Yes that was a Shark. Yes, he was fighting a zombie. Yes, that is awesome. I also really dig the cheezy synth that floods the film, it adds an uneasy quality to the movie that is hard to recreate with more conventional music - particularly the total ass-rock that tends to accompany modern horror movies. More than anything that stands out, this movie is legitimately scary... in a sort of time-release manner. While viewing it's not scary, immediately following it's not scary - but maybe 2 days later when you're sitting alone in your house - THATS when the fear hits. The mood is haunting and that's really what you want in a horror movie - a lasting impression; a feeling of unease for days; nightmares.