Ever since I was fourteen years old I have been a zombie nut. It helped that the first three films I saw were Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead and Evil Dead II—for a teenage boy eager to delve into the horror genre such a viewing trilogy is impossible to resist. This whole exploration was a response to the recent success of the new game Resident Evil, which I adored and which I had learned was based off films such as the above (well, more the first two I suppose). Soon I had devoured (no pun intended) the major cornerstones of the genre—Lucio Fulci’s many films and the non-related sequels to them, Romero and Raimi’s “Dead” trilogies, Peter Jackson’s Braindead/Dead Alive, Return of the Living Dead and its sequels, and Re-Animator. Eventually I began to discover some horrible and some amusing lower-prestige titles such as Chopper Chicks in Zombie Town, The Dead Next Door and Redneck Zombies. And then the zombie renaissance began.
It’s started with Resident Evil and 28 Days Later, but before long we were being barraged by titles like House of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead the remake, Shaun of the Dead, Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Land of the Dead—not straight to video titles, but major, mainstream releases from studios. And unfortunately most of them were lousy. 28 Days Later remains as an utterly brilliant successor to Romero’s films (whose own fourth entry in his series was surprisingly mundane), and Shaun of the Dead was hilariously clever, but most of them and the semi-zombie films that also followed, such as Doom and Silent Hill, were equally bad—perhaps it has to do with the fact that they were almost all sequels, remakes or game-adaptations, which would explain why only the original 28 Days Later stands out as a brilliant film. What made films like Dawn of the Dead not just good horror films but good films wasn’t that they had abundant gore and action but because they were simply well-crafted character pieces—Dawn of the Dead, for all its action and spectacle, is most enjoyable in scenes where the film concentrates merely on the characters and their relations, and I find an unsurprisingly similar pattern in 28 Days Later; not surprisingly they both also have a clever social underpinning in the story.
But for those who have seen Romero’s films, worn out their old tapes of Evil Dead, have enjoyed the splatter and superficial enjoyment of Fulci’s films and find they have gotten tired of the same predictable formulas and poor filmmaking skills of most of their imitators—there are a handful of films that, while not classics on the level of Dawn of the Dead or 28 Days Later, may be clever enough to convince you that there is life left in the genre yet
Stacy: Attack of the Schoolgirl Zombies (2001)
With a title like that, you know this must be something interesting. From the wacky Japanese comes this strange absurdist zombie horror-comedy in which the creatures look like undead versions of Sailor Moon. The army is called in to stop the plague of zombies as schoolgirls around the world spontaneously turn into the undead, but soon the special anti-zombie units are overwhelmed and the schoolgirl zombies overtake Japan. Although low on budget the film is high on imagination, with enough laughs and twists—not to mention the typical zombie gore—to make it one of the more unique zombie films in recent history. Although crude and satirical, there is also a nice subtext beneath the surface of the film that makes it strangely sentimental.
Versus (2000)
The Japanese have done it again! What do you get when you mix Evil Dead II, Akira and Highlander together? A completely kick-ass movie, that’s what. Filmed with some of the most high-energy intensity since before Sam Raimi went Hollywood, this comedic horror flick about sword-wielding, motorcycle-driving, Yakuza-fighting, zombie-hunting bad boys set in a deserted woods in the post-apocalypse is one of the most original films that can be found. The over-the-top action and broad slapstick would be meaningless if the characters weren’t terrifically developed—in the end, the film reveals itself as a surprisingly touching drama amidst the over-the-top chaos.
Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974)
One of the more obscure zombie films of the genre’s golden era of the 1970’s, this one is doubly unique in that it’s Spanish-Italian-produced and filmed in England with a British cast, pre-dating the zombie craze generated by Dawn of the Dead by a solid five years. Great writing and acting breathes believable life into the characters, which makes the horror scenes all the more tense. Some genuinely creepy moments and some surprisingly shocking violence keep it well based in the genre’s expectations, but the film is unique in that it treats the audience smartly and provides us with likeable characters in the same manner that Romero would a few years later.
Dellamorte Dellamore (1994)
Regarded as “the art house film of the zombie genre” this Italian-made gemstone is a bizarre and unique film (formerly titled “Cemetery Man” when first released in the states). To describe it is almost like “If Fellini directed Beetlejuice.” It revolves around a gravedigger who works at a cemetery and whose regular job consists of ensuring that the undead that inhabit his workplace stay dead; the film follows his various relationships with women, including a zombie he falls in love with, and reveals itself as a quirky character study. Chock full of philosophy and symbolism, this ain’t your typical Italian horror, instead a bizarre and thoughtful look at life and death.
19 Comments
I’ve seen three of them – Dellamore Dellamorte, Versus and Stacy and they surely are great zombie films.
Are Silent Hill and Doom zombie films?
You know call me crazy but it really bothers me that people keep putting 28 days later and 28 weeks later as a zombie movie…pretty sure you don’t have to kill them by disabling the brain, and that they’re not trying to eat people (don’t get me wrong I realize they can infect you with a bite), and lastly they’re infected with the rage virus…so they’re not really zombies…they are crazy disease infected angry super human things…so STOP USING IT THEY’RE NOT REALLY ZOMBIES!!! AND I LOVE ZOMBIES SO STOP!!!
28 days later is the best zombie movie ever. They have so many zombies in that film. It’s the best zombie movie ever, and the zombies there are the best. 28 weeks later is great too because it also has a lot of ZOMBIES!REALLY REAL ZOMBIES!
28 days later = Zombies, zombies Zombies!
Seriously though, 28 days later was a fantastic movie. There are many different views on what a makes a zombie/vampire etc etc etc, and there is nothing wrong with different views. In fact, I think 28 days later is one of just a few more realistic movies now.
The idea of the “undead” doesn’t make any sense. Though the idea of the rage virus is completely feasible and cool.
There are some great movies listed there. I have seen 3 of them. (Versus, Stacy, and Cemetery Man)Oh, and for the record I agree with Jaybird that as great as 28 days later is (and I love it) its not a zombie movie. The rage virus may be a more realistic idea, but in my humble opionion if the person didn’t die then they are not a zombie. All my favorite zombie movies are about re-animated corpses. Not diseased living people.
While I can certainly appreciate the “purist” positions of “Jaybird” and “Boomstick98″, IMO “28 Days” and “28 Days Later” certainly capture the “spirit” of traditional zombie films. Perhaps they should be given “honorable mention” rather than listed as part of the list.
I have to agree with boomstick, jaybird and joe. The 28 series has pulled together some great aspects from remero and the other greats of the zombie era. But they are not considered zombies in my book either but merely “Infected” sorry.I also agree that the movies are fantastic and full of all that lovely gore that we all crave.
I love return of the living dead. one of the best zom coms ever made. innovative and gory. brains?
dawn of the dead the first one was the movie that got me into zombies i love them i can watch the newest Dawn over and over but i need somthing funny so anyone hav any funny zombie movies (fido, shaun of the dead, all the returns of the dead, all the evil dead ive seen)
28 days later although a great movie was NOT a ZOMBIE movie
it was a viral outbreak of the RAGE virus NOT ZOMBIES
get your facts straight god
does anyone know the name of the movie where zombies come out of a dammed tv ??
The Video Dead 1987 saw it on youtube a while back
your all missing the point for the film 28 days here people..it wasn’t intended for a zombie film..it was only because of 28 weeks later that people have this misconception of the film..the whole idea of the rage virus was not to turn people into ‘zombies’ it was that the infection filled them with so much rage that they just kill and kill and kill a little more..throughout the film people are mainly infected by gettin blood in there system or when the infected threw up on them..not as u all seem to think by biting them
Soz cut off the part where i said i agree with Patrick..atleast some one knows it
Of course 28 days later was a zombie film. Yes, they’re infected, by a virus. That makes them no less zombie-ish. That’s like saying resident evil wasn’t a game about zombies… Virus (The T Virus)… infection… spread by biting… much the same. What exactly, causes Zombie-ism of not a virus. That whole “no more room in hell” thing suggests a god, which turns the whole thing into a fairy tale instead.
Zombies aren’t exactly real and, as a work of fiction, they’re open to interpretation for artistic licensing. Personally, i find slathering, sprinting 28 days or remake-of-DOTD zombies FAR more terrifying than the shambling monstrosities that get you with sheer numbers.
I advise any Zombie fans to read World war Z and the Zombie survival guide, by max brooks, which goes on to explain the possible nature of a zombie-like virus. Kept me awake for weeks!
Unless, of course, you love zombies and actually believe they are real… In which case you should’t be allowed to write on or even enter the public domain (yes, Jaybird… that’s you :P)
This whole ‘28 days later’ is not a zombie movie whining needs to stop. There have been dozens of different interpretations of what a zombie is in hundreds of movies books and comics. The original concept of a zombie was created by the use of voodoo powders and hypnosis. They weren’t dead and could even be returned back to human form.
The classic zombie is yes an undead creature popularized in NotLD, but over the years the zombie has evolved. ‘Return of the living dead’ zombies could run and talk, Peter Jackson’s ‘Braindead” zombies could only be killed by chopping them into tiny bits or burning (unlike the brain destruction required to bring down the classic zombie).
So why can’t Danny Boyle have his monsters be infected with a virus? They still are mindless former human beings who hunger for flesh. I say let the zombie evolve.
Fuck all you pussy ass faggots that think 28Days Later isn’t about zombies. You are Gay very very gay. You parents hate you…in fact the adopted you from you crackhead whore of a mother just so they could hate you. God Bless.