Night of the Living Dead, directed by George Romero in 1968, is perhaps the most influential and significant zombie film of all time, but is it the finest zombie film of all time?
The 50 best zombie movies of all time are judged more by the use of zombies themselves, or by the use of distinctive locales, realistic effects, gore and mayhem, witty social criticism, dark humor, or really terrifying tension.
A group of wayward boaters find themselves on a mystery island where a submerged SS submarine has abandoned its crew of zombies, as part of a Nazi experiment. Peter Cushing plays an SS Commander who is terribly miscast and looks to be insane.
A party of tourists explores the abandoned remains of a monstrous Templar abbey, waking the blind dead who can identify you by listening to your heartbeat. They are followed through a field by a group of zombie Templar knights holding swords and riding zombie horses.
Zeder is a weird horror-drama with a unique perspective on zombie films, with a young novelist trying to answer the K-Zones' enigma.
The plot of Warm Bodies revolves on two zombies who track out their biological father. A standout aspect of the movie is its comical connection.
James Gunn's first movie, Slither, was a tribute to B-movie zombie and alien movies. It's not quite as original as some of the other movies on this list, like Night of the Creeps from 1986, but it's still a fun movie in its own right.
In Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, acoustic radiation raises the dead.
Juan of the Dead injects political vigor into the genre of zombie films by following a man named Juan as he tries to capitalize on the chaos and disarray by opening a small company.
Romero's final film shows the zombies' evolution to sentient beings, and shows Dennis Hopper as the evil plutocrat ruling a walled version of Pittsburgh. It's not quite as subtle as his previous films, but it still looks good and contains just enough of Romero's rebellious spark to make it worthwhile.
Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino make a goofy zombie movie, Planet Terror, that's about destructive zombie/mutants created by a biological weapon to terrorize the southwestern countryside. It's really good at being that kind of film, and deserved to make far more at the box office.
Cemetery Man is an experimental horror comedy that tells the story of a cemetery caretaker who wanders aimlessly through life and wonders why he bothers carrying out his task. The protagonist is placed in a terrible situation and has no clear sense of identity, both of which are reminiscent to American Psycho in certain respects.
People that appear just like the tourists who were killed are strolling the streets of a tiny seaside town in New England, even though they are considered to be permanent inhabitants. This leads to a string of killings. The zombies in this location have a distinct level of autonomy and are able to make decisions on their own.
A possibly zombified town local is played by Robert Englund, and Jack Albertson plays the eccentric town coroner/mortician.
A zombie epidemic in the modern day would be recorded on the smartphones of those who experienced it. This movie does a wonderful job at (this site) emulating the experience.
Demons is a zombie film about a cinema palace full with strange people such as preppy youngsters, warring couples, a pimp with his prostitutes, and even a blind guy.
Night of the Living Dead by George Romero is the most significant zombie film ever created, as well as a profoundly influential independent film.
Together, 28 Days Later and Shaun of the Dead set norms for the "modern" zombie picture and demonstrated that the cultural zeitgeist of zombies could also be exploited for laughter.
Although Dawn is held in higher regard, Day of the Dead is my personal favorite of George Romero's zombie films, because it brings science back into zombie films.
In 2002, 28 Days Later brought back the traditional zombie movie and made them a serious menace. It was the first zombie movie.
The Day of the Dead added a scientific element to reanimated corpses, but Re-Animator revels in it. Jeffrey Combs excels in a brilliantly manic, campy depiction of mad scientist Herbert West, who uses syringes of flashing green goo to bring the dead back to life.
In terms of key players in the history of zombie film, John Russo is a relative unknown, yet his sequel to Night of the Living Dead is one of the all-time zombie masterpieces.
Dawn of the Dead is superior in terms of how it looks, how professional it is, how intricate its ideas are, and how it displays them. It takes place in a gaudy mall that is overrun by zombies and has iconic visuals that other zombie movies have copied or made fun of.