The psychology behind zombie movies' enduring appeal

George Romero's 1968 Night of the Living Dead is probably the most influential and important "zombie" film of all time, but is it the best zombie movie of all time?

White Zombie was the first full-length "zombie" horror film, and it was also the first picture in Hollywood to popularize the idea of Haitian voodoo zombies. Bela Lugosi played a witch doctor in the film, and it was the film that popularized the idea.

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead is a Troma film that claims to be filthy, violent, and devoid of morals or taste. In its social critique of commercial society, it's also a little bit intelligent.

The Dead Next Door was produced by Sam Raimi, who used a portion of the proceeds from Evil Dead II to allow friend J. R. Bookwalter to direct the film. It was a low-budget zombie action-drama shot entirely on SUPER 8, with a combination of cringe-inducing amateur acting performances and unexpected professionalism.

Globe War Z is one of the worst movies based on a wonderful novel, although the idea of a UN investigator hunting for a cure or biological weapon to battle zombies is compelling.

A bunch of indolent buddies think they have become "super soldiers" after a zombified military private turns them. The film employs a similar "told from the zombie's perspective" framework to that of Colin, but with a creative, humorous twist.

A group of young males argue over who gets to rape the "deadgirl" next in the film Deadgirl, which examines the sexuality of the undead. The film is disturbing and filthy, and it makes the list merely because it suggests a use for zombies that hasn't been explored in this detail in 40 years.

The character played by Nicholas Hoult is a zombie who, along with hundreds of others, wanders a deserted airport until he finds the lovely Julie.

Warm Bodies is a film about two zombies who meet their father for the first time. The humorous interaction between the characters is a highlight of the film.

The character portrayed by Lupita Nyong'o is a kindergarten instructor who protects her pupils from an oncoming horde of zombies.

Nyong'o's singing ability is highlighted, while Josh Gad's annoyance is emphasized.

A group of students camp out in an isolated lodge in Norway, unintentionally resurrecting a Nazi zombie regiment by taking their Nazi gold. The picture is a fairly normal horror comedy, but the special effects and action sequences are excellent.

Blood Quantum, directed by Jeff Barnaby, is a satirical, political zombie thriller that sinks its teeth deep into the banalities of colonialism.

Some white people, fleeing colonialism, really want its worst practices.

The live dead are pulled up from the earth by a sonic radiation machine in Let Sleeping Corpses Lie.

In this mix of American zombie stereotypes and a foreign setting, killing insects leads to unintended results.

Cuba's first feature-length zombie film, Juan of the Dead, is a confident piece of work from director Alejandro Brugués.

A nurse flies to the Caribbean to assist a patient who may have the zombie virus. While there, she is tangled up in a mystery involving a voodoo sect.

A comet flies by Earth at such a close range that it vaporizes practically everyone living there and turns them into dust. Those few who were exposed to some of the virus instead become zombies, despite the fact that this movie is famous for being one of the least zombie-heavy on a list of zombie movies.

Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino collaborated on the production of Planet Terror, a humorous zombie thriller featuring destructive mutants and zombies. It's a good movie, but it shouldn't have done as well as it did at the box office because it's that kind of movie.

Cemetery Man is a scary art-comedy about a cemetery caretaker who new updates travels through life aimlessly. Its protagonist's melancholy and loss of identity are akin to American Psycho.

The 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead by special effects maestro Tom Savini is a faithful remake that doesn't try to reinvent anything about the original film. It's good, and if the title wasn't Night of the Living Dead it would be hailed as more of a classic.

Hammer Horror was responsible for the creation of such classics as Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy, in addition to Plague of the Zombies. Their zombies resemble those seen in Night of the Living Dead; they are rotting and horrifying.

Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead is a leaner, action-packed, grisly modern zombie tale that is extremely indebted to 28 Days Later. It has one of the best opening scenes in the history of zombie movies.

Zombieland is a comedy set in the United States that brings together survivors who are strangers to one another rather than a group of friends. It has really horrifying zombies and achieves a near-perfect balance of comedic brutality and character-driven entertainment.

Lucio Fulci's The Beyond is a zombie movie that combines a haunted house aesthetic with demonic possession, the living dead and ghostly apparitions, and is one of the most stylish of the Italian, zombie-featuring horror flicks.

Paranormal Activity and Romero's Diary of the Dead were both released in 2007. The finest found-footage zombie film is REC, which combines zombie legend with Catholic faith.

If there was a zombie outbreak, digital phones would get it. This movie illustrates it beautifully.

Pontypool reimagines what a zombie may be like. It's a film I like for taking the tough way and critiquing 21st-century humanity's inability to connect and discuss important issues.

The showing of a scary movie and the subsequent appearance of zombies and demons in the audience are both part of a sinister plan, which ultimately results in brutality and the fight for survival.

Romero's picture defined the zombie genre's rules, and every zombie film afterwards has been inspired by it. It's the horror version of Tolkien's effect on high fantasy "races," and you can't talk about zombies without mentioning Romero's picture.

Despite the fact that Dawn is more well-known, Day of the Dead is my personal favorite of George Romero's zombie flicks because it reintroduces science into the genre.

The conventional Romero ghoul is reimagined in Day of the Dead, which features Bub, maybe Romero's most famous zombie, who has an unique degree of personality and even humor.

In 2002, the film 28 Days Later breathed new life into the traditional zombie genre and elevated the undead to the status of a legitimate menace. It was the beginning of the contemporary zombie film.

The science fiction film Re-Animator takes great pride in its clinical treatment to reanimated dead. As Herbert West, Jeffrey Combs portrays the crazy scientist who uses glowing green slime to bring the dead back to life.

The sequel to Night of the Living Dead directed by John Russo is widely regarded as a masterpiece in the genre.