In honor of Niffer's soon-to-be-shot Zombie Musical I set out to compile a list of the 10 best zombie flicks ever made. Unfortunately for me- I couldn't just narrow it down to 10. I had five separate films tie for number 10!

So sit back, relax as I instill into your craniums my meaningless personal opinion and commentary on what I believe to be the 15 best zombie/infected human films ever made.



15. Versus



BANG! See what I did there? I started this bitchin' list off with a bang- literally!
Versus truly interesting film that's hard to describe to others without using the words "BADASS," AWESOME" and "FUCKING FUN!" It starts off as a straight up Yakuza film, transforms into a zombie film and ends as a martial arts epic. If that combination of genres doesn't convince you to go out and rent the dvd, I don't know what will.

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14. Dead Alive



Dead Alive is one of the few chosen films that has been universally hailed as quite possibly being the goriest film ever made. Interestingly enough, it's probably the only film I've seen to live up to it's reputation. It truly is one of the goriest films I've ever seen.  It's also an early Peter Jackson film and it's incredibly amazing to see how the man who's original claim to fame was the exploitative masterpiece Bad Taste and the Zombie bloodbath Dead Alive went on to make Lord of the Rings and King Kong.

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13. Planet Terror



Robert Rodriguez' original intention with Planet Terror was to create the zombie flick to end all zombie flicks and boy did he deliver. Planet Terror is like a roller coaster ride disguised as a zombie film. It's got everything. Hot chicks? Check. Biggest, baddest and toughest zombies I've ever seen? Check. Bruce Willis being bad ass? Double check.

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12. [REC]



REC manages to accomplish a feat so rare in the days of modern horror that there was no way I could get away with compiling this list without including it: It actually scared me shitless. Taking its cues directly from Cannibal Holocaust and Blair Witch Project, REC is the first film to successfully combine zombies and the reality "Cloverfield" style of film making. There were a few other flicks made shortly after it that attempted to do the exact same thing (Zombie Diaries and Diary of the Dead), but neither were as successful in their goal as REC. In fact, it was so goodl that it managed to score an American remake (Quarantine) before the original was even released in this country.

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11. Night of the Living Dead



The godfather of modern zombie flicks. Romero's classic is the one that, for most people, started it all. While that's not entirely true, it is the flick that managed to establish that horror flicks can be both gory and have something to say about the world. It also is the film that set the standard for what a zombie film should be.

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10. Tombs of the Blind Dead



Most that people are knowledgeable about zombies know about the classic Romero lumbering zombies, or the rage-infected fast zombies of the modern ages but not many know what The Blind Dead style of zombies are. Instead of recently deceased or diseased modern humans rising from the graves, The Blind Dead are the dead corpses of ancient Knights Templar who crossed over into the world of witch craft and the occult. These zombies aren't out to eat you for nourishment; they eat you as a sacrifice to their demonic gods. They don't lumber or chase you, the run you down on horses and wield ancient weaponry. They can't see you, but they can hear you. These zombies display a level of gothic elegance and beauty that I can't imagine any modern film maker ever being able to accomplish today.

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9. Return of the Living Dead



Perhaps the most imitated zombie film ever made, Return of the Living Dead is the coup de grace of zombie comedies.  You know that old cliché of zombies loving the taste of a person's brains and exclaiming their love in a resounding chorus of "brrrraaaiiinnnnssss?" This is the flick that popularized that.

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8. White Zombie



White Zombie is, actually, the first true zombie flick of the sound era. It features a classic performance by genre legend Béla Lugosi. It doesn't have much zombie action and in fact it's plotline revolves around a singular person being turned into a zombie for a short amount of time, but that doesn't stop it from being both a beautifully made film and perhaps the most important zombie film from a historical perspective next to Night of the Living Dead.

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7. 28 Days Later



Danny Boyle's gritty and grisly masterpiece does something that not many zombie films I can think of have done- It sets its action at a location devoid of any guns or mechanical weaponry. On top of that, it chooses to make its zombies less like zombies and more like raging, infected people who can run at full speed and chase you down. They aren't interested in eating you as much as beating the ever living crap out of you till you're nothing but a pile of bloody pulp left, or you're one of them.

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6. Shaun of the Dead



Shaun of the Dead masterfully fuses two genres which have long been considered to be at odds with one another; the romantic comedy and the bloody horror film. It's interesting because while the film is a comedy, none of the comedy ever really takes away from the horror. The zombies are still disgusting and freaky, the romance is still beautiful and moving and the comedy is slapstick and hilarious. It's no small feat to be able to accomplish that balance all within one singular film. My hats off to Wright, Pegg and Frost for their achievement.  

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5. The Beyond



Many people consider The Beyond to be horror master Lucio Fulci's crowning achievement. While I disagree with that sentiment, there is no denying that it is one of Fulci's best films and also one of the best zombie films ever made. It's the second film in Fulci's "Gates of Hell" trilogy and the first time Fulci  applies his now trademark ghost zombies.  They still have a taste for flesh, but they have the ability to teleport from location to location and make things happen out of thin air that you wouldn't normally expect- Like a horde of man eating Tarantulas.

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4. Nightmare City



Remember when 28 Days Later came out and everyone thought their rage filled, fast zombies were a unique take on the genre? Well, while that film is a masterpiece, it's not entirely true that that take was very unique. In fact, Itallian horror Umberto Lenzi had beat Danny Boyle to the punch by 22 years with his nightmareish tango with the ultra-violent macabre simply titled Nightmare City. The zombies in this film aren't dead, their bodies are just taken over by an infection that increases their rage and blood lust. This is also the only zombie film I've seen where the zombies can use any weapon they want on the humans thus creating an all out war between the military and the infected.

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3. Cemetery Man



Cemetery Man is one of those films that you must watch a minimum of three times before you really start to understand it. It's like a journey into one caretaker's psychological state of mind as he struggles on the thin lines that separate love, hate, life and death. It's probably the most alluring and artistic take on a zombie story I've ever seen.

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2. Dawn of the Dead



Critically acclaimed for its social commentary on American consumerism and known throughout the horror community the world over as quite possibly being the best zombie film ever made is the position in which George Romero's master work stands. There is nothing I can say about this film that hasn't already been said in better ways by better people. So I will simply end this with a quote:  
"When there is no more room in hell, the dead shall walk the earth.

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1. City of the Living Dead



Ah, City of the Living DEAD. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love the in your face approach to your violence and gore. I love your characters. I love your beautiful score. I love your incoherent story structure. I love your imagery. I just love you for what you are, completing my personal love affair with the zombie genre. You are my mistress, my lover and you have my heart.

This film is my personal favorite zombie film and the film I believe to be Lucio Fulci's magnum opus. It has everything I could ever want from a zombie film and more, as well as a great visual representation of hell on earth.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Zombi 2
Fido
Dance of the Dead
Wild Zero
Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things
Re-Animator
Night of the Creeps
Pet Semetary

Well, that is that and I hope you enjoyed this list. I'm done now.