Dr. kitteny berk wrote:dfficult.
in no real order
Braindead
28 days later (not strictly, i know)
Shaun of the dead
The original dawn of the dead
Land of the dead.
That's pretty much it as zombie movies go, so I'd go with this too. Quick review of any zombie films I can think of (for little other reason than that I'm bored):
Night of the Living Dead:
The original zombie horror. Before this zombies weren't undead but people in voodoo trances. It's a good classic horror, and is notable too for being one of (if not the) first films to cast a black lead in the hero role. Very gritty and defeatist for a film of its time, but I think it lacks the apocalypse atmosphere that makes zombie films great.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Probably the pinnacle of the genre. Great lead up to the film with the outbreak starting to take effect and civilisation breaking down, leading into a famous social statement in the mall. The comedy interjects are brilliant - the expression on the face of the zombie who gets squirted in the face with the soda bottle has me in fits of laughter even after seeing it umpteen times. Too many good points to list really, but for anyone with any interest in zombie films this is a must see.
Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead had some nice points but wasn't as good as Dawn. It suffered a little from being a bit of a stereotypical 80s horror, and just didn't quite capture the atmosphere. The opening scene is very good, with one of the heroes slowly driving around the empty city calling for survivors, casually avoiding the shambling dead. Worth watching, if only to make a little more sense of Land of the Dead by introducing Bubba - a captured zombie they've been trying to train who slowly massages some trace of thought back into his rotting brain towards the end of the film.
Land of the Dead
As with Day of the Dead, doesn't quite capture the essence of Dawn. It's still a good zombie jaunt though with a little humour and it has a nice take on the genre by being set in a post apocolypse society rather than the initial outbreak. The two zombies on the 'Have your picture taken with a zombie' stand are Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, fact fans.
Dawn of the Dead (2003?)
Not really a remake of the original DotD, but a modern zombie flick with the same basic plot. Has some very good moments, especially the bits about the guy living in the gun shop across the road. Personally I'm not a fan of the turbo-zombie though, as you don't feel the sympathy for them as you do with their shambling, hapless predecessors.
Return of the living Dead
Not actually seen this, but the zombies are rather more intelligent apparently. By all accounts a sub-standard comedy/horror, I've included it because it introduced zombies moaning 'Braaaaains'.
Braindead
New Zealand comedy horror, directed by a pre-Lord Of The Rings Peter Jackson. Terrible special effects, cheesy acting, bizarre plot - all come together to form a brilliant film. Everyone will have a favourite scene from this film, but my personal favourite is the one where the vicar cries "I kick arse for The Lord!" before getting Kung-Fu on a gang of zombies.
Resident Evil
Personally I thought this was great. The zombies are refined to a peak, although they don't provide the comedy that Romero's zombies do. There's plenty of action to be getting on with, which kind of detracts from the dread a little but doesn't adversely affect the film in my opinion.
Resident Evil 2
Oh dear. They skipped the really interesting bit of the story where Raccoon City is being overrun by the dead and skipped straight to the part where Blade-esque superheroes compete in a zombie setting with no real threat from the real stars of the film - the zombies themselves. Only really noteworthy bit is when the civilian population are clamouring to get out of the quarantined city with the threat of a zombie outbreak snapping at their heels.
28 Days Later
The originator of the turbo-zombies. Although they're not actually zombies, they might as well be. There's more good than bad here, and the apocalyptic atmosphere is pretty strong. Also has the honour of being the film I took Mrs Pants to see on our first date (yeah, I know I say that all the time).
Shaun of the Dead
This film does everything right - the zombies are excellent and the comedy is sublime. There's a very strong British sense of humour that had me howling with laughter. Proof positive that one of the biggest appeal of zombies as a 'bad guy' is that they're quite pathetic really.
The Reanimator
Like Wierd Science with a pretty poor zombie instead of Kelly Le Brock. Doesn't quite hit the comedy mark and certainly not worthy of its HP Lovecraft association. Probably worth a watch for fans for the sake of having seen it, but not really worth going out of your way for.
is my favourite zombie movie ever for having a zombie in a red leather jacket get electicuted and spin around in Michael Jackson stylee before fitting and twitching on the floor. 