I quite enjoyed coming up with yesterday’s list, even though it took all of five minutes and I decided that I’d post a few more ‘top tens’. My novel has taken a back seat for the time being to a bunch of scripts/stories about zombies- my favourite movie ‘monster’- and they’re pretty fun to write. And so, again in no particular order, here are 10 of my favourite zombie movies at the moment (ask me in a week and you’ll probably get a different answer). Your own recommendations are also very welcome.
Versus - A Japanese action-fest with lots of gun action and pistol toting zombies- which sounds awful but is in fact incredibly well done. Watch and be amazed. Even if you don’t like zombie movies this is an action film well worth seeing. Awesome.
Night of the Living Dead - The original and still the best of the ‘modern’ zombie movies. A classic.
Dawn of the Dead remake - I really enjoyed this- the fact that it’s not a commentary on consumerism doesn’t matter a damn to me- I want my zombie movies to be about zombies.
Zombie Nosh - Low budget with not the greatest actors in the world, this is nevertheless a very effective zombie flick. Top marks.
Junk – Another Japanese zombie movie which I really enjoyed though reviews seem to be mixed. Guns and zombies- what’s not to like?
I Walked With A Zombie – One of the old school zombie films and though zombies play a pretty much peripheral role, it’s a fabulous film just for the visuals and the haunting mood it creates.
Resident Evil – Wasn’t sure if I should include this one of not, but I decided that I would (obviously) because I not only enjoy it but because it seems to have marked the beginning of a whole slew of zombie flicks. Huzzah!
The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue – Though the dubbed soundtrack takes a little getting used to, this film is another zombie classic, and it deserves much more attention than it gets. A nicely paced small-scale story.
Zombie Flesh Eaters – I had to mention one of the Fulci films and this is my favourite- the gore scenes are particularly well done and there are a few moments that will stick with anyone who sees it.
The Crazies – There are some zombie films that don’t actually have zombies in them (28 Days Later being the prime example- and a sequel is on the way- and Mutant being another that I enjoyed more than I should have) and of the bunch, The Crazies is my absolute favourite. I’d even go so far as to say that it’s possibly my favourite George Romero film (NOTLD just pips the post I think) and while it doesn’t involve zombies per se, it’s not much of a stretch to imagine that it does include the walking dead.
Honourable Mentions – Undead, an Australian film with some great effects, a good script (“I'll f**kin' finish you off faster than a f**kin' birthday cake at a fat chick's f**kin' birthday party!”), and an intriguing plot. I hope to see more movies from the brother who made this.
Second mention goes to another Japanese film, Stacy. This is a weird one, a very weird one- teenage girls becoming zombies is the basic plotline but that doesn’t even begin to explain it. I’m not sure about this one at all, but it’s worth seeing just for the wacky strangeness of it all. I have one other Japanese zombie film in my collection (which I’ve yet to see)- Battlefield Baseball- no rules baseball (think Ultimate Fighting then add weapons) against a team of zombies. If anyone knows of any others, do let me know. Update: SHAUN OF THE DEAD! How could I have forgotten to include this one? Beats me. Anyway, add it to the list. A great, funny, horrific, gory movie. Ten out of ten.
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