Zombies are fictional characters which are depicted in movies as undead beings or reanimated corpses. Early zombie films were originally classified as part of the horror genre but, over time, the undead creatures became more of a popular device and eventually garnered their own sub-genre. Zombie fiction is popular because they include elements such as flesh eating corpses, plot twists, and a breakdown of society or an apocalypse. While generally defined as horror films, the movies have been known to crossover into other genres such as comedy and science fiction as well and the best 5 zombie movies of all time contain examples of both.
The film that ultimately started it all, “Night of the Living Dead”, is a black and white thriller that was directed by the legendary George A. Romero in 1968. The film depicts zombies as slow moving and mindless ghouls who emerge from their graves with an unquenchable hunger for human flesh. The plot follows a group of seven Pennsylvanians as they take shelter in a small farmhouse and attempt to survive the night. George A. Romero has been hailed the ‘Grandfather of the Zombie” as a result of the film which essentially defined the zombie genre and spawned a plethora of others.
“Dawn of the Dead” was the second film in Romero’s ghoul series. The plot picks up after the events of the original movie and portrays the US as being a wasteland lacking in authority and overridden with zombies.
In it, a small group of refugees steal a helicopter and take shelter in a mall. They live in moderate comfort among the building’s material goods as, outside, society collapses. In a scene that most fans state is the best in the genre, the mall becomes overrun with zombies and all but two of the survivors make it out alive.
Although not always classified as a true zombie film, 1989′s Pet Sematary is yet another great example. Based on a novel with the same name, Pet Sematary follows a young doctor who moves into a rural area in Maine with his family. From his new neighbor, he learns about a mysterious burial ground in the woods near his home that has the power to bring the dead back to life and uses it to reanimate his daughter’s beloved dead cat in order to ease her pain.
After the horrific death of his toddler son, the grief ridden man turns, again, to the burial ground and ends up reanimating something extremely evil and sinister.
“28 Days Later” is a hit film and offers a more updated take on classic zombies. In it, they are agile and fast as opposed to George Romero’s stiff and slow creatures. It is sometimes, like Pet Sematary, excluded from being included in the sub genre as its zombies are not technically dead but infected with a rare, behavior altering virus. The film is, however, a refreshing and powerful take on the undead genre.
The final movie on the list helped prove that zombies and comedy could exist together. “Zombieland” is about four people who are trying to find sanctuary in a post apocalyptic world filled with the murderous undead. It features faster, more ferocious antagonists and manages to weave them into a dark and funny story.
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