ZOMBIES!!

Ok, so today I think it is time to review some movies of a sub genre that was started by a man who has made some of the biggest cult classics. His name is Romero; and the genre I am referring to is the zombie genre.
So to start off the list, I will review the best of the genre, the Living Dead series.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)
This is the first Romero movie and the best. To be honest it is the best zombie movie ever. It is an old movie, but the way it is made makes it so gruesome. The effects are done so well, and with the black and white make it even creepier. This is how zombies were originally done and should be to this day.

Dawn of the Dead (1978)
This is defiantly the best in the series and also the all time best zombie movie. When some people watch this, they say the SFX are stupid and whatnot; the makeup for the zombies is very simple, for the extra zombies they basically covered them in blue paint and some blood and with zombies with close ups they added more makeup.
While the makeup is cheesy, the quality of the movie and of the story is not.

Day of the Dead (1986)
This is the third movie in the series. It is not as popular as the first two, but it is really worth watching. The story is much better then that in Night and Dawn and the SFX and makeup is so much better and gruesome. The meaning, though, is not as strong as Dawn and that’s why this is not as good.

Land of the Dead (2003)
This, I have to say, is the worst of all the series. The story and message behind it are very good, but ultimately, the movie fails. It would have been very good had Romero stayed to his roots and kept to being independent rather then selling out to Universal and having them take control and making it THEIR own rather then HIS own. This is not the only time a major company has screwed up a movie.

Diary of the Dead (2007)
This is one of the most recent Dead movies and probably the second best in terms with story. The concept of the hand held camera use is getting a little old, but is done very well here and adds more to it. The acting is all right for the most part, some actors could have been replaced. The best part of the movie, though, is the message. The message has to do with human nature and the whole internet craze. If you like the others in the series you will really like this one.

Coming Soon…
Survival of the Dead
Release Date TBA




Here are some remakes of the Dead movies…

Dawn of the Dead (2003)
Here is one of the best remakes of a movie. Remaking a Romero zombie movie is very hard; you have to do it new while keeping the message across. While this is a great movie, there are a few things to say about it.
One thing that is really bugging me about new zombie movie these days, running zombies. It is a cheap way to make zombies scary when all it does is make the movie senseless and brainless. This is a prime example of that.
With that said, this movie is still great. It keeps close to the original story and message while making it its own movie.

Night of the Living Dead (1993)
This remake was directed by the makeup artist of the Dead movie, among others, and actor for other movies. This is a colorized version of the original basically. There is nothing new or original in this movie, but it is gorier and in color. It is not a horrible movie but not one to rush to see.



Here is a list of other great zombie movies…

28 Days Later
This is probably one of the best zombie movies ever, not including the Dead series. This is one time where running zombies fits. The reason: because it adds to the concept of what the virus is, which is the Rage virus. When your angry, you run and twitch, that’s why it fits perfectly compared to decaying, dead people running like the are Kenyans in a race.
This has a new look and feel for not only the zombie genre but movies in general. It is scary but also is very deep. I highly recommend this to almost anyone.

Zombieland
This movie is a recent one. This spot was reserved for Shaun of the Dead, which is also a great movie, but because this movie I think is funnier, I put this here instead. The humor of this movie is just so funny, you start to cry. It has the running zombies, but it adds to the chaos of what’s happening. It is pretty gory, is the funniest comedy of ’09, next to The Hangover. If you like zombie movies, you’ll love this movie, if you don’t, well you still might like it.

Dead Alive
This will be the last on the list. This is one of Peter Jackson’s earliest movies, this is when his style was different and quirky rather then epic on scale. This is probably the best zombie movie in terms of humor and gore. It is very hard to get into because of how weird it is, but once you get into it, strap in for a bumpy ride of humor and mayhem.