Here's my top 10 favorite zombie films of all time. This is going to take some time, so lets do 10 through 6 first.
#10 - DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004)
Look out! Running Zombies! Hate them or love them, this was the ONLY thing that made this film any fun to watch. Sarah Polley is good. Ving Rhames makes his dialogue work. The beginning starts out great with Polley's husband being attacked by a savage zombie girl. He dies and comes back in a matter of minutes and attacks Polley who runs for her life. Classic. The opening music by Johnny Cash "The Man Comes Around" is perfect. The images during the titles of the world collapsing is scary stuff. Then they get to the mall and everything goes down hill. The only time it gets interesting is the zombie baby scene. The ended falls flat to. It seems they really didn't have an ending ready when they were filming. If you watch the end credits you see what happens to the group that escaped, but I think it's a cop out. You show us what happens during the end credits? Not Cool! People would sit for another 10 minutes to see what happens. ONE great thing about this film is that it made people interested in zombies again. Paving the way for George Romero to make LAND OF THE DEAD.
Best Line:
"So what's the bad news?"
#9 - RESIDENT EVIL (2002)
Ok, I know it's a video game movie, but it's a fun video game movie. Paul W.S Anderson is not a great director, but he does keep the film close to the original material. An accident in a secret underground complex, zombies, mutants, zombie dogs, a master computer gone nuts and of course....Milla Jovovich running around shooting stuff is fun. Michelle Rodriguez plays her BEST Michelle Rodriguez ever! Great if you've never seen it. Fun if it's been awhile.
Best Line:
"You're all going to die down here."
#8 - 28 DAYS LATER (2003)
They're not really zombies, but they're REALLY F*cking scary! Danny Boyle takes the zombie concept and puts it into a whole new world. A virus called RAGE is released and everyone who comes in contact with the infected's blood or is bitten becomes a crazed freak in seconds. Cillian Murphy is great as the man who wakes up from a coma to find the world, he knew is gone. Fun chase scenes through the empty streets of London. The ending is a little strange with Murphy becoming a Super commando taking out a group of soldiers. But it's a intensely scary flick that keeps you on your toes.
Best Line:
"Hello?"
#7 - LAND OF THE DEAD (2005)
The Master is back!
George A. Romero returns with a bang! Out of all the DEAD films, this sadly is my lest favorite. I guess I wanted to see more of the class separation from the people living on the street and the people living in "Fiddler's Green. But, you get great Romero dialogue and a battle truck called "Dead Reckoning" so you can't go wrong. John Leguizamo is fantastic. Will there be sequel? Don't really know, but Romero said he wouldn't want to do it. Maybe the Dead will speak in the next film? The great master of make up
Tom Savini makes a cameo as a zombie biker from Dawn of the Dead. GAK!
Best Line:
"Zombies, they creep me out."
#6 - NIGHT OF THE LIVING (1990)
A really great remake of the original film by
George A. Romero. This ones directed by
Tom Savini the master make-up artist for the original Dead films. This is a very faithful to the original story. "Who cares." You say,"I'll watch the original." You need to see this versions ending, which is completely new and takes on a stronger message in the end. Race and the dead come together. Patrica Tallman is great as a "fighting back" Barbara. Tony Todd is powerful as Ben.
Best Line:
"They're us. We're them and they're us."
Next week the top 5.
See you,
GAK!
