Five Zombie Films to Watch in Anticipation of the Return of The Walking Dead

Public domain, believe it or not!

Night of the Living Dead (USA, 1968)

Sure films about the undead had been around for decades, one or two even made during the era of silent film, but it was George Romero’s low-budget black-and-white shocker that brought the dead from the underground. No list is complete without it. Previously sleepwalking dopes, zombies forever became maniacal flesh-eating ghouls in Romero’s nightmare. Although often criticized for its obvious gaffes, most will agree that Night of the Living Dead is undoubtedly the mother of all zombie films. It’s been remade a bunch of times, including again this coming Halloween.

20th Century Fox

28 Days Later (UK, 2002)

Wait, zombies are now running?! Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland catapulted the genre to new levels by introducing a much more menacing human-monster. Gone are the slow, stupid man-eaters of yesteryear. This new breed is uncontrollably aggressive and the transformation is instantaneous. So unless you’re a star athlete and a really quick thinker with an undying will to live, you’re probably not going to make it through the first week. 28 Days Later is set in the bleak and terrifyingly empty streets of London and the surrounding countryside. Purists argue that these are more a strain of crazies than zombies, but still. Call it “the rage” or call it good old-fashioned reanimation, this film IS what the genre is all about.

IFC Films

Mutants (France, 2009)

What sets apart most of the older films from the recent slew of zombie gore-fests is the storyline of cause and origin, and how these monsters came about. Mutants takes a very real setting (as real as a middle-of-nowhere, snow-entrapped laboratory can be) and follows a group of humans who, after a breakdown in laboratory testing, undergo a slow but terrifying radical transformation. The film’s jumps come not from what results but rather how it all goes down.

IFC Films

Dead Snow (Norway, 2009)

And sometimes zombie films will make you laugh. While Dead Snow may not rank too high on the scare-meter, it tips the scale on pure gore and comedy. Delivering scene after scene of unadulterated blood splatter, the zombies in this film are undead Nazis. Because undead Nazis must be chainsawed apart. Did you know that there’s a sub-genre of Nazi zombie films? Dead Snow ranks among the best of them.

Sony Picture Home Entertainment

[Rec] (Spain, 2007)

Given that the youngest crop of films to come out have redefined the definition of “zombie” by including people stricken with a rare disease, virus, plague, [Rec]’s got the perfect elements for a truly terrifying night with the undead. The setting: a multi-level apartment in the heart of Barcelona. The people: a young reporter and a group of fire fighters. The zombies: A young reporter and a group of firefighters, who have now been quarantined and are left to survive on their own. [Rec] wastes no time with transformation. The virus incubation period is short and the killer is fast-moving, vicious, and just minutes before, an extremely dedicated rescue worker. [Rec]’s not the newest of the zombie films out there, but it’s certainly among the best.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy your meal. But, please, lock your door, cause as the creepy brother in the cemetery says, They’re coming to get you, Barbra! But this time you’ll know to wear a decent pair of sneakers.

The closest Cesar Guadamuz ever got to reanimation was watering his almost-dead pepper plant. You can follow him on Twitter @LetCesarSpeak