The living dead who left their graves and went out to hunt people - this is very scary. Just imagine, nothing human in the look, mechanical movements and dangers of flesh hanging from the bones. And if this person was familiar to you before? Agree, the sight is terrible. That is why zombies are the heroes of many films shot in the horror genre. Post-apocalyptic scenarios are also often built on the return of the dead from the other world. What are the “worst” horrors about zombies? In this article, we will provide a list of the best films about the living dead and offer brief descriptions of their stories. Let's start with the very first films. This movie is for true connoisseurs of the genre who want to know everything about it.
The first films about zombies
When did the first film about the living dead come on the screens? It happened in 1932, when the director Victor Halperin presented to the public his creation under the title “White Zombie”. According to the plot of the film, the beautiful Madelyn turns the mysterious Legendre, who lives in isolation in her castle, into a submissive weak-willed victim. For this insidious goal, he uses voodoo magic. Legendre's idea could succeed, but Madeline has a young man who decides to take revenge and goes to the last.
This film was a huge success with the audience. With a budget of just over $ 50,000, he collected as much as 8 million at the box office. Unrivaled Bela Lugosi starred in the role of Legendra.
Like the creation of Halperin, the film of the war years “The Zombie King”, shot by Jean Yarbrough. The plot of the tape over a small island crashes the plane. In a crash, a pilot and two passengers survive. On the island, they meet Dr. Sangre, a voodoo addict with an army of the dead, who he personally creates in his basement. The Zombie King is not just a horror movie. It is also a comedy, the delicate humor of which will be appreciated by discerning connoisseurs of good cinema.
50-60s: horror films about zombies
The list of frightening films about the living dead continues "Plan 9: From outer space." This tape was released in 1959. It is interesting in that it clearly shows the ideas and fantasies of filmmakers of that time about the future and the possible invasion of aliens on our Earth. The aliens want to turn all people into obedient robots, but for training, they decide to first revive the dead in a small cemetery in America. What came of this? Nothing good. By the way, the same can be said about the film. She received the Golden Turkey Award as the worst movie of all time. Well, then such “masterpieces” of the film industry as “Beavers-Zombies” (2014) and the Russian film “Zombie Holidays” (2013) have not yet been released.
In the list of films released in the 60s of the last century, the work of Ubaldo Ragon and Sydney Selkou under the title "The Last Man on Earth" is noteworthy. Dr. Morgan accidentally acquired immunity to a virus that destroyed all people on the planet. During the day he is completely alone, and at night the infected are hunting him. The classic story that viewers saw in the movie "I Am A Legend." The secret is that these are two adaptations of the same book by Richard Matheson. It’s called “I am a legend”.
The Night of the Living Dead (1968)
This is a classic tape shot by George Romero. Perhaps every fan of the horror genre in the film industry knows about it. Well, those who are just planning to see the picture should briefly familiarize themselves with the plot.
Barbara and her brother Johnny visit the grave of his father. In the cemetery, a young man is attacked by a strange man who, as if himself, had just risen from the dead. Johnny engages in a fight with a stranger and dies, stumbling and breaking his head on a tombstone. Barbara is hiding in a panic in the nearest house. There the girl is not alone, but in the company of other people who want to survive. Outside - crowds of zombies. On the radio, the heroes learn that the attack is taking place nationwide, and the blame is on the radioactivity of the spacecraft recently returned from Venus.
The value of the picture for cinema and an interesting fact
George Romero made a film that is radically different from everything that was before. Zombies were no longer associated with voodoo witchcraft. They became what they are shown in modern films - bloodthirsty dead men, killing and eating everyone in their path. Agree, the most terrible "horrors" about zombies are what they are to the audience.
An interesting fact: all extras actors portraying the dead who rose from the graves were paid $ 1 each and presented a T-shirt with the inscription "I was a zombie in" Night of the Living Dead "."
Other works of Romero
Perhaps the best horror films about zombies made in the past millennium are the work of George Romero.
Dawn of the Dead (1978) is a story about four people trying to survive the apocalypse who took refuge in the office premises of the hypermarket. The heroes manage to establish their way of life, and it seems that even from such troubles as the invasion of corpses, you can get out. But then another group of people comes into play. And they are much worse than zombies.
"Day of the Dead" (1985) tells of a group of scientists and the military trying to survive a pandemic. There is one bright and interesting character in the film - a “manual” zombie named Bob. It was he who ultimately managed to reverse the storyline.
Later, all the paintings described above Romero were re-captured. Remakes are different from the originals, and in general they have earned good reviews from viewers and critics. Definitely, lovers of the genre should see these paintings.
The new millennium. "28 days later"
This is perhaps one of the first high-quality zombie films made in the 21st century. According to the plot, there was no uprising of the dead from their graves: the planet’s population was infected with a “rage virus”. These "zombies" were alive, and they did not move slowly and mechanically, like the corpses from the films of the eighties that returned to life, but they were fast and knew how to deliver accurate strikes. Four daredevils will try to escape from the attack of those infected in the film.
The tape has several alternative endings, and in 2007 a sequel to the picture entitled "28 weeks later" was released.
"Resident Evil"
In 2002, the first film entitled “Resident Evil” was released with Mila Jovovich in the title role. The director of the film, Paul Anderson, was inspired by the popular Japanese computer game Resident Evil.
The plot of the film is based on the confrontation between the brave girl Alice and the commando squad hordes of zombies - people infected with a strain of T-virus. The action takes place in the "Anthill" - the laboratories of Umbrella Corporation.
The film came out spectacular, dynamic, but the critics received not the best reviews. Many noted a weak acting and poorly written dialogue, but the audience liked the picture. To date, there are five films with the name "Resident Evil", and the release of the sixth part is scheduled for 2016.
“Horror” about zombies: a list of the best
In the new millennium, a huge number of films about the living dead were shot. Which ones deserve the attention of the viewer? The list of films worthy of viewing is as follows:
- War of the Worlds Z (2013).
- "Z / L / O 2" (2013).
- “Quarantine” (2008).
- "The Open Grave" (2013).
- "Report" (2007).
- “The warmth of our bodies” (2013).
- “Cabin in the forest” (2012).
- “I am a legend” (2007).
As you can see, 2013 pleased the audience with a large number of high-quality films about zombies. Here it is, the magic of the number 13.
Zombie Series
The most famous and perhaps the best zombie series is The Walking Dead. It is based on the comics of Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard, and the creator was Frank Darabont.
Since 2010, Walkers have been delighting fans of the genre and lovers of high-quality TV series with an excellent acting and an unpredictable storyline. A group of people led by Rick Grimes survives in a walking world. Now the masters on earth are not humans, but these creatures. But is there a future for humanity? The audience has been looking for the answer to this question for six seasons.
Interestingly, in the series itself, the word "zombie" does not appear. The dead are simply called "walking." By the way, the creators of the project did their best, and extras make up the imagination.
The viewer is not informed about the reasons for the spread of the virus, which turns people into "walking" ones. Heroes themselves do not know what triggered the beginning of the apocalypse, but they are looking for an answer to this question.
The creators of The Walkers have released a prequel to the story they love. This is the series “Fear the Walking Dead”, which, as the director promises, will give answers to all questions.
What to watch is not worth it
Along with high-quality films and series about zombies, there are also not very good works by screenwriters and directors on a given topic. It is impossible to list them all, because there are a huge number of such tapes. Advise viewers can only pay attention to the ratings of films and their names. “Masterpieces” like “Dead Man and Breakfast” or “Virgin among the Living Dead” are unlikely to give you the pleasure of watching. Therefore, watch only the best "horrors" about zombies and do not waste your time on bad movies.