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Murders and Masks and Zombies! Oh My!
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White Zombie (1932)
directed by Victor Halperin
Not only did White Zombie mark a new direction in horror as the first movie to feature zombies, but it also served as one of the earliest independently-produced horror films of all time, paving the way for directors like George A. Romero and John Carpenter who also went the independent route with their original horror ideas. The story follows a young couple, invited by an acquaintance to get married on his plantation in Haiti. When the acquaintance looks to make the young girl his own, he enlists the help of local Voodoo master Murder Legendre—played with great skill by the infamous Bela Lugosi—to turn her into a zombie and get rid of her fiance. But Legendre has some plans of his own that might have the couple looking for a new place to honeymoon. The movie’s slow foot-to-head pan of its zombies has been replicated in everything from Romero’s Dawn of the Dead to Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
directed by George A. Romero
White Zombie may have been the first movie to feature zombies, but Romero’s Night of the Living Dead popularized the undead sub-genre, bringing a much needed social commentary along for the ride. The story is the blueprint from which all other zombie movies have derived since: A group of people caught within a country house must fend for themselves as the dead come back to life, feeding on the living. The choice to have Duane Jones, an African-American actor, play the lead role of Ben is what really makes the movie a standout; the ending crystallizing a historic moment in cinema that, like all great zombie movies, asks people to think about the society in which they live.
Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn (1987)
directed by Sam Raimi
Bruce Campbell reprises his role as Ash Williams in Raimi’s groovy sequel for more Book of the Dead fun. After an evil spirit is released from this mysterious book, Ash is thrown up against some of his toughest and funniest adversaries (including a girlfriend who has her head cut off, a hand with a mind of its own and trees that come to life). With a chainsaw in place of a hand and a whole lot of undead people trying to kill Ash before daybreak, it’s not hard to do the math; the formula adds up to zombie gold every time.
directed by Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire) brought new life to the zombie film in this stark revision of the sub-genre. After waking from a coma, Jim (Cillian Murphy) finds both the hospital and streets of London completely deserted and lifeless—with the exception of zombie-like humans infected with the “Rage” virus. As Jim and a handful of other survivors set out for and find a military base believed to be their last hope, the attitude and beliefs of their military protectors have the survivors questioning whether they’d be better off outside with the zombies. With Boyle making it almost impossible to decipher between Jim and a released zombie in the military base, 28 Days Later... dropped the cheesiness of the sub-genre and replaced it with the full-blown horror of a world obsessed with violence. By the way, forget the zombie sidestep, these zombies can run.
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
directed by Edgar Wright
Who said zombie movies couldn’t be funny—or romantic—and still thrilling? This brilliant “rom-zom-com” is part homage to the sub-genre and wholly original in asking whether our daily routines are turning us into zombies. When Shaun’s going-nowhere life (which includes a girlfriend who wants more adventure than a regular evening date at the local pub, a stepfather who still treats him like a child and a best friend who is trying his best to keep him a child) is interrupted by an outbreak of zombies, he has to make a change to save the people he loves. Ironically, this involves holing up in the local pub. The first feature collaboration between Simon Pegg, director Edgar Wright and Nick Frost, the movie is equal parts hilarious, heart-warming, scary and pop culture reference.
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- Comment by boating holidays on 10/07/08 at 11:25 pm
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