Thursday, March 04, 2010

Glenn Kay's Top 25 Zombie Movies of All Time

I went to a thrift store a few weeks ago and in their book department was this little book that I figured I could pick up on the cheap. Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide by Glenn Kay. I am not familiar with Glenn Kay but I figure he wrote a book so he must have some street cred.

The book is an interesting read on the origins of the zombie film (it's Haiti voodoo for the uninformed) and the classic zombie films to the modern day cult flicks. Kay reviews an encyclopedia of zombie movies rating them with brain eating cartoons for the best and arrows in the head for the worst.

What I found to be the most interesting though is he wrote down his own list of the Top 25 Zombie Movies of All Time. I love lists (even when they aren't even my own) but I have my own top 10 zombie movies of all time list which I'll include below.

The one thing you can count on with lists is there will be blood as people will criticize or praise to the end of eternity what's on this list. If you want to know why he has one movie ranked higher, pick up the book. It's available on Amazon.com.

Here's the list! (FYI: this was published in 2008) Let the arguing begin!
  1. Dawn of the Dead
  2. Night of the Living Dead
  3. Shaun of the Dead
  4. Day of the Dead
  5. Braindead
  6. Re-Animator
  7. The Return of the Living Dead
  8. 28 Days Later
  9. The Serpent and the Rainbow
  10. White Zombie
  11. The Walking Dead
  12. Night of the Living Dead (90)
  13. Dellamorte Dellamore
  14. Prince of Darkness
  15. Night of the Creeps
  16. Creepshow: "Father's Day"
  17. Dead & Buried
  18. Grindhouse: "Planet Terror"
  19. Zombi 2
  20. Land of the Dead
  21. Let Sleeping Corpses Lie
  22. I Walked with a Zombie
  23. Tales from the Crypt: "Poetic Justice"
  24. Sugar Hill
  25. Plan 9 from Outer Space
the jaded viewer says: I agree with his #1 as its on my own list. But to put Shaun of the Dead at #3 is a little much. Even Day of.... in the top 10 is little extreme. OK, as promised here is my own which I wrote on 2002. Why am I posting a list from 2002? I don't know...I figure it could stand to take some criticism. Has there been a zombie movie since 2002 that I should add?
I mean I still think its pretty solid.

I should write a little explanation on each but I'm a lazy bastard so sue me. After looking at the list, I have Evil Dead 2 on it. Also I have 3 Fulci movies on this list. I remember I was on some kind of Fulci kick back in 02. Ahh memories. As an added bonus, I've posted Insano Steve's Top 10 zombie movies of all time as well.

the jaded viewer's Top 10 Zombie Movies of All Time (as of 4/1/02)

  1. Dawn of the Dead
  2. Night of the Living Dead
  3. Zombi 2
  4. Braindead
  5. The Beyond
  6. Re-Animator
  7. The Gates of Hell
  8. Evil Dead 2
  9. Night of the Creeps
  10. Dellamorte Dellamore
Insano Steve's Top 10 Zombie Movies of All Time (as of 4/1/02)
  1. Zombi 2
  2. Braindead
  3. Evil Dead
  4. Re-Animator
  5. Versus
  6. Dawn of the Dead
  7. Demons
  8. Dellamorte Dellamore
  9. Night of the Creeps
  10. Zombie Holocaust
Thoughts about Kay's list, Insano Steve's or my own list? Hell, what's your list of the best zombie movies of all time?

17 comments:

  1. hell yeah! fyi number 24 is "Sugar Hill"...
    great list, i would give the best top ten i think
    you guys cover all the great stuff.
    i always go back to the favorite "return of the living dead part II"... lol
    i mean "night of the living dead"
    iZombie

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  2. Nice one Jaded.

    Urg, brains.

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  3. Have you seen Messiah of Evil? I unearthed this classic about a month ago and I will say that its one of the best zombie movies I've ever seen. A truly underrated and underappreciated classic!

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  4. Nope never seen Messiah of Evil. I'll be sure to check it out.

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  5. Great list. Have you ever seen To kako? It's a greek zombie movie. It's pretty damn fun. Over-the-top gore. Gotta lovei t.

    Oh and Gregg, the director of Dawning, left a comment on my review in response to you. He wants to send you a screener. He left his e-mail for you, so check it out. :)

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  6. Excellent list, Jaded. My only quibble is Return of the Living Dead must be in the Zombie Pantheon. Otherwise, couldn't agree more. Different strokes and such...

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  7. Solid list. Can't wait to check out a couple of these movies that I haven't seen. Cheers!

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  8. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical with the lead in, but I thought Kay did a solid job, as much of it comes down to personal preference. Day was a bit high, and the lack of GATES OF HELL or THE BEYOND in the top 25 is an interesting choice. Both lists get my undead thumbs up

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  9. I got this zombie book and it seems there quite a few I haven't seen yet...if only I could blog I'd give some more recommendations! :-(

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  10. Man, I'm glad all 3 of these lists have Dellamorte Dellamore (cemetery man) in them. I love that movie- far more then I probably should. So much so that I ranked it at number 3 in my own list of my 25 favorite zombie movies. If any of you zombie lovers here would like to take a look at it and tell me what you think, that'd be awesome! It's here : http://dayofthezombie.blogspot.com/p/best-zombie-movies.html

    I have to say, the list in that book is pretty solid. I might have to go and pick it up.

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  11. Hello fellas zonbies are my favorite movies of all times and i really enjoy them .

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  12. I’ve seen almost 100 zombie movies and this is my TOP 25.

    25. The Serpent and the Rainbow
    24. Diary of the Dead
    23. Zombieland
    22. Tokyo Zombie
    21. The Dead Next Door
    20. The Haunted World of el Superbeasto
    19. Zombie (aka Zombi 2)
    18. Heavy Metal
    17. Slither
    16. Boy Eats Girl
    15. Resident Evil
    14. The Beyond
    13. Return of the Living Dead
    12. Army of Darkness
    11. Planet Terror
    10. Dead and Buried
    9. Re-Animator
    8. Dead Snow
    7. Versus
    6. 28 Days Later
    5. Shaun of the Dead
    4. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
    3. Evil Dead
    2. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
    1. Braindead (aka Dead Alive)

    Honorable mentions: Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, I Sell the Dead, Tombs of the Blind Dead, Grace, Return of the Living Dead 3.

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  13. I can admit that I was one of the original kids who at 9 years old went to see Night of the living dead in the theater in 1968 of which I got in a lot of trouble taking my 6 1/2 year old sister with me...Opps!
    I was hooked on this type of genre right away! I got in trouble since my sister had severe nightmares for weeks after see it with me.
    I on the other hand was more interested in the special effects makeup of the movie and the fact it was good ol fun to watch!
    This movie still creeps me out even today...all the others are pale in comparison.
    I love most all of them no matter how sh*tty the acting, story or even the special effects.

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  14. I find Glenn Kay's end of decade section "rare, obscure and less important titles" insulting. Translated, he was too lazy or unable to find them.

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  15. Very helpful blog! It is easy to use, and answered all my questions! I will be back after I finish my first set of Zombie movies I got from the list!
    Check out our Pseudo-Zombie Films page to find out what's what.

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