So, The Evil Dead movies . I am so ignorant in terms of horror that I hadn’t even heard of these until I met Thea and she started her campaign for me to watch them. When time came for Halloween Week, it was item number one on her infamous list of essentials and I decided to man-up and bought all of them.

I am a firm believer in the benefits of ripping the band-aid at once so I made a call for a Marathon. But being the wimp that I am there was no way I would watch these by myself, so I begged convinced Dear Partner to watch them with me. Now, Dear Partner is not a big fan of gore and it took me a lot of bargaining and promises to make him say yes (take your mind out of the gutter, will you?) which include the prospect of seeing my dreaded ironing board again – an item that hasn’t been spotted inside the house for oh, 3 years? Some back massages may or may not have been included in the deal. Needless to say, I start the movie already in the red. But Dear Partner is a happy camper, oh yes he is. The bastard .

So I bring out the beer, the popcorn (also part of the deal), coffee and chicken + thyme flavoured potato crisps. Let the marathon begin!

Evil Dead

Five (supposedly) students are going to spend a weekend at an isolated cabin (I am already rolling my eyes right here – cliché scenario number 1 – why must it be an isolated cabin in the middle of the woods of doom?) – whilst they are driving there something is following them and the eerie music is already giving me goosebumps. Something is clearly out to get them , it is only a question of when and how. At the house (seriously, who rented this place? I would so ask my money back) they find a book-( the Necronomicon , the Book of the Dead) and they discover in the basement an old tape recorder which they play. In the tape the former owner of the house, an university professor tells how the book is a book that summons demons and of course HE READS THE TRANSLATION OF THE SUMMONING SPELL. Come on. Hell breaks lose, scary things start to happen (I close eyes, peek through my fingers, grab Dear Partner’s hand over and over again) and one by one the students get possessed. First one up is Cheryl who somehow, thinks that IT IS SAFE TO GO OUTSIDE TO INVESTIGATE A NOISE. In the dark. Alone. In the middle of the wood. AFTER strange, scary things happen. Let’s pause here. Isn’t that stupid??

This scene just cements the fact that I don’t get horror and it is clearly not for me. The weirdest thing is: I like stupid. Some of my favourite TV Shows and movies are in reality, stupidity fiestas. Proof:

The thing is these are funny-stupid , and not please-kill-me-now stupid.

Play again.

The woman is raped by the woods and I finally learn what tree sex mean.

I wish I hadn’t though. Her brother Ash , who seems to be hero of this trilogy but I have no faith in him so far, does the first intelligent thing and decides to drive her home. Of course, the way is blocked they have to go back and more strange-scary/stupid things happen, one by one the demons possess them (close my eyes! Close my eye! Aaaaaaaaa) and then they all kill each other and it’s very violent and very graphic and dear lord how much fake blood was used in the movie?

In the end: Ash is the sole survivor. Do I care? No. Was it scary? Hell, yes!

I have rolled my eyes more times than I care to count; I ate far too much fattening finger food and it’s only movie # 1; and the acting, omg the acting! It’s ridiculous. Although this is rather scary and atmospheric which I am guessing it’s good when it comes to horror, I am firmly standing on the “what a load of crap” camp. So far, I do not see the appeal.

I am not too excited about watching the others right now. But a promise is a promise (damn you , Thea!!!). I look at Dear Partner and ask if he is ready to proceed, he just shrugs and gives me The Look. Bugger. I Press play.

Evil Dead 2

It starts and I can already see that the special effects are much superior. There is a rundown about the Necronomicon and there is Ash and his girlfriend inside a car driving through the woods of doom, again. Towards the isolated cabin. Again.

And I am like WTF? Why is he going back to a cabin in the middle of the wood???? Hasn’t he learnt anything??????? Five seconds later he finds the book again, listens to the tape and five seconds after that, the girlfriend is possessed , killed, buried , resurrected as a skeleton ballerina in what has got to be the quickest death-recovery in the history of cinema. I am confused.

Dear Partner wants to quit watching. I decide it’s time to bring out the Secret Weapon. I say: if you go , I will have to eat that whoooole pot of Ben and Jerry’s Cookie Dough ice cream aaaaaall by myself. He says he doesn’t believe I would be able to deny him his favorite ice cream *snorts * it’s hard to be with someone that knows me so well. I decide to use Secret Weapon #2 and make my cute widdle Ana face and that does it. While I go to the kitchen to get the ice cream , I ask him to google Evil dead 2 and it turns out that Sam Raimi did not have the rights to the first movie so instead of showing shots of the first movie, he does it again only different. So, basically the first few minutes are a re-rash of the first movie, but not quite. As soon as Ash is alone, it is a whole different thing. Evil dead 2 is really Evil Dead 1 AND a sequel at the same time. Genius. I am calling it Evil dead 2.0.

We resume the movie.

Now, Ash is trapped in the cabin of inevitable ruin and little by little, he starts to be driven mad. A lot of cliché tricks that get me.every.time like the piano playing all by itself, the empty chair that rocks. I am scared all over again. But this time…it’s good. This time, I actually like Ash. And I like him even more as he gets possessed, then de-possessed, then the head of his girlfriend attacks him like a freaking piranha fish and won’t let go his hand. Then the HAND gets possessed and he is beating himself up all over the kitchen floor – holy guacamole he may not be the greatest actor ever, but there is great physical comedy here. This is supposed to be funny right? Because I am really enjoying it now.

Then he chops his own hand! Blood spurts all over ewwwwwwwwww. Ash is clearly going insane!

Then he is joined by a bunch of idiots, a trailer trash chick and her boyfriend, the professor’s daughter and her man. They learn that the professor’s wife is buried in the cellar – where they just locked Ash thinking he is bad. The woman in there is much creepier than the ones in the first movie and yet, still camp. One of the women decides that it’s safer alone outside in the dark and runs. Tree sex again!!!

Best Ash quote from this movie:

Lets get down to that cellar and carve ourselves a witch

There is the return of the Chainsaw which is put to good use this time. This is a vaste improvement over the first one. No doubt about that – it is less scary though. And less atmospheric. There are still loads of blood but this one is way cooler. And I begin to really like Ash.

In the end, Ash is sucked by a time warp and taken back to the 14th century. I have eaten more shit and am feeling sick to my stomach. I can’t eat anything anymore but I guess I can still find some room for more beer. The cliff-hanger takes us directly into the next movie. This time, we don’t even have to think. Bring it on.

Army of Darkness

It opens and Ash is a prisoner of a lord and is being taken to his castle. He starts to remember his life before going to the cabin – how he had a job and a girlfriend Linda OMG I have a moment of befuddlement – the girlfriend is Bridget Fonda? But she was not Bridget Fonda before! Was she? NO, she was NOT. Anyways, he has been captured as a member of the army of Henry the Red who presents himself

Duke Henry: You’re not one of my vassals… who are you?
Ash: Who wants to know?
Duke Henry: I am Henry the Red. Duke of Shale, Lord of the Northlands and leader of its peoples.
Ash: Well hello Mister Fancypants. Well, I’ve got news for you pal, you ain’t leadin’ but two things: Jack and shit… and Jack just left town.

I laugh hysterically at that.

I am really enjoying this one so far.

He is thrown into the pit of Destruction and fire of hell and puts quite a fight and wins the possessed witch inside! When he comes up again, he shots his gun and gives quite the speech:

Alright, you primitive screw-heads, listen up! See this? This… is my boomstick! – [continuing nonchalantly] – It’s a twelve-gauge, double-barreled Remington. S-Mart’s top of the line. You can find this in the sporting goods department. That’s right, this sweet baby was made in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Retails for about $109.95. It’s got a walnut stock, cobalt-blue steel, and a hair trigger. That’s right… shop smart. Shop S-Mart… You got that?!!

I email Thea as we watch the movie to tell her that somewhere between movies 1 and 3 Ash had built quite a body and has become a badass! She tells me it’s because he is pissed off. Well. Thank god.

(Side note: I am no gun expert but how many rounds will he have?)

So an old wise man , tells him he must go and find the Necronomicon bring it back so that they can vanquish the Army of Darkness and Ash can go back to his time. He goes and stops by a mill where several mini-Ash (yeah really) and then Evil Ash shows up and things are very farcical and ludicrous.

Ash: What are you? Are you me?
Evil Ash: What are do? Are you me? HAHAHAHAHAH! You sound like a jerk!
Ash: Why ya doin’ this, huh?
Evil Ash: Oh, you wanna know? ‘Cause the answer’s easy! I’m BAD Ash… and you’re GOOD Ash! You’re a goody little two-shoes! Little goody two-shoes! Little goody two-shoes!
[begins to sucker-punch Ash]
Evil Ash: Little goody TWO-SHOES! Little goody TWO-SHOES! HEHEHEHEHE!
[honk honk honk]
Evil Ash: LITTLE GOODY TWO-SHOES! HEHEHE
Ash: [cocks shotgun and points it under Evil Ash's nose]
Ash: [fires shotgun] I’m not THAT good.

Sure, I could have stayed in the past. I could have even been king. But in my own way, I am king. [grabs girl close] Hail to the king, baby. [Ash kisses the girl]

Title: Marvel Zombies

Author: Robert Kirkman, Sean Phillips

Genre: Graphic Novel, Horror

Stand alone or series: First Graphic novel in what is now a collection of 3 Marvel Zombie specials

Summary: (From amazon.com)
Torn from the pages of Ultimate Fantastic Four! On an Earth shockingly similar to the Marvel Universe’s, an alien virus has mutated all of the world’s greatest super heroes into flesh-eating monsters! It took them only hours to destroy life as we know it – but what happens when they run out of humans to eat?! Follow their search for more food, and witness the arrival of the Silver Surfer! Collects Marvel Zombies #1-5.

Why did I read the book: I had this book since Thea reviewed it a few months ago and the time has come to read it since it’s Halloween Week and all.

Review:

When Thea waswe were organizing Halloween Week, Bossypants Darling Thea gave me a list of essential movies and books I had to catch up with. From ghosts to demons, from werewolves to zombies, the freaking list was a complete nightmare of gigantic proportions to a coward like me who doesn’t do horror – specially NOT ghosts and zombies. And gore. And demonic possession. You get the drift.

So I said no way, Jose to some of the stuff in the dreadful list (Thea was delusional if she thought I was going to watch the Exorcist – HA!) but ended up caving saying yes sir to most of it. With one exception, every single item on the list represented a major challenge for me. This one exception, the one item I was actually looking forward to reading was Marvel Zombies. It has been sitting on my TBR pile since Thea’s awesome review a few months back and finally FINALLY I was able to pick it up.

I mean, it’s Marvel heroes….turned into zombies. What could be more ludicrous than that? Truth be said, I don’t have much experience with zombies, I avoid them like the plague and I think I only have watched ONE zombie flick so far and ONLY because it was a comedy with these guys:

Notable Quotes/ Parts: Just to show how crazy, warped this book is. Zombie Giant- Man keeps the uninfected Black Panther prisoner in his lab, keeping him alive as food source – unbeknownst to the other Zombies. He has been feeding from him little by little, first fingers, then hand, then his leg until Black Panther manages to escape with the help of Giant-Man’s wife’s AKA The Wasp, talking bodiless’ head. Yeah. Really. Cool.

Additional Thoughts: I found a recipe book at the Marvel’s website:

Galactus Pie

Ingredients
1 teaspoon shortening
1 pound ground Galactus thighs and biceps
1 pound diced Silver Surfer breast
1 pound green onions, chopped
1 pod garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon flour

Melt shortening in heavy pot. Add Galactus and Surfer meat. Cook until pink is gone (Surfer meat may take longer, melt off shiny cosmic shell). Add vegetables and season for taste (season well, as meat will lose seasoning during frying). When meat is done and vegetables glazed, remove from heat and preserve excess liquid. Stir in 1 tablespoon flour.

Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening. Beat egg and add to milk. Mix gradually into dry ingredients until proper consistency. Break into small pieces and roll.

Cook in fat until golden brown. Drain and serve hot.

(Warning! Cosmic powers may develop after consumption)

Verdict: Cool and funny, with a way-out-there premise that is both gutsy and creative.

Rating: 7. Very good.

Reading Next: It by Stephen King.

As I believe I have mentioned before, I am a zombie enthusiast. Really. Peruse my dvd collection, and this quickly becomes apparent. On the regular, I have zombie dreams. I even have a mock-zombie escape route from work and my apartment, should the apocalypse ever strike. (No I don’t really believe in an impending zombie apocalypse…but it can’t hurt to be prepared, right?)

So, needless to say, I’m a big fan. In honor of our ZOMBIES ATTACK! day for Halloween Week, I present you with my essentials list of zombie literature and movies!

BOOKS:

The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

Max Brooks, son of legendary Mel Brooks, writes this hilarious, and shockingly comprehensive guidebook. The reason why this book works is because it takes its subject material dead serious–planning for every conceivable location of an attack, the best weapons to use, the best vehicles to procure, etc. For example, he discusses the merits of a flame thrower versus a revolver, and those of a motorcycle versus a hummer. Should there ever be a zombie apocalypse, I’ll be thanking Max Brooks for this book! Really, it’s just a good, fun read. Highly recommended!

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

Following up on the success of The Zombie Survival Guide, Max Brooks tries his hand at fiction with World War Z. Instead of a formal novel, this book collects fictional memoirs of survivors of the zombie apocalypse. Not only is Mr. Brooks a master at characterizations of the different survivors and capturing a different ‘voice’ for each of them, but he also manages to weave an incredibly smart social commentary with each story–criticizing the ineptitude of government response (in the aftermath of Katrina this critique holds even stronger sway), and the failings of humans in terms of ethnic, political, religious and socio-economic discrimination. While on the surface it is an engaging zombie novel, Max Brooks does for the literary genre what George Romero did decades earlier with his classic films–using the zombie as a means of commentary, to convey the failings of society.

The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman

Robert Kirkman’s serious, well developed series follows a group of human survivors in the throws of a zombie apocalypse. The monthlies have been in publication since 2003, and are still going strong (although I don’t think the recent issues can compare to the superb first few arcs). Drawing heavily from George A. Romero’s films, Mr. Kirkman tells a compelling tale about a true apocalypse–it’s the end of the world, and this is some serious stuff with real gravity. With each issue we learn a little more about the characters, and they become more–forgive the pun–fleshed out. Definitely essential reading material for any fan of comics, apocalyptic tales, and (of course) zombies.

Marvel Zombies/Marvel Zombies 2/Marvel Zombies 3 written by Robert Kirkman (1&2) and Fred Van Lente (3)

Speaking of Robert Kirkman, The Marvel Zombies collections are ridiculously good fun. The first arc, opening with Magneto on the run from a swarm of ravenous, undead Marvel superheroes completely took me by surprise–and I loved every disgusting, hilarious minute of it. The second arc is still great fun, if somewhat predictable and repetitive. The third arc, however, is pretty damn cool–these issues just came out this month. And a brief word about the artwork–it is, simply put, stunning. I love the zombified imaginings of our favorite Marvel characters, especially with the collection of covers! Each issue of the first two storyarcs is a play on classic comic book covers, and the third arc instead is a play on classic horror movie posters! Really, brilliance, I say! (Later today Ana will review Marvel Zombies 1, so stay tuned.)

Marvel Zombies: Dead Days by Arthur Suydam/Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness by John Layman and Robert Kirkman

Just because I love Ash so. No, seriously, the one shot and crossover tie in really nicely with the Marvel Zombies collections listed previously. With these two prequels, we learn how the plague was initially spread. Plus…it’s Army of Darkness. With superhero zombies. It doesn’t get any better than that!

The Living Dead anthology with Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Dan Simmons, George R.R. Martin, Joe Hill, and others

Confession: I was planning on having a review for this anthology for today, but I have not been able to finish it (it’s approximately 500 pages long–I swear I’m not lazy!). What I have read, I have loved. Really–just look at the author list! This anthology is incredibly well rounded, and I am loving each story in here. The editor, John Joseph Adams, does a fantastic job–one of the finest anthologies I have ever had the pleasure of reading (and I’m not even finished with it yet!).

Cell by Stephen King

You knew I’d have to have at least ONE King novel on this list, didncha? Cell takes a morbid look at our dependence on cellular phones and creates a zombie apocalypse-type story. One afternoon, a signal is sent out, and everyone on a cellular phone goes completely balls insane–we’re talking unspeakable, irrational violence. The survivors try to escape the mayhem, but soon the ‘infected’ start displaying even more bizarre behavior. A father tries desperately to save his son, against all odds. I actually wasn’t expecting to like this novel as much as I did–and I wholeheartedly recommend it to any King fans, or any zombie fans (A while back I read Brian Keene’s The Rising which is a pale, pale version of this novel–so any disappointed zombie fans can take solace in Cell)

The Walking by Bentley Little

Bentley Little is one hell of an author. His brand of horror ranges from the slyly humorous to genuinely haunting–The Walking is one of the latter. The story follows Miles, a private detective who gets a new case–and he discovers that the dead have reanimated and begun walking (even when restrained, they continue to walk) westward, to the Arizona desert. This is a very smart zombie novel, and definitely recommended for fans of Stephen King, and of a well-written horror novel in general.

MOVIES:

Night of the Living Dead/Dawn of the Dead/Day of the Dead/Land of the Dead (Diary of the Dead…even if it is sucky)

No zombie–or horror, or even influential films–list would be complete without George Romero and his legacy. Beginning with Night of the Living Dead, when a Venus space probe explodes in the Earth’s atmosphere, the dead re-animate and take to feasting on human flesh, attacking a group isolated in a Pennsylvania farmhouse. Dawn of the Dead revisits the zombie apocalypse, with completely new characters isolated in a shopping mall, while legions of the undead attack. Day of the Dead shifts the location to a subterranean military bunker, whose inhabitants research the zombie physiology, fear they are the only remaining survivors on Earth, and focuses on the human threats in the group over the external zombie threats. Land of the Dead, Romero’s 2005 release, focuses on a fortressed city, ruled by an oh so appropriate devil-in-a-blue-suit Dennis Hopper. Part a critique on socio-economic divides, part a possible criticism of the Iraq War, it’s also just cool to see Romero with high budget, hi-tech zombies at his disposal.

All of Romero’s work uses zombies as a means to examine, satirize and critique humanity–and no one does it better.

**Note–There was also the release of Diary of the Dead this past year–mostly unnoticed, hitting few theaters nationwide. Diary follows a group of film students, and is told through their footage (as seems to be the rage what with Cloverfield and Quarantine, etc). The film’s dialogue is kitschy, the students are narcissistic idiots, blithely refusing to accept the ‘official story’–and accepting this film at face value, it is a huge disappointment. I’ll admit it. BUT, since it is Romero, I don’t know if this all wasn’t completely intentional as a critique of our sort of You-Tube, look-at-me generation. Anyone else seen the film and care to comment? Huge disappointment? Or is Romero once again biting his thumb at us?**

Zombi (aka Zombi2)

Lucio Fulci’s definitive zombie film. Zombie apocalypse strikes New York by means of a seemingly abandoned boat–some crazy research has been happening on an isolated tropical island, and the zombies have escaped to quench their unquenchable hunger. This is an incredibly gory movie, in all the best ways. Plus…three words: Zombie Shark Battle. That’s right.

*Note–if you’re wondering about the title, Zombi and Zombi2 are the same movie. Fulci changed the name to Zombi2 since the film was released in the same year as Romero’s Dawn of the Dead–whose title translated internationally as Zombi.

The Serpent and the Rainbow

Based on ethnobotanist & anthropologist Wade Davis’ doctoral dissertation (yes, his REAL dissertation), The Serpent and the Rainbow takes zombies back to their roots in Haitian voodoo. A Harvard researcher travels to Haiti at the behest of a pharmaceutical company that wants him to investigate the properties of a local drug used in voodoo practices, as it is hoped to be an alternative to anesthesia. Although this film doesn’t get much love from horror fans or critics, it’s one of my favorite Wes Craven titles. The acting is superb (Bill Pullman stars), the tone is serious and dramatic, and the cinematography is pretty cool. There’s a lot of time spent on Haitian and voodoo rituals, which is very interesting. Plus, it’s just so different from most other zombie films, especially for a director like Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Hills Have Eyes, Scream). Highly recommended.

Night of the Comet

Campy, campy, campy! Deliciously so. A comet passes over earth, and anyone not in a steel encased structure at the time of the comet’s passing turns into red dust. Anyone that was only partially shielded (inside a concrete house, for example) well, they turn into zombies (though these zombies transform gradually, and are still capable of speech and normal thought functions). Two valley gal sisters find themselves seemingly the only survivors in Los Angeles, but they aren’t defenseless, thanks to their military dad’s training them how to shoot with uzis and the like. The girls hook up with Hector Gomez, and then discover the nefarious deeds of a US government agency. YES this movie is ridiculous–but it’s wonderful in its admitted camp fun. I actually saw this rerun on sci fi a few months back–though it’s available on DVD now, so totally worth the netflix rental.

Virus (aka Night of the Zombies, aka Hell of the Living Dead, aka Zombie Creeping Flesh, etc)

A group of commandos go into Papua New Guinea to investigate a radioactive chemical leak. What they discover is a population of zombies. This is by all accounts a terrible movie. The camera is awful, the script is awful, the soundtrack is really cool but totally ripped off. There is a lot of stock footage in here–random shots of animals running around, WTF?!–but…for all that, it’s so much fun. You know, in a sort of Plan 9 or Manos: The Hands of Fate, MST3K kind of way. It’s the kind of movie you watch to get in a few laughs as well as some decent zombie attacks, or have it projecting on the wall at a party or something. Personally, I likey.

*Note: apparently this is one of the most “alternatively titled” films of all time, according to wikipedia. Now that’s an honor! Heh.*

28 Days Later/28 Weeks Later (I think DAYS sucks though)

All cards on the table–I didn’t really like 28 Days Later. I felt it was a ripoff of Day of the Dead, and besides boasting a cool soundtrack and some interesting grainy cinematography, there really wasn’t much to this film (and it irks me to no end that it is constantly heralded as something OMG GREAT AND ORIGINAL. Because really…it’s not). For a “zombie” (I use quotations as they aren’t really zombies) movie that takes itself seriously as a horror film, the premise is pretty lame–monkeys, infected with RAGE (not a drug, but actual rage, having to sit and watch footage of human bruatlity in a lab) are responsible for the outbreak. Blah blah blah, the military is bad and intent on raping girls for fun, yadda yadda yadda.

Still, 28 Days brought us the oxymoronic ‘fast zombie’, and is an important film in the zombie cannon. Any fan worth their salt has to at least watch this film.

Surprisingly…I love 28 Weeks Later! All of the pretentiousness of the first film is done away with in this sequel, and the change in director brings a brutal hopelessness to the film (while still keeping the same cinematography and cool score). Yes, there are a ton of plotholes with this film, but those aren’t as important–this is a more visceral, emotional film, and really worth not just watching, but owning. You don’t need to watch the first film to see this one–I’d definitely recommend Weeks over Days.

Resident Evil/Resident Evil 3 (RE2 never happened)

Based on the video games, the Resident Evil films are blood-splatteringly good fun. Don’t look for any deep meanings or metaphor here–but if you’re in the mood for a kick-ass, highly stylized zombie flick, these are for you. Plus, Mila is made of awesome. (I didn’t include RE2 because…well, frankly it’s BORING! And just…terrible. Just, no. NO.)

Horror Classics Vol. 1: White Zombie

Commonly cited as the first zombie movie ever made, White Zombie stars the legendary Bela Lugosi as a voodoo master who controls his mindless zombies with his evil magic. A jealous man, refused by the object of his affection, turns to Bela Lugosi to turn his would be lover into a zombie to trick her fiance into thinking she’s dead, and then too win her love. This film is very…strange. Not really as ‘classic’ as Lugosi’s other films, but still a wonderful surreal movie, and a must for the mere fact that it is the first zombie film.

Fido

This little gem is hilarious. In an alternate world, the zombie apocalypse has occured and been beaten down, though the world has resultingly resorted to a 1950s Leave it to Beaver type of society. The cause of zombies here is radiation, that causes any deceased (as soon as they die) to reanimate as zombies–so every citizen must be closely monitored. What’s even better is that well-to-do families can afford to hve zombies as pets (domesticated by way of their brain controlling collars). This is really a story of a boy and his “dog”, except his dog Fido is really a zombie. I love this movie–it’s hilarious and completely fresh. It also stars Carrie Ann Moss (aka Trinity) in the lead role, which is always a plus.

Grindhouse Presents: Planet Terror

Oh, The Grindhouse! This film, along with Tarantino’s Death Proof, is so much fun–and it was a steal in the theater with the two films for the price of one. A deadly government gas leaks, turning people into bloodthirsty zombie-like creatures (although some folks are immune to the effects of the gas). Cherry Darling, aspiring stand up comedian who go-go dances by day, is played by the gorgeous Rose McGowan. This movie is a treat–hilarious, disgusting, thrilling, and sexy. A throwback, it’s exploitational and only in the best ways. Love it. If you haven’t seen it yet, you really need to get on board (and get Death Proof while your at it!)

Shaun of the Dead, Return of the Living Dead, Dead Alive, Re-Animator

Since I’ve already written about these films, I’ll just give them another quick mention here. Essential.

The Remakes: Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead

These are both solid remakes–but only to watch after you’ve seen the originals. I’m a stickler about these things. The Night of the Living Dead remake has one huge script change that is all fine and good, but only if you’ve seen the original ending. Dawn of the Dead is loyal in themes and spirit, but introduces fast zombies. Still, I own both remakes, and they are great fun updates.

PHEW!!!! SO there you have it. Thea’s list of essentials. Later on, for zombie appreciation week, we’ll go more in depth with lesser known films, books, video games, etc–but for now, this will have to do.

Any other zombie favorites? Want to make a case for or against any of the works on the list? Let us know!