Zombie Movie Gallery: 1932-2013

Ever since WHITE ZOMBIE (1932) introduced movie audiences to the classic image of the zombie (a mindless revived corpse, directed by a Voodoo houngan [priest]), the restless dead have been shambling across the silver screen in various shapes and sizes, eventually throwing off the shackles of their masters and developing strange new appetites (first for human flesh, then for brains). Here is a representative sample.
WHITE ZOMBIE: Murder Legendre (Bela Lugosi, left) directs his mindless minions.
WHITE ZOMBIE (1932): Murder Legendre (Bela Lugosi, left) directs his mindless minions. The corpses have no will of their own; the film’s true monster is their master.
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Revolt of the Zombies (1936) posits the idea of an unstoppable undead army in WWI.
REVOLT OF THE ZOMBIES (1936): This week follow-up to WHITE ZOMBIE posits the idea of an unstoppable undead army in WWI – offering the first suggestion of zombies as a worldwide threat.
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The Ghost Breakers (1940): This is probably the first zombie film to mix horror and comedy. Although the zombie (Noble Johnson) is revealed to be a fake planted to scare away Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard, his scenes are played for scares more than laughs.
THE GHOST BREAKERS (1940): This is probably the first zombie film to mix horror and comedy. Although the zombie (Noble Johnson) is revealed to be a fake planted to scare away Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard, his scenes are played for scares more than laughs.
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King of the Zombies (1941): Comic actor Mantan Moreland gets some laughs from his reaction to WWII era zombies, under the direction of a Nazi scientist.
KING OF THE ZOMBIES (1941): Comic actor Mantan Moreland gets some laughs from his reaction to traditional-looking zombies, who turn out to be under the direction of a Nazi scientist.
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I Walked with a Zombie (1943): Darby Jones as the zombie Carrefour, in the classic produced by Val Lewton
I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943): Darby Jones as the zombie Carrefour, in the classic produced by Val Lewton. The Voodoo element is strongly represented here. Directed by Jacques Tourneur, this is probably the greatest film every made using the traditional zombie theme.
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Zombies of Mora Tau (1957): This low-budget effort is memorably only for the novel concept of water-logged zombies guarding a sunken treasure.
ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU (1957): This low-budget effort is memorably only for the novel concept of water-logged zombies guarding a sunken treasure.
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Night of the Living Dead (1968): Though the word "zombie" is never mentioned, George A. Romero's film changed the genre forever, reinventing the walking dead as cannibal corpses, driven by instinct to consume the living.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968): Though the word “zombie” is never mentioned, George A. Romero’s film changed the genre forever, reinventing the walking dead as cannibal corpses, driven by instinct to consume the living. Romero wrote but did not direct the 1990 color remake – a worthwhile film, but not classic.
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Tombs of the Blind Dead (1971): Amando de Ossorio's film introduced the zombie-like Knights Templar, who would return in three sequels. Despite their desiccated appearance, the Templars were more of an undead cult than mindless corpses.
TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD (1971): Amando de Ossorio’s film introduced the zombie-like Knights Templar, who would return in three sequels. Despite their desiccated appearance, the Templars were more of an undead cult than mindless corpses.
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Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (a.k.a., The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue, 1974): This Spanish film, obviously inspired by NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, is the first to show zombie cannibal carnage in color.
LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE (a.k.a., THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE, 1974): This Spanish film, obviously inspired by NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, is the first to show zombie cannibal carnage in color.
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Dawn of the Dead (1978): George A. Romero's sequel to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD offers cinema's first vision of the zombie apocalypse, which plays out in the microcosm of a shopping mall.
DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978): George A. Romero’s sequel to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD offers cinema’s first vision of the zombie apocalypse, which plays out in the microcosm of a shopping mall. Tom Savini’s graphic makeup effects, including exploding heads and disemboweled intestines, set the standard for all zombie films to follow.
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Zombie (a.k.a., Zombie 2, 1979): Directed by Lucio Fulci, this Italian film the graphic splatter approach of DAWN OF THE DEAD with the zombies' more traditional roots in Voodoo. The result launched an army of Italian zombie gorefests.
ZOMBIE (a.k.a., ZOMBIE 2, 1979): Directed by Lucio Fulci, this Italian film combines the graphic splatter approach of DAWN OF THE DEAD with the zombies’ more traditional roots in Voodoo. The result, presented as an ersatz sequel to DAWN OF THE DEAD (which was released as ZOMBIE in Europe) launched an army of Italian zombie gorefests.
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The Beyond (1981): Director Lucio Fulci offers two kinds of living dead: corporeal walking corpses and a more magical variety, able to appear and disappear at will
THE BEYOND (1981): Director Lucio Fulci offers two kinds of living dead: corporeal walking corpses and a more magical variety, able to appear and disappear at will.
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The Evil Dead (1981): Sam Raimi's sleeper hit features human bodies possessed and sometimes resurrected by evil spirits. The grim, low-budget intensity echoes THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.
THE EVIL DEAD (1981): Sam Raimi’s sleeper hit features human bodies possessed and sometimes resurrected by evil spirits. The grim, low-budget intensity echoes THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. The 2013 remake emphasized the possession angle, so that there were few if any walking corpses on screen.
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Return of the Living Dead (1985): Dan O'Bannon's black-comedy pseudo-sequel to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD re-imagines zombies as unkillable brain-eaters.
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985): Dan O’Bannon’s black-comedy pseudo-sequel to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD re-imagines zombies as unkillable brain-eaters.
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Re-Animator (1985): Stuart Gordon's unrated gore film offered a more energetic species of living dead, resurrected by Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs)' formula.
RE-ANIMATOR (1985): Stuart Gordon’s unrated gore film offered a more energetic species of living dead, resurrected by Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs)’ formula.
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Diary of the Dead (1985): Romero's third living dead film presents us with the world's first "domesticated" zombie, Bub (Sherman Howard), capable of some primitive human thought.
DAY OF THE DEAD (1985): Romero’s third living dead film presents us with the world’s first “domesticated” zombie, Bub (Sherman Howard), capable of some primitive human thought. Romero would continue to explore the zombie apocalypse in LAND OF THE DEAD, DIARY OF THE DEAD, and SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD.
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Evil Dead 2 (1987): Sam Raimi's sequel to THE EVIL DEAD (1981) pushes the unrated gore to comic levels.
EVIL DEAD 2 (1987): Sam Raimi’s sequel to THE EVIL DEAD (1981) pushes the unrated gore to comic levels.
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The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988): Wes Craven's film, based on a non-fiction book, returned zombies to their West Indies roots, suggesting a realistic explanation: drugs to induce mindless catatonia.
THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW (1988): Wes Craven’s film, based on a non-fiction book, returned zombies to their West Indies roots, suggesting a realistic explanation: drugs to induce mindless catatonia.
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Braindead (a.k.a. "Dead Alive," 1992): A pre-Tolkein Peter Jackson tries to outdo Sam Raimi in the gleeful gore department, and almost succeeds.
BRAINDEAD (a.k.a. “Dead Alive,” 1992): A pre-Tolkein Peter Jackson tries to outdo Sam Raimi in the gleeful gore department, and almost succeeds.
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Resident Evil (2002): based on the popular game, writer-director Paul W. S. Anderson's film offered a videogame version of zombie violence.
RESIDENT EVIL (2002): based on the popular vidoegame, writer-director Paul W. S. Anderson’s film offered an amped-up version of zombie violence. Several sequels followed, the best being RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION (2012)
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28 Days Later (2002): Instead of traditional zombies, director Danny Boyle's film featured living people infected by a virus that drives them to mindless homicidal rage.
28 DAYS LATER (2002): Instead of traditional zombies, director Danny Boyle’s film featured living people infected by a virus that drives them to mindless homicidal rage – an idea used by George A. Romero way back in THE CRAZIES (1973). The sequel 28 WEEKS LATER expands upon and surpasses the original.
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Dawn of the Dead (2004): This remake of Romero's classic substitutes speedy zombies in place of the familiar shambling walkers. It's entertaining in a slick professional way, with some good characterization, but it lacks the social satire of the original.
DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004): This remake of Romero’s classic substitutes speedy zombies in place of the familiar shambling walkers. It’s entertaining in a slick professional way, with some good characterization, but it lacks the social satire of the original.
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Shaun of the Dead (2004): Riffing off Romero's films, this comedy combines the zombie apocalypse with a love story; the end offers another glimpse of a domesticated zombie.
SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004): Riffing off Romero’s films, this comedy combines the zombie apocalypse with a love story; the end offers another glimpse of a domesticated zombie.
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Fido (2006): Billy Connolly plays a literally domesticated zombie, serving a human household as combination butler-pet.
FIDO (2006): Billy Connolly plays a literally domesticated zombie, serving a human household as combination butler-pet.
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[rec[ (2007): This Spanish film filtered zombies through the lens of a hand-held shaky-cam, in the style of "found footage" films. The explanation for the zombies is a combination of virus and supernatural, an idea explored in the first of two sequels. There was also an American remake, QUARANTINE.
[REC] [ (2007): This Spanish film filtered zombies through the lens of a hand-held shaky-cam, in the style of “found footage” films. The explanation for the zombies is a combination of virus and supernatural evil, an idea explored in the first of two sequels. There was also an American remake, QUARANTINE.
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I Am Legend (2007): Are they vampires or zombies? It's not clear, but thanks to the star power of Will Smith, this adaptation of Richard Matheson's novel reached a wider audience than any zombie movie before.
I AM LEGEND (2007): Are they vampires or zombies? It’s not clear, but thanks to the star power of Will Smith, this adaptation of Richard Matheson’s novel reached a wider audience than any zombie movie before.
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Dead Snow (2009): Nazis-had been done before but never better than in this somewhat comic horror film from Norway
DEAD SNOW (2009): Nazis-had been done before but never better than in this somewhat comic horror film from Norway
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Zombieland (2009): This comedy took the concept of zombies as living humans infected by a virus, and turned it into blockbuster success at the box office.
ZOMBIELAND (2009): This took the 28 DAYS LATER concept of zombies as virus-infected-humans, and mainstreamed it for the masses with a comedic approach, achieving blockbuster success.
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The Crazies (2010): This remake of George A. Romero's 1973 film offers another version of viral zombies - not the living dead, but infected humans.
THE CRAZIES (2010): This remake of George A. Romero’s 1973 film offers another version of viral zombies – not the living dead, but infected humans.
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The Walking Dead (2010-2013): This AMC series, based on Robert Kirkman's graphic novel, hews close to the zombie concept laid down by Romero but appealed to non-genre fans with its characterization and story-telling
THE WALKING DEAD (2010-2013): This AMC series, based on Robert Kirkman’s graphic novel, hews close to the zombie concept laid down by Romero but appealed to non-genre fans with its characterization and story-telling. The graphic make up and effects are courtesy of Greg Nicotero, who had assisted Tom Savini on DAY OF THE DEAD.
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Warm Bodies (2013): This comedy-romance gives us zombies with a heart as "R" (Nicholas Hoult) finds his human emotions revived when he falls in love with Julie (Teresa Palmer)
WARM BODIES (2013): This comedy-romance gives us zombies with a heart as “R” (Nicholas Hoult) finds his human emotions revived when he falls in love with Julie (Teresa Palmer).
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World War Z (2004): This big-budget blockbuster played out the zombie apocalypse on a bigger scale than ever before.
WORLD WAR Z (2013): This big-budget blockbuster played out the zombie apocalypse on a bigger scale than ever before.
[serialposts]

WARM BODIES: CFQ Spotlight Podcast 4:05

I Wanna Know, Did You Ever Eat the Braaaaaaains?: Zombie Nicholas Hoult (left), and humans Teresa Palmer (center) and Analeigh Tipton risk all to save humanity in WARM BODIES.
I Wanna Know, Did You Ever Eat the Braaaaaaains?: Zombie Nicholas Hoult (left), and humans Teresa Palmer (center) and Analeigh Tipton risk all to save humanity in WARM BODIES.

In the zombie apocalypse, you take what you can get, whether that’s scrounging for medicine in an abandoned pharmacy, sitting down to dinner with a can of year-old Spam (uh, could we reconsider getting bitten again?), or pinning the last hope for the world on the slim possibility that a chance meeting between a human girl (Teresa Palmer) and a zombie boy (Nicholas Hoult) might reignite a spark of humanity that will make those who are walking just a little less dead. WARM BODIES takes a good deal of its commercial instincts from THE TWILIGHT SAGA, but director Jonathan Levine instills the narrative with credible drama and lots of effective humor to make this a dark romantic fantasy suited for more than just the teen audience. Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski and Dan Persons take a look at the film, and discuss how Levine took a project that could have gone wrong in so many ways, and managed to avoid the pitfalls.
Also: Dan previews the debut this Friday of our brand-new show, THE CFQ INTERVIEW, featuring STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE’s Armin Shimerman; plus what’s coming to theaters next week, which is nothing, but we touch that base anyway.

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Warm Bodies: First 4 Minutes & Other Clips

WARM BODIES – the zombie-romance-comedy – opens on February 1, but you do not have to wait until then to see the first four minutes of the film; just click on the embedded video, and watch it now! After that, check out the video playlist of other clips from the film: “Lab Attack,” “What Are You?,” “R and Julie on the Tarmac,” and “M saves R and Julie.” Also included is the theatrical trailer; interview clips will be added soon.
In case you are wondering what the initials “M” and “R” are about: the story features a zombie who cannot remember his name but seems to recall that his first initial was “R.” His best friend is “M.” The plot kicks into gear when R meets Julia, and his undead heart starts to flutter with something like…love.

Warm Bodies in theatres February 1

Summit Entertainment releases this zombie-romance based on the novel by Issac Marion. Jonathan Levine (ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE) wrote and directed. The story follows a zombie (Nicholas Hoult) who remembers only his first initial, “R,” but finds his humanity returning when he falls in love with a living woman named Julie (Teresa Palmer). The star-crossed lovers storyline is complicated by the fact that Julie’s father (John Malkovich) is a general determined to wipe out the zombie threat. Dave Franco, Analeigh Tipton, and Rob Corddry round out the cast.
The plot line sounds like a deliberate attempt to emulate the supernatural romance formula of the TWILIGHT franchise – not the most auspicious ambition. Fortunately, the first theatrical trailer actually looks like a lot of fun.
US. Theatrical Release: February 1, 2013.
Warm Bodies Dead Sexy poster

Warm Bodies poster and images

Warm Bodies vertical posterSummit Entertainment seems determined to keep that their patented supernatural-romance box office formula going even after the demise of THE TWILIGHT SAGA. Just check out these images from WARM BODIES, the adaptation of Isaac Marion’s novel, about a zombie whose dawning self-awareness leads to a relationship with a living woman, which in turn leads to a conflict with his zombie brethren (think of it as a “Walking Dead” version of Romeo and Juliet).
Jonathan Levine (ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE) wrote and directed the film adaptation. Nicholas Hoult stars as the anonymous amnesiac zombie hearthrob, who remembers only his first initial, R; Teresa Palmer plays Julie, the woman with whom he becomes enamored. John Malkovich co-stars as General Grigio.
WARM BODIES is scheduled to open on February 1, 2013.
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