- Zombieland [Buy]
- Dawn of the Dead (2004) [Buy]
- 28 Weeks Later [Buy]
- Return of the Living Dead Part II [Buy]
- Dawn of the Dead [Buy]
- Night of the Living Dead [Buy]
- 28 Days Later [Buy]
- Day of the Dead [Buy]
- Return of the Living Dead [Buy]
- Night of the Living Dead (1990) [Buy]
Although I would never argue that Romero‘s original classic isn’t the most important zombie movie ever made (especially as far as our modern-day boilerplate for zombie behavior and rules “you’ve got to get them in the head” is concerned), a movie that if never existed we probably never would have had dozens of the great zombie or Romero-zombie-inspired movies, TV shows like The Walking Dead, video games like The Last of Us etc. that followed, I still like the remake a lot more.
The main reason is that I enjoy the new direction the remake took with the character Barbara (played by Patricia Tallman), immensely. If you watch them both back-to-back, the original and then the remake, I think most will appreciate how much smarter, stronger, and faster the female lead is.
The original Barbara is so weak, slow, and dopey that it feels like you’re in a bad nightmare where you can’t move or hit. In fact, the original Barbara is so slow and sluggish compared to the remake Barbara that I actually find it cringe-worthy at times (though arguably, that paralyzed-in-fear feeling may have been intentionally given to the viewer).
In a lot of ways, the two movies compliment one another. There are a lot of great homages in the remake and a surrealistic feel almost of time travel, “If I could go back and do it better or differently.”
Both of them have that wonderful trademark Romero atmospheric feeling of dread, melancholy, and impending doom. The remake is a bit more fun in its pacing and is directed by makeup-effects legend Tom Savini, with cast and cameos sprinkled with horror regulars, Tony Todd, William Butler, Bill Moseley, horror host Bill ‘Chilly Billy’ Cardille, and perhaps a few others I missed.
All in all, for whatever other reasons, this will likely be my most favorite zombie movie of all time until I, myself, am dead. 
Footnotes
- Honorable mentions go to: White Zombie (Buy), Dead Alive (Buy), Cemetery Man (Buy), and Shaun of the Dead (Buy).
- Honorable mentions of movies that have great zombie villains or zombie moments, etc., but that aren’t exactly zombie movies as a whole, go to: Night of the Creeps (Buy), Waxwork (Buy), Cabin in the Woods (Buy), House (Buy), Jason Lives (Buy), and the Evil Dead Trilogy (Buy).
- While I love the Resident Evil video games, I’ve always thought the movie adaptations weren’t very enjoyable.
- Also, while I did see (and like) World War Z, it doesn’t fit into my top 10 or even as an honorable mention, but I thought I better mention it anyway.
- As with all “best of” lists, this list is of course purely subjective. If I didn’t mention your favorite zombie movie, you don’t like the particular ordering of the list, or simply don’t like the list for any reason, neither of us are right or wrong, so instead of commencing with the typical comments to that effect, why not try your own hand at creating a list?
What’s your favorite zombie movie?
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