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March 29, 2024, 07:01:36 AM

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Zombies

Started by bgmnts, March 04, 2020, 01:42:34 AM

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bgmnts

Night of the Living Dead - the daddy of zombie flicks. Pretty tame by today's standards but still has some unsettling moments, such as the mother being killed and eaten by her little girl and the ending, however you plan to interpret it.

Dawn of the Dead (1978) - social commentary zombies. The most fun of the Romero films and a little bit of a wish fulfilment aspect to it. It' possibly too silly at times, mostly when the biker gang enters the film and it goes tits up. It is an absolute classic though and possibly defines the genre.

Day of the Dead - Savini's magnificent octopus. Utterly horrible, from the enclosed underground setting to the characters all being at each others' throats makes it an incredibly tense watch. But its mainly amazing for the effects, some of it still makes me want to be sick, and for that it deserves my respect. Finally, Captain Rhodes is a fantastic disney villain with a fitting death. "Choke on 'em".

Return of the Living Dead - braaaains. Came out the same year as Day of the Dead but I think possibly updated the genre a bit and did some new things with it. The whole cliche of zombies wanting to eat brains has become a pop culture staple and originates from this so there's that. I find the idea that the zombies are in constant pain and that they need brains to stop the pains quite interesting and it adds a different layer to it.

Dawn of the Dead (2004) - zombie baby. Intense, really intense. Took the classic film and totally reinvented it, much faster and probably a bit more shallow than its namesake. But for all its poorly written characters (with the exception of CJ maybe) and nonsense it doesn't let up and is really exciting. The introduction scene and opening credits used to shit me up royally as a kid and I think the depiction of beginning of a zombie apocalypse is the most complete in this.

Shaun of the Dead - slice of fried gold. Edgar Wright's best film in my opinion, really funny and very well done. With the numerous nods to the famous names and tropes of the genre (Foree Electric etc) you can tell they love zombie films. The only time I've ever heard 'cunt' in a 15 rated film.

These are just some of my favourites and of course there are so many that I didn't put because I wanted to see what other people like and why and also I do not know if they are eligible, 28 Days Later for example.

What are your favourite Zombie movies?

Mister Six

One Cut of the Dead is probably one of my favourite films of all time. Best experienced absolutely cold though. Really, don't read a thing about it. Just go in blind and enjoy it.

Land of the Dead isn't a great film really, but I love that world, and it plays out like a pilot for a TV show I'd love to watch. And I hated The Walking Dead. There's such a great blend of cartoon campiness and big (for a zombie film) ideas. It's a lot of fun.

28 Days Later and that do count, I think. Fast zombies - sorry, "Infected" - are still zombies.

kidsick5000

Quote from: Mister Six on March 04, 2020, 02:27:16 AM
One Cut of the Dead is probably one of my favourite films of all time. Best experienced absolutely cold though. Really, don't read a thing about it. Just go in blind and enjoy it.

Very very this. Utterly wonderful. It will seem odd at first but bear with it. You'll appreciate it all the more

BeardFaceMan

Quote from: Mister Six on March 04, 2020, 02:27:16 AM
28 Days Later and that do count, I think. Fast zombies - sorry, "Infected" - are still zombies.

Fast zombies count (although they are shit), the infected from 28 Days Later don't count because they're just that, infected, they're not dead.

AsparagusTrevor

Quote from: Mister Six on March 04, 2020, 02:27:16 AM
Land of the Dead isn't a great film really, but I love that world, and it plays out like a pilot for a TV show I'd love to watch. And I hated The Walking Dead. There's such a great blend of cartoon campiness and big (for a zombie film) ideas. It's a lot of fun.

I've got a soft spot for that film too, the atmosphere is great and there's some great gore (but unfortunately some pants CGI gore). Romero's next two, Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead, can get to fuck though. I don't even remember much about Survival except people arguing about a horse for what seemed like an hour.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: bgmnts on March 04, 2020, 01:42:34 AM
Dawn of the Dead (1978) - social commentary zombies. The most fun of the Romero films and a little bit of a wish fulfilment aspect to it. It' possibly too silly at times, mostly when the biker gang enters the film and it goes tits up. It is an absolute classic though and possibly defines the genre.
Contrarian hot take: I think it's hugely overrated. The social commentary is as deep as a puddle. The zombies look like they're made of window putty. The music is just godawful. Day of the Dead is superior in every respect.

Bazooka

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on March 04, 2020, 12:02:49 PM
Contrarian hot take: I think it's hugely overrated. The social commentary is as deep as a puddle. The zombies look like they're made of window putty. The music is just godawful. Day of the Dead is superior in every respect.

Claude sent me a pm saying he deeply regrets talking nonsense as seen above,he requests you ban him please Barry, he's just too ashamed.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth


phantom_power

Dawn of the Dead is one of the only horror films to truly scare me. The sense of dread and overwhelming hopelessness  as well as how well they get across turning into a zombie and losing your humanity stayed with me for a long time and still gives me the chills.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: Mister Six on March 04, 2020, 02:27:16 AM
Fast zombies - sorry, "Infected" - are still zombies.

Quote from: BeardFaceMan on March 04, 2020, 10:57:39 AM
Fast zombies count (although they are shit)

Nightmare City - fast zombies with weapons.  Also notable for having such a low budget - even for an 80s Italian zombie film - that most of the zombie makeup was done with cornflakes.  As in the breakfast cereal.

bgmnts

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on March 04, 2020, 12:02:49 PM
Contrarian hot take: I think it's hugely overrated. The social commentary is as deep as a puddle. The zombies look like they're made of window putty. The music is just godawful. Day of the Dead is superior in every respect.

Well it is very low budget so it does look naff yeah. Doesnt that give it a bit of charm though?

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Not in the slightest. They should re-edit it with all CGI over the original effects.

madhair60

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on March 04, 2020, 12:02:49 PM
Contrarian hot take: I think it's hugely overrated. The social commentary is as deep as a puddle. The zombies look like they're made of window putty. The music is just godawful. Day of the Dead is superior in every respect.

Completely. Agree.

Plague of the Zombies - save on wages at your tin mine by killing villagers and resurrecting them. Bad guy is a delight throughout.

Mister Six

Quote from: AsparagusTrevor on March 04, 2020, 11:39:03 AM
I've got a soft spot for that film too, the atmosphere is great and there's some great gore (but unfortunately some pants CGI gore). Romero's next two, Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead, can get to fuck though. I don't even remember much about Survival except people arguing about a horse for what seemed like an hour.

I didn't bother with Survival because Diary was so fucking shit. Was so disappointed after Land. I don't know what went wrong.

bgmnts

I rewatched it last week and Diary of the Dead has the worst dialogue I've ever heard in a proper film.

Mister Six

Oh fuck, wasn't there some dreadful mirroring where someone throws down a gun because it makes killing "too easy" and then someone throws down a camera later on because it makes, er, filming stuff "too easy"?

bgmnts

Quote from: Mister Six on March 04, 2020, 02:34:24 PM
Oh fuck, wasn't there some dreadful mirroring where someone throws down a gun because it makes killing "too easy" and then someone throws down a camera later on because it makes, er, filming stuff "too easy"?

Yes.

Quote"The problem doesn't seem to be that people are waking up dead, but that dead people are waking up".
Quote[Dark moment where its been revealed the end of film safehouse is compromised and Ridley is a zombie, Tracy hits him with something]
"Don't mess with Texas!"
[silly banjo music]

QuoteANDREW: There will always be people like you, wanting to document, wanting to record some sort of diary.

JASON: Me? You're the one who put the camera in my hands. You're the one who made me want to do this.

ANDREW: Not this. This is a diary of cruelty. And in wartime, when the enemy can be marked as this son of a bitch or that son of a bitch, then cruelty... becomes justified.

Mister Six

Some sort of diary... of the dead.

phantom_power

I want to take his face......off

BeardFaceMan

Which was the ...Of The Dead film (it mut be Diary) where the conceit was that it was all filmed on camcorders? And then there was some bullshit voiceover at the beginning from the character explaining that she had added dramatic music to it, for a reason, thereby ruining the entire conceit before the film even started? I wish I'd stuck with my instinct and turned it off after that.

bgmnts

Yeah it's diary.

She added music "for effect".

Because she wants to scare you.

BeardFaceMan

Yes, because seeing people torn apart and eaten alive isnt scary enough. Are the any other filmmakers who went from pioneering a genre and making such great films to making such toss? Although I should also mention I have a soft spot for the one with everyone in the fancy tower, everything since then can get to fuck though.

bgmnts

Fancy tower is Land of the Dead which is even less subtle than Dawn of the Dead in its commentary. I don't think the smart zombie in it is as memorable or sympathetic as Bub though.


purlieu

Land of the Dead is fine. Not a patch on the first three, but a fun film with a memorable world.
Diary of the Dead is terrible. Survival is very slightly better, and there is the nice crossover with Diary which I enjoyed, but really, he should have stopped after Land.

Zombieland. I remember liking that one a lot. I haven't seen the sequel.

World War Z. I like the 'global' feel to it, which adds a very different perspective to your average zombie film, and the massive pile of zombies at Jerusalem, but otherwise it didn't leave much impact.

bgmnts

World War Z is a fine silly zombie film but I'd urge everyone to get the 2007 Random House published audiobook with the full cast, its exceptional.

Mister Six

I read the book, but I can see how having it acted out would be really compelling.

bgmnts

It really is, it has an impressive cast too; Mark Hamill, Simon Pegg, Alan Alda, Jeri Ryan, Rob Reiner, Martin Scorcese, Nathan Fillion etc, and it really adds to the realism in the delivery. It feels real, as mental as that sounds.

Mister Six

Ah, bit less interested now. Having recognisable voices would ruin it for me - I'd just be thinking "This is Simon Pegg reading out the book" instead of "This is a UK health official" or whoever he plays.

bgmnts

Quote from: Mister Six on March 04, 2020, 06:08:38 PM
Ah, bit less interested now. Having recognisable voices would ruin it for me - I'd just be thinking "This is Simon Pegg reading out the book" instead of "This is a UK health official" or whoever he plays.

It really doesn't come across that way, you never think "oh this is Martin Scorcese!" you go "oh that Breckenridge is a cunt aye!". You'd never know Simon Pegg was in it as he does a thick yank accent.