5 Zombie Movies You Need To Watch Before The World Ends

For the past 20 odd years we have been suffering under a long lingering cloud of vampire stink, so it’s nice to see popular culture turn it’s eye to zombies. Long a staple of the horror genre, zombies didn’t really get into the limelight until a few years ago. However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t  some fantastic movies made prior to their new found popularity. Here’s five great zombie movies you should really not miss.

5) Return of the Living Dead Part II

While the first Return of the Living dead is great, most people have seen that one. This one, not so much. Which is a shame, because this is probably the funniest zombie movie that doesn’t star a former cast member of Cheers. While the plot is pretty basic, what do you want from a zombie movie? Dead people trying to eat your brains. That’s about as complex as it gets.

And while the series is noted for being a little less serious than other zombie franchises, RLDP2 is more slapstick than the rest and it’s great. The final scene is probably one of the best ever in a zombie move. Oh, and it’s old, so you can probably pick it up on the cheap at Amazon!

> Watch Return of the Living Dead 2 On Demand now.

4) Diary of the Dead

On any list about zombies, reference must be made to George A. Romero, the undisputed master of making half rotten shambling corpses seem scary. “But wait!”, you say, “This is a list of zombie movies I haven’t seen! Certainly I’ve seen all of Romero’s movies!”

Well, maybe you have. But this is definitely his least appreciated movie, and there’s no reason for it. It’s a documentary made during the initial outbreak, and has some great moments. Oh, and Quentin Tarantino, Wes Craven, Guillermo del Toro, Simon Pegg, and Stephen King all lend their voices as newscasters on the radio.

> Watch George Romero’s Diary of the Dead on demand now

3) The Serpent and the Rainbow

No, it’s not about gay zombies. Although, that would be interesting. This movie is instead loosely based on a probably not true real life account and stars Bill Pullman as the ethnobotanist Dennis Alan and Zakes Mokae as Dargent Peytraud.

While it’s not one of Wes Craven’s better known movies, it’s still better than a lot of them. It’s more about the voodoo origins of zombies, which has been pretty much forgotten in modern zombie stories. But hey, it’s still the only movie I’ve ever seen with a zombie wedding.

> Watch The Serpent and the Rainbow on Demand now

2) The Zombie Diaries

Who knew making documentaries about zombies and putting the word “diary” in the title could be so lucrative? Or not, since it’s on this list. The zombie diaries is broken into 3 chapters: Outbreak, The Scavengers, and the Survivors.

The movies a low budget British indie flick, so don’t expect Academy Award level acting. But it’s a zombie movie, and they covered the basics: screaming people, eating of said screaming people, and zombie brain craving goodness.

> Get The Zombie Diaries on DVD today

1) The Evil Dead Trilogy

Ok, this might be stretching the word zombie a bit, but hey, go write your own list. Long before Sam Raimi had a Spiderman trilogy, he had the three Evil Dead movies: Evil Dead I & II and Army of Darkness, which is by far the more popular film.

As awesome as AoD is, don’t pass up the original two. The first one features some things that have never (probably with good reason) before or since been captured on film. Like unlawful carnal knowledge by a tree.

> Watch Evil Dead I and II on Demand now!

Evil Dead II 25th Anniversary is coming up

2012 marks 25 years of the release of Evil Dead II and it’s not just us celebrating – our friends over at NECA, the amazing toymakers, have an awesome action figure series coming up:

Sam Raimi, you are one twisted dude. These movies are cult classics, and partly responsible for the popularity of the Necronomicon, so check it out for some authentic B-camp horror.

On Demand Now!

Stream these living horrors into your computer, tv, or mobile device right now: