All time best zombie movies?
My name is Kris, and I write about zombies.
That being said, I think about zombies a lot. Meaning, when I’m losing inspiration or needing comfort, I watch zombie movies. The good, the bad, and the ugly. (And then I fantasize about my zombies coming to the big screen.) Here are my top five zombie movies in no particular order:
1. Train to Busan
Train to Busan is one of my favorite zombie movies that I’ve seen, and I’ve watched it several times. It’s a Korean movie, so you have to be okay with dubs or subs, but it’s definitely worth the effort. It’s about a little girl, her father, and the people they meet on a high-speed train to her mother’s house in Busan; the train becomes the center of a zombie attack, as do the train stations that they roll into. Train to Busan has a spectacular hero we call “Captain Korea;” his real name is Sang-Wa. He goes feral for the zombies and saves everyone by punching zombies in the face. He’s the comic relief of the group too, commenting, “I made that” when the little girl, Soo-An, comments on his wife’s pregnant belly. Definitely worth watching, if only for the tearjerker ending.
2. 28 Days Later
28 Days Later is another good zombie flick. An overzealous group of animal lovers free some test subjects with the “Rage” virus from a medical research lab. As most of us zombie-watchers know, that never turns out to be a good idea. Jim wakes up from a coma and discovers that the entire world is shafted and he was out during the zombie war. He bumps into some survivors and they all try to make it to safety together. I think the science behind the infection is great; it was something I took very seriously when writing The Silence. I always like a story that seems plausible in the real world, and 28 Days Later definitely takes care of it.
3. World War Z
I was skeptical of World War Z when I first put it on. The last time I liked Brad Pitt in a movie was Interview with a Vampire, so needless to say, I was not thrilled to watch this one at first. He’s not my fav guy to go with, but he was actually pretty good as a former U.N. Investigator in WWZ. Gerry, Pitt’s character, leads the charge for a vaccine to cure the rampant zombie apocalypse that’s occurring outside. They end up on a Naval tanker trying to figure out the zombie virus and, quite frankly, I’d love to see more zombie movies at sea. World War Z was interesting, if only for my love of South Korea, as seen by Train to Busan. I liked that it was a worldwide endeavor and that they really had to search to find what they were looking for. Out of my nonexistent ratings that I’ve not given the previous movies, I’d give WWZ 3 out of 5 stars.
4. The Girl with All the Gifts
The Girl with All the Gifts was an amazing book, so I had to try out the movie. There’s a fungal plague that turns people into “Hungries,” aka zombies. They’re trying to find a cure or a treatment based on a group of kids who seem immune. The kids are imprisoned in a military facility where they have “school” in between experiments. Their teacher forms a special bond with a girl called Melanie, and that’s where the trouble starts. When Melanie is about to be dissected, the facility gets jumped by zombies/hungries. The teacher, Melanie, some gov’t guys, and the scientist hop in a truck and get taken away from the facility. There, we learn what’s so special about Melanie, when they get to London—and why the doctor has such a hardon to dissect Melanie, who is a second-gen hungry. The twist for this one is out of sight and it’s definitely worth watching or reading.
5. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
I couldn’t let this list get away with NOT having P&P&Z on it. It’s partially the story of the real Pride & Prejudice, except the girls are zombie hunters demurely killing with care while trying to latch onto a man. Except for Elizabeth, of course, who doesn’t want to deal with men at all. I liked this one because the original P&P is a classic, and they added my favorite thing: zombies. I want to be a martial-arts wielding kickass damsel NEVER in distress because I can shoot the f*cking things myself. Elizabeth & Mr. Darcy team together, despite their differences, to kick some zombie ass and take some undead names.
