Opinion Battles Round 18
Favourite Zombie Movie
Zombie movies have become one of the most popular sub genres of horror and while we do get plenty of stinkers we always get to see the best director give us a fresh spin on them. This round we have a large amount of films but which do you think is the best choice.
I will not be accepting any entries for the next round because I will be having a holiday but if you want to enter the round after we are picking our Favourite Clive Owen Roles which has a deadline of 2nd October 2016 and the choice will need to be entered to [email protected].
Darren – Movie Reviews 101
Dawn of the Dead
Dawn of the Dead was the second entry of the George A Romero Of the Dead franchise and the film also sent out the message about the commercialisation of America upon its release. The idea of having a mall to the group of survivors works because we get to see how it has the resources to survive in the world filled with zombies. When you think of the zombie film it would be hard to argue we wouldn’t have the popularity if it wasn’t for the steps Romero left us with.
Kim – Tranquil Dreams
Zombieland
Fun and humorous. Bill Murray cameo. Great cast with Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin. Its good balance of characters who unite under extreme circumstances and road trip their way to where they think is their best chance at surviving and there’s a ton of fun shenanigans along the way. I love it for being a fun zombie movies that has their moments and lets us connect with the characters as well.
Dawn of the Dead
My favorite zombie movie is George A. Romero’s 1978 classic Dawn Of The Dead. It’s the first zombie movie I ever saw & it blew me away as it was nothing like anything I’d seen before. It’s one of my ten favorite films overall and my only top favorite that’s a horror as I only like a handful of horror films since there are far too many bad ones (especially nowadays). It’s the one that got me loving the zombie subgenre and I still try to watch every zombie movie that comes along even though there are far too many now. I actually saw it before Night Of The Living Dead, which I of course also adore. Both films are absolute classics & I’m happy that they’re actually very highly regarded as it’s often difficult for horror movies to get much respect in the film industry. The praise is very much deserved & Romero will always be the greatest zombie movie filmmaker. There have been some good zombie movies since that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed but every one of them has still felt like an inferior copy of Romero’s classics.
Kevin – The Mental Attic
Army of Darkness
Army of Darkness. The reasons are a few but the most important one is that it breaks the mold. There aren’t many Zombie films not made or directly inspired by George Romero, and because of this they all feel like retreads of the same concepts for me. Army of Darkness makes its zombies demonic, makes them intelligent and funny as hell. You also have a medieval setting with a guy from the 20th century with a chainsaw for a hand and a boomstick in the other, his evil twin and a book bound in human skin. It sheds the last vestiges of horror it had from Evil Dead and just embraces the zany monster hunting comedy. There are flying monsters, mini-Ashes, Harryhousen-ish skeletons and so many delicious one-liners!
When it comes to zombie films, I can only say, “Hail to the King, baby!”
Damien Riley – Riley Central
Cell
A favorite zombie movie of mine is Cell, based on the novel by StephenKing. I like zombie movies that are different. Most of them have thesame rules: they have to be killed by destroying the brain, they eatflesh, they get infected by a bite and a virus and so on. Cellpresents us with some different rules and by the the way, thesezombies move much faster than the ones in traditional movies and tvlike ‘The Walking Dead.’ I liked the aspect of a zombie being like acell phone. People can speak through the zombie. I lso liked theradically different aspect of these zombies in the way they sleep andcan be awakened. Cell may not be my favorite horror movie but I reallylike it for the different take on zombified humans.
Rob – Movie Rob
Dawn of the Dead
Tom – Plain Simple Tom Reviews
Shaun of the dead
Both clever and hilarious, “Shaun of the Dead” provides awesome, thrilling zombie head-smashing action as well as lots of laughs and colourful characters. The ensemble cast is totally game for a laugh, there’s some neat cameos and Nick Frost as Ed is so awesome, that unique way he asks if anyone wants a drink . . .Good soundtrack too; opening on The Specials’ “Ghost Town” – wonderful.So much fun, very rewatchable and expertly put together, “Shaun of the Dead” is a modern classic!
Daniel – Dellens 456
ParaNorman
There are thousands of zombie movies out there but by far the cleverest and the best is ParaNorman. If explores the psychology of the characters, the animation is a stop-motion marvel and those zombies are creepy as heck. Definitely one to watch around the Christmas season
Rachel – 54 Disney Reviews
Paranorman
I’m not a huge fan of zombie movies as they tend to be a bit bloody for my taste; however, the one I love as a great movie and zombie movie is Paranorman. There are so many great things about this animated story. It’s more made for teenagers than children with humor on that level but I kind of love that more mature sensibility. The stop motion is gorgeous and I like the flip on the bully narrative that they take. In this case the bullied has become the bully. Norman see’s dead people you see and they need him to stop a being from the past who has made zombies appear. It’s scary, exciting and very heartfelt. Still probably my favorite Laika movie and one of my top 50 favorite animated films.
S.G. Liput – Rhyme and Reason
World War Z
I seem to be one of the few people out there who have steered clear of the zombie craze in recent years. It seems like a fascinating concept: frazzled survivors fleeing and fighting off the relentless undead, if only it wasn’t so bloody. I’m a wimp when it comes to violence, but luckily at least one movie I know proved that not every zombie flick has to feature graphic gore. World War Z, based on Max Brooks’s novel, takes a look at the global impact of the zombie apocalypse through the lens of one family. Brad Pitt is a family man with a very particular set of skills that make him an asset to the governments trying to figure out how to stop this onslaught of rampaging corpses. While some scenes are certainly tense, World War Z is more of an action movie than a horror, making it a film that even genre newbies like me can enjoy.
J – Film & Nuance
Train to Busan
Train To Busan was one of Korea’s entries into Cannes 2016 and was subsequently placed in the “Out of competition” category. I count myself lucky to have been able to see it on the big screen. It smashed records in the Korean box office and presents a rare case of commercial and critical success. I loved it. Because there’s finally a post-apocalyptic zombie film whose focus isn’t on the zombies…but on humans. I was always hoping for a zombie film to take the beaten path, explore the pscychology of its characters and focus on the moral juxtapositions that arise in times of harsh survival. Train To Busan was entertaining fun what with all the blood and gore but more importantly, shed light on what it means to be human among the undead. It was so emotional that I cried the most I ever did this year.
Drew – Drew’s Movie Reviews
Zombieland
I’ll admit that I haven’t watched many zombie movies. For the longest time, I would watch anything that is considered “horror” which more often than not, zombies fall under. However, one exception is Zombieland. Zombieland is a purely fun ride from beginning and end. From our introduction to Columbus to his meeting of Tallahassee to his bold rescue of Wichita and Little Rock, the film never lets up. One scene after another just piles on the laughs. A certain cameo was a great surprise and an example of how a film can do a cameo right. Between the wellcast characters and the never ending humor, Zombieland sits at the very top of my (short) list of favorite zombie films.
Richard – The Humpo Show
Zombieland
A shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, a gun-toting tough guy trying to find the last Twinkie, and a pair of sisters trying to get to an amusement park join forces to travel across a zombie-filled America. What more do you want? Woody Harrelson is brilliant in this film, as he plays a guy pursuing a Twinkie despite a zombie apocalypse. An absolute must watch! Plus it is a short film which is a big plus for me, as I like to watch 100 minute films.
Emma – Emma Explains It All
Warm Bodies
I loved this film when I first saw it and I still love it now. There’s something really special about it (to me anyway). Telling the story of a zombie ‘with a heart’ it’s funny, sweet, strange and uplifting. To be honest I’d never seen a film like it before and I’ve not seen one since. Please NEVER refer to it as ‘Twilight with zombies’ (or I’ll eat your brains).
I’ve never been a ‘mega fan’ of the zombie genre within horror anyway, I like a lot of the movies but apart from Warm Bodies (and 28 Days Later – but are they really zombies hmm?) none of the films are massive favourites. Warm Bodies however really stands out. It’s a lovely film and just writing about it now makes me want to watch it!
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