the jaded viewer

I went to a thrift store a few weeks ago and in their book department was this little book that I figured I could pick up on the cheap. Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide by Glenn Kay. I am not familiar with Glenn Kay but I figure he wrote a book so he must have some street cred.

The book is an interesting read on the origins of the zombie film (it's Haiti voodoo for the uninformed) and the classic zombie films to the modern day cult flicks. Kay reviews an encyclopedia of zombie movies rating them with brain eating cartoons for the best and arrows in the head for the worst.

What I found to be the most interesting though is he wrote down his own list of the Top 25 Zombie Movies of All Time. I love lists (even when they aren't even my own) but I have my own top 10 zombie movies of all time list which I'll include below.

The one thing you can count on with lists is there will be blood as people will criticize or praise to the end of eternity what's on this list. If you want to know why he has one movie ranked higher, pick up the book. It's available on Amazon.com.

Here's the list! (FYI: this was published in 2008) Let the arguing begin!

1. Dawn of the Dead
2. Night of the Living Dead
3. Shaun of the Dead
4. Day of the Dead
5. Braindead
   
6. Re-Animator
7. The Return of the Living Dead
8. 28 Days Later
9. The Serpent and the Rainbow
10. White Zombie
11. The Walking Dead
12. Night of the Living Dead (90)
13. Dellamorte Dellamore
14. Prince of Darkness
15. Night of the Creeps
16. Creepshow: "Father's Day"
17. Dead & Buried
18. Grindhouse: "Planet Terror"
19. Zombi 2
20. Land of the Dead
21. Let Sleeping Corpses Lie
22. I Walked with a Zombie
23. Tales from the Crypt: "Poetic Justice"
24. Sugar Hill
25. Plan 9 from Outer Space

the jaded viewer says: I agree with his #1 as its on my own list. But to put Shaun of the Dead at #3 is a little much. Even Day of.... in the top 10 is little extreme. OK, as promised here is my own which I wrote on 2002. Why am I posting a list from 2002? I don't know...I figure it could stand to take some criticism. Has there been a zombie movie since 2002 that I should add?
I mean I still think its pretty solid.

I should write a little explanation on each but I'm a lazy bastard so sue me. After looking at the list, I have Evil Dead 2 on it. Also I have 3 Fulci movies on this list. I remember I was on some kind of Fulci kick back in 02. Ahh memories. As an added bonus, I've posted Insano Steve's Top 10 zombie movies of all time as well.

the jaded viewer's Top 10 Zombie Movies of All Time (as of 4/1/02)

1. Dawn of the Dead
2. Night of the Living Dead
3. Zombi 2
4. Braindead
5. The Beyond
6. Re-Animator
7. The Gates of Hell
8. Evil Dead 2
   
9. Night of the Creeps
   
10. Dellamorte Dellamore

Insano Steve's Top 10 Zombie Movies of All Time (as of 4/1/02)

1. Zombi 2
2. Braindead
3. Evil Dead
4. Re-Animator
5. Versus
   
6. Dawn of the Dead
7. Demons
8. Dellamorte Dellamore
9. Night of the Creeps
10. Zombie Holocaust

Thoughts about Kay's list, Insano Steve's or my own list? Hell, what's your list of the best zombie movies of all time?

Labels: george romero, moshing zombies, top 5 scenes in lucio fulci's zombi 2, zombi 2, zombies

Posted by the jaded viewer at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Everybody has seen Lucio Fulci's Zombi. It's a cult classic. I can watch this film over and over again. From the opening scene of a empty boat drifting in the New York harbor with chubby zombie to the quirky characters who make there way to the mysterious island of Matool, it's the penultimate classic of zombie zen.

So at last I've dedicated this list to maestro Fulci and below are the jaded viewer's top 5 scenes in Zombi.

Frak you! On to the list!

5.)"Moshing Zombies"

Why it kicks ass: This is the pseudo ending as it's our heroes and heroine vs zombies. I call them moshing zombies because they've all decided to clump up and "mosh" as they try to enter. The Zombi theme is in full effect and we get penty 'o headshots. Zombies are on fire are always hilarious.

And without a doubt....could you put a bullet in the brain of your now zombie friend?



4.) "Zombies walk over Brooklyn Bridge"

Why it kicks ass: It's the last scene. The radio broadcast is ominous and freaky. And there walking over the fuckin bridge and shit's about to hit the fan for all New Yorkers. Everybody run to the Bronx. Good Times.



3.) "Conquistador Zombie rises" (1:27-2:32)

Why it kicks ass: I call this zombie "conquistador zombie", just because I think he was a conquistador. Fuck...he's on the cover of the box so he'd have to be on the list. Best part is the woman's reaction as she waits for whats seems like 20 minutes for the zombie to rise from his grave (which seems to be like 1 foot deep) and get bitten in a bloody gore-ific neck trauma. Poor zombie dude was "alive" for like 3 minutes then gets hs brain split in 2. Poor conquistador zombie.



2.) "Zombie vs Shark"

Why it kicks ass: One of the 2 famous scenes from Zombi 2. You'll never see a zombie vs a shark ever again......right? Zombi theme kicks ass and this scene is like 500 minutes long. And there's no definitive winner!



1.) "Ocular Trauma"

Why it kicks ass: The setup is hot. Blonde babe finishes taking a shower, hears groaning, then zombies attack. As she gets pulled into the wooden splinter, you think we'd cut away like some shitty Hollywood PG-13 gutter trash flick but WE DON'T. We see the eye go right on through. We see the eye with the splinter in it and we see the eye get ripped apart. Beautiful ocular trauma. An eye gouging for the ages. Beautiful....I'm going to cry.






Tags:
zombi 2, top 5 scenes in zombi 2 zombie , lucio fulci , zombie vs shark, jadedviewer, , zombie ocular trauma, zombie eye gouging, gore splatter new york,

Labels: eye gouging, lucio fulci, moshing zombies, ocular trauma, top 5 scenes in lucio fulci's zombi 2, top 5 scenes in zombi 2, zombi 2, zombi 2 ending, zombie vs shark, zombies

Posted by the jaded viewer at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post