Different genres in horror come and go in waves, at times, slashers dominate the theaters, and sometimes, supernatural thrillers are all Hollywood puts out. However, one genre that's been floating around since the late-60s are zombie movies, and 50 years later, they're still a predominant part of horror films.
The first zombie movie was White Zombie from 1932, which revolved around Voodoo bringing people back from the dead. Then, in 1959, a zombie-like creature was used in the infamous Plan 9 From Outer Space. However, no one had as big as an impact on the horror sub-genre than the late writer/director George Romero.
In 1968, Romero redefined what a zombie is, without ever using the term, in the classic horror movie Night of the Living Dead. It wasn't magic or a voodoo curse that reanimated the dead, it was a disease. While the specifics of what this disease is or how it specifically happened are never fully explained, Romero created a shared universe that gave the audience different perspectives from the same human extinction-level event.
Even though Romero passed away, there still may be more films in his zombie cinematic universe. The writer had more projects in development, which we could eventually see on the big screen. However, as of now, there are only six zombie movies from Romero, and here they are, ranked by their scores on Metacritic.
Disclosure: Metacritic is a CBS Interactive property, GameSpot's parent company.
Survival of the Dead (2010)
Conceptually, Survival of the Dead is a fine idea. It riffs on the tale of the Hatfields and McCoys and puts it into a zombie apocalypse. On an island off the coast of Delaware, two feuding families live. One wants to eradicate the undead while the other wants to keep them caged until a cure is found. Obviously, the two families clash. What's different about Survival from other zombie flicks is that Romero took note from Zombieland--which came out a year prior--and tried to add some humor to the movie. It did not work, and it's wildly considered to be the worst of Romero's zombie movies.
Metacritic score: 43
Day of the Dead (1985)
Originally, fans of Romero's work thought the 1985 film would be the last in his zombie line. The weakest of the original "Dead Trilogy," this movie follows scientists and military officers who live safely underground during the zombie apocalypse. There's growing tension between the two groups, and of course, the zombies get into the base. The movie is a bit of drag and doesn't hit home nearly as well as the previous two films.
Metacritic score: 60
Diary of the Dead (2007)
Diary of the Dead jumps around in the timeline of Romero's films, going back to the same day as Night of the Living Dead. The movie follows a group of college students making a horror film in the forest. As they're shooting, the zombie apocalypse is starting, and the filmmakers are trying to figure out what's going on in this confusing, new world. Although, critically, it wasn't as well received as Land of the Dead, it was a more cohesive plot. Sure, it retreaded some familiar ground, but it gave us a new perspective to where Romero's universe all started.
Metacritic score: 66
Land of the Dead (2005)
If you like being hit over the head, repeatedly, with allegories, then Land of the Dead may be up your alley. In this movie, zombies have taken over the world, and the rich live in towers in an enclosed city, while the poor live on the ground. Tensions grow between the classes, and in addition to all that, zombies have gotten smarter and invade the city. This was the last "big" Romero zombie movie to hit theaters. It was fine, but the evolution of the zombies in the movie was exceptionally polarizing for fans of Romero's work.
Metacritic score: 71
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Romero's zombie followup came ten years after the original. In this legendary horror flick, a group of survivors during the zombie apocalypse make their home in the best fortified structure they can find, a mall. The movie takes a bizarre, yet amazing, turn as it focuses on the survivors, living inside a mall, and the threat of zombies doesn't feel real anymore. That is until they find a way in and start eating everyone. While Metacritic has this scored lower than Night of the Living Dead, many people believe Dawn of the Dead to be a far better movie.
Metacritic score: 71
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The movie that started it all, Night of the Living Dead, received the highest score on Metacritic. In Romero's original movie, a group of survivors during the start of the zombie apocalypse, band together in a farmhouse in hopes of riding it all out. Of course, you can't ride this out, and it becomes a "kill or be killed" scenario for those trying to escape the undead hordes. One really cool thing about Night of the Living Dead was that it featured a black lead character (Duane Jones), which was rare at the time. This movie is still the standard for the rules of zombies in horror films, 50 years later.
Metacritic score: 88
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