My Top Three Undead Films of All Time

Cemetery Man (Michele Soavi, 1994) aka Dellamorte Dellamore

Somewhere in English speaking Italy: Francesco (Rupert Everett) and Gnaghi (François Hadji-Lazaro) are the caretakers of a small-town cemetery where the dead come back to life. The comically awkward duo must battle droves of zombies to appease the mayor and keep their dead-end zombie slaying jobs.

Sounds simple, right? Well, there’s actually nothing straight forward about this film. Sure, there is a healthy amount of zombie killing and even some grave desecration with the beautiful Anna Falchi, but there are some strange twists and turns, so be warned that nothing is as it seems. In the end, this movie has it all: zombies, sex on tombstones, partial nudity, existentialism, murder, romance, and humor. There is nothing cliché about this movie, so check it out.

Fido, (Andrew Currie, 2006)

In the USA during the 1950’s: Helen (Carrie-Anne Moss) buys a zombie to help her out with chores around the house. And why not? Surely a zombie slave can’t be a bad idea, I mean they have collars to keep them in line. Unfortunately, her husband Bill (Dylan Baker) wants nothing to do with it. Wasting no time, their alienated son Timmy (K’Sun Ray) also forges a friendship with their new zombie pet/family member (Billy Connolly).

This film is fantastic because its tongue and cheek reminds me of a cross between Leave It to Beaver and Shaun of the Dead. There is some great social commentary on 50’s life in the US and several magical moments between the boy and his zombie. Although this movie is definitely a comedy there is still a fair amount of good ole zombie on face action, so just watch it and thank me later.

Army Of Darkness (Sam Raimi, 1993)

Raimi pours on the camp in this Bruce Campbell cult classic. Ash (Bruce Campbell) continues from where The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II pretty much left off: sucked into a vortex of evil by an ancient book, the Necronomicon. However, he’s spit out of the vortex and lands, car and all, in 1300’s England. Ash must now find the Necronomicon, if he is ever to return to his own time and the department store job he left behind.

An amazing amount of one liners came from this flic, and though it isn’t the typical zombie brain eating because the focus on an army of skeletons, the undead bring the humor and oh so much fun. How can you go wrong with a guy with a chainsaw for a hand who knows how to kick some undead ass? Don’t miss this classic that put Sam Raimi’s film making on the map.

My Top Three Undead Films of All Time

Jeremy Shattuck

Friendly guy at Hip and Trippy

Jeremy Shattuck is a screenwriter, post-production ninja and award-winning writer. His current mission is to help incubate culturally relevant films in New Mexico through screenwriting workshops.