Zombie movies have been made and enjoyed for decades, in some form or another. In the pre-Romero age, they were typically portrayed as some type of voodoo monster. After Romero, they were often portrayed much as they are today – mindless, shambling corpses hellbent on eating flesh.
There have been many fantastic and massively influential zombie films throughout the years. And as is often the case, there have been numerous rip-offs as well. Some rip-offs are actually quite good. Others are cheap, quickly-assembled films that were forgotten just as quickly as they were made. These are but a few.
Revolutionized: White Zombie (1936)
White Zombie is often considered the very first mainstream zombie movie. Directed by Victor Halperin and inspired by a 1929 novel called The Magic Island, White Zombie concerns a woman who is turned into a zombie via voodoo. The movie is notable not just for introducing voodoo zombies to the mainstream, but for starring Bela Lugosi as voodoo master “Murder” Legendre. While the acting certainly leaves a lot to be desired, White Zombie is prominent within the zombie genre, and its influence is simply undeniable.
Ripped Off: Countless
In fact, its influence is so extraordinary and massive that countless rip-offs stemmed from its success. It served as the archetype for many following movies, most of which “borrowed” heavily from White Zombie‘s style and elements, which included elements of voodoo, brain-dead zombies, manual labor-performing zombies, and the eerie banging of voodoo drums. Some of its more prominent rip-offs include 1940’s The Ghost Breakers, 1941’s King of the Zombies, 1943’s I Walked With a Zombie, and 1966’s Plague of the Zombies. White Zombie started a phenomenon.
Revolutionized: Night Of The Living Dead (1968)
Night of the Living Dead may very well be the most influential zombie film ever made. Made by George A. Romero for just $114,000 (about $850,000 today), Night was a different sort of zombie movie. Out were the cheesy voodoo zombie movies of the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s, in were the bloodthirsty walking corpses. While it’s insinuated that the zombie plague is the result of some type of space radiation, that’s not really important. Night of the Living Dead was a genuinely terrifying film that not only changed how zombies were portrayed, it changed how the entire genre was made.
Ripped Off: Tombs Of The Blind Dead (1972)
Romero didn’t just change how zombies were portrayed or how the entire genre was made – he changed how zombie movies were titled! Tombs of the Blind Dead was an obvious Spanish-Portugese rip-off of Night of the Living Dead, released under its original Spanish name La noche del terror ciego.
It proved incredibly successful in its native Spain, even kickstarting a popular boom in horror films that permeated the early ’70s. Director Amando de Ossorio has outright stated that Night of the Living Dead was a major influence on the creation of his film.
Revolutionized: Dawn Of The Dead (1978)
As influential as Night of the Living Dead was, Romero arguably topped himself with Dawn of the Dead. Arguably the most famous zombie movie ever made, Dawn was made for $1.5 million – about 13x the budget of Night. The results were obvious – a more expansive and ambitious scope (including the horrifying first twenty minutes depicting the end of the world) and lots more blood and gore. Many zombie filmmakers would borrow heavily from Dawn throughout the years, and it’s rightfully regarded as the seminal zombie flick.
Ripped Off: Hell Of The Living Dead (1980)
Tombs of the Blind Dead was undoubtedly influenced by Night of the Living Dead, but Hell of the Living Dead is a straight-up rip-off of Dawn. Directed by Bruno Mattei, the movie was written to capitalize on the newfound boom of zombie films. The script was given to Mattei, who conspired to create a lighter version of Dawn of the Dead. The story concerns a French news team who is sent to investigate a zombie outbreak in Papua New Guinea. The movie borrows heavily from Dawn, even straight-up stealing the iconic Goblin music that permeated the classic.
Revolutionized: 28 Days Later (2002)
28 Days Later did something a little different, and it changed how zombie movies were made throughout much of the 2000s. Despite taking place in a quiet, desolate England, 28 Days Later portrayed fast-moving zombies that ran towards their victims, viciously beat them up rather than bite them, and screeched with an animal-like, piercing howl.
Out were the shambling, slow-moving corpses, in were the running, screeching zombies of the new millennium.
Ripped Off: Dawn Of The Dead (2004)
This shift in direction for the new millennium is perhaps most prevalent in the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake. The Romero original consists of the traditional slow-moving zombies that utilize numbers over force and speed. But slow moving zombies were old news, and the remake utilized the fast-moving, screeching zombies of 28 Days Later. This certainly helped in regards to the movie’s tone, as the remake is far faster-paced and action-oriented than its slower, more melodic predecessor.
Revolutionized: Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
Shaun of the Dead is quite possibly the best zombie comedy of all time. Numerous zombie comedies have come before (including Peter Jackson’s wonderful Dead Alive/Braindead), but Shaun of the Dead effectively changed the game. The movie helped popularize Simon Pegg as an actor and Edgar Wright as a director, and many critics adored its unique English style of humor, the zombie-based horror, and the blending of Shaun’s coming-of-age story with the zombie apocalypse. Zombie comedies will forever be compared to Shaun of the Dead.
Ripped Off: Zombieland (2009)
Zombieland may not have much in common with Shaun of the Dead. Its sense of humor is much more “American”, the story was unconnected (aside from the zombies), and it was far faster-paced. However, it was universally compared to Shaun of the Dead owing to its status as a zombie comedy. Even to this day, fans may debate the qualities between the two and “argue” about which is better. Of course, “better” is down to subjective personal preference. But the comparisons between the two will always be made.
