HORROR TEN SPOT: Top 10 Memorable Zombies

August 28th 2009, 7:02pm

Last Updated on August 3, 2021

Oh Zombies. From shuffling, unrelenting undead masses, to running, jumping, rabid masses, they are one of horror’s staples. Not a staple I’m typically a huge fan of, but a staple nevertheless.

I guess part of the reason that I don’t personally dig these dead heads that much is the general lack of charisma and power. I find most movies about these dudes about as exciting as a flick focusing solely on Orcs. Which is to say not very.

But there are, of course, exceptions. Every once in awhile an actor or a filmmaker gives us a little something different that makes a zombie stand out from the crowd. So let’s salute the dead that keep the concept alive. And spit bullets on your fav limb shedding brain eaters.

1. Julie Walker, RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, PART III

Sexy and tortured works pretty well it turns out. Poor Julie just wants to be a good girl and a good girlfriend. She’s so focused on it that even when she joins the ranks of the undead she manages to come up with the most creative solution to growing bloodlust that any zombie movie has arrived at. Zombie or no, we should all be so lucky to have a chick this damn cool in our lives.

2. Fido, FIDO

I loved the concept of this flick from the moment I encountered it’s early press, but the performance comedian Billy Connolly puts in as the title zombie is amazing. He’s willful, restrained, aggressive, caring, angry, sympathetic, and downright lovable. And he’s not a bad dancer. Could be that any well-acted feature zombie would be this good, but this instance really felt like something special.

3. Big Daddy, LAND OF THE DEAD

It’s tough to have much emotional attachment to a free range deader, but Big Daddy showcased how to make it so. His ability to figure things out, to lead, to care for his fellow zombies, and mourn them all painted a picture of one intimidating motherf*cker. But he was really just doing what was best for his peeps. And he was damn good at it.

4. Bub, DAY OF THE DEAD

Bub really gives us the first instance of a domesticated zombie. Romero had explored just about everything, or so it seemed, but the idea of intelligence and obedience, even rudimentary and forced, was a giant leap forward in the concept of what you could do in zombie land. Without this set up our Top 3 might never have been. Much respect Bub.

5. Nemesis, RESIDENT EVIL 2

As zombie’s go, this is about as hard-charging as they come. It also helps that we’ve got a little history with Alice to spice things up, but mostly it’s just a damn fun time watching this big, bad, heavily armed bastard rain holy terror all over an otherwise mess of a movie. Plus, his name is just awesome

6. Danny, ZOMBIE HONEYMOON

ZH drags a bit too much in the middle to be a real classic, but the relationship between Danny and his bride is pretty heart-warming given the circumstances. He also gets infected in one of the grossest ways possible. I mean, bite me on the neck all day, but please dear God do not vomit Zombie juice into my f*cking mouth!

7. Jason Voorhees, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI

Jason turned into a zombie in Part 6 and never looked back. Gone was the super retardo maniac, and in his place was a hulking, unstoppable killing machine that you literally cannot kill. Plus this got the series back on track (sort of), and gave us the great Kane Hodder’s first chance behind the hockey mask.

8. Ed, SHAUN OF THE DEAD

Ed’s not a zombie for long, but it really hurts that he gets the business. The only thing taking the edge off a bit is that his mate, in true best friend fashion, just slaps a collar on him in the shed and keeps Ed as a video gaming pet. Granted, there are serious problems with this approach, since said pet is going to try and eat you every chance he gets, but damnit if this wasn’t a great way to end the movie.

9. Brad, NIGHT OF THE CREEPS

One of the most effective horror a-holes of all time, it’s really more of a pleasure than anything else when Brad gets slugged into brain deadom. And a positive part of these movies is that if you really hate somebody, you often to get to see them bite it more than once. I could pretty much just watch a 24-hour loop of Brad getting killed over and over again.

10. Vera Cosgrove, DEAD ALIVE

Zombied out mom as a result of badness from a Sumatran Rat Monkey? Yes please. I tend to find stories where someone has to deal with an undead loved one more interesting than the usual fare. Of course in the case of Vera, calling her “loved” is a bit of a stretch. Thankfully the MOMMY DEAREST type issues she brings to the finale lead us into one of the grossest denouements in zombie history. Which is saying something.