My ranking of the Living Dead movies
by Some-asshole | created - 12 Jul 2018 | updated - 17 Jul 2020 | PublicI rank the Living Dead series that started with George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968).
Because this is a huge movie series, I will add information to each movie to help tell the various timelines of this franchise. But I'm not sure if every movie from this big big series has been included because of a lot of rip-off living dead films.
The movies I like are rankings #1-#13. I dislike every movie that has been ranked below #13.
Omfg the bad movies are so awful!
This series is so weird.
Also, I know I took out all of those knock off Amityville films on my Amityville Horror ranking because they were not part of they Amityville Horror franchise. But I want to keep these films on this list, and based on Den of Geek's article, they can be connected.
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1. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Unrated | 127 min | Horror, Thriller
During an escalating zombie epidemic, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter and his TV executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, Gaylen Ross
Votes: 128,482 | Gross: $5.10M
Sequel to Night of the Living Dead (1968). Also titled "Zombie." 10/10.
2. Day of the Dead (1985)
Not Rated | 101 min | Horror, Thriller
As the world is overrun by zombies, a group of scientists and military personnel sheltering in an underground bunker in Florida must decide on how they should deal with the undead horde.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato, Jarlath Conroy
Votes: 74,322 | Gross: $5.80M
Sequel to Dawn of the Dead (1978). 10/10.
3. Night of the Living Dead (1990)
R | 92 min | Horror
When the unburied dead return to life and seek human victims, seven refugees shelter in a house in the Pennsylvanian countryside.
Director: Tom Savini | Stars: Tony Todd, Patricia Tallman, Tom Towles, McKee Anderson
Votes: 45,472 | Gross: $5.84M
Remake of the original with stronger characters (especially Barbara), better effects, and a better ending in my opinion. 9/10.
4. The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.
Director: Dan O'Bannon | Stars: Clu Gulager, James Karen, Don Calfa, Thom Mathews
Votes: 68,840 | Gross: $14.24M
Spin-off of Night of the Living Dead (1968). 8/10.
5. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
R | 101 min | Action, Horror
A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.
Director: Zack Snyder | Stars: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer, Jake Weber
Votes: 272,252 | Gross: $59.02M
Remake of Dawn of the Dead (2004). 8/10.
6. Zombie (1979)
R | 91 min | Horror
Strangers searching for a young woman's missing father arrive at a tropical island where a doctor desperately seeks the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead.
Director: Lucio Fulci | Stars: Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson, Al Cliver
Votes: 30,693
Also titled "Zombie 2." Sequel (of a different timeline) to Dawn of the Dead (1978). 8/10.
7. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Not Rated | 96 min | Horror, Thriller
A ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the Northeast of the United States.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman
Votes: 139,001 | Gross: $0.09M
The original movie of this franchise. 7.5/10.
8. Land of the Dead (2005)
R | 93 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
The living dead have taken over the world, and the last humans live in a walled city to protect themselves as they come to grips with the situation.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: John Leguizamo, Asia Argento, Simon Baker, Dennis Hopper
Votes: 100,751 | Gross: $20.70M
Sequel to Day of the Dead (1985). 7.5/10.
9. The Grim Reaper (1980)
R | 92 min | Horror
A group of friends and a hitchhiker become stranded on a tourist island where they are stalked by a disfigured cannibalistic killer who is prowling the island after killing its residents.
Director: Joe D'Amato | Stars: Tisa Farrow, Saverio Vallone, Serena Grandi, Margaret Mazzantini
Votes: 6,961
Also titled "Zombie 7: The Grim Reaper." This movie either takes place before or after Absurd. It's also a loose sequel to the Zombie films, which are loose sequels to Dawn of the Dead, but I'm going to include it. 7.5/10.
10. Return of the Living Dead III (1993)
R | 97 min | Horror
Having recently witnessed the horrific results of a top secret project to bring the dead back to life, a distraught youth performs the operation on his girlfriend after she's killed in a motorcycle accident.
Director: Brian Yuzna | Stars: J. Trevor Edmond, Melinda Clarke, Kent McCord, James T. Callahan
Votes: 16,719 | Gross: $0.05M
Sequel to Return of the Living Dead II. 7/10.
11. Absurd (1981)
Not Rated | 90 min | Horror
A priest-doctor chasing a man with supernatural regenerative abilities, who has recently escaped from a medical lab, reaches a small town where the mutant goes on a killing spree.
Director: Joe D'Amato | Stars: George Eastman, Annie Belle, Charles Borromel, Katya Berger
Votes: 3,543
Also titled "Zombie 6: Monster Hunter." Sequel to Zombie 5: Killing Birds and Antropothagus. There's no zombies, but I thought it was an ok film still. 6/10.
12. Return of the Living Dead II (1988)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Curious kids unearth the barrels that previously helped revive the dead, which proves the second time's an undead charm.
Director: Ken Wiederhorn | Stars: James Karen, Thom Mathews, Michael Kenworthy, Thor Van Lingen
Votes: 21,533 | Gross: $9.21M
Sequel to The Return of the Living Dead. 6/10.
13. Diary of the Dead (2007)
R | 95 min | Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
A group of young film students run into real-life zombies while filming a horror movie of their own.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: Michelle Morgan, Joshua Close, Shawn Roberts, Todd Schroeder
Votes: 49,225 | Gross: $0.96M
Sequel to Night of the Living Dead. This actually takes place before Dawn, Day, and Land. It's also a found footage film. 5/10.
14. Zombie 3 (1988)
R | 84 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
When a terrorist's body, infected with a stolen chemical, is cremated by the US military, a virus is unintentionally released into the atmosphere over a small island.
Directors: Lucio Fulci, Claudio Fragasso, Bruno Mattei | Stars: Deran Sarafian, Beatrice Ring, Ottaviano Dell'Acqua, Massimo Vanni
Votes: 5,492
Sequel to Zombie (Zombie 2). 3.5/10.
15. Survival of the Dead (2009)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror
On an island off the coast of North America, local residents simultaneously fight a zombie epidemic while hoping for a cure to return their un-dead relatives back to their human state.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe, Joshua Peace
Votes: 22,511 | Gross: $0.10M
Sequel to Diary of the Dead. 3.5/10.
16. Night of the Living Dead: 30th Anniversary Edition (1999 Video)
Unrated | 93 min | Horror
A re-edited version of Night of the Living Dead (1968) by a few members of its creative team, excluding director George Romero. It cuts 15 minutes from the original and replaces it with 15 minutes of newly-shot footage.
Director: John A. Russo | Stars: Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman
Votes: 246
The original movie with 15 minutes of new footage and new music added in. It's bad. 3/10.
17. After Death (1989)
Unrated | 84 min | Action, Horror
A woman goes back to the island where her parents were killed. They had been working on a cure for cancer and accidentally raised the dead by angering a voodoo priest. With the woman is a ... See full summary »
Director: Claudio Fragasso | Stars: Jeff Stryker, Candice Daly, Massimo Vanni, Jim Gaines
Votes: 2,888
Titled "Zombie 4: After Death." Sequel to Zombie 3. 3/10.
18. Zombie 5: Killing Birds (1988)
Not Rated | 92 min | Horror, Mystery
A group of college students go into the woods to study birds. They encounter a strange blind man who's connected to the killer zombies that prowl a dilapidated house deep in the forest.
Directors: Claudio Lattanzi, Joe D'Amato | Stars: Lara Wendel, Robert Vaughn, Timothy W. Watts, Leslie Cumming
Votes: 1,897
Sequel to Zombie 4: After Death. 2/10. Everything below this is also a 2/10.
19. Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave (2005)
R | 86 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
A college student creates a drug called "Z" and sells it on campus, inadvertently resurrecting the living dead, who wreak havoc at a Halloween rave.
Director: Ellory Elkayem | Stars: Peter Coyote, Aimee-Lynn Chadwick, Cory Hardrict, John Keefe
Votes: 4,718
Sequel to Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis.
20. Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis (2005)
R | 88 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
A group of teenagers, in an attempt to rescue their friend from an evil corporation, end up inadvertently releasing a horde of bloodthirsty zombies.
Director: Ellory Elkayem | Stars: Aimee-Lynn Chadwick, Cory Hardrict, John Keefe, Jana Kramer
Votes: 5,472
Sequel to Return of the Living Dead III.
21. Children of the Living Dead (2001 Video)
R | 90 min | Horror, Thriller
In a small Pennsylvanian town, Matthew has just taken over an old farm property in order to start his new car dealership. Unknown to him the farm is located on the site of a graveyard, which the local townsfolk claim should be left alone.
Director: Tor Ramsey | Stars: Tom Savini, Marty Schiff, Damien Luvara, Jamie McCoy
Votes: 2,245
Alternate sequel to the original and 30th anniversary edition.
22. Night of the Living Dead (2014)
79 min | Horror
During a visit to see their wife and mother's grave. Jerry and his daughters Melanie and Barbra are going to experience a night they will never forget.
Director: Chad Zuver | Stars: Calhoun Koenig, Kayla Elizabeth, Cody Steele, Tessa Hawkes
Votes: 395
Remake of the original movie with different characters and different twists.
23. Day of the Dead (2008 Video)
R | 86 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
When a small Colorado town is overrun by the flesh hungry dead a small group of survivors try to escape in a last ditch effort to stay alive.
Director: Steve Miner | Stars: Mena Suvari, Nick Cannon, Michael Welch, AnnaLynne McCord
Votes: 21,793
Remake of Day of the Dead (1985).
24. Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005 Video)
Not Rated | 103 min | Horror
In 1968, in the Ravenside Military Hospital in a military facility in Pennsylvania, the army loses control of an experiment of a lethal bacteriologic weapon that changes the DNA and ... See full summary »
Directors: Ana Clavell, James Glenn Dudelson | Stars: Laurie Baranyay, Stan Klimecko, John F. Henry II, Justin Ipock
Votes: 3,684
Alternate “sequel/prequel” to Day of the Dead (1985). It sucks don't watch it
25. Day of the Dead: Bloodline (2017)
R | 90 min | Action, Drama, Horror
A small group of military personnel and survivalists dwell in an underground bunker as they seek to find a cure in a world overrun by zombies.
Director: Hèctor Hernández Vicens | Stars: Sophie Skelton, Johnathon Schaech, Jeff Gum, Marcus Vanco
Votes: 12,455
Another remake of Day of the Dead (1985).
26. Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection (2012)
R | 86 min | Horror
The deceased have risen with the instinct to feed on the living as a family is trapped during a zombie apocalypse. Wales. Based on George A. Romero's classic "Night of the Living Dead".
Director: James Plumb | Stars: Sule Rimi, Kathy Saxondale, Lee Bane, Terry Victor
Votes: 1,548
Another spin-off of the original.
27. Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn (2015)
62 min | Animation, Action, Horror
A group of survivors trapped in a New York apartment fight to stay alive against legions of zombies.
Directors: Zebediah De Soto, Krisztian Majdik | Stars: Amanda Niles, Gus Malliarodakis, Danielle Harris, Bill Moseley
Votes: 452
Animated retelling of the original movie in a different setting.
28. Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated (2009)
Not Rated | 96 min | Animation, Action, Drama
Night of the Living Dead: REANIMATED features the work of various artists, animators, and filmmakers from around the globe. The mixed media featured include puppetry, CGI, hand-drawn ... See full summary »
Director: Mike Schneider | Stars: William Burchinal, Bill Cardille, Marilyn Eastman, Karl Hardman
Votes: 316
Animated retelling of the original movie.
29. Night of the Living 3D Dead (2013)
96 min | Horror
Barbara (Gemma Atkinson) is visiting the cemetery with brother Johnny to visit their father's grave, when an unexpected traumatic event forces her to run to the safety of a nearby farmhouse... See full summary »
Director: Samuel Victor | Stars: Gemma Atkinson, Nathaniel Francis, Gregory Caine, Joel Berg
Votes: 330
Another spin-off/remake of the original.
30. Night of the Living Dead 3D: Re-Animation (2012)
R | 88 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
After inheriting the family mortuary, a pyrophobic mortician accidentally exposes hundreds of un-cremated bodies to toxic medical waste. As the corpses re-animate, the mortician's ... See full summary »
Director: Jeff Broadstreet | Stars: Andrew Divoff, Jeffrey Combs, Sarah Lieving, Robin Sydney
Votes: 2,143
Prequel to Night of the Living Dead 3D.
31. Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)
R | 80 min | Horror
Both an homage to and a re-imagining of the original 1968 film, this update follows a group of survivors trapped in a farmhouse battling a siege of undead zombies....in 3D!
Director: Jeff Broadstreet | Stars: Brianna Brown, Joshua DesRoches, Sid Haig, Greg Travis
Votes: 3,879 | Gross: $0.22M
Original movie remade a bit AND NOW IT'S IN 3D! That was definitely a smart choice, oh I'm sure it's the best addition ever!
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