Zombies remain one of the most eternal movie monsters, whether their origin is viral in nature or voodoo-related. The reanimated corpses driven by an insatiable need to consume flesh provide fertile ground for horror, also doubling as a reflection of our current sociopolitical fears, making their evolution in film one of the most interesting. With […]
Zombies remain one of the most eternal movie monsters, whether their origin is viral in nature or voodoo-related. The reanimated corpses driven by an insatiable need to consume flesh provide fertile ground for horror, also doubling as a reflection of our current sociopolitical fears, making their evolution in film one of the most interesting.
With more seasons of “The Walking Dead” spinoffs still going strong and the recent releases of Ziam and 28 Years Later, this week’s streaming picks salute zombie horror movies that showcase flesh eaters in stylish, gory form. Here’s where to stream them this week.
Director Zack Snyder and writer James Gunn dial up the zombie intensity and then some in this update on George A. Romero’s classic 1978 zombie sequel. The zombie apocalypse begins with a subtle bite on a victim in a hospital and escalates with the world in flames the next morning. It’s fast and unrelenting. Dawn of the Dead ushered in a quicker, meaner brand of zombie. It’s not just the scarier take on the zombie that sets this remake apart, but a stellar ensemble cast led by Sarah Polley as the competent, level-headed nurse Ana. Dawn of the Dead leaves Netflix on August 1, so channel your inner fast-moving zombie and run to watch this one. While the original 1978 classic isn’t on streaming, it is available to rent on Digital.
Dead & Buried – Fandango at Home, Fawesome, Midnight Pulp, NightFlight+, Pluto TV, Screambox, Tubi
Gary Sherman’s underrated ‘80s horror film is unconventional for both its unique undead rules and for its mysterious atmosphere. Set in a small coastal town, Sheriff Gillis must investigate a series of grisly murders of visitors, only to discover that the town’s dead are reanimating. The walking undead in this town aren’t your cookie-cutter zombies, but to explain further would be stepping into massive spoiler territory. The narrative also pays homage to the original zombies, in which the dead were reanimated by way of voodoo (don’t worry, that’s not a spoiler). Though this was a story that favored chills and atmosphere over gore, Stan Winston’s makeup effects made the few gore scenes really stick their landing.
The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue – AMC+, Shudder, Tubi
Jorge Grau’s memorable zombie film centers around George (Ray Lovelock) and Edna (Christina Galbo), a couple of city hippies who meet when Edna backs into George’s motorcycle at a petrol station. She’s on her way to visit her troubled sister while he’s on his way to see friends. It so happens that the area is undergoing a new experimental pest control method in the form of ultrasonic radiation, and it intersects with our protagonists when it wakes the dead and causes a wave of grisly murders. The story plays out like a murder mystery of sorts with a target set on the counter-culture movement, building toward a gore-filled finale courtesy of special makeup effects artistGianetto De Rossi (The Beyond, Zombie, High Tension).
Sugar Hill – Pluto TV, Prime Video, Tubi
Shot and set in Houston, the film follows Diana “Sugar” Hill (Marki Bey) as she summons Baron Samedi (Don Pedro Colley) to unleash zombie revenge for the murder of her lover. That voodoo plays a central role in the film’s story means these zombies aesthetically borrow from the early ‘30s and ‘40s style of the undead. Meaning there’s no viral contagion, and these zombies aren’t hindered by rigor mortis or decay. They’re Samedi’s slaves from beyond the grave. Directed by prolific producer Paul Maslansky (Raw Meat, Race with the Devil) in his only director’s credit, Sugar Hill introduces a stylish queen of zombie-enforced vengeance.
Zombie – AMC+, Fawesome, Screambox, Shudder
While Lucio Fulci’s “Gates of Hell” trilogy features no shortage of slow shambling zombies worthy of inclusion on this list, it’s hard to beat his gruesome take on the subgenre, with the film initially written as a sequel to George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. Also known as Zombi 2 and Zombie Flesh Eaters, the film centers around a Caribbean island inundated by flesh eaters. It’s filled with unforgettable imagery from the famous shark versus zombie underwater sequence to one gnarly burst of ocular trauma. It’s a zombie movie whose gory reputation precedes it.
