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Zombies in pop culture: Our guide to the best zombie-themed movies, books and TV

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By Cary Darling

cdarling@dfw.com

Posted 8:41am on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012

This year, zombies have shuffled their way into public consciousness as never before -- the Oct. 14 Season 3 premiere of The Walking Dead (pictured) attracted nearly 11 million viewers -- so, in honor of Halloween we're offering the unbitten a guide to the zombie essentials. Here's a slide show of the best zombie-themed movies, books and TV. (Vote for your faves in our story on the zombie craze, by clicking here.)
(Gene Page/AMC)
Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan) takes a whack at a zombie in the prison yard on season 3 of 'The Walking Dead.'
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2. Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Dawn of the Dead (2004, above) -- As much as I like the original (which was Romero's sequel to Night of the Living Dead) and as much I prefer Romero's slow flesh-eaters over the undead Usain Bolts you get in the remake, Zack Snyder's version bristles with a combustible energy. And he does it without destroying the underlying message about soul-deadening consumerism.
(AP/Michael Gibson)
(L to r) Michael (Jake Weber), Ana (Sarah Polley), Andre (Mekhi Phifer) and Luda (Inna Korobkina) charge to head off a zombie break-in in the zombie action thriller, "Dawn of the Dead."
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3. 28 Days Later (2002) and 28 Weeks Later (2007) -- It's hard to pick between Danny Boyle's jumpy Days and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's relentlessly grim follow-up. In both, England has been emptied of humanity by a virus that turns people into ravenous monsters and it's up to a few surviving souls (including Jeremy Renner in Weeks) to make the world right again.
(AP/Peter Mountain)
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Robert Carlyle is chased by the infected in28 Weeks Later
(AP Photo/Fox Atomic)
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4. Shaun of the Dead (2004), Zombieland (2009) and Juan of the Dead (2011) -- Who knew zombie movies could be funny? In all three, a nerd -- Simon Pegg in Shaun, Jesse Eisenberg in Zombieland (above: co-star Emma Stone and some, um, fans) and Cuba's Alexis Diaz de Villegas in Juan -- become reluctant, and often comic, heroes when they have to lead the battle against the hungry hordes. Juan carries extra weight as it was shot on the streets of Havana and is a sly commentary on Cuban politics.
(Glen Wilson)
Jesse Eisenberg (left) and Woody Harrelson star in Columbia Pictures' comedy Zombieland.
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5. Dead Snow (2009) -- What's worse than a zombie? A Nazi zombie, of course. As a group of vacationing Norwegian med students find out when they arrive at an isolated mountain cabin for a ski weekend.
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BOOKS: 1. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (2006) -- Inspired by both Romero and Studs Turkel's The Good War: An Oral History of WWII, Max Brooks' novel uses a variety of points-of-view to paint a portrait of a world gone zombie. Brad Pitt and Matthew Fox are set to star in the movie coming in 2013.
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2. The Walking Dead Book One (2006) -- What is now a hit TV show began life as a series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman. If you're at all a fan of the show, it's time to start at the beginning. And if you can't get enough of reading about Walking Dead the series, a new magazine for print and digital was announced this week.
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3. The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead (2003) -- Before penning World War Z, Brooks wrote this instruction manual for the end times that includes such sage advice as "use your head, cut off theirs" and "ideal protection = tight clothes, short hair."
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4. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2009) -- This bestseller from Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) transformed Jane Austen's watercress-sandwich of a novel into something just a bit more visceral.
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2. Talking Dead (2011-present) -- The Walking Dead has spawned its own talk show. Hosted by Chris Hardwick, it features WD stars and show runners and the occasional Hollywood fan like Patton Oswald or Kevin Smith. 10 p.m. Sundays, AMC.
(Jordin Althaus/AMC)
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