johnboy3434
07-20-2007, 12:57 AM
I'm the type of person that likes to see every installment of a movie series I like, no matter how many installments there are or how bad the series gets (I actually bought Jaws: The Revenge :puke:). Damn if I knew what I was getting into when I bought Night of the Living Dead (the 30th anniversary edition). So, the next thing I do is go on my two favorite websites, IMDb and Wikipedia, to find all the sequels. I didn't expect fifty titles with "of the dead" somewhere in their names. It makes sense when you think about it, though. "Of the Dead" or any combination of those words are pretty common in movie titles (especially in the horror genre), so copyrighting them is out of the question. But for God's sake, couldn't the ripoff directors show some level of restraint?!
I happen to be a goody-two-shoes who likes to buy his horror movies legitimately. Now, I'm not poor by any stretch of the imaginations, but I'm not prepared to send off for several dozen DVDs at the drop of a hat. Turns out, though, that, as I looked closer, almost all of them aren't actually related to the original Romero/Russo masterpiece in any way. So I thought to myself, "Other people new to the franchise are going to be perplexed by this same issue." I can imagine those numbers are rather large on this board. After all, this is the largest zombie-related movie forum on the 'Net. And I think I can say without hesitation that the Living Dead and Zombi franchises are the most lucrative zombie film series of all time.
So, after all the crap above, I decided to come up with a basic guide for which Living Dead movies are official and which are basically retitled dub trash. Hopefully it will be helpful to whoever is curious. If this has been done, I'm sorry, but I couldn't find a topic specifically devoted to this.
The Living Dead Series
Official Movies
I should point out that I am using a very broad definition of "official." For me to consider a movie "official," it must have "of the Dead" in the title and it must meet one of the following criteria:
a.) It is made with the involvement of George A. Romero or John A. Russo.
b.) It is a legally sanctioned sequel to a film made with the involvement of Romero or Russo.
c.) It is a legally sanctioned remake of a film made with the involvement of Romero or Russo.
Alright, with that out of the way, let's begin.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Written by, Featuring, and Edited by both Romero and Russo; Directed by and Cinematographed by Romero
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Directed by, Written by, Featuring, and Edited by Romero
Day of the Dead (1985)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Directed by, Written by, and Featuring Romero
The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Based on the novel by Russo
Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Sequel to film with Russo's involvement
Night of the Living Dead (1990)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Written and Produced by Romero
Return of the Living Dead III (1993)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Sequel to film with Russo's involvement
Children of the Living Dead (2001)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Produced by Russo
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Remake of film with Romero's involvement
Land of the Dead (2005)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Directed by, Written by, and Featuring Romero
Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis (2005)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Sequel to film with Russo's involvement
Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave (2005)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Sequel to film with Russo's involvement
Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Sequel to film with Romero's involvement
Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Remake of film with involvement of both Romero and Russo
Day of the Dead (2007) *yet to be released*
-Reason for "Official" Status: Remake of film with Romero's involvement
Diary of the Dead (2007) *yet to be released*
-Reason for "Official" Status: Directed and Written by Romero
A good many of you (and Romero, too, probably) would object to the inclusion of Contagium and NotLD3D. I can understand these objections, but the company that made Contagium did have the rights to the Day of the Dead title, so it was a legal sequel. Because of a screw up on someone's part, the original NotLD is now in the public domain, meaning any remake is legally sanctioned. So those two are included on a mere technicality.
Any movie with "of the Dead" in its title besides these 16 are not truly connected to the series in any way.
Unofficial Movies
On the next level down, we have movies made since the original NotLD that originally had "of the Dead" somewhere in their titles. These are not officially related to the Dead series in any way and were simply made to cash in on its success.
The Invasion of the Dead (1973)
The Rebellion of the Dead (1973)
The Orgy of the Dead (1973)
Garden of the Dead (1974)
Fear in the City of the Living Dead (1980)
The Lake of the Living Dead (1981)
The Curse of the Screaming Dead (1982)
The Grave of the Living Dead (1983)
Raiders of the Living Dead (1986)
Loves of the Living Dead (1986)
The Revenge of the Living Dead (1987)
Nudist Colony of the Dead (1991)
Reign of the Dead (2000)
Prison of the Dead (2000)
Legion of the Dead (2001)
House of the Dead (2003)
Night Off of the Living Dead (2004)
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Shadows of the Dead (2004)
Shadows of the Dead (2004) [sic]
Song of the Dead (2004)
Night of the Hungry Dead (2004)
Museum of the Dead (2004)
House of the Dead 2 (2005)
Legion of the Dead (2005)
Song of the Dead (2005)
Knight of the Living Dead (2005)
Hood of the Living Dead (2005)
War of the Dead (2006)
Brunch of the Dead (2006)
Story of the Dead (2006)
Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (2006)
Dorm of the Dead (2006)
Keg of the Dead (2006)
Night of the Dead: Leben Tod (2006)
Last Rite of the Dead (2006)
The Island of the Living Dead (2006)
Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane (2007)
War of the Dead (2007) *yet to be released*
Invasion of the Not Quite Dead (2008) *yet to be released*
Dance of the Dead (2008) *yet to be released*
If the Dead movie you see does not appear on either of these lists, then it was never meant to be a Dead movie to begin with, and was simply retitled during a rerelease.
The Zombi Series
Official Movies
I decided to throw this in because it is basically the bastard child of the Living Dead series and because it has the single most confusing sequel history I've ever seen. In fact, these movies would actually fit into the above list, since they were legally sanctioned sequels to the original Dawn of the Dead... but only in Italy (and only in title). For those who don't know, Zombi was the title of Dawn of the Dead over in Italy.
Zombi (see: Dawn of the Dead [1978])
Zombi 2 (1979) (aka Zombie aka Zombie Flesh Eaters)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Sequel to film with Romero's involvement
Zombi 3 (1988) (aka Zombie 3 aka Zombie Flesh Eaters 2)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Sequel to film with Romero's involvement
Now there are DVDs with the titles of Zombi 4-6 circulating everywhere, but after some research I can say this with absolute certainty: EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE MOVIES IS A RETITLE OF SOME TOTALLY UNRELATED MOVIE! That's right, folks. The above are the only three official Zombi movies. Doesn't that make things easier?
Unofficial Movies
There were some films, though, that originally had "Zombi" in their title (possibly to cash in on the legitimate movies' success).
Zombi Holocaust (1980)
Curse of the Zombi (1989)
Zombi 1 (1995)
The Zombi of Cape Red (1997)
Zombi: The Creation (2007)
Again, if the Zombi movie you have appears on neither list, it was not a Zombi movie to begin with and was simply retitled.
As far as I can tell, the Zombi series is the only line of legally sanctioned foreign sequels to the Living Dead series. However, if any others are out there, I would like to have them brought to my attention so I can add them to the list. Hope this helps the newbies!
I happen to be a goody-two-shoes who likes to buy his horror movies legitimately. Now, I'm not poor by any stretch of the imaginations, but I'm not prepared to send off for several dozen DVDs at the drop of a hat. Turns out, though, that, as I looked closer, almost all of them aren't actually related to the original Romero/Russo masterpiece in any way. So I thought to myself, "Other people new to the franchise are going to be perplexed by this same issue." I can imagine those numbers are rather large on this board. After all, this is the largest zombie-related movie forum on the 'Net. And I think I can say without hesitation that the Living Dead and Zombi franchises are the most lucrative zombie film series of all time.
So, after all the crap above, I decided to come up with a basic guide for which Living Dead movies are official and which are basically retitled dub trash. Hopefully it will be helpful to whoever is curious. If this has been done, I'm sorry, but I couldn't find a topic specifically devoted to this.
The Living Dead Series
Official Movies
I should point out that I am using a very broad definition of "official." For me to consider a movie "official," it must have "of the Dead" in the title and it must meet one of the following criteria:
a.) It is made with the involvement of George A. Romero or John A. Russo.
b.) It is a legally sanctioned sequel to a film made with the involvement of Romero or Russo.
c.) It is a legally sanctioned remake of a film made with the involvement of Romero or Russo.
Alright, with that out of the way, let's begin.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Written by, Featuring, and Edited by both Romero and Russo; Directed by and Cinematographed by Romero
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Directed by, Written by, Featuring, and Edited by Romero
Day of the Dead (1985)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Directed by, Written by, and Featuring Romero
The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Based on the novel by Russo
Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Sequel to film with Russo's involvement
Night of the Living Dead (1990)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Written and Produced by Romero
Return of the Living Dead III (1993)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Sequel to film with Russo's involvement
Children of the Living Dead (2001)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Produced by Russo
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Remake of film with Romero's involvement
Land of the Dead (2005)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Directed by, Written by, and Featuring Romero
Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis (2005)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Sequel to film with Russo's involvement
Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave (2005)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Sequel to film with Russo's involvement
Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Sequel to film with Romero's involvement
Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Remake of film with involvement of both Romero and Russo
Day of the Dead (2007) *yet to be released*
-Reason for "Official" Status: Remake of film with Romero's involvement
Diary of the Dead (2007) *yet to be released*
-Reason for "Official" Status: Directed and Written by Romero
A good many of you (and Romero, too, probably) would object to the inclusion of Contagium and NotLD3D. I can understand these objections, but the company that made Contagium did have the rights to the Day of the Dead title, so it was a legal sequel. Because of a screw up on someone's part, the original NotLD is now in the public domain, meaning any remake is legally sanctioned. So those two are included on a mere technicality.
Any movie with "of the Dead" in its title besides these 16 are not truly connected to the series in any way.
Unofficial Movies
On the next level down, we have movies made since the original NotLD that originally had "of the Dead" somewhere in their titles. These are not officially related to the Dead series in any way and were simply made to cash in on its success.
The Invasion of the Dead (1973)
The Rebellion of the Dead (1973)
The Orgy of the Dead (1973)
Garden of the Dead (1974)
Fear in the City of the Living Dead (1980)
The Lake of the Living Dead (1981)
The Curse of the Screaming Dead (1982)
The Grave of the Living Dead (1983)
Raiders of the Living Dead (1986)
Loves of the Living Dead (1986)
The Revenge of the Living Dead (1987)
Nudist Colony of the Dead (1991)
Reign of the Dead (2000)
Prison of the Dead (2000)
Legion of the Dead (2001)
House of the Dead (2003)
Night Off of the Living Dead (2004)
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Shadows of the Dead (2004)
Shadows of the Dead (2004) [sic]
Song of the Dead (2004)
Night of the Hungry Dead (2004)
Museum of the Dead (2004)
House of the Dead 2 (2005)
Legion of the Dead (2005)
Song of the Dead (2005)
Knight of the Living Dead (2005)
Hood of the Living Dead (2005)
War of the Dead (2006)
Brunch of the Dead (2006)
Story of the Dead (2006)
Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (2006)
Dorm of the Dead (2006)
Keg of the Dead (2006)
Night of the Dead: Leben Tod (2006)
Last Rite of the Dead (2006)
The Island of the Living Dead (2006)
Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane (2007)
War of the Dead (2007) *yet to be released*
Invasion of the Not Quite Dead (2008) *yet to be released*
Dance of the Dead (2008) *yet to be released*
If the Dead movie you see does not appear on either of these lists, then it was never meant to be a Dead movie to begin with, and was simply retitled during a rerelease.
The Zombi Series
Official Movies
I decided to throw this in because it is basically the bastard child of the Living Dead series and because it has the single most confusing sequel history I've ever seen. In fact, these movies would actually fit into the above list, since they were legally sanctioned sequels to the original Dawn of the Dead... but only in Italy (and only in title). For those who don't know, Zombi was the title of Dawn of the Dead over in Italy.
Zombi (see: Dawn of the Dead [1978])
Zombi 2 (1979) (aka Zombie aka Zombie Flesh Eaters)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Sequel to film with Romero's involvement
Zombi 3 (1988) (aka Zombie 3 aka Zombie Flesh Eaters 2)
-Reason for "Official" Status: Sequel to film with Romero's involvement
Now there are DVDs with the titles of Zombi 4-6 circulating everywhere, but after some research I can say this with absolute certainty: EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE MOVIES IS A RETITLE OF SOME TOTALLY UNRELATED MOVIE! That's right, folks. The above are the only three official Zombi movies. Doesn't that make things easier?
Unofficial Movies
There were some films, though, that originally had "Zombi" in their title (possibly to cash in on the legitimate movies' success).
Zombi Holocaust (1980)
Curse of the Zombi (1989)
Zombi 1 (1995)
The Zombi of Cape Red (1997)
Zombi: The Creation (2007)
Again, if the Zombi movie you have appears on neither list, it was not a Zombi movie to begin with and was simply retitled.
As far as I can tell, the Zombi series is the only line of legally sanctioned foreign sequels to the Living Dead series. However, if any others are out there, I would like to have them brought to my attention so I can add them to the list. Hope this helps the newbies!