What Movie Has The Biggest Impact On The Zombie Culture?

[UNDEAD FRED]

What zombie movie do you think has the biggest overall impact on the current zombie culture? Yes we know there would of never been a Dawn of the Dead 1978 without Night of the Living Dead 1968, but the question is What zombie movie has the greatest overall impact on the way other zombie movies are made, special effects, gore, what is a zombie. And the greastest impact on zombie novels, comic books, and thier fans.

[DarthJoe8]

DotD 78 hands down. The apocalyptic nature of the story does it for me. The very idea that this is happening worldwide and there is NO help coming, is down right chilling.:scare:

GARs best EVER!! :drinking:

EDIT: Who else voted for DotD 78?? :lol:

[mastergeorge]

I feel like dawn of the dead laid out the guidelines for what we hope a outbreak is like I seen the new day of the dead and that was rediculas (so bad i hadta spell wrong)

[Victor Clark]

I'm sorry in advance, but I personally think that the movie that made the biggest impact on zombie culture is the Return of the Living Dead Series. Think about it: how many zombie movies other than those have zombies solely eating brains? I don't know of any! What do people who aren't zombie freaks like us think of when they hear zombies? Brains! Seriously, ROTLD has solely given the zombie culture the most irritating stereotype of all time, and while Romero's films are very VERY impacting in both zombie and horror history, you gotta admit that those annoying zombies that yell "BRAINS!" have done a lot with such little vocabulary.

[Creeping Death]

Although Dawn of the Dead is considerably better, Night of the Living Dead had a massive impact on zombies.

It was the movie that made zombies want to eat people.
It was the movie that made zombies truly dead.
It was the movie that made zombies scary.

Without this movie, Dawn of the Dead may have never happened.

:guns:

[undeadeddie]

I'm sorry in advance, but I personally think that the movie that made the biggest impact on zombie culture is the Return of the Living Dead Series. ... What do people who aren't zombie freaks like us think of when they hear zombies? Brains! Seriously, ROTLD has solely given the zombie culture the most irritating stereotype of all time...


Victor Clark, I agree. Just look at the zombie segment in the Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror III" (which, btw, contains very annoying and disappointing commentary on the DVD, with the creators claiming they emulated NOTLD in their cinematographic approach [hah!] whilst also claiming NOTLD itself was not at all scary), and the South Park 1st season Halloween special - both featured "brain eating zombie bastards," (to quote Chef) but, in fact, the zombies ate more than brains in both.

Good grief, how many non-zombie-freak people actually saw ROTLD? I can't imagine that the pervasiveness of "brains" in popular imagination is based on that film having been so widely seen; maybe other pop culture echoes, including the above-mentioned cartoons, music videos, toys, games, brain jello-molds and what-not spread the concept. But, anyway, I am so sick of the brains thing. Last night, watching the Daily Show, I heard Jon Stewart refer to an incarcerated murderer, who confessed to eating a bit of his victim's brain, as a "brain-eating zombie." This may stay with us for a while.

[zombie surfer]

Although Dawn of the Dead is considerably better, Night of the Living Dead had a massive impact on zombies.


Night definately changed the way other film makers viewed zombies but i'd say Dawn has more gore & comedy moments which are commonly used in most zombie movies.

[dead and loving it]

That is a very tough call.:think: Although NOTLD started the ball rolling, I think more movies have emulated DOTD than any other zombie film.

[RIP]

DotD 78 hands down. The apocalyptic nature of the story does it for me. The very idea that this is happening worldwide and there is NO help coming, is down right chilling.:scare:

GARs best EVER!! :drinking:

EDIT: Who else voted for DotD 78?? :lol:


I voted for it too. NOTLD '68 just never did it for me. I like the 1990 remake of it better from Tom Savini.

[fast1]

DOTD 78http://photosnag.com/img/3322/n09x0302vnsn/clear.gif

[toe_tag]

Sure, Romero's brilliance has had the biggest impact on the zombie scene overall, but currently? I'd have to say 28 Days Later (as conflicted as I am about this flick) has had the most impact in recent years. I mean, when I get talking to people and they find out I'm a zombie obsesso, guaranteed they'll ask if I've seen 28 Days Later because of its popular, maintream appeal. I don't even bother groaning about the 'Infected' not being zombies anymore.

I believe running zombies are so the norm in the zombie films being churned out these days because of the success of this flick. It upsets me.

We have to accept that we'll probably never have anything like Dawn '78 again. We can be as retrospective with our zombie purism as we like, but at the end of the day, we still want something new, something challenging, something that makes us uncomfortable because it goes against our deep-rooted values of what a good zombie film is.

[OVERKILL]

I voted other. I agree that Return of the Living Dead has probably had the biggest influence on zombies in popular culture for the simple fact that it gave zombies a catch phrase - BRAAAAIIINNSSS!! That was agreat movie with a perfect blend of horor and comedy and is loaded with small details you have to watch very closely to catch. The onle bad parts about this movie were the sequels and the fact that it greatly contributed to zombies being seen as a joke; due , I think, to speech (especially the catchphrase), zombies running, and them being indestructable - all 3 contributing to making the suspension of disbelief impossible. It's easier to let these things slide in a comedy, but when "serious" horror movies start having running zombies it's rediculous.
Runner up goes to The Last Man on Earth (the first, and IMO best, screen adaption of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend). It wasn't really a zombie movie, but it was the main influence for Romero's Night of the Living Dead. I think if that movie weren't made we would still have zombies running wild on plantations and turning on their master as a major plot device.

[zombie surfer]

I voted other. I agree that Return of the Living Dead has probably had the biggest influence on zombies in popular culture for the simple fact that it gave zombies a catch phrase - BRAAAAIIINNSSS!! That was agreat movie with a perfect blend of horor and comedy and is loaded with small details you have to watch very closely to catch.

I totally agree, It's one of my personal faves & had a big impact on popular culture as far as general film fans go which was evident by it beating Day of the Dead at the box office but i still think as far as zombie culture goes Dawn is still more important.

[Subgenius]

I think that it is hard to say any one film had the biggest impact. They all tend to build on each other. ROTLD would not have been made without George Romero's Night and Dawn films. And, there were other non-zombie films (28 Days/Weeks Later are not zombie films either) that had an impact on the zombie sub-genre of horror. The Last Man On Earth (1964) had an impact on George Romero, and he often cites that film as an inspiration for Night of the Living Dead. Other films, like Omega Man (1971) and The Crazies (1972) also impacted and informed the genre. It comes back to that old saying, "If I appear mighty, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants."

But, if I had to name a single film, then hands down, for me, Dawn of the Dead (1978) had the biggest impact on the genre over-all. It also has been among the biggest money makers in the zombie genre with a budget of $450,000 and brought in over $70 million in the box office. That is a 140-to-1 profit ratio. No zombie film has ever made that type of profit-to-budget ratio. It stayed in theaters for nearly a decade in late shows and Grindhouses all across the country. It was serious and apocalyptic and had a great story. It was not a dark comedy like ROTLD. Dawn 78 was iconic and influenced everything that came after it, including ROTLD. If Dawn 78 had never been made, then the zombie sub-genre might never have gotten off the ground.

[Morbidfilm]

Dawn of the Dead
Romero's story telling and Tom Savini's zombie and gore effects showed everyone else what could be done with the zombie film.

[kanUsurvive]

I voted for it too. NOTLD '68 just never did it for me. I like the 1990 remake of it better from Tom Savini.

I like the 1990 version better myself.

I voted for DOTD78 though. Night started it all off but without Dawn the fascination would have never caught on in my opinion.

[Frallon]

Although i strongly agree with everyones beliefs on how zombie culture got the ball rolling, since 2004's dawn of the dead i cant help but realize how many horrible zombie movies have been shot into production, so i'll have to say DOTD 2004 bc it influenced everyones thoughts on what they saw the zombie apocalypse as...n then it also made movies like Automation Transfusion sadly possible.

[MaxVeers]

Night of the Living Dead. No question.

Sure, Dawn made it mainstream and compared them to "us," and Return gave everyone the mantra that we all know, even if we haven't seen the film, but before Night, zombies were slaves, mindless, soulless bodies being used for the purposes of some controlling being. After Night, zombies were something different entirely.

[MaxVeers]

Although i strongly agree with everyones beliefs on how zombie culture got the ball rolling, since 2004's dawn of the dead i cant help but realize how many horrible zombie movies have been shot into production, so i'll have to say DOTD 2004 bc it influenced everyones thoughts on what they saw the zombie apocalypse as...n then it also made movies like Automation Transfusion sadly possible.

Hundreds, quite literally hundreds, of zombie movies came before the remake of Dawn of the Dead. Dawn 04 was just the result of a culture's desire to see zombies run after interest was flared and stoked by 28 Days Later, and Rubinstein's desire to make a quick buck. Hundreds of movies before it, hundreds after it.

The only reason so many came after it was because, since the early 2000s or even a bit before, decent-quality DV cameras have made is extremely easy for amateur filmmakers to shoot, produce, edit, and copy low-budget films of their own. No more renting, borrowing, or buying real film cameras and dealing with the excessive cost of buying and editing film stock, no more crude shooting and editing on VHS. With the increase in popularity of zombie films that came along with 28 Days Later, after the 90s slump, came an increase in interest. With that increase in interest came copies, remakes, low-budget offerings, and new, digitally remastered copies of forgotten classics.

So, in that respect, 28 Days Later has FAR more to do with the resurgence of zombie cinema than it's clones do, but NO films have more influence than those that originated the genre.

[kiltedninja]

I gotta say both Notld and Dotd because without the first, we'd not have the idea of the zombie as we see it today, it got the ball rolling, Dotd just made it roll faster.

[UNDEAD FRED]

Although i strongly agree with everyones beliefs on how zombie culture got the ball rolling, since 2004's dawn of the dead i cant help but realize how many horrible zombie movies have been shot into production, so i'll have to say DOTD 2004 bc it influenced everyones thoughts on what they saw the zombie apocalypse as...n then it also made movies like Automation Transfusion sadly possible.

There is a good point here about DOTD04. Night and Dawn 78 came out when there was not a internet. DOTD04 came out around the time that internet forums started to get popular. I think ATZ came out around 2004. So I can see the point to were DOTD04 has drawn in a lot of new younger fans into the zombie culture. Back in the 1980s Night, Dawn 78 were more of a cult movie thing. I used to go to a few midnight showings back in the 80s. most of it was word of mouth.

[Frallon]

Hundreds, quite literally hundreds, of zombie movies came before the remake of Dawn of the Dead. Dawn 04 was just the result of a culture's desire to see zombies run after interest was flared and stoked by 28 Days Later, and Rubinstein's desire to make a quick buck. Hundreds of movies before it, hundreds after it.
I meant it as the single greatest backwards impact, as in since then ppl have been challenging themselves what a zombie is.

[Trumble0]

I voted NOTLD, First zombie movie I ever saw and probably the first one I'll show any kids I have when they're old enough. Like everyone else has been saying before NOTLD Zombies were like Haitian Black magic just undead Slaves basically, not the flesh eaters we know and love, or the brain eaters we kind of resent... The ROTLD movies make me anxious, because there is no way to kill them short of cremation. I think in ROTLD 4: Necropolis I think they can be killed with headshots and brain trauma. But I dont like the invincible zombies :scare: Im glad those movies didn't come out first otherwise the standard zombie would be impossible to kill basically

[retro zombie killer]

Those are some good points about DOTD '04 getting the ball rolling for the younger generation!! That's the movie that got my nephews interested in zombies movies! Now the older one likes the '78 version better! But he also like NOTLD '68 too! NOTLD the original scared him more then the original DOTD did! He's around 11 and has seen both movies around the same time but NOTLD 68 made a bigger impression on him! So I'd say for the out and out fright factor that NOTLD is scarier! It was the second he saw too, he wanted to see the original DOTLD first!

As for which made the most impression out of the two I'd say NOTLD because it really blew peoples minds who saw it back in the 60's! More people may have seen DOTLD but a lot more people remember NOTLD and have seen it on TV or rented it! A lot of people with zero interest in Zombies watch this movie because of the Social Commentary on the times (Late 1960's) in that it made! So I'd say NOTLD gets my Vote on making an impact on Culture in general! Although I thinks it's a tie on which movie out DOTD or NOTLD made more of an impact on "The Zombie Culture? "

[Partymanjoe]

I feel like dawn of the dead laid out the guidelines for what we hope a outbreak is like I seen the new day of the dead and that was rediculas (so bad i hadta spell wrong)

dude the new one is down right gory! what the hell man your just sitting there, your mom is sick and you take her to the hospital, everyone else is coughing up a storm in the hospital and suddenly a massive infection starts raging out everywhere! they take the vents to a room with a door barricaded but they got smart and left the hospital.

[ZombiePunisher]

I voted for other because 28 days later i thnk changed it the most, i mean seriously "running" zombies!!!!!

[ZombiesAteMyDog]

I voted for other because 28 days later i thnk changed it the most, i mean seriously "running" zombies!!!!!

except for the whole there are no zombies in 28 days later thing :x

as for the question at hand, I want to say dawn 78, but its gotta be night of the living dead , if it wasnt for night their would be no what we consider to be zombies today, and as a result of that no dawn to influence sooo many zombie movies that came after it, so yea my answer is night , but just barely eeking out dawn.

:drinking:

[zombiekilling101]

Night of the living dead was mainstream. DAWN was not. So NIGHT had the biggest impact on a whole. My personal fav is DAWN though. man I love that movie.

[neoanderson9318]

Yeah, I agree with most people on here. Night was, and still is, considered the first "real" zombie movie. But, Dawn of the Dead '78 is what really got the zombie genre going. And, like many other people have already said, without Night, there wouldn't have been a Dawn... So my answer to this question is Night had the biggest impact on the zombie culture, although Dawn is what got the zombie genre really going.

[Carlathezombie]

Im gonna go old school, with the original night of the living dead. i just love it so much. a perfect, loose all hope, end of the ****ing world undead children eating their mothers story. the ending was perfect.

[Steve P]

Night didn't make much of an impact in Europe, but Dawn was huge, right across Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

So Dawn in Europe, but I'd imagine Night in the US.

[Subgenius]

I think that Night of the Living Dead opened up the door, and then Dawn of the Dead made the huge impact. Both films are extremely important to the formation of the zombie genre. Together their impact is the biggest for the zombie culture, IMO. It seems that you cannot have one without the other.

[ZombiesAteMyDog]

I think that Night of the Living Dead opened up the door, and then Dawn of the Dead made the huge impact. Both films are extremely important to the formation of the zombie genre. Together their impact is the biggest for the zombie culture, IMO. It seems that you cannot have one without the other.

perfectly said sub :clap:

[UNDEAD FRED]

Night didn't make much of an impact in Europe, but Dawn was huge, right across Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

So Dawn in Europe, but I'd imagine Night in the US.

Talking to other people on the net they say it is hard to find a DVD copy of Dawn of the Dead 78 in the UK?

[Steve P]

Talking to other people on the net they say it is hard to find a DVD copy of Dawn of the Dead 78 in the UK?

Not really. The US cut is widely available, as are the other versions if you hunt around. The Ultimate Edition isn't available on Region 2, I assume for licensing reasons.

[LJHolcon]

Dawn of the Dead had the biggest direct impact... but since it couldn't have occurred without Night, I'm going to have to go with Night of the Living Dead.

Night of the Living Dead proposed zombies that were spread like a virus (changing the very common theme of Voodoo seen in nearly all zombies movies of the past.)

Now, basically all you see are the viral strands in movies.

[Lowrie Productions]

Night Of The Living Dead set the standards for the modern zombie film IMO

dont get me wrong Dawn is great but doesnt compare to NOTLD

Dan, Yonkers Vet.

[Slight of the Living Dead]

Tough question, and one that may not have one specific movie as the answer. Night of the Living Dead obviously set the standard for the "standard" zombie rules...Dawn of the Dead really fleshed the story out and made zombies very real for a lot of people...Shaun of the Dead made a lot of people realize that movies about the living dead don't have to be one-trick ponies and that you can include comedy and even romance into a zombie film...there have been a lot of great "bright spots" in the history of zombie cinema that have really helped advance the cause for all of us!

--Tony