We all know zombies; the flesh-hungry reanimated corpses who often shamble towards their prey looking to add them to the ranks. Yes, they’ve become a staple of the horror scene and are generally one of the most popular creatures to crawl out of the ground and into our collective nightmares. I joined up with my good buddy Felix to talk about the unique zombies to fear, and the five zombie slayers that battle them.
Without further ado, here are our ten favorite Zombies.
List some of your own favorites in the comments!
10. John Marston (Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare)
If you’ve played games in the last 10 years, it’s likely that you’ve heard of Red Dead Redemption. Basically, it’s a western film starring you in the lead role as the former outlaw, John Marston, who is out to take down his old partner. But the really horror meat comes when you play the Undead Nightmare add-on, which is a game unto itself. This thrusts Marston directly into a zombie apocalypse right in the old west and, ultimately, ends with him dying and returning as a zombie himself. But he retains all his human senses and continues to fight on against the plague. This provides a rather unique experience as it is the only game I can think where a zombie is killing other zombies. Marston is likable and compelling as a character, so he’s easy to love even in his zombie form. If you haven’t tried this game out, give it a go.
#9. Matthew Cordell (Maniac Cop 2 & Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence)
Horror fans may very well already be familiar with Officer Cordell from the slasher classic, Maniac Cop. But his story didn’t end there as he decided to get up and continue his rampage in two more sequels. He’s still got the same M.O. and is just as brutal, only this time he doesn’t have to worry about any pesky nuisances like dying. Some might call him a bit of a Jason Voorhees rip-off, but he’s fun enough and offers a different experience outside of the “killing horny teenagers in the woods” formula.
#8. The Penis (Beyond Re-Animator)
Alright, I’m not going to try and justify this as some truly wonderful character. It is what it is, that being a man’s penis being brought back to life as it crawls around a prison. It also fits perfectly within the series’ humour. The big shining moment for this bad boy is at the end though as it crawls after a reanimated rat and battles it, eventually chasing the rodent around the corner where the rat screams, implying a clear victor. A zombified penis kills a zombified rat. If that isn’t enough to sell you on seeing this movie, nothing is.
#7. Solomon Grundy (Justice League)
Possibly one of the most famous comic book villains, especially of the undead variety, Grundy has seen a lot of life in many mediums (despite being pretty dead). He’s shown up in various cartoons, the Batman: Arkham games, and even in the hit series Arrow. But I am choosing to focus on my favourite version of the character, that being the one in the Justice League television series. There he was given a layer of depth that showed that he was more than just a brawling super-strong zombie, portraying him as very lost and even tragic. His story lead him on a quest to reclaim his soul, which ended with him sacrificing himself to save Hawkgirl. It was incredibly moving and stands out as one of the best stories in the series.
#6. Judge Hopkins (ParaNorman)
You want to talk tragic, let’s talk about ParaNorman. This whole movie is a tragedy masquerading as kid friendly horror story. The tortured souls of the people who killed a young girl for being a witch are brought back to life, lead by the Judge here. They spend the film desperately trying to tell the protagonist of their plight, but are mistaken for simple monsters who are there to do nothing fut harm. Ironic, as they now mean no harm yet caused so much harm when they lived. When their true nature is finally revealed you see them as they all truly are, sad remorseful people who only want to end this whole situation. The Judge especially takes center stage, being the one who finally talks to Norman and being the emotional center of the group of zombies, feeling that he himself is most to blame.
Tomorrow we celebrate Day of the Dead with Part Two of Our Top Ten Favorite Zombies and our Five Favorite Zombie Slayers!