1. Dead Alive (1992)
Last up is Dead Alive, Peter Jacksons splatter film classic. In case you didnt know, Peter Jackson wasnt always crafting fantasy epics, he started off his career making some truly bizarre b-movies (including a completely deranged and sickeningly entertaining
The Muppet Show parody). Dead Alive is arguably the best one, an over the top gorefest of a zombie film. The mother of a lovestruck young man named Lionel is bitten by a Sumatran Rat Monkey (Keep an eye out for it in Peter Jacksons King Kong), turning her into a zombie that Lionel desperately tries to keep tucked away. What ensues is some gleeful over the top zombie mayhem and carnage, featuring buckets upon buckets of gore. This film also includes a kung-fu priest who, and I quote, kicks ass for the Lord. You definitely want to watch this now, right? Its also absurdly gory, so if thats your thing, this is the best film on the list for that. Possibly the most interesting thing about this film is just seeing how it compares to Peter Jacksons later films. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a far cry away from Dead Alive, but watching it again after seeing his previous films reveals more connections than one might previously think. The editing, shots, humor and creature effects in the LOTR trilogy are natural extensions of Peter Jacksons early efforts, and Dead Alive is almost worth it to watch just so one can see his evolution. Did we miss any under-appreciated zombie flicks that you think deserved to be mentioned? Share your own picks below.