8. Dance Of The Dead (2006)
Far more traditional than many of the other entries here, Gregg Bishops indie romp isnt notable for its new take on zombiesthey are the Romero regulars you expector for a particularly innovative conceptits teens fighting shamblers on Prom nightbut because of how how much fun it has with genre tropes moldier than tombstone moss. Bishop was a relatively greenhorn director when he made Dance of the Dead, and most of the cast and crew are neophytes, but that doesnt stop everyone involved from making this an endearing horror comedy with characters we root for and zombies that alternate between menacing and purposefully dopey. The budget is super low, and not every fx scene is convincing, but Bishop keeps topping himself with clever, cool gags, including zombies that literally catapult from their graves and hit the ground running, a high-school bully who pulls wrestling moves on the brain-munchers, and one of the wittiest takes on slow-dance apathy Ive ever seen, set to a mellowed out version of Pat Benatars Shadows of the Night. A make-out scene that combines underdog wish fulfillment with icky grue is both poignant and hilariously original. Raimi and Jackson cornered the market on gory goofing laced with suspenseful scares, and while Dance does nothing to trump them, it carves out its own nifty niche that hearkens back to their style. Grab some beer and pizza and have a grinning good time with this one.