10 Zombie Horror Movies That Have No Right Being This Good

"B-movie passion project reminiscent of grindhouse exploitation cinema" is the kind of phrase that makes film financiers wet the bed, and yet that's precisely what Robert Rodriguez managed to push through production back in 2007.

Guided by the overwhelming popularity of collaborator Quentin Tarantino (who directed Death Proof (2007), this film's "double-feature" companion piece), Rodriguez was able to helm and release a film that, in other circumstances, would never have seen the light of day. The mid-2000s was not the time for innovative horror not kitschy nostalgia, and nothing about the film -- even though it was underscored by a formidable cast featuring Rose McGowan, Michael Biehn and Josh Brolin -- should have worked, never mind it being this good.

Set in Texas, the film follows a group of survivors who navigate a virus outbreak, battling zombies and a rogue military unit in the hopes of sun, sea and sanctuary in the Caribbean. While the premise sounds straightforward, the whole film is turned up to 11, including the campness, the OTT action, the intentionally sketchy visual style and, of course, the kills. Machine gun legs, priests with shotguns, melting faces, exploding heads,... you name it.

It's grainy, it's gory, and it's one hell of a wild ride -- and that's without even getting into the fun cameo appearances from Bruce Willis, Fergie and even Tarantino himself.