The Walking ᴅᴇᴀᴅ is certainly one of the most popular shows about zombies there’s ever been, but it draws plenty of inspiration from the classic horror movies that came before it. While The Walking ᴅᴇᴀᴅ is a very original show that effectively blends aspects of horror with a more large-scale survival thriller, the series (and its several spinoffs) pay homage to classic horror cinema through their inventive zombie designs and adherence to traditions and tropes of zombie storytelling.

Thankfully, there’s a rich history of horror cinema for fans of The Walking ᴅᴇᴀᴅ to explore if they’re missing the storytelling of the modern show. While the genre has evolved over the years, jumping through many different phases throughout the decades, certain elements are timeless. There’s something about zombies that’s endured for many years without becoming unpopular; they’re perfect antagonists because they perfectly toe the line between familiar and uncanny, with their human appearances and supernatural behavior. While some of the best zombie movies ever have been released in the past few years, there’s always a place for the classics.

10

Zombie (1979)

Directed By Lucio Fulci

Zombie (also known as Zombi 2) is one of the all-time classics of the horror genre. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Lucio Fulci, the film centers around an unᴅᴇᴀᴅ zombie who kills a naval officer in New York City and triggers an in-depth investigation, led by Ian McCulloch’s protagonist, Peter West. The film is renowned for its unrelenting gore and violence, never shying away from the realism and naturalism of this story. This was before the era of CGI and special effects, so many of the film’s bloodiest kills were done with practical tricks that have aged surprisingly well.

9

Night Of The Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ (1968)

Directed By George Romero

One of the most acclaimed zombie movies of all time, George Romero’s Night of the Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ was arguably the film that finally made zombie movies “cool” for general audiences throughout America. George Romero made several zombie films, but this one is most fondly remembered for its use of atmosphere and eerie cinematography.

The story centers around a group of friends who lock themselves in an old farmhouse when the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ begin to rise from their graves and hunt them down for food. Its depiction of zombies clearly inspired The Walking ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, though this film relies more on terror than horror.

8

The House By The Cemetery (1981)

Directed By Lucio Fulci

Zombie movies were already extremely popular by the ‘80s, but The House by the Cemetery is among the few films that managed to push the subgenre even further forward. Another entry in the filmography of Lucio Fulci, this movie centers around a scientist who moves into the house of a late friend and soon learns that the unᴅᴇᴀᴅ are causing strange phenomena in the area. The film blends aspects of zombie horror with a more progressive, supernatural form of “haunted house” horror that had risen in popularity throughout the ‘70s with movies like The Exorcist and House.

7

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974)

Directed By Jorge Grau

The 1970s were a very experimental decade for horror, with many filmmakers moving towards sci-fi as their main source of fear. Obvious examples include Ridley Scott’s Alien, but these changes were also happening in the zombie subgenre through projects like Let Sleeping Corpses Lie.

This movie follows one cop’s investigation into a string of brutal murders, leading him directly to a group of zombies who have been brought to life by a dangerous machine designed to kill pests and insects. Grau’s film is a very unconventional zombie movie, but one that set the stage for the future of sci-fi horror.

6

The Plague Of The Zombies (1966)

Directed By John Gilling

The Plague of the Zombies is one of the earliest movies to reach huge levels of success within the zombie subgenre, and it’s one that’s tailor-made for fans of The Walking ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. This project tells the story of a medical professor and his young daughter who travel to the south of England following the outbreak of a dangerous virus, where they soon learn that something much darker and less natural may have caused the deaths. The film boasts two excellent performances from Diane Clare and Andre Morell, for whom this horror classic remains the highlight of their careers.

5

Re-Animator (1985)

Directed By Stuart Gordon

Another instance of science fiction seeping its way into the horror genre, Re-Animator is a brilliant example of how to weave comedy into a zombie story without making it any less frightening. Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s short story “Herbert West – Reanimator”, Gordon’s film tells the tale of an ambitious medical student who believes he’s developed a drug that can reverse the effects of death.

Naturally, this has disastrous consequences that Jeffrey Combs’ protagonist and the rest of the ensemble cast are left alone to resolve. Re-Animator perfectly exemplifies the sci-fi horror trend that was so popular in the 1980s.

4

Night Of The Creeps (1986)

Directed By Fred Dekker

In his directorial debut, acclaimed filmmaker Fred Dekker managed to craft one of the funniest, scariest, and most original zombie movies in the history of the genre. Night of the Creeps blends all these styles together into a very creative story about an alien species that unexpectedly lands on Earth and infects a college student, whose cryogenically frozen corpse is then discovered by his fellow fraternity members.

What ensues is a brilliantly written, completely unpredictable creature feature whose depiction of zombies may be less horror-driven than projects like The Walking ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, but whose scariest moments are just as frightening.

3

Return Of The Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ (1985)

Directed By Dan O’Bannon

Another undisputed classic of ‘80s horror, Dan O’Bannon’s Return of the Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ manages to build upon all the great zombie movies that came before it while infusing elements of sci-fi and screwball comedy in that typical ‘80s style.

The story follows two employees at a secret military camp who accidentally release a dangerous toxin into the American public, which suddenly reanimates the majority of the country’s corpses as flesh-eating zombies. While there are plenty of great “fast” zombie movies, Return of the Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ really nails the slow, lethargic stereotype of zombies that survived to The Walking ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.

2

Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ 2 (1987)

Directed By Sam Raimi

Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ 2 is one of the few zombie movies from its period that doesn’t focus solely on zombies; there are countless other creatures in Sam Raimi’s horror classic, and the zombies only take up a portion of the story. The narrative is a wholly supernatural one, following a man who accidentally summons a horde of evil spirits into a secluded cabin in the woods, where he’s forced to fight for his survival and contain the demons he’s brought into the world. It’s a direct sequel to Raimi’s original horror classic from six years prior, and it’s a marked improvement.

1

Dawn Of The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ (1978)

Directed By George Romero

Considered by many to be the “definitive” zombie movie, George Romero’s Dawn of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ is renowned for its action-packed approach to the subgenre, following an ensemble cast of human survivors as they fight against a zombie apocalypse in the USA.

The practical effects and action choreography are what make Romero’s film stand out from the crowd, pushing the genre forward with a strength that few examples had done before. There’s a reason that Romero is still considered the master of the zombie movie, and Dawn of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ is it. Not only did it clearly inspire shows like The Walking ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, but it propelled zombie cinema as a whole to entirely new heights.