The Cardboard Dog Halloween Movie List Part 7: Zombie Movies

It's time for our final 5 movies, our best recommendations to give your Halloween night some much needed terror. By now you have held on against bloodthirsty hillbillies, saw the sunrise on vampires, evaded werewolves in the forest but now you have your final test - to survive the attack of the undead!

Top 5 Zombie Movies

5. Dead Snow (2009)

Who doesn't love Nazis? OK, bad phrasing – who doesn't love Nazis as a movie villain? They're just the best – ask Harrison Ford. What's worse than a living Nazi? A zombie Nazi! This movie hits upon the genius idea of bringing the pesky tykes back as murderous undead. The focus of the rotting horde is as usual – hapless students who happen to be on a few days vacation. The cast are more than just body count though; Jeppe Beck Laursen is effective comedy foil and pulls off a decent Schwarzenegger impression. Director Tommy Wirkola has morbid imagination and knows his stuff, the movie has a few nice references and the final battle is a gore-charged delight.

4. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

The one that kick-started it all and set director George A Romero on the road to becoming a legend. Night of the Living Dead is a film which is surprisingly creepy and graphic considering when it was made. The premise is familiar by now. The dead start to walk and before we know it, the action focuses in on a disparate group of people, barricaded in a farm-house in the hope they can survive. The piece works well as a drama as the misfit personalities fire off against each other, suggesting that the biggest enemy is within. The film shrugged off convention by casting black actor Duane Jones as the lead male, a move that felt innovative and fresh and gave the film a more unpredictable feel. The genesis for zombie movies as we know them, check it out as soon as you can.

3. 28 Weeks Later (2007)

Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later was a tough act to follow but Juan Carlos Fresnadillo managed to surpass it with this movie. More energy, more momentum and more scares, right from the start. London is now a military controlled zone as the US Army attempt to contain the disease and rebuild a society. As with all best laid plans, things turn from shit to fuck in rapid time, thanks largely to Robert Carlyle. With the Rage virus taking hold of him, Carlyle's character (Don) begins to rip the place up in a fashion that would give even Begbie brown trousers. Romero's zombies on Red Bull.

2. Day of the Dead (1985)

Follow up to Dawn of the Dead (which was a follow up to Night of the Living Dead), this entry is the best in the series. The dead have pretty much killed off civilisation and the “heroes” this time are soldiers and scientists, locked away in an underground facility. With hope for a cure to the zombie problem fading and relationships at breaking point, the undead draw ever closer to the bunker... The visual effects are just the best, the horrific imagination of the make-up department operating in overdrive – you can't help but love being grossed out by them. The whole thing descends into an aesthetically satisfying bloodbath in the last act. The standout characters are Rhodes (the megalomaniac military man) and Logan (the disturbed lead scientist). And of course, the zombies themselves. Bless.

1. Shaun of the Dead (2003)

The ultimate love letter to the zombie film becomes one of the best zombie films there is. The universe and everything in it aligned to allow this film to be so fantastic. Pegg, Frost and Wright are on the sharpest form; Pegg and Frost (as Shaun and Ed) could barely be more likeable as two regular guys, trying to figure out what the hell to do with their lives, their chemistry the kind of thing Gosling and Adams wish they could've mustered for The Notebook. Director Wright meanwhile, has so many chops and riffs on display that there's barely a moment without a neat reference, sight gag or moment of coolness. For a comedy, there's lots of gore – for a horror film, there's lots of comedy. I challenge you not to care about Shaun and Ed's relationship, Shaun and Liz's relationship or who will survive the zombie apocolypse. It's a winning film, currently celebrating it's 10^th year since release. Go get a Cornetto and watch it again.

So we come to the end of our journey, weary traveller. You have listened closely to my tales of woe and terror and you have lived. Flowers never smelled so good nor wine taste so sweet! Go now on your way - and may God help you! Happy Halloween!

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The Cardboard Dog Halloween Movie List Part 6: Werewolf Movies

The beast that walks among us. The Lycanthrope. The Wolfman. One of cinema's most famous and tragic monsters. To combat the current myth that werewolves like to spend their spare time in the club-house hanging out topless with other werewolves, this list has been complied. It has five of the very best werewolf films that cinema has yet to offer...

Top 5 Werewolf Movies

5. The Beast Must Die (1974)

The absolute coolest werewolf movie ever made. This is another Amicus production and has a great concept which actually deserves and requires to be updated. Basically, we have an extremely wealthy businessman turned hunter, Tom Newcliffe (an ace performance by Calvin Lockhart) who gathers a group of individuals to his country pile – as he believes one of them is a werewolf and he's in the mood for a hunt! The score is straight out of a Blaxploitation movie and the action has more than a few fine set pieces to be proud of. The most unique part of this entry? The Werewolf Break. Thirty seconds to collect your thoughts and deliver your guess as to who the hairy murderer has been all along. The film has character and is criminally underrated, however some lovely people have decided that the movie deserves a moment of glory and as such, is being shown at the Ulster Hall on Sunday 3^rd November – do try to check it out. Yo, Hollywood, this one needs remade.

4. Silver Bullet (1985)

Or Gary Busey meets the Werewolf. Two awesome things about this movie. Gary Busey is crazy Uncle Red and Corey Haim is in it as cute-as-a-button Marty Coslaw. The story is once more set in Small Town America, this time in a town at the mercy of a werewolf with locals getting offed every full moon. In time, the beast is injured by young Marty as he sets off fireworks while completely alone in the woods. At night. During a spate of werewolf attacks. FFS. Anyway, like Steven Seagal, the beast is now out for justice and makes Marty his number one priority. Marty then tries to convince Uncle Red that he's being stalked by a werewolf – then the real fun begins.

3. Dog Soldiers (2008)

A complete surprise in that it came from nowhere AND was a predominantly British production. A film that benefited from a strong cast of likeable characters, gloomy setting and great premise, Dog Soldiers is a mix of Assault on Precinct 13, Aliens and Zulu – all flavoured superbly by director Neil Marshall. The movie follows a group of British squaddies as they find themselves under siege by a pack of werewolves in a remote farmhouse in the Scottish Highlands. The film majors on tension and humour, and you'll be on the edge of your seat as the makeshift barriers crumble and the beasts claw their way in.

2. The Howling (1982)

As luck would have it, this movie was released in the same year as our top movie, An American Werewolf in London AND also happens to be one of the best werewolf movies made (also reviewed in an earlier post here). The action is set in America and centres around a young couple who seek quiet reflection in the Californian woods. Bad luck for them, there's demonic howling at night that can only be coming from evil lycanthropes. As the nightmare unfolds around the couple, it really is a battle between man and beast – a creature at the top of the food chain. The visual effects aren't as good as An American Werewolf in London but what effects are? The horror is there and some really creepy set pieces too. All from the director of Gremlins.

1. An American Werewolf in London (1982)

Regarded as a classic amongst fanboys and general horror fans, An American Werewolf in London is still one of the very best in horror films. Horror and humour are an effective combination and director John Landis combines the two very well. Opening with two American students travelling through rural England, the film gathers pace as soon as they arrive in East Proctor – a small village terrorised by a werewolf every full moon. Upon being told to leave the local pub, the students are both attacked; one dies and one is bitten, cursed to become a werewolf. The story expands as the cursed student recovers in a London hospital, time getting closer to his monstrous transformation (which BTW is still the best transformation scene to date). Great scares and visual effects that are a real spectacle – enjoy!

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The Cardboard Dog Halloween Movie List Part 5: Vampire Movies

Mwa-ha-ha-ha! I vant to suck your blud! Thankfully (or not depending on how nostalgic you are), all things vampire have evolved since some European sex pest lurked in the corners with his cape flowing. We have regretful vampires hooked on existentialism, bat-shit crazy murdering vampires, mexican vampires, rock and roll vampires and sophisticated vampires. They're all here - five of the best blood-sucker movies you can see this season.

Top 5 Vampire movies

5. Nosferatu (1922)

One of the earliest vampire films made (so in no way influenced by Twilight) a vampire film so bad-ass that not even the Stoker estate could kill it after they discovered it was basically ripping off Dracula (they demanded all copies be destroyed but, like any good vampire, it rose from the grave). The movie is fascinating even from a historical point of view – it's SO old! But it's age only adds to the atmosphere. The actors all emote a naivety and enthusiasm typical of many silent movies, but this doesn't detract from the ride; Count Orlok is one of the most iconic and creepy screen vampires - so effective that rumour had it that Max Schrek, who played Orlok, was actually a genuine vampire...

4. Fright Night (1985)

As much as we like Colin Farrell, the recent remake of Fright Night cannot be recommended. When it's held up against the original – there's no comparison. Full of typical 80's spirit, Tom Holland's original follows high school student Charlie Brewster as he discovers that his new neighbour is indeed a vampire. The effects are great old-school fun (not going to call them fang-tastic) while the peripheral characters of Peter Vincent and Evil (as the reluctant TV host and best friend Brewster enlists to help him) are spot on as the comic relief. There's an obligatory chase-through-a-disco scene midway through but hey, it was the 80's. Too much fun to miss.

3. Near Dark (1987)

Kathryn Bigelow's very modern take on the vampire movie is sexy and dangerous. Full of dark synth courtesy of Tangerine Dream, Near dark follows Bigelow's ragtag band of vampires, led by Lance Henriksen as they take in new blood Caleb. We see farm-boy Caleb's struggle to adapt to his new nocturnal life and his shock as the reality of needing blood to live slams home – best illustrated in the notorious bar scene about half-way in. If you're expecting the pop-gore of Fright Night, forget it – when the blood is extracted it's ugly.

2. The Lost Boys (1987)

So, the chances are that this is most people's favourite vampire film (unless you have Robert Pattinson as your wallpaper). It's just the tonic for the October blues; set in Sunny California, it's got a pumping rock n roll soundtrack, a cranky grandpa, a video store, an atmospheric water-pistol showdown, two Coreys and a muscular saxophone player. And the coolest vampires known to pop culture. You know the score, go watch it.

1. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Whenever you see something like “Special Effects by: Howard Berger And Gregory Nicotero” you know you're about to see something awesome (check them out on Google or Youtube to get an idea). From Dusk till Dawn is crammed full of eye-popping, repulsive, amazing gore sequences but this is only a small part of why it's so epic. Ready? Let's go; screenplay by Quentin Tarantino, directed by Robert Rodriquez, George Clooney has rarely been cooler, we get introduced to Sex-Machine, Danny Trejo is in it, Salma Hayek parades around in lingerie, our curiousity about what it'd look like if one used another man's midriff to pump a shotgun is satisfied, Danny Trejo is in it, the soundtrack rocks, if you have to battle a horde of vampires - the Titty Twister is one of the finest places to do it, Danny Trejo is in it.

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