Every Night Of The Living Dead Movie, Ranked (According To IMDb)

In 1968, George Romero created a new genre in horror. Before Romero, zombie movies described those with voodoo priests burying a person long enough to destroy their mind and turn them into a subservient being that served their every wish. In 1968, Romero created the modern-day movie zombie.

Instead of the voodoo, Romero had the dead rising with the hunger for eating the living, and he did this with Night of the Living Dead. Since this movie, zombie movies are based on his template and have become one of the most successful horror genres. Romero’s franchise has also seen several films released over the years.

10 Night Of The Living Dead: Resurrection (2012) – 2.5

In 2012, a new movie based on Romero’s Night of the Living Dead franchise hit with Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection. The film has a tragically low 2.5 rating on IMDb, and one of the biggest complaints is the production value, which is as low-budget as it gets while using Romero’s franchise name, thanks to a lack of copyright protection. The film takes place in Wales and, just like the original movie, has a group of people trapped together in a house when the zombie outbreak starts.

9 Night Of The Living Dead 3D (2006) – 3.1

When released in 2006, Night of the Living Dead 3D was another movie created because of the lack of the copyright by the original George Romero film. This movie was also a remake of the first movie. Unlike the later remake in 2012, this movie has a low IMDb score but aspired to become a cult classic. Sid Haig (The Devil’s Rejects) is the most recognizable name. The most significant change here is that there is a reason the zombies came to life, and it creates a human villain in this world.

8 Survival Of The Dead (2009) – 4.9

The lowest rated George Romero movie in his franchise hit in 2009 with Survival of the Dead. This film was also the final directed movie of Romero’s life before he passed away. This movie was the sixth and final film in the official franchise and followed members of the National Guard from the Diary of the Dead movie who went AWOL. They end up on an island where two feuding Irish families are live and battle about how to deal with the zombie outbreak.

7 Night Of The Living Dead (2014) – 5.1

In 2014, there was yet another remake of Night of the Living Dead without permission from the original filmmakers. This film received more appreciation than the 2006 and 2012 versions.

As with all the remakes, the story is almost the same with this film replacing a brother and sister visiting their parent’s grave with a man and his daughters visiting his wife’s grave. This version is an ultra low budget indie film with amateur actors, which always struggles with mainstream fans. The fact this gets over a five on IMDb is impressive.

6 Diary Of The Dead (2007) – 5.6

Diary of the Dead was the fifth movie in George Romero’s official franchise. This time around, Romero tried something different and went with a found footage horror movie, which was all the rage at the time. Romero also attempted to separate this from the first four movies by making it a film in the same world as those, but not connected in any other way. The main characters are film studies students who were in the woods shooting a horror film when the world falls apart.

5 Land Of The Dead (2005) – 6.2

Land of the Dead was George Romero’s fourth movie in the franchise and featured some of the most noteworthy acting talents of any film from the series. Simon Baker is Riley, the former commander of the Dead Reckoning, an armored vehicle that helps save people. Dennis Hopper is Paul Kaufman, Pittsburgh’s new ruthless ruler. In addition to stars like John Leguizamo and Asia Argento is Eugene Clark, who plays Big Daddy, a zombie who can make intelligent decisions.

4 Night Of The Living Dead (1990) – 6.9

The first official remake of Night of the Living Dead came in 1990. The difference between this and later remakes is that this one connected with the original franchise as Tom Savini, the man who designed the zombies in Dawn of the Dead, served as the director.

The movie was a pretty straight remake, advertised at the time as being the colorized remake of the film. Tony Todd (Candyman) stars as Ben in Night of the Living Dead, and Romero rewrote his original script for this new version of the story.

3 Day Of The Dead (1985) – 7.2

It should come as no surprise that the original trilogy of films by George Romero would be the top three rated Night of the Living Dead films on IMDb. The third film ranks third with a 7.2 rating. The military and government are trying to get a grip on the zombie outbreak and understand the zombies. The goal is to try to find a way to control them. The main characters are scientists and soldiers, none of which trust each other. This movie was the first sighting of a possible non-threatening zombie with the iconic Bub.

2 Dawn Of The Dead (1978) – 7.9

Both the original Night of the Living Dead and its follow-up Dawn of the Dead have identical IMDb ratings at 7.9, so it is an official tie for first place. While the original movie was a low budget indie horror movie, the follow-up raised the stakes and added some intense gore with Tom Savini joining as the effects artist. The action moves to a shopping mall where survivors gather together and find their lives in danger thanks to a biker gang busting in the entrance. The entire movie is an attack on consumerism.

1 Night Of The Living Dead (1968) – 7.9

The original Night of the Living Dead is still the most iconic. The movie was a low-budget independent horror film, the film debut by director Romero for just over $114,000, and it went on to gross over $12 million domestically. It was also a movie that took a while to gain appreciation. Critics dismissed it upon release due to the violence and gore, which was not typical for the era. Despite that, Night of the Living Dead changed everything fans knew about zombie movies and the horror genre and stood the test of time. The Library of Congress added this film to its registry in 1999.

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