This Is the Mount Rushmore of Zombie Movies

Long before zombies dominated television, the living dead first shambled along on the big screen, and only four films make the Mount Rushmore of zombie movies. The list must include George A. Romero, the man who started it all; Night of the Living Dead (1968) changed everything.

Its most famous line, "They're coming to get you, Barbra," comes from a simple premise—Barbra, Ben (Duane Jones) and several others trapped in a boarded-up farmhouse—yet the film also serves as commentary on Vietnam and racism, ending in grainy images that feel like a heartbreaker.

Romero returned in 1978 with Dawn of the Dead, trading black-and-white for living color, green-tinted ghouls and the practical effects of Tom Savini. A quartet—helicopter pilot Stephen "Flyboy" Andrews (David Emge), Francine (Gaylen Ross), Peter (Ken Foree) and Roger (Scott Reiniger)—lands at a giant mall and tries to build some normalcy while Pittsburgh collapses outside.

mount rushmore, zombie movies, george romero, night, dawn, tom savini, pittsburgh, mall, duane jones, racism