2009 zombie movies

2009 is going to be a strong year for zombies, with entries coming from all over the world.  While this is by no means a definitive list of the zombie movies releasing in 2009, it is a list of the ones we're excited about.  Get ready for a great year in zombie!

10. Mud Zombie (Mangue Negro)

Brazil gets into the zombie world with their first entry, the simply titled Mud Zombie, an old-fashioned zombie movie about a small fishing village that get overun by zombie emerging from the mangroves.  While the only trailer to be found is in Portuguese with Spanish subtitles, and looks a little on the cheap side, let's remember they are zombies MADE OUT OF MUD.  Aren't you curious too?  Check out their website for even more videos in Portuguese.

9. Dead Air or Pontypool or any other zombie movie set in a radio station

2008 was the year we saw a new zombie trend: zombies and strippers.  In 2009, we get another new trend: zombies and radio stations!  That's right!  Two chances to see who gets it right!

Dead Air first got our attenion because it's directed by LA Law's Corbin Bernsen.  Taking place in a radio station the night a chemical terrorist act creates a city of infected, Dead Air reunites Patricia Tallman and Bill Moseley (Barbara and Johnnie from Tom Savini's Night of the Living Dead re-make) .

Pontypool, on the other hand, takes place entirely in a radio station the night of an infection.  Sure, that sounds a lot like Dead Air, but Pontypool differs greatly by being Canadian.  To be fair, Pontypool differs in other ways as well, as it concerns a virus that is transmitted through words.  Canadian words.

Director Bruce McDonald promises that, while Pontypool is a love story "with an edge," it won't "disappoint the zombie people, you know what I mean?"  "Zombie people?"  Really, Bruce?  Was the word "fans" just too strong?

8. Gallowwalker

Before anyone can groan, we know Gallowwalker is a bold endorsement. A Wesley Snipes zombie film shot in 2006, with re-shoots finished in 2008, and still no release date yet, is Gallowwalker something to be excited about? Let us explain: we're not sure it will be the best zombie film ever released, but it could quickly be the best zombie western film ever.  Simply by being released, Gallowwalker should eclipse The Quick and the Undead and Undead or Alive. I mean, third time's a charm, right?

Right?

Oh, hell.  Just watch the trailer.

7. Carriers

Speaking of being delayed, Carriers makes it onto the list after few years of sitting on a shelf. Star Trek's Chris Pine stars as one of four friends fleeing a viral pandemic soon learn they are more dangerous than any virus. It sat on the shelves for years before it received a September 4th release in April. This is one of the viral-type of of zombies, but follows one of the more successful themes of zombie movies, or any post-apocalyptic story for that matter, and that is the way humanity treats one another in the face of an epidemic that destroys the natural order. You know, the reason we like zombie movies.

6. Samurai Zombie

Hailing from Japan comes Samurai Zombie and the synopsis alone sounds amazing: A family on a trip encounters a man threatening them with a gun on a desolate mountain trail. At a moment of maximum tension, a couple shows up out of nowhere, kill the man and disappears again. Shortly after a lunatic old lady comes and warns them of their impending death. The frightened family is headed for a showdown with Samurai Zombies resurrected from their graves.

A man with a gun on a mountain trail?  Why is he killed by that couple?  What sounds like a perfect plotline for a thriller gets discarded for dead samurais returning to life.

5. [Rec] 2

[Rec] was everything it's American counterpart, Quarantine, the almost shot-for-shot remake, wasn't: gory, scary and original.  While it was more along the lines of an infected zombie film, it also included the earliest zombie film element, the occult and, best of all, didn't try to explain the outbreak away.  Instead, it concentrated on building real tension.

With directors Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza returning, we're excited for what the next chapter will bring.  But will another [Rec] mean another Quarantine?

4. The Dead Outside

British people love zombies, and 2008 was a great year for UK zombie imports.  Starting with one of the year's best in Dead Set airing on British television, and the excellent The Zombie Diaries finally being released onto DVD in the United States, Britain is quickly becoming a leader in pushing the genre to new heights.

So considering the UK is also responsible for the 28...Later series, we'll go ahead and get excited in advance for The Dead Outside, Scotland's leap into the zombie genre.  Not unlike 28 Days Later, the film is about survival in a world struck down by a neurological anti-viral program has destroyed most of the population.

The Dead Outside screened at San Francisco's Another Hole in the Head Film Festival in June, but no other release dates have been announced, making The Dead Outside's place on this list deserved, but tenuous.

3. Zombie Girl: The Movie

Twelve year-old Emily Hagins is making a movie.  A zombie movie.  A feature-length zombie movie called "Pathogen" that she wrote when she was 10 and 11 and in love with Australian zombie movie Undead.  With her mom and dad filling in as crew, Zombie Girl: The Movie is the documentary that tells of Emily and her family's foray into zombie filmmaking, already a selection for the Slamdance Film Festival.  It looks equal parts American Movie, Hearts of Darkness and awesome.

2. Dead Snow

Let the Right One In was one of the best horror films released in 2008 or any year.  Now, Norway jumps into the horror fold with a zombie film about eight friends who drive up to a cabin and discover Nazi zombies frozen in the snow. That's right , Nazi zombies.  Does anything more need to be said?   Hooray for Scandinavia!

UPDATE: Boy are we glad we picked this one! Thanks to IFC, U.S. citizens can watch Dead Snow On-Demand, sitting their couches and doing nothing. It's the American way.

You can read our review here.

1. George Romero's ...of the Dead

With so many entries coming from all over the world, it's good to know the Grandaddy of zombie is an American.  Who lives in Canada.  Oh well.

While Diary of the Dead didn't quite live up to our expectations, that doesn't mean Romero can't turn things around.  This time around, Romero concerns his movie about two families living on an island with different ideas about what to do with their undead friends and relatives. The promo trailer released by Voltage Pictures shows Romero is moving away from the Diary of the Dead aesthetic, but not from Diary's almost legendary bad acting.

P.S. Pick a noun for that title already, George!

1A. Zombieland

We initially thought Zombieland was due in 2010, but, instead, Ruben Fleischer's zombie comedy will hit theaters on October 9th. The movie stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone and looks to be USA's (overdue) answer to Shaun of the Dead.

Honorable mentions (or ones that didn't make the list):

- The Horde AKA Le Horde:

Sadly, there's no word on when this movie will reach theaters in the States, which is  the ONLY reason this movie didn't make the list.

The premise: gangsters and corrupt cops involved in a bloody battle inside a condemned building the same night of a zombie outbreak. Xavier Gens (Frontier(s)) is producing what could be one of the more awesome zombie films ever. It kinda looks it from the trailer: