Zombies bring out the memento mori in the living. Everyone should know better than to reanimate the dead, even if it takes place in an obscure cabin in the woods during vacation. Some believe it's a scientific breakthrough that needs to be studied rather than subdued. The rest of us, still alive, or thinking, want to survive the insatiable hunger of the undead. Life itself is in the balance, society and morality is a far cry compared to the do-or-die, or do-and-die, mentality at hand.

George A. Romero gave life to the dead and death to the living with his 1968 zombie apocalypse horror film, Night of the Living Dead. The zombie genre entered the mainstream and our bloodstreams soon after. Before the revolutionary franchise rose from its grave, one of Romero's first projects was a commercial for a segment on Mister Rodgers' Neighborhood. Fred Rodgers was featured undergoing a tonsillectomy procedure. Almost a decade later, Romero's zombies would be eating throats instead to become undying legendary films. With Night of the Living Dead II slated for a release in 2023 and Twilight of the Dead in development, it's time to compare Romero's hellscapes in the zombie apocalypse.

6 Diary of the Dead (2007)

Diary of the Dead camera man on the floor with zombie
Third Rail Releasing

The journalistic found footage approach was different and sets it apart from the others in the series. The experimental camera angles and shots here are a trait of George A. Romero movies. The director also shares how people can become desensitized to the tragedies of the world, but the message is spelled out a lot. Documenting the horrors of the zombie apocalypse for posterity makes sense. Is it practical? Not so much. Surviving is a must, and to take out your camera at the sign of danger every time would get you or someone else killed. A stylistic smart move unfortunately becomes an unrealistic wrong move.

5 Survival of the Dead (2009)

survival-of-the-dead-2009
Magnet Releasing

Zombie films have a track record of flirting with overkill and feeling stale after a while. The premise of Survival of the Dead takes after Day of the Dead in that it plays with the idea of reversing the rising of the dead by discovering a cure. On Plum Island, two families fight over the possibilities after one family discovers that the other has kept their zombie relatives alive. One school of thought believes they should keep the undead alive to study them further. The second puts their survival above all trying to rid the world of zombies for good. This was Romero's last film before his death; it was grounded but not his most memorable.

Related: Train to Busan: Why it May Be the Best Zombie Movie of All Time

4 Land of the Dead (2005)

land of the dead 2005
Universal Pictures

A less claustrophobic but more commercialized installment in the franchise, Land of the Dead takes advantage of the zombies. Small facets of society still functioning are using the undead for entertainment and profit. A tongue-in-cheek nod or jab at the fans is a fun criticism of what becomes sensationalized distractions in society. The horror goes deeper with conscience zombies and classism power struggles between the rich and the poor. The film had a wider scope and more consequences; it just wasn't as intimate as its predecessors.

3 Day of the Dead (1985)

A scene from Day of the Dead.
United Film Distribution Company (UFDC)

Darker than its prequel, Day of the Dead paints a bleak picture. People are forced underground near the Florida Everglades after zombies have overpopulated the world. The living are dehumanized as the dead overpower the dominance of social order and life itself. Hiding in subterranean tunnels like an ostrich's head in the sand, the food chain becomes a zombie chain as time to survive is limited. Brutality takes center stage with prosthetic artist Tom Savini's practical effects; one death used cow guts! The absence of morality shows humanity's animosity, disturbingly yet questionably inevitable if not apropos in an apocalypse.

Related: Norman Reedus Walk of Fame Star Will Be Near a Zombie Movie Legend

2 Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Night of the Living Dead 1968
Continental Distributing

The original flesh-eating corpses or ghouls that started the zombie phenomenon. Romero's guerrilla filmmaking pays off as he pits seven unlucky people in a Pennsylvanian farmhouse. Explicit depictions of violence and gore were not the only thing that made Romero's independent film controversial. The subtle sociopolitical and racial commentary is in full force, especially with Duane Jones as Ben. An African American actor in a leading role went against the status quo, and its intention raised the horror genre above its B-movie brethren.

1 Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Dawn of the Dead 1978
United Film Distribution Company

Survivors mow down the walking dead like stores drive down prices. Having an entire mall (almost) to yourself was an inventive plot. The comparison of mall shoppers to slow-walking, nonliving zombies is still clever social commentary. The group is also humanized, having moments of relief. They learn to set aside arguments, settle differences, and solve problems instead of causing them. Dawn of the Dead delivers a darkness; grim and unapologetic, but with a promising light.