When prepping for the Zombie Marathon, we decided that we wanted to avoid films that we've seen before. This raised a small problem in that I've seen a lot of zombie films already. So we turned to Jaime Russell's Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema to guide us to some classics (and some not-so-classics) that had slipped by me.
I cannot recommend this book enough. It covers the history of zombies in film, from 1932's White Zombie right up to Romero's Land of the Dead, with lots of insight into thematic concerns, appreciation of gore, and heaping piles of pictures. I don't always agree with the readings Russell provides of the films, but so what? He talks about so many that it's worth the low low price just to have such a complete list of films to explore.
My only beef is that Blue Sunshine doesn't have zombies in any sense of the word, but is still listed in here. But, the film is such a cult classic that I guess it might as well be included. Especially since there's a bit of gray area where movies like Blue Sunshine, The Crazies and 28 Days Later are involved. I'd classify them separately as Plague or Infection Films, but there are enough thematic connections to justify inclusion.
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