Romero's Living Dead - Watch Order: Essential Films
This Essential Films watch list is for viewers who want to experience the very best of Romero's zombie cinema in its most ambitious and influential form. Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead are widely considered masterpieces - vivid, daring, and packed with unforgettable moments and biting social commentary.
While the original Night of the Living Dead is a true horror landmark and the foundation of the genre, its black-and-white, low-budget style sets it apart from the colorful, larger-scale approach of these two later films. For newcomers, Dawn and Day represent the most accessible and powerful entry point into the Living Dead saga.
Dawn of the Dead
During an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
Day of the Dead
A small group of scientists and soldiers take refuge in an underground missile silo where they struggle to control the flesh-eating dead that walks the Earth above.
Other Film Series
28 Days Later
A post-apocalyptic horror trilogy following different survivors across nearly three decades of a rage virus outbreak that devastated Britain.
A Quiet Place
A post-apocalyptic horror series about survivors navigating a world where deadly creatures hunt by sound, forcing humanity to live in complete silence.
Alien
Humanity's terrifying encounters with a perfect killing organism across centuries of space exploration.
Friday the 13th
The murderous legacy of Crystal Lake and its iconic killer Jason Voorhees in this enduring slasher series.
Phantasm
A surreal horror franchise following young Mike Pearson and ice cream vendor Reggie in their ongoing battle against the interdimensional Tall Man and his deadly silver spheres.
The Purge
A dystopian horror franchise set in an America where all crime is legal for 12 hours once a year during an annual event called The Purge.