Best is a hard word to define, probably because the word is subjective and really only has the meaning we give it. Never-the-less, I am spending this week devoted to searching out the best. I have, however, decided that I just can't do it alone (there is a song there – If you are a musical fan). So starting with this post and continuing through the week, I will offer you a choice. I will give you the information, and you can draw your own conclusions (shout out).
Today's Best- Best zombie franchise: I submit, for your reading pleasure, a choice of two powerhouses "The Dead" movies and the cross media phenom Resident Evil.
Beginning with Night of the Living Dead in 1968 (before I was even the thought of a flash of a glimmer in my daddy's eye) George A Romero gave birth to the zombie nation. Night of the Living Dead, as well as Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead, produced remakes twenty years after their inception and numerous re-imaginings. If you have seen a zombie movie, it was probably based on an idea sparked from a movie in this franchise. After the turn of the century, Romero continued his evolution of the zombie with Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, and Survival of the Dead. Each movie pushed the idea of what a zombie is, can be, and can do one step farther- finally culminating in the creation of a survival instinct in the undead. This franchise has spent forty years writing the definition of zombies in the movies.
But…
We are a multi-media society, so can any franchise that is so specifically focused really be named…the best? Which is why I offer you Resident Evil.
Who could have known in 1996 when the first video game was released into the market that this simple zombie video game would go viral? However with years of success (seven incarnations of the game thus far), increasingly violent kills, and drastically improving graphics- Resident Evil enthusiastically took over the big screen in 2002. The movie, surprisingly, met with enough success to spawn 4 more big-budget live action movies (and one in the works for the coming year) as well as a Japanese short film. Box office for the five existing Resident Evil Movies is estimated at 201,637,032 in the US and 674,764,589 worldwide. The franchise invaded the comic book market- being published through big boy publishing houses Marvel Comics and Image and the games have been adapted into novellas as well. True, the franchise has not added any real pertinent information to the world of zombies- but what it DOES is make MONEY- which speaks for itself.
So, now that you've heard the story, which do you think is the best zombie franchise?
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