AMC’s mega-popular show The Walking Dead has returned for the second half of its fifth season, and if you are as excited about it as my Twitter feed is, you’re probably looking for something gory to hold you over between episodes.
But don’t worry — we have you covered. Here are some more undead-themed shows and movies that will satisfy your need for fake blood while you’re waiting to make sure Daryl Dixon’s zombie-proof vest made of “fan favorite” is still holding up.
Dead Snow (2009)
Dead Snow is one of your typical “don’t go out into nature because everything out there wants to kill you” films. The twist, however, is that the thing that wants to kill you in this case is a squad of undead Nazi soldiers who are guarding a cache of stolen gold.
In other words, why aren’t you watching this right now?
And if you love this movie, I have some more great news for you: A sequel, Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead, just came out, and it’s also available for streaming. Just queue that stuff up and have a minithon.
Availability: Netflix (streaming and disc), Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube, Sony Entertainment Network
Vampire Prosecutor (2011)
Before you turn your nose up at this Korean show in which a vampire solves murders by tasting blood at crime scenes to reconstruct the events, think about some of your favorite detective shows. Columbo is a brilliant investigator, but he plays really, really dumb. Monk is a genius, but he’s crippled by obsessive-compulsive disorder. Shawn on Psych is super observant, but he pretends to be psychic.
So really, Vampire Prosecutor fits right in with this storied procedural tradition, only it happens to be about a vampire. I’ve heard dumber ideas, and the fact that the show plays its potentially ridiculous premise almost completely straight only makes me love it more. It’s stylish and cool, and I can’t recommend it enough.
Availability: Netflix (streaming), Hulu Plus, Drama Fever
Evil Dead 2 (1987)
If you haven’t seen Sam Raimi’s classic cabin-in-the-woods film, I don’t know what to tell you. You know the setup: College kids go out to a creepy house in the forest, and bad things happen. The bad things here are an ancient evil summoned forth by an incantation from the Necronomicon, a tome written in blood and bound in human flesh. So you know it’s bad news.
Bruce Campbell stars as hero Ash Williams (not to be confused with the space-racist from Mass Effect), whose approach to dealing with ancient evils is equal parts badass action hero and The Three Stooges.
Evil Dead II is terrifying, gory and hilarious, and it’s definitely a movie that every horror fan should see.
Availability: Netflix (streaming and disc), Amazon Video, Epix, Google Play, Vudu
Fright Night (1985)
I’m talking about the original here, although the 2011 Fright Night remake is surprisingly good. This film is more or less Rear Window with a vampire, as a high-school student learns through sneaky peeking that his new neighbor is one of the bloodsucking undead.
Chris Sarandon (foppish villain Prince Humperdinck from The Princess Bride) plays the monster next door, and he approaches the role with the right amount of ridiculous. Roddy McDowell (Planet of the Apes) co-stars as Peter Vincent, a washed-up horror-film star the kid calls in to help slay the beast. And his name is a combination of Peter Cushing and Vincent Price’s names, so that’s a little Easter egg for you, horror fans.
Like Evil Dead II, Fright Night balances the humor and the horror expertly and contains some really impressive makeup and transformation effects.
Availability: Netflix (streaming and disc), Amazon Video, Hulu Plus, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube, Sony Entertainment Network
