The Walking Dead forever marked the subgenre of zombie stories, mainly by focusing on the human element. Robert Kirkman, author of the comic, was, of course, influenced by several other productions. Let’s get to know 3 films he recommends.
These recommendations came in response to a fan letter published in The Walking Dead Deluxe #79.
Started in 2020, The Walking Dead Deluxe is a republication of the original series with updated covers and color pages. Additionally, the series includes a ton of “back cover” content that allows Kirkman and the other members of The Walking Dead’s creative team to connect directly with fans.
Still a relative “newbie” to the genre, a fan asked Kirkman which zombie films he would recommend as must-watches for new and old fans. See what they are below.
The three zombie films Kirkman recommends watching
Kirman nominated Zumbi 2 – Return of the Dead (1979), by Lucio Fulci, Stacy (2001), by Naoyuki Tomomatsu, and Cannibals (2003), by Michael and Peter Spierig.
On the surface, each of the three films satisfies the standard tropes of a classic zombie apocalypse narrative like The Walking Dead.
There is the mysterious origin of the zombie outbreak, the survival groups and the competition between them for scarce resources. They all contain shrines, quests for a cure, and the headshot method of killing a zombie instantly.
However, aside from these classic zombie elements, each film diverges significantly from traditional zombie mythology. It was probably these elements that stood out to Kirkman and why he chose them as “must-see” films.
For example, in Fulci’s Zombie 2, which Kirkman identified in his response as “tonally similar to The Walking Dead,” two elements stand out as being exceptional. First, there is the outbreak’s connection to voodoo. In fact, his connection with voodoo and zombies is revolutionary and classic.
On the one hand, it harkens back to the first iterations of zombies in films. On the other hand, it presents a new perspective on zombies, considering they haven’t been used in a film in a while. Secondly, there is the bloodthirsty. In fact, at that time, no other zombie film had made a film as bloody as Zombie.
Regarding Stacy, her unique point of view completely destroys the traditional idea of a zombie apocalypse. His zombie plague only affects teenage girls. Furthermore, despite being a threat to society, zombies can only be killed by the government-sanctioned Repeat Kill Corps (RKC) or their relatives. It’s interesting to note that the RKC members in the film are zombies themselves, who agree to kill other zombies in exchange for being killed by their favorite musical idol.
Likewise, Cannibals flips the zombie script with a story in which humanity receives help from benevolent aliens from outer space in its war against zombies.
While Kirkman’s zombie movie recommendations may seem out of the ordinary, if we reflect more deeply, it becomes clear that, while obscure, the films certainly seem to have made an impact on The Walking Dead.
Interestingly, Kirkman did not recommend – this time – Deathstroke, which profoundly influenced The Walking Dead.
