Celebrating my 50th with 50 Favorites ~ Part 4

We're getting down to the nitty gritty now.  Good stuff ahead.....

 20. Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

I'm what I'd consider to be a connoisseur of vampire films.  I've seen a ton...disliked some, liked most, and truly loved only a handful.  This film falls into the latter category.  From Jim Jarmusch comes the story of Adam and Eve - no, not that Adam and Eve....right?
Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton) are two vampires who have been married for centuries though at the moment are living apart on different continents. Eve decides to make the trip from Tangier to Detroit to pay a visit to her hubby after a phone call from him tips her off to his despair.  Adam is a very melancholy vampire, disillusioned with his life to the point that he even is contemplating suicide. If it weren't for his music he'd end it, and in fact has a wooden bullet for that very task. Eve arrives and together they try to make some sense of their never-ending existence and to find reasons to go on.  Everything about this movie is just steeped in a thick veil of moody atmosphere. When they cruise around derelict Detroit it touches a nerve, as it seems they are as old and forgotten as the rows of dilapidated, abandoned house that line the streets. Eve tries to convince Adam that life is still worthwhile, but extenuating circumstances in the form of Eve's sister coming for a visit throw a wrench in their happily ever after.   Just a brilliant, amazing film.

19. Half Light (2006) 

This is probably a movie that most people have never even heard of and is a relatively PG-13 type of film. It stars Demi Moore as Rachel, a best-selling American author of thrillers that gets caught up in a mystery of her own,  It's not giving a lot away to say that her young son dies at the beginning, as that's the set up for the story.  Grief-stricken, she flees from her home in London to an isolated Scottish cottage on the beach, where she intends to finish her latest novel by her deadline. But soon, she begins to experience typical 'ghostly' behavior and assumes her son is trying to make contact. Meanwhile, she meets the attractive lighthouse keeper who lives just across a short stretch of water who helps her face her fears.  But is there something supernatural at work? Why does everyone in town act so strangely? And what really happened to the previous lighthouse keeper?  While there is nothing truly fantastic about this film, the story is decent enough, there are some genuinely creepy moments, and of course Demi is attractive as hell, especially with her long dark hair blowing in the Scottish sea breeze. But it's the location and the music that just suck me in.  Sweeping ocean vistas, the perfect little cottage at the sea's edge, the quaint yet quirky village nearby, wild horses running next to the ocean, and the simply gorgeous score accompanying all of this, making it a film I come back to again and again.

18. Don't Look Now (1973)

It's too bad that when most people think of Don't Look Now, they think of the controversy of whether the two leads, Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie, actually had sex during their graphic love scene...because behind all the speculation lies a truly satisfying film.  John and Laura Baxter have just lost their daughter in a drowning accident and flee to Venice to try and get their minds off their tragedy.  John accepts a commission to work on an ancient church there, and the two settle in.  One day, Laura meets a couple of sisters at dinner, one of whom claims to be a psychic and says she is in contact with their daughter.  John doesn't believe this at all, but goes along with it to make Laura happy.  Then John starts seeing a young person in a red cloak all around town, just like the one his daughter wore. So the question becomes is his daughter haunting them or is he having visions?  Or a little of both?  And where do the sisters fit in?  The Venetian scenery is a gorgeous back drop to the thrills and chills this movie provides.  John and Laura are very much in love, and the scenes of them together getting ready to go out for dinner are among some of the finest love scenes put to celluloid.

17.  The Evil Dead (1981)

Bruce Campbell is not just my hero, he's the world's hero, as we find out in this first movie in the series.  Ash, his girlfriend Linda, sister Cheryl, and friends Scotty and Shelly travel to a proverbial cabin in the woods for a nice getaway weekend.  Once at the cabin, it becomes quickly evident that something isn't quite right.  Touring the cabin's basement, they find recordings that when spoken aloud, summon demons - which is exactly what happens.  Only these demons inhabit the living. One by one, Ash's group succumb to the "deadites", until Ash is the only one left.  A very simple premise but oh so very effective.  What's great about this little low-budget charmer is the GORE.  The blood and guts and massive spewage is completely over the top - and you're going to love every second of it. This is the basis for the wildly popular Starz television series, Ash vs. Evil Dead - and I'd certainly check out at least this movie before digging in to that.  Though the series is ended, I find it so hard to believe that our beloved Ash is gone forever.  In fact, I'm holding out hope.....

16.  Angel Heart (1987)

Voodoo holds in inexplicable fascination for me, and there are just not enough films about it!  It feels like a sub-genre of its own, but maybe people are just deeming it religious horror, I don't know. Angel Heart, in my humble opinion, is one of the best examples of voodoo in the genre. Mickey Rourke plays Harry Angel, a gumshoe in Harlem who gets a call from a lawyer on behalf of an eccentric man looking to collect a long overdue debt.  Mr Cyphre (Robert De Niro) can't seem to locate crooner Johnny Favorite and employs Harry to track him down.  This leads Harry down a very precarious road, a journey of discoveries he may have been better off leaving alone.  The mood of this film is so dark and gritty, with so much impending doom, backed by a soundtrack by Trevor Jones that reeks of dread itself, with its sultry, melancholy lead sax that should be illegal it's so good. And yes, there is blood and chickens and dancing and chanting and curses and tarot readings and murder and magic and of course THAT extremely unsettling and immoral sex scene that nearly gave the film an X-rating.  In other words, it's a must-see.

15. Psycho II (1983)

Oh Norman, you sexy thing, you!  Anyone that knows me knows I have a huge crush on mama's boy Norman Bates.  With the exception of Jaws, there is no film I love more than Psycho.  It's a perfect, perfect film, and you'll see it on this list soon. But Psycho II is a terrific film in its own right. Made 22 years after the original 1960 film, we see Norman finally being released from the mental institution he was remanded to years ago. Considered "cured", his caseworker drops him off at the old homestead, where the motel has been used as a sleazy stop-over slash drug den these last several years. The house itself is exactly the same, and Norman immediately feels uneasy and soon starts finding notes from Mother. He is set up as a cook's helper at a local diner, where he meets Mary (Meg Tilly) and soon offers her a room at the motel when she has man trouble.  That's when things get even more wonky.  Is Norman losing his mind again? Is Mother really dead and buried? Is someone else haunting the Bates house? In most cases, sequels leave a lot to be desired, but in Psycho II's case, it's a truly understated yet formidable return to form.  It's no Hitchcock film, but Anthony Perkins slides easily back into the embodiment of Norman Bates, with all his nervous tics and mannerisms still spot on.  And so we're left to ponder whether Mother is trying to terrorize her son once again or if Norman just thinks she is.  Or....has it been Norman all along?

14. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

While others prefer Day or Dawn, I am firmly in the Night camp when it comes to Romero's Dead movies. It's the first one I saw, and has been my favorite for as long as I can recall, way back to watching it on Chilly Billy's Chiller Theater.  After all, I'm a Pittsburgh girl.  Well, northeast of the Burgh but somewhere between there and Evans City, where this film was shot. In case you've been living under a rock, Barbara and brother Johnny are visiting their father's grave at the cemetery when things run amok and the dead start walking.  Johnny is killed and Barbara finds cover at a house nearby where she meets our hero, Ben (and later a few others holed up in the basement). The remainder of the film is them attempting to find out just what is going on and how to deal with the zombies that are gathering outside the house quicker than a bunch of teen girls at a Justin Bieber concert.  Besides Ben being the first black hero in a horror film, it's really the living dead in their slow-moving madness and their voracious appetite that make this movie such a ground-breaking film. Though filmed in black and white, it takes nothing away from them chomping on viscera like mindless.....zombies.

13. Dead of Night (1945)

I love most anthology films, and you've seen a few here on this list already, but THIS British 1945 shocker is my favorite.  Walter keeps having a recurring nightmare and so the good wifey recommends he spend some time relaxing away from home.  He goes to a friend's weekend house and upon arrival feels a dreadful sense of deja vu, and all the other guests have been in his dream that he keeps having.  And each guest has their own story to tell.  A race car driver is haunted by the driver of a fatal bus crash, a haunted mirror, a Christmas ghost, a golf outing with a supernatural touch, and the most affecting and creepy story - a ventriloquist's dummy comes to life. There's something so fun about having not one but multiple stories to give you the chills.  And this one is a stellar production, the best anthology I've seen - including all my Amicus favorites.  The black and white makes it all the more terrifying. I dare you to sleep after watching that one with the dummy.   I double dog dare you.

12.  The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Many of you may already know that parts of The Silence of the Lambs were filmed in my hometown, quite an experience and such a great feeling, considering the film won five Academy Awards.  Leads Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster who won Best Actor and Actress respectively, embody the roles of Dr Hannibal Lecter and FBI trainee Clarice Starling.  As Starling is given the assignment to meet with Lecter at the prison where he lives, the interactions between them are just impeccable, the bantering back and forth - quid pro quo, as Lecter says - will help Clarice in the FBI's search for the most vile serial killer, Buffalo Bill.  Say what you will, but this film is a horror film.  When someone is removing the skin from their victim in order to make a dress out of it, that's HORROR, people.  So it's good to know the Academy does recognize horror....it's happened a few times before, with Jaws, The Exorcist and Misery...but it's rare.  But for under your skin (pun intended) cinematic terror, The Silence of the Lambs fits the bill. 

11. City of the Living Dead (aka The Gates of Hell, 1980)

I'm a pretty big Fulci fan, and it's hard to choose from his films for this list, but this is the one I knew I couldn't leave off.  I've seen it so many times yet it always entertains.  A priest hangs himself and starts a chain reaction of evil predicted by the ancient book of Enoch.  Reporter Peter (Christopher George) saves Mary (Catriona MacColl) from suffocating to death in a coffin in which she was buried after collapsing at a seance.  Together, they investigate the evil taking over their town, trying to find a way to close the "door" to the Gates of Hell, which was opened by the priest's suicide.  As in usual Fulci fashion, there is loads of gore including a woman vomiting up her own entrails and a man killed by having a drill run through his head.  Every time the priest appears, he makes his victim's eyes bleed in ghastly fashion, then they die and become one of his undead army.  Once again, Fabio Frizzi provides the soundtrack to this gore-fest as we're treated to sublime 80's horror at its best.

Octoberfest Five: Christine's 5 Comfort Horror Favorites

Here we are folks, the end of the Octoberfest Five and the most wonderful day of the year!  Happy Halloween, first and foremost!

When it comes down to choosing a movie to watch on Halloween, I admittedly make too much of the situation.  Do I want to go with an old classic; something I'm quite familiar with?  Or chance something entirely new which may end up tarnishing my holiday and leave me with a bad taste in my mouth?  It's a conundrum, and one I am still not sure of the answer to as I write this. 

It's Halloween every day at a horror fanatic's house.  The amount of horror I watch in one year is astounding. It has seen me through good days and bad - and it's mostly the latter when I mention the words "Comfort Horror".  When I've had a rough day at work or have to deal with issues I seemingly can't face that come up in daily life, quite often I reach for a horror film that I am utterly comfortable with - a movie that I've seen countless times and can depend on to take me away from all my troubles for a few hours.  One that epitomizes my love of the genre.  Comfort horror doesn't necessarily have to be your favorite films, though for many I can only assume they would be.  And I'm not going to lie - any time I notice Jaws or Psycho on TV I simply have to turn it on, that's a given.  That said, I'm not going to use those two in my list because they are too obvious.

These comfort films can change over the years, and I'll be the first to admit it's entirely redundant to watch a film so many times you can repeat all the lines - but I'll bet if you ask any horror fan (or any movie fan, for that matter!), there are films that just seem to speak to you....and make everything ok...if only for a little while. 

Here are five of mine:

FRIDAY THE 13TH

Friday the 13th  (1980) is at the top of my comfort horror list because I have a very special relationship with it.  It is probably the very first horror film I saw by myself.  Home, alone.  And I've loved it ever since.  Though the Friday series is no real friend of mine (I don't have much time for anything past Part 3, truth be told), the first film is one I will throw on at any given time to just take me back to when things were simpler. It's brainless, has silly jump scares and most of the acting leaves a lot to be desired.  But it's a nostalgic throwback that makes me feel better every single time I watch it!

HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES

So I bet a lot of people may be surprised by the inclusion of this ratty, lurid piece of celluloid.  As its subject matter surely wouldn't give anyone the warm fuzzies inside.  Rob Zombie's oversized music video-slash-movie is a real kickback to the grindhouse flicks of the 70's, with a string of obnoxious characters, loud music and loads of reprehensible violence.  Why do I like it so much? I've no idea.  But when I see it coming on late at night on a Friday after a crappy workweek, I'm so there.  Long live Dr. Satan!!

ALIEN

If I'd have made a list of comfort horror flicks ten years ago, I doubt Alien would have even made the cut.  I've always liked the film, but for some reason in the last five years I've grown utterly attached to the terrifying sci-fi opus.  I'm also one of those fans that love the first film so much more than Aliens.  SO much more.  Because I like my horror silent, stalking, and subtle.  The atmosphere in Alien is thick with palpable dread.  You can't get that from "action" horror.  Alien takes the concept of fear and just sticks it to you - full guns.  It is a contrast of lights and darks, from the bright lights of the dining area when Kane has his bloody fine gastric episode to the creepy darkness of the ventilation shafts where the creature hides.  It is purely and simply....perfect.  (In fact, I think I need to watch this right now....)

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978)

It seems funny for me to be listing another sci-fi horror film, as I am honestly and truly not the biggest sci-fi fan.  I enjoy it, but straight-out horror is a little more "me".  That said, I freaking love Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  Partly because of my Donald Sutherland love, and the other part due to the freaky nature of the storyline.  The acting really is top-notch here, and they manage to make "alien plants" so much more believable. And let's face it, those pod people are just downright grotesque when they are mutating.  It seems to be on television a great deal lately on the premium movie stations, so it's comforting to know I can just turn it on and chillax without having to pay a great deal of attention.  Or I could always throw in the DVD!

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

Being from western Pennsylvania leads to a natural love of Romero's groundbreaking zombie film.  I live about 40 minutes from where is was filmed and have always gravitated towards it as comfort horror.  It's my favorite of the "dead" films and I adore the black and white grittiness of it.  I've watched it so many times I think even my hubby has it memorized.  Like Psycho and Jaws, I will always turn it on if I see it while surfing. I can sigh a sigh of relief when I see it on, as if an old friend has come over to make me feel better.  To me, it embodies the meaning of comfort horror.  It is probably the film I've watched the most on this list, and will no doubt keep that title for years to come.

Halloween Festival Of Lists: October 4: FOUR Films That Are Close To Home

The gloomy, mundane regions of western Pennsylvania wouldn't exactly be the first place you would think of when considering filming a horror movie.  Wait, maybe that's precisely where a horror film should be made. 
I've lived in this area my entire life, and while nothing exciting truly happens here, I can say it is home to at least four films in the genre, two of which are fairly exceptional - one of those even a multiple Academy Award winner.

1) Night of the Living Dead 
Back in 1968, a few months after the monumental event that was my birth, a movie came out that was so startling, so ground-breaking that it defined an entire sub-genre.  Writer/director George Romero was a Pittsburgh local who needed to keep within the restraints of a tight budget for his zombie project, so he ended up filming in nearby Butler county (about 35 miles from me).  The Evans City Cemetery was his choice for the main action, and it still looks pretty much the same to this day.
Romero cast friends as 'zombie extras' and used a house that was north of the city and scheduled for demolition as the main location. 
Apparently, when the film premiered in Pittsburgh in October of '68, there was no national ratings system in place so anyone and everyone, including small children, were allowed to witness the splendor that was Night of the Living Dead.  Shocked is about the only word that could be used after seeing the film.  I'm just honored to know that this movie - so dear to my heart - was filmed so close by.  It is of note that Romero also filmed The Crazies (1973) in the same general location. In fact, many of Romero's movies are filmed in the greater Pittsburgh region.  He used the Monroeville Mall (one of my foremost shopping destinations) for his NOTLD sequel, Dawn of the Dead (1978), and shot Martin (also 1978) in nearby Braddock, Pa.

2) The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
This bizarre psychological thriller was filmed very close by to my small town. In fact, I can vividly recall many friends discussing their various run-ins with Richard Gere and Laura Linney.  In fact, one of my co-workers rounded a corner on one of her daily walks and slammed straight into Gere.  He was gracious, she was dumb-struck.
The bridge on which Gere stands in this photo collapses in the film, but thanks to some CGI, it is still standing today and in fact isn't silver as the film suggests, it's that ugly shade of green they paint all those old bridges.  Standing in for a town in West Virginia that is plagued by sightings of a supernatural winged monster; Kittanning, Pa. is the epitome of a town lost in the past.  Though it tries to be modern it just can't escape its poor coal mining roots, and this actually benefits it greatly by putting it in the perfect place for movie locations that need a bit of nostalgic charm. 

3) My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009)
This movie was filmed about 8 miles from my home, strangely enough in the same small town that was used in The Mothman Prophecies.
The reason this location is popular can only be because it stands in so wonderfully for a depressed mining town.  Matter of fact, it kind of is a depressed mining town.  The mine that was used during filming is a little farther down the road and is actually used as an educational site (Tour-Ed Mine) where people can tour an authentic coal mine and experience what it is like to work beneath the earth.  No, I've never toured it - seeing the film was good enough for me.  I think I'd be a little too claustrophobic for that adventure.  The bridge in the background here is the same bridge that 'collapsed' in Mothman.  My hubby crosses this bridge everyday to go to work.  The market in which Harry Warden chases the two girls is one of the local ones nearby.  I had to go see this one at the theater (despite my dislike of all things 3D) because I had to check out all the locations.  Yep, even though I see them all the time.  I'm silly like that.

4) The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
I remember well the feeling of elation back in 1990 when I heard the news that they were making a thriller right here in my hometown. But when I found out it was The Silence of the Lambs, I was overly psyched.  Because that's not just a thriller - that's horror, people! I'd read the book and was familiar with the subject matter. Woot!
Winner of the top five Oscars in 1991 including Best Picture, I'm proud to tell anyone who will listen that all the scenes in the funeral home, Clarice's childhood memories, and various other scenes were filmed right down the street a few blocks from me.   Some of my friends were extras, and I can name most of the people in the funeral home scenes.  One of the cops in the photo above is a local who ended up having to travel to Pittsburgh with the actors because he was so prominently featured in the scenes that they needed him there as well.  The scenes of Lecter caged up were filmed in the 'Burgh, as were the autopsy scenes, the scenes of Lecter's home at the state hospital, among others.  Hell, I even knew the barking dog in the back of the pickup from the scene where young Clarice greets her father after work.  And you can bet I sat in the theater until the credits rolled so I could see the name of my tiny town.  The boastful grin on my face was obnoxious.

31 days, 31 faves: Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Because I'm from the greater Pittsburgh area, I do believe I am required to like George Romero. Thankfully, I'm happy to do so. An affection for zombies is also a mandatory condition of my address as well, and while I much prefer the other brand of the living-challenged (read: vampires) I do, in fact, have some love for those cadaverous wraiths Romero is so fond of.

On Halloween night each year, while others are out trick-or-treating or partying hard at some random costume party, I'm easing into my couch with a spirit or two of my own (the liquid variety, natch) to turn out the lights and watch Night of the Living Dead (1968). And while other people claim one of the other Dead films as their favorite, I'm old-school. Black and white. Lumbering zombies. Little if no humor. Dense blondes with trauma-induced stupidity. Street smart heroes with an actual brain instead of a whole lot of one-liners.
Behold the classic.

So many of the masses attempt to find something new to scare the pants off them to celebrate the holiday...and though I like discovering fresh horror, I'm quite happy to enjoy my old stand-by come October 31st. (Though this year I'll be jumping for joy to make it a zombie-filled Halloween with the premiere of The Walking Dead on AMC - yay!) To me, it just isn't Halloween till someone's throwing another one on the fire, so to speak.

For those born under a very large, constricting rock, Night of the Living Dead starts out with Barbra (Judith O'Dea) and Johnny (Russell Streiner) making a long trek into the rural outskirts of Pittsburgh to place a wreath on their father's grave. Once there, Johnny teases Barbra about being frightened of the cemetery, uttering the famous line "They're coming to get you, Barbra!" and pointing to a disheveled man who is staggering around the tombstones, coming their way. Turns out, they are coming to get Barbra, and the Lerch look-alike attacks her. Johnny comes to her aid but miraculously is a total misfit when it comes to fighting, and is dropped, bashing his head against the side of a grave. Down for the count!

Barbra runs, losing a shoe, falling down a few times, and not gaining any ground - as most horror movie female victims do. She makes it to the car but manages to wreck it into a tree after being accosted by said zombie (who makes quick work of the distance Barbara puts between them, for sure). Jumping from said car, she runs (if you can call it that) to a nearby farmhouse.

Soon after, our hero Ben arrives and starts boarding up the house (with no help from nearly catatonic Barbra, who I would have kicked to the curb by now) with anything he can find. They have a discussion (well, Ben does all the chatting while Barbra sits there dumbfounded) about whether or not anyone has a car, how she came to be at the house, and just what the devil these "things" are. Soon, Barbra starts prattling on about saving Johnny and blah blah blah - I honestly just want Ben to throw her outside into the yard, which incidentally is filling up with the living dead PDQ.

Meanwhile, there is a family of three and a couple who have taken cover in the basement. Harry and Helen Cooper (Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman) are caring for their ill daughter Karen (Kyra Schon) and are hiding out with a young couple, Tom (Keith Wayne) and Judy (Judith Ridley). Their idea is to stay concealed in the cellar and hope things are resolved briskly.
Good luck with that.

By the time the upstairs duo finally meet up with the five people hiding in the basement (who get a scolding from Ben because they never came upstairs to help zombie-proof the house), tension is riding high and arguments begin over how to act and what their next move should be. Making things even worse is the fact that Karen has been bitten by a zombie. Do I really need to add that zombie bites are toxic?

Quite honestly the zombies themselves aren't really frightening. To me, it's the idea of the dead actually coming back that is so scary. Sure seems like you could outrun those dudes in their hospital gowns and split-down-the-back suits, right? More chilling yet is the radio broadcasts. Here's where the tension is unbearable for me. When you hear newscasters explaining that the dead are coming back to life and consuming the living, it's not going to be your finest hour. It made it all the more realistic for me the first few times I saw it because the newscasters were talking about local places that I knew - places I'd been and still go to. I can imagine anyone in western Pennsylvania got a little distressed way back in 1968 when the film came out. It surely would have had a War of the Worlds effect on me, if I hadn't been in diapers at that time.

So I will have to admit one of my favorite things about the film though, is the name-dropping. As I said, being a native of the area, it is always so awesome when they start showing those names of towns all over the television screen, like Butler and Ford City, both of which I am quite close to. Seeing Bill "Chilly-Billy" Cardille as the newscaster just makes me smile as well.

Anyway, when our gang decides they can't just sit around and wait to die, they start being pro-active and making plans. That being said, the best laid plans don't always work out...and these were not the best laid plans. Ben and Tom decide to drive the running-on-fumes truck Ben came in to the nearby gas pumps on the property, but they get a bit overrun by the moving lawn ornaments who want nothing more than to eat their livers (with or without the Chianti, I'm sure). A major mishap occurs when Harry throws a Molotov cocktail out the window to distract the zombies (once again, fire is the leading deterrent for the any varietal of undead) and sets spilled gasoline on fire. And what happens when there's fire at the gas pumps? Well, some of those zombies are having barbeque, that's what.

With that plan foiled and Karen inside chomping on her mother, the outlook here is fairly grim. The rest of them hole up in the house and continue to fight off the menacing and determined ghouls. As it is, Ben ends up back in the basement and listens as the zombies make their way into the house. The ending of NOTLD is a bleak one, yet still somewhat unexpected. But then again, how can it not be with the dead reanimating and eating the living? It all comes down to this: that shit's just wrong. But damn if it doesn't make for compelling storytelling.

Night of the Living Dead is such an incredibly important and influential film, not just in the zombie sub-genre, but for horror in general. There are many firsts associated with this one, not the least of which being Duane Jones (Ben) being one of the first black "heroes" in a film.
In addition, showing the graphic scenes of intestinal consumption, albeit in monochrome, hadn't really been done in such a blatantly obvious way either. How I love to see those crazy zombies pulling guts out and chowing down.

This film set off a chain reaction that is still quite relevant today. People are just utterly obsessed with zombies. I've never been a colossal fan of them, truth be told. I think it is because they are just too inhuman for me to relate to. I prefer a monster that has some humanity in there somewhere, something that gives them just pause before they rip your head off. My favorite monsters are such, like Frankenstein or the Wolfman - they still have a thought process that gives them some empathy. (The exception to this rule, as far as zombies go, may be Bub from Romero's Day of the Dead, 1985.) Generally though, the collapse of the human psyche at death causes zombies to basically just be mindless killing machines.
But hey, that in and of itself is what makes them so scary. And Night of the Living Dead is really the pinnacle of the zombie genre, and certainly one of my favorite films.