day of the dead (1985)

aka George A. Romero's Day of the Dead. Another few years on from the last film and society has fully broken down, with zombies roaming the land. One group that has survived exist on a military base of mainly scientists and military personnel, safe in a underground bunker in Florida. The scientists experiment on the undead, searching for a cure, much to the annoyance of the army. This conflict getting more and more serious as the claustrophobia and stress builds tensions between the two factions. The film really gives you a feeling for the tensions that would run so high in such a situation and the improved special effects add another level to the zombies. But even though the previous two ended in depressing circumstances, this one is unrelentingly depressing from the off and makes for an effective, but less entertaining film.

dawn of the dead (1978)

aka George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Dawn of the Living Dead. The Zombies. Zombi. Zombie: Dawn of the Dead. Zombies. Zombies: Dawn of the Dead.
Sometime after the events in Night Of The Living Dead and the zombies are increasingly taking over. Civilisation seems to be crumbling and the authorities are loosing control. A couple of TV station workers with access to a helicopter decide to make a run for it and end up at a deserted mall with two SWAT team police who have also ran. Together they decide to wait it out there, as it seems to have everything that they need, whilst all around them hell breaks out.
Where the first film was a critique of Vietnam, this has been viewed as a critique of American consumerism. This is Romero's epic take on the zombie film, with zombies that can be one second comical and the next terrifying creatures. The ultimate zombie film featuring fun and gore in equal measure.

night of the living dead (1968)

aka Night of the Living Dead: 30th Anniversary Edition. Laugh Track: Night of the Living Dead, Monster Flick. Night of Anubis. Night of the Flesh Eaters.
The dead become re-animated and determined to feed on the living. Anyone bitten by a zombie then returns as a zombie themselves. The only way to destroy them is to destroy their brain. A number of people try to escape the chaos and end up barricaded inside a remote farmhouse, besieged by an increasing zombie hoard. As the zombies attack the tensions inside the house increase.
The realistic almost documentary feel and downbeat conclusion adds to the films tension and helped usher in a new era of contemporary horror. A wonderfully realised low budget film, that set the standard for what was to come.