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The Undead, Played for Laughs

A run of horror comedy — vampire flatmates bickering over the dishes, slackers fumbling through the zombie apocalypse — set against the Romero classic they're all winking back at.

Mostly crowd favorites and easy Friday-night watches shared endlessly among fans; only Dawn of the Dead asks more of you, with real 1978 gore, and it's the film-school ancestor that makes the jokes land.

• What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
• Shaun of the Dead (2004)
• Zombieland (2009)
• Dawn of the Dead (1978)
• The Return of the Living Dead (1985) — The overlooked punk-rock zombie riot that rhymes with these — it literally jokes that Romero's Night was based on real events, then out-gags Shaun with 'send more paramedics,' so if those landed this is the '80s one to finally pull down.
• One Cut of the Dead (2017) — If What We Do in the Shadows' deadpan and Shaun's craft won you over, this is the under-seen gem you forgot — a no-budget crew shooting a zombie movie in one take until the joke turns inside-out and floors you.
• Braindead (1992) — Before The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson made this Wellington-set splatstick about a boy, his zombie mom, and a lawnmower — the gonzo Kiwi cousin to Shaun of the Dead you kept meaning to watch, if you can stomach the gallons of gore.
• Army of Darkness (1992) — The chainsaw-handed 'hail to the king' entry these all quote back to — Raimi and Bruce Campbell swinging undead slapstick into the Dark Ages, the overlooked one to finally pull down if Zombieland's gleefully self-aware carnage is your speed.