Zombies have always been popular in the movies (hell, most Hollywood movies feel like they're directed by the living dead), so, to mark the release of "Resident Evil", we've dug up killer information about some of the best...
Film: "White Zombie" (1932)
Story: A young couple go to Haiti, but the girl is kidnapped by a jealous rival and turned into a zombie when she refuses to marry him (what'll he do when she asks for a divorce?).
Gore Factor: The first ever cinema zombies, so points for originality... but not much blood'n'guts.
Survival Guide: Never trust Bela "Dracula" Lugosi when he offers you a drink.
Film: "I Walked With a Zombie" (1943)
Story: A nurse is sent to the Caribbean to look after an American woman who's been zombified.
Gore Factor: Lots of dark shadows, moonlit nights and beating drums add voodoo atmosphere. But there's not a drop of blood anywhere. Fortunately, there is a living dead man (six foot seven Darby Jones) who's probably the tallest zombie ever put on screen.
Survival Guide: Never go into the jungle without a flashlight.
Film: "The Plague of the Zombies" (1966)
Story: An evil landowner is reanimating the corpses of local peasants as cheap labour for his Cornish tin mine... at least he doesn't have to worry about the unions.
Gore Factor: The first Technicolor zombies from the Hammer studios, with lashings of human sacrifices and some very scary corpses who just won't stay in the ground.
Survival Guide: These zombies are afraid of fire, so flamegrill 'em.
Film: "Night of the Living Dead" (1968)
Story: The dead are coming back to life to eat the living. Run!
Gore Factor: The infamous scene where zombie extras eat real animal entrails (amazing what people will do to get themselves into the movies) had audiences retching.
Survival Guide: Lock yourself in the house, barricade the doors and wait for the local good ol' boys to "rescue" you.
Film: "The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue", aka "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" (1974)
Story: Sound waves designed to kill pests reanimate the dead in the scenic surroundings of the Lake District in this badly dubbed Spanish-Italian production.
Gore Factor: Babies turn into ravenous flesh-eaters, zombies roam the fields, and the English countryside will never be the same again. "Your tearing flesh will scream for death," claimed the poetic poster.
Survival Guide: Just remember, your local British bobbie is far more dangerous (and stupid) than the zombies.
Film: "Dawn of the Dead" (1978)
Story: As zombies take over the entire planet, a group of survivors hide out in a suburban shopping mall.
Gore Factor: More flesh-eating, brain-exploding, screwdriver-through-the-ear blood 'n' guts than even Hannibal Lecter could stomach.
Survival Guide: Shoot 'em in the head or, failing that, give 'em a cream pie in the face.
Film: "Zombie Flesh-Eaters" (1979)
Story: Mia Farrow's sister (Tisa) plays a woman who goes to a tropical island looking for her scientist Dad. Alas, the silly man has created an island inhabited with dopey flesh-eaters. So begins the race to escape...
Gore Factor: Your lunch will be coming up as the zombies' lunch is going down - there's more than enough flesh-feasting in this grisly (gristly?) Lucio Fulci epic.
Survival Guide: Don't, whatever you do, hide in the wardrobe. Those wooden doors have nasty splinters - especially when you're being dragged out head first by a zombie...
Film: "Braindead" (1992)
Story: A monkey virus turns a town of New Zealanders into ravenous flesh-eaters.
Gore Factor: This film puts the "splat" into splatter, with some of the most bizarre special effects ever. Peter ("Lord of the Rings") Jackson's warped brain has zombie intestines flying around, and a murderous zombie sprog on the rampage.
Survival Guide: Get your Flymo lawnmower out and do some undead pruning.
