5 Seriously Odd Zombie Movies (That You Should See)

There are a lot of Zombie movies out there. Many are great, some stink, and some are just plain odd. Odd as in “Every one knows I love Zombie movies, but how the hell do I explain this one…” Well, I decided to list my 5 favorite “odd Zombie movies” and tell you why.

5. Astro-Zombies

After being recruited by the government after a variety of unsolved gruesome killing, some scientists try to solve who or what is doing the killing. They latch on to the track of the strange evil doctor, who experiments, in a very Dr. Frankenstein like way, on dead people brought to him by his quiet hunchback assistant. Add a little underworld espionage and G-man detective work, and some toy robots, and you have a movie!
Most of the movie slips between two categories of scenes. The first category is of the whole “spy, bad-guy, G-man, espionage” type of movie, while the other category is simple watching the mad scientist do his evil lab work.

The first two things I learned watching The Astro-Zombies was (1) never close your garage door after parking your car without first turning on the lights, and (2) wear your seat belt. The last thing I learned is that if you’re a Zombie powered by solar panels on your head, keep a flashlight with you in case it gets dark.

Yes I said “solar powered Zombies”, as in “Zombies going green to same the planet which they kill.” In this 1968 Zombie film, the Zombie ends up running around too much and runs low on energy when it becomes dark. So, what is a Zombie to do? Well, he just whips out a flashlight and points it directly on his forehead to recharge.

4. Tokyo Zombie

This “buddy” flick stars Fujio, who has an afro, and Mitsuo, who is bald. They spend their days working at a fire extinguisher factory and goofing off practicing Jiu-Jitsu when the boss isn’t around. That is until the Zombies arrive from the local mountain where people apparently routinely kill and bury people. After the Zombies arrive, the two fight their way North, or is it South, until they eventually run into Yoko, a beautiful girl with an attitude, who changes everything, in more ways than one.

Fujio and Mitsuo remind me of, well, Cheech and Chong meet Dumb and Dumber meet Bill and Ted. The film was very artful and successfully combined a heap of comedy with some thoughtful reflections on friendship and compassion. The second half of the movie turns more sombre while Fujio deals with some personal demons as he deals with fighting Zombies.

I have learned several things from this movie to better prepare me for the upcoming Zombie apocalypse. First, painful stomach gas does not equal stomach cancer, and second, keep track of your car keys. And learn martial arts.

Not only is this movie odd, but it’s actually really good.

3. Deadgirl

Necrophilia isn’t enough to convey the dark, sick, plot of this film.

Two high school buddies, Ricky and J.T., skip school and decide to get drunk. They go to an abandoned, isolated, asylum, there deep in the bowls of the vast, dark, building they discover a girl covered with a body bag, tied down on a table. She looks, and feels, dead, but she moves – slowly. Ricky bails when J.T. decides this might be a good opportunity to “get some.” Soon the boys bring another kid, Wheeler, into their dark secret world of “love, undead style”.

Ricky, who is in love with his classmate, JoAnn, faces a desperate moral choice. After letting JoAnn know his feelings, thing get out of hand. Meanwhile, J.T. slowly looses his grip on reality and the real world outside, as he essentially lives with the deadgirl, storing food and setting up furniture and lighting.

Of course, there’s a twist – and a good one at that. Sick – yes. Well made – yes. Zombie flick – hell yes.

2. Otto; or, Up with Dead People

Otto, a “Zombie with an identity crisis,” wanders around the city in a world rife with violence and war. Zombies are not uncommon in this world, apparently living off of dead flesh, but society has nearly eradicated them.

Otto, in his ambiguous quest, deals with feelings of vegetarianism, and his own sexuality in a world where all Zombies are thought to be gay. He eventually seeks to be cast in a filmmaker’s movie, Up With Dead People, which is about the daily “life” of Zombies, and how society has abandoned them.

This entry into the “soft-core gay Zombie film” genre (yes, there are others) was odd primarily for subject matter: sexuality in an undead world.

1. The Stink of Flesh

This movie has so many bizarre aspects to it I don’t know where to begin.

Matool, loner in a world of roaming Zombies treks through the desert using martial arts and hand weapons to fend off the Zombie hordes. Eventually, Matool meets Nathan and Dexy, a swinger couple looking for “live meat” to keep Dexy satisfied sexually in a world of deaders. Hot tubs, food, safety, and sex. What could go wrong?

And that’s just the beginning. Waite till you meet Dexy’s sister(s). I’d say more, but you have to see it to believe it. This is one of the funniest Zombie movies I’ve ever seen.