Exploitation films

The Toxic Avenger

Troma's only good film, and the head-crushing is still funny.

Bad Taste

Shot at weekends over four years by Jackson and his friends. Astonishing.

The Return of the Living Dead

Punk soundtrack, running zombies, and the film that invented 'BRAINS'.

Re-Animator

Where the effects and the writing finally matched. Jeffrey Combs is perfect.

Braindead

Jackson before the trilogy. The lawnmower scene ends the argument.

Day of the Dead

The bleakest Romero. Bub is the only sympathetic character in it.

Dawn of the Dead

A shopping mall, four survivors, and Savini's finest hour.

The Evil Dead II

Remake and sequel at once. Raimi discovers slapstick and never looks back.

The Evil Dead

Prosecuted in Britain. Actually a comedy, though it took years to admit it.