Vampires Vs. Zombies: The Bloody Showdown
November 17th, 2009 by BarakVampires and zombies are two of the hottest trends in TV and movies in recent years.
Now imagine a hungry zombie chewing on your arm and a thirsty vampire sucking at your neck, both asking you to choose: Will you go to the next zombie movie or the next vampire movie?
It’s time to confront the living dead with the sun-hating blood-suckers, and decide which rules! To that end, here are the ten best contemporary titles under both themes plus the bottom line – which is better:
10. TV series vs. TV series
The Vampire Diaries: As the school year begins, brother and sister Elena and Jeremy are coping with the death of their parents in a tragic accident. When Stefan, a mysterious new student, arrives, he and Elena immediately click. Elena has no way of knowing that Stefan is a centuries-old vampire, struggling to live peacefully among humans, while his brother Damon is the embodiment of vampire violence and brutality…
Dead Set: In this Bafta-nominated horror drama, a plague turns people into zombies. Meanwhile, contestants in the Big Brother house, isolated from the outside world, are not yet aware of what is going on.
And the winner is: Dead Set. More sophisticated and just better. The Vampire Diaries just began its first season so maybe it’s too soon to judge, but I have a feeling it’s not the next Sopranos or West Wing.
9. Sweden vs. Norway
Let The Right One In: In this atmospheric, acclaimed Swedish movie - an American remake is already in process - a lonely misfit finds a soul mate in the form of a vampire child who recently became his neighbor.
Dead Snow: Depending on the audience, the theme of Nazi zombies could sound like the best or worst of cinematic offerings. But Dead Snow received rave reviews at Sundance. In this Norwegian horror comedy, a group of friends think they’re in for a trip of skiing, drinking, and hooking up, but a defrosting band of Nazi zombies have something else in mind…
And the winner is: Let The Right One In. It’s a masterpiece. If you haven’t watched it, you must. Not only for vampire enthusiasts.
8. The 2007 War
30 Days of Night: The town of Barrow, Alaska experiences an entire sunless month once a year. Among the town’s tough, yet law-abiding citizens is the Sheriff (Josh Hartnett), busy brooding over the separation from his Fire Marshall wife (Melissa George). Soon after darkness descends, vampiric Marlow (Danny Huston) and his minions arrive, slaughtering everyone they can catch, safe in the knowledge that they have much longer than usual until sunup.
Fido: The world is recovering from a zombie war several decades earlier. Beyond the gates zombies rule, but in the town of Willard a huge corporation called ZomCom has domesticated the undead, turning them into faithful servants of the human race. Timmy, a young boy, develops a friendship with the zombie (Billy Connolly) his mother purchased for him. Naming him Fido, and initially treating him like a poorly-behaved dog, Timmy soon confirms what he always secretly suspected – that zombies can have feelings too.
And the winner is: I’m making the rules here, so I pick Fido because it has Billy Connolly.
7. Sequel vs. Sequel
Blade 2: Wesley Snipes returns as the part-vampire superhero, following a trail of blood to Prague in search of his abducted mentor (Kris Kristofferson). He reluctantly joins forces with a band of skilled vampire warriors called the Bloodpack to hunt down an even deadlier enemy, the monstrous Reapers, who prey on vampires and humans alike, infecting them with an incurable virus.
28 Weeks Later: The zombies from the first film have died out and England is ready for repopulation. The heavily guarded community is trying to return to normal life. Robert Carlyle has lost his wife but is reunited with his children, Andy and Tammy. But the two kids soon escape from the community, in search of their childhood home and mother. Chaos follows, with the sadistic military and forlorn survivors battling both each other and “the infected.”
And the winner is: Blade 2 grossed $155 million, while 28 Weeks Later grossed $64 million. But money is not everything, and the better sequel is 28 Weeks Later.
3-1 for the zombies.
6. Future Dystopia vs. Future Dystopia
Daybreakers: In this new movie releasing January 8, it’s 2017 and a virus has turned most of earth’s inhabitants into vampires. With their blood supply dwindling, they must find a new food source. With Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill and Willem Dafoe, and an impressive trailer, this movie looks promising.
I Am Legend: A virus has transformed the Earth’s population into an army of nocturnal zombies. Will Smith plays a military scientist, the lone survivor in post-epidemic, deserted New York City. Immune to the virus, he searches for a cure, haunted by visions of his family leaving quarantined Manhattan. He drives through the city with his German Shepherd by day, and barricades his home from the monsters at night. When Anna, another immune stranger, finds him, they will have to fight the onslaught twice as hard.
And the winner is: Daybreakers really does look promising, but I Am Legend deserves the win until proven otherwise. It’s hard to argue with a $585 million box office gross.
5. The 2004 War - Round one
Van Helsing: Destined to fight the world’s evil, Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) is a warrior in a cowboy hat and a trench coat, heavily armed with a rapid-fire multi-arrow crossbow, among other gadgetry. A legion of monks in Rome sends him to Transylvania to hunt the immortal Count Dracula, who terrorizes the local people with the help of his three vampire brides.
Dawn of The Dead: In this remake of Romero’s classic 78 movie, nurse Ana (Sarah Polley) wakes up to discover her boyfriend has become a tasty midnight snack for a cute neighboring kid. To her horror, she realizes the whole town is in state of ghoulishness. She joins a small group of survivors headed by cop Kenneth (Ving Rhames) who barricade themselves inside the local mall. More survivors surface as zombies slowly taking over the planet. Against all odds, the survivors plot, scheme, and enjoy their mall paradise.
And the winner is: Dawn of The Dead. Van Helsing wasn’t a good movie, not even by Hugh Jackman’s standards.
4. Action vs. Action
Underworld: Vampires and lycans - an ancient form of werewolf - are at war, constantly innovating deadlier bullets to gain advantage. Death agent Selene (Kate Beckinsale) orders the vamps to attack the lycans. But when she discovers they have kidnapped a human medical student, she knows the worst is coming. Against the orders of her superior (who’s in love with her), she awakens the most powerful vampire of all time, Viktor (Bill Nighy) and prepares for a massive feud against lycan leader Lucian.
Planet Terror: Director Robert Rodriguez pays homage to his favorite B-movies with this old-fashioned zombie film that’s infused with enough gore and giggles to please even Peter Jackson (Bad Taste). Rose McGowan plays Cherry, a go-go dancer whose night is interrupted by a vicious zombie attack that leaves her missing a leg. Her ex-boyfriend, Wray (Freddy Rodriguez), takes charge, fashioning her a new leg from a machine gun and killing zombies along the way
And the winner is: Planet Terror, a hilarious movie, not only the better of these two, but also the better of the two Grindhouse movies (the other being Tarantino’s Death Proof).
3. The 2004 War - Round Two
Night Watch: This old-fashioned good vs. evil parable set in Moscow relies on some modern special effects to ensnare its audience. In the distant past, a delicate truce was struck between the forces of Light and Dark. Both sides keep a close eye on each other as they attempt to disguise themselves from the earth’s mere mortals. Anton, defined as “Other” by the legions of Light and Dark, lives with his cohort of vampires, awaiting the arrival of a virgin who will announce the resumption of hostilities. As the film progresses, it becomes apparent that an epic battle is just around the corner.
Shaun Of The Dead: Shaun (Simon Pegg), joined by his immature and ever-present roommate, Ed, excels at nothing but drinking pints and watching television, causing friction with his girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield). Before Shaun can save his relationship, however, he’s got to fend off a horde of zombies that are slowly taking over the city. Armed with a cricket bat and a vague sense of direction, Shaun must rescue his friends and loved ones, and bring them to the only safe place he can think of – the pub.
And the winner is: Shaun of The Dead, it’s a modern classic.
2. Critically acclaimed vs. Critically acclaimed
True Blood: Oscar-winner Anna Paquin stars as Sookie, a telepathic waitress living in Bon Temps, Louisiana, who falls hard for Bill, a Civil War veteran and vampire. Their romantic romps aren’t the only draw: the coexistence of humans and vampires is uneasy, and people are dying. Clothes fall to the floor almost as often as blood spatters the walls in this TV show that blends supernatural horror, sex, mystery and just a little bit of social commentary.
28 Days Later: Cillian Murphy returns to consciousness 28 days after an outbreak turned London into a lifeless city. He wanders the surreally vacant streets. Upon entering a church littered with dead bodies, he discovers that he is not alone - “the infected” are still living. They are violently sick, fast-moving, bloodthirsty zombies who travel at night in ravenous packs. Jim manages to escape and locate a band of survivors. Joining forces, they cling to the hope that somewhere healthy humanity thrives – only to discover that humans in distress are no better than zombies.
And the winner is: It’s a tie. I think True Blood is an excellent show, and 28 Days Later gets 88% fresh reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. No decisive conclusion here.
1. Blockbuster vs. Blockbuster
Twilight: High-school student Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), always a bit of a misfit, doesn’t expect life to change much when she moves from sunny Arizona to rainy Washington state. Then she meets Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a handsome but mysterious teen whose eyes seem to peer directly into her soul. Edward is a vampire whose family does not drink blood, and Bella, far from being frightened, enters into a dangerous romance with her immortal soulmate.
Zombieland: A huge success both financially and critically, humorous Zombieland is about survivors (Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg) of a zombie apocalypse who join forces against the undead.
And the winner is: Zombieland. Twilight is nonsense for teens, while Zombieland is a very good action movie, with some truly funny moments and original ideas. So what if Twilight grossed triple what Zombieland made at the box office…
Conclusion: It’s 8-1 in favor of the zombies!
It seems that contemporary movies about eating flesh are better than contemporary movies about drinking blood. Will the new Twilight movie tilt the scale? Will Daybreakers be the best vampire movie of all time? Will the slow-moving zombies from the original Dawn of The Dead make room for the fast-moving Zombies from Zombieland? Only time can answer these questions of utmost important.
Spoiling the victory, as always, are statistics. According to Box Office Mojo, vampire movies since the 80s made about $1.3 billion, while zombie movies made about $700 million, barely more than a half. And when it comes to the number of movies under each theme, vampires also lead, this time in a slight advantage of 1300 vs. 1100.
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November 17th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
[...] Vampire Vs. Zombies: The Bloody Showdown - Jinni Blog blog.jinni.com/2009/11/vampire-vs-zombies-the-bloody-showdown – view page – cached Now imagine a hungry zombie chewing on your arm and a thirsty vampire sucking at your neck, both asking you to choose: Will you go to the next zombie movie or the next vampire movie? [...]
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November 17th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
I’ll give the zombies the win here but Dracula is a great book. that has to be worth a few points for the vampires.
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November 17th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
I Am Legend is definitely vampires, not zombies.
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November 17th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
I’d bet that the Zombie genre costs much less to make though so the earning percentage title goes to the Zombies!
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November 17th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Van helsing was a brilliant movie!!!!!!!!
BTW the author of this site comes off as biased towards zombies to begin with!!!!!!
AND FYI Twilight isn’t just nonsense for teens its a love story with a twist that appeals to all age groups!!!!!
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November 17th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
I Am Legend the book is about vampires while the bastardization that is the movie has strange zombie-things. The book is far better than the movie I highly recommend reading it.
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November 17th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
why is twilight on this list, its a horrible book and horrible movie, the only reason it sold was because its mastabatory material for insecure teens
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November 17th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Correct “I Am Legend” is a about vampires not zombies.
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November 17th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
“I Am Legend” was an awful film, even by Will Smiths standards, brought to mind a slightly weaker and more fanciful version of 28 Days Later. The older films based on the same book as “I Am Legend” are much better than the newest incarnation also.
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November 17th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Sorry Jennifer - Twilight is drivel. It’s a poorly written piece of fiction with zero new ideas by the time she wrote it. It’s nothing different from the rest of the vampire stories in recent memory - a love story with a twist (aka - the vampire is “good”). Been there, done that (see: Angel, Southern Vampire, Dresden Files - those are just the ones I’m familiar with)
And I could have sworn I Am Legend is about vampires. That’s the whole premise behind the story’s name - he is the vampire’s scary legend like the human’s Dracula.
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November 17th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Vampire contains rich tales, great for Novels (or those thick books).
Zombie shown real thrill and action, great for Movies (or those TV series)
The review was just based on films. So as usual Zombie won. Btw, I agree.
But I think, it will be better if you provide reviews for Novels and Video Games.
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November 17th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
I think From Dusk Till Dawn should be on the list, it is probably one of the best vampire movies i have ever seen, although the acting wasn’t the best, it was hilarious.
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November 18th, 2009 at 1:15 am
I Am Legend - Vampires or Zombies?
After watching the movie, I was sure it was a Zombie movie.
Reading the comments here made me question that, so I checked.
Results are inconclusive. Wikipedia for exp, mentions both vampires and zombies with regards to this adaptation of the novel. The movie’s official site avoids the issue, by referring to the deadly creatures as The Infected or Mutant Victims.
So let’s go back to the movie itself: the creatures are edgy, run fast, scream (or make some kind of irritating high noise), do not have fangs nor cling to necks, and in general leave messy victims after them. I think that these are typical zombie characteristics, without a doubt (and very similar to the better zombie thriller, 28 Days Later).
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November 18th, 2009 at 5:52 am
Mcfly - I think your forgetting that the ‘Infecded’ in I Am Legend are also sensitive to light and only come out at night. I think that is a classic vampire characteristic and I have never seen this in a zombie movie before. In addition references such as Wikipedia (ref. Vampire Film) and Rotten Tomato’s place both The Omega Man (Based on the same book) and I Am Legend under the category of vampire movie. Having said this all the vampire movies I’ve seen the ‘Infected’ classically seem to retain their memories and at least most of their human personality after they turn which is not the case in I Am Legend. As a result I don’t think the ‘Infected’ are either a zombie or a vampire but something else entirely.
For the most part of this comparison I would have to agree however I think there has been some Vampire movies that I would count as the cream of the crop that have been left off this list (i.e. Interview with the Vampire (Classic), Blade (The original), From Dusk Till Dawn, Vampire Hunter D, Near Dark, and Let the Right One In)
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November 18th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
[...] Zombies vs. vampires in an unusual “war” of entertainment value. (Spoiler: zombies win. Duh.) (The Jinni Blog) [...]
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November 18th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Just going to say that i think 30 Days of Night was SO MUCH better than Fido… even if i hated the ending. Fido was only a little funny, not that interesting and i just couldn’t take it seriously. It’s definitely not one of my favorite movies while 30 Days of Night is. (:
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November 18th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
You obviously know nothing about movies if you think Planet Terror was better than Death Proof. You’re obviously the type who only watches movies to be entertained, and cannot see the true art of the film.
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November 19th, 2009 at 3:16 am
James - Let the Right One In is in the post (#9).
And it seems like the author focused on titles from 2000 and on.
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November 19th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Haha, coming from a 13 year old girl?
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November 20th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Haha, wow. Calling Van Helsing brilliant pretty much discounts everything else you say right off the bat.
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November 26th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Come on dude, these facts* and proof* i mean who is posting* lol :P
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December 1st, 2009 at 11:16 am
Twilight appealing to all ages? And what planet do you live on? Most definitely not Planet Terror as your comment about Twilight smells too much like teen spirit.
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December 1st, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Dead Snow was awsome!!! lol
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December 6th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Hahahahahahahaha…Oh…wait…you’re not joking? But Twilight is so AWFUL! It reeks of Disney channel and is nothing more than a bad book turned into a worse movie.
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December 6th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
No, are you serious? Your stupid, i can’t believe you said that. I was going to complement you on being a good critic with the only “Sweden vs. Norway” verdict. not to mention the ” Critically acclaimed vs. Critically acclaimed” verdict; I dont know if i could decide on ture blood or 28 days later either. But planet terror being better than death proof. you know nothing, and now i’ve seen that you dont know anything about movies and just let ur love you zombie flicks cloud you judgment. death proof had amazing dialogue not to mention a true grindhouse plot. and awesome acting, kick ass actresses and actors. plus fell perfectly in-line with tarantino’s universe. again: you know nuthing about movies. planet terror is obviously the worst of the two movies. but it is still better then lot other zombie and vampire flicks. i can at least agree on that.
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December 7th, 2009 at 2:22 am
hahahaha ill take zombies over vampire lol.. dawn of the dead was fun!
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December 20th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I feel required to point out here that while in the movie of I Am Legend the creatures came off as zombies, they are in fact originally Vampires according to the novel. Check it out though, fantastic story.
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December 21st, 2009 at 8:56 am
A love story with a twist? Saying this movie appeals to all age groups is like saying efferdent appeals to all age groups.
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December 21st, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Van Helsing was crap, and Twilight is crap. End of story.
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January 11th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Couldn’t agree more, zombies always beat vampires, my only disagreement is that I Am Legend is not zombies, it is vampires. So in that one you have a vampire vs vampire.
Also, AMC is developing a zombie series on tv and with their major tv hits recently this should be amazing and go on the list
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January 27th, 2010 at 7:15 am
Seriously you should retake 4th grade
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February 8th, 2010 at 8:14 am
Come on dude, these facts* and proof* i mean who is posting* lol :P
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February 13th, 2010 at 9:22 am
WTF is wrong with you, seriously?
“Daybreakers really does look promising, but I Am Legend deserves the win until proven otherwise. It’s hard to argue with a $585 million box office gross.”
“Blade 2 grossed $155 million, while 28 Weeks Later grossed $64 million. But money is not everything, and the better sequel is 28 Weeks Later.”
You just spoke in two totally opposite directions?
You haven’t even seen Daybreakers, but still you make I Am Legend better.. just.. cause of the money. Which you just said didn’t matter.
Good idea with this list, crappy way of rating them though.
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March 11th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
1) dead set
2) let the right one in
3) 30 days barely
4) 28 weeks
5) daybreakers (I agree I am legend is vampires, movies maybe a mix)
6) dawn of the dead
7) underworld (I’m a fan)
8) shaun of the dead
9) 28 days later
10) zombie land
Some of these categories are hardly fair though, like matching up zombie land and twilight or dawn of the dead/van helsing, while skipping some vampire movies like Interview
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April 23rd, 2010 at 9:43 pm
When you leave out Interview with a Vampire, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and From Dusk till Dawn, it leads me to believe this article is weighted pretty heavily on the zombies side.
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May 14th, 2010 at 9:18 am
I am Legend is all about how he is the last human alive. How he can travel during the day and whatnot, and how he spends his time hunting the new race of humans, who can’t come out during the day. For all intensive purposes they’re vampires.
But since Robert Neville is the one walking around doing all the killing during the day while the new race is sleeping, he is the legend, he is the vampire.
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May 20th, 2010 at 9:02 am
@whaterverin i just mean Erin….hehehe i kid, I joke,
i believe exactly what your stating i just agree only a bit 8))
My dad consistently explained accept as true 50 per cent of what you see and additionally zero from what you hear lol..
Figure I’m just like senior. : x)
What about you guys…what do you believe..u think he’s spot on
@op or first poster quite helpful i can see that but i believe i am going to stay using my personal line of thought
i dont know much so i’m very easily convienced..lol
Things i do know i’m quite sure and open about it..
However when u find that impression Like your into the fitness center for the first time and you just look at the ceiling becuase you do not have a idea, where to get started!!
However if I know the subject matter than im usually can speak on it..
I purely enjoy to receive details in and process it..
What about you guys..mostly viewers and / or writers?
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