In celebration of the release of World War Z, here is a run down of the best and worst named zombie movies:
Best
| 1. | Night of the Living Dead |
Not only the best zombie movie, but the best named zombie movie. It has the wit of juxtaposition with living vs. dead and the ominous promise of night. |
| 2. | Shaun of the Dead |
Stops your eye and gets your attention with the play on words. References the classic Dawn of the Dead with a sense of humor. |
| 3. | Zeder |
Zingy–with a play on Zed, which is undead jargon for zombie and is a portmanteau for “deader.” Totally ownable as a brand. |
What makes these names work is they aren’t literal. The word “zombie doesn’t appear once. They have stopping power to get attention through wit and originality. They make a promise and invite you to take a look.
Worst
| 1. | Zombie |
A common mistake–using a description for a name. There is nothing to see here, no promise–just a zombie movie. So what? |
| 2. | Planet Terror |
This one makes the mistake of being trendy. You can clearly tell this movie came out when everyone was naming thing Planet-This and Planet-That. |
| 3. | Fido |
Okay, you don’t want to get descriptive, but you don’t want to totally confuse either. This movie could be about anything. Really a dog of a name. |
Boring, descriptive, confusing names don’t deliver brand success.
