As part of our ongoing tribute to horrormeister George A. Romero, here’s a game for you to play at home.
Choose any film title and try adding “Of The Dead” to see if you can turn it into an appealing zombie flick. Not every combination works, but some are box office gold.
I tried going through the top 50 of IMDB’s Top 250 and was taken with these, any of which I would happily fork over my money for:
The Godfather Of The Dead 12 Angry Men Of The Dead Rear Window Of The Dead Memento Of The Dead Taxi Driver Of The Dead To Kill A Mockingbird Of The Dead It’s A Wonderful Life Of The DeadThat last one’s my favourite – it sounds heart-warming. “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his face chewed off by re-animated corpses.” Stars Jimmy Stewart.
Feel free to leave more titles in the comments below.
Finally, the statisticians at WordPress show me the Institute’s attendances went through the roof yesterday, so hello to all our new visitors! Tracey in the Outland Institute Gift Shop was totally exhausted by the end of the day, and needed a nice Kingston and a sit-down. (Also, we’re totally out of Wong Kar-Wai slippers, so please don’t ask.)
The Outland Institute 
Have a word with Polash regarding the variation on this game played at Ticketmaster during our copious free time – the one that used the world ‘bumhole’. He should remember that one – I think he may have started it.
Let’s not forget the other variation of this game, thanks to Mr Adam Richard, which is when you add, “…in the mouth” to the end of otherwise innocuous sentences to turn them FILTHY.
People! People! It’s no good telling me about OTHER games, you’ve got to play this one! I had a look through the MIFF guide today but since the titles are generally pretty abstract it doesn’t really work. “Noodle Of The Dead” and “Don’t Touch That Axe Of The Dead” aren’t particularly stranger than the originals…
I do have one for our French readers though. It’s about a pretty young girl who moves to Paris to find a young man and then eat him – Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain Des Morts.
I like “Noodle of the Dead”.
“The Matrix of the Dead” (dir: Darren Aronofsky.)
“2001 of the Dead” (dir: Rob Zombie.)
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding of the Dead!”
Very clever, and all of them better than Diary of the Dead. The only title worse than that is the film within that film, The Death of Death. Ugh.
How about those Aussie classics, like:
Phar Lap Of The Dead
The Light Horsemen Of The Dead
Strictly Ballroom Of The Dead
The Castle Of The Dead (this is going straight… to the braaaaaaaains roooooooom…)
And anything by Paul Cox.
Inside of the Dead – which ironically would work just as well given the nature of the film
Mahjong of the Dead – see what games the dead really want to play
Lemon Tree of the Dead
Of course, I could go on and on – but I shall stop with
Rock and Roll Nerd of the Dead
Hey Syms, what if “The Death Of Death” had turned out to be a big hit? What would they have called the sequel? “The Death Of Death 2”? “The Death Of The Death Of Death: The Redeadening”?
Death Takes A Holiday of the Dead
The Birth of a Nation of the Dead
Pandora’s Box of the Dead
Un Chein Andalou des Morts
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang of the Dead
Duck Soup of the Dead
The 39 Steps of the Dead
How Green Was My Valley of the Dead
High Society of the Dead
The Ten Commandments of the Dead
A Hard Day’s Night of the Living Dead
Shaft of the Dead
Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song of the Dead
Pink Flamingos of the Dead
Mean Streets of the Dead
Forbidden Planet of the Dead
The Death of Death: The Rebirth (the direct to DVD prequel)
Dog Day Afternoon of the Dead!!!
I rather like “Indiana Jones of the Dead and the Temple of Doom”. Which I know isn’t strictly playing by the rules, but I liked it better than the Temple of Doom of the Dead.
Also, thinking through my own film library…
Die Hard of the Dead?? That makes no sense.
Miss Congeniality of the Dead. Oh, I want to see the zombie beauty parade, I really do!!
Buckaroo Banzai’s Adventures Across the Eighth Dimension of the Dead. Actually, that could be a sequel. Seriously. They would do that.
I’m starting to realise what a schlocky film collection I have.
Good work, people.
Dave AA, you’ve really gone to town – I’m partularly taken with High Society Of The Dead and Ten Commandments Of The Dead. And how green was my valley of the dead, anyway? (Incidentally, I keep meaning to ask if you’re connected to the famous AA battery dynasty – are you the AA Heiress?)
Dog Day Afternoon Of The Dead and Hard Day’s Night Of The Dead makes me think of:
Before Sunrise Of The Dead
Before Sunset Of The Dead
Sunrise Of The Dead (dir F W Murnau)
High Noon Of The Dead
Warm Nights On A Slow Moving Train Of The Dead
and
Lambada: The Forbidden Dance Of The Dead
What we really need now is some graphic designers to start sending in posters for these films…
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind of the Dead. How weird-shit would that be??
Some I’d like to see;
Howard the Duck of the Dead
The Great Escape of the Dead
Gandhi of the Dead
Ace in the Hole of the Dead
It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Of The Dead
Can’t Stop The Music Of The Dead
Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls Of The Dead
Staying Alive Of The Dead
High Hopes of the Dead – seriously, Mike Leigh should do a zombie flick
Cabaret of the Dead – I think Liza is nearly ready to be a convincing zombie – and that freak ex-husband of hers could make an appearance, as could her best mate Michael Jackson.
Braveheart of the Dead
Breakfast on Pluto of the Dead
The Crying Game of the Dead (goes with Mahjong of the Dead)
Eat Drink Man Woman of the Dead
The Wedding Banquet of the Dead
The Ice Storm of the Dead
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon of the Dead
Godzilla of the Dead
Bridget Jones’ Diary of the Dead
Quills of the Dead (ouch!)
Personal Services of the Dead
An homage to John Woo . . .
Hardboiled of the Dead
A Better Tomorrow of the Dead (I & II only cos Tsui Hark did the third and it was crap anyway . . . sorry)
Bullet in the Head of the Dead (goes without saying really . . .)
This one is kind of cheating because it’s an Australian tv show (but it sounds good)
After the Deluge of the Dead
And what was that about Paul Cox?
I’m sorry but you’ve got me started on this now!
Noise of the Dead
The Right Stuff of the Dead
Eight Legged Freaks of the Dead
And another tv show – Believe Nothing of the Dead
. . . and I promise this is my last. Cross my heart and hope to die.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers of the Dead
I’d see that musical
Musicals!
Saturday Night Fever Of The Dead
High School Musical Of The Dead
Top Hat Of The Dead
Hair Of The Dead
Jesus Christ Superstar Of The Dead
Fiddler On The Roof Of The Dead
Rent of the Dead
Chicago of the Dead
Showboat of the Dead. – I really want to see that one.
I actually think Cary Grant would be a fabulous star of dead movies:
I was a Male War Bride of the Dead
People Will Talk of the Dead
Bringing up Baby of the Dead
Charade of the Dead
That Touch of Mink of the Dead
Though I also wouldn’t mind seeing:
Imitation of Life of the Dead
But I’m a Cheerleader of the Dead
The East is Red of the Dead
Better Off Dead of the Dead
Close Encounters of the Third Kind of the Dead: The Deadening
This is strangely addictive. Browsing my DVD collection and passing the results through a grammar filter I get:
On the Beach of the Dead
The General of the Dead
Master and Commander of the Dead (the endless possibilities!)
Napoleon of the Dead
The Red Shoes of the Dead
Amelie of the Dead
The City of Lost Children of the Dead (I always thought that little girl was a bit scary)
Delicatessen of the Dead
Monsoon Wedding of the Dead
Downfall of the Dead
The Crucible of the Dead
I cannot go on. I can feel my life force being sapped as I type. I will get you for this, and don’t forget I know where you work……
My Beautiful Laundrette of the Dead
& some Aussie ones:
The Black Balloon of the Dead
The Castle of the Dead
Hey, Hey, It’s Esther Blueburger or the Dead
Don’s Party of the Dead
The Removalists of the Dead
The Book of Revelation of the Dead (Mummy 4)
Hello Ned! Nice to see you’ve embraced the Internet age – how are the Luddites going? Didn’t think much of your last album…
Curiously, all of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s titles work:
Delicatessen Of The Dead
City Of Lost Children Of The Dead
Alien Resurrection Of The Dead
Amelie Of The Dead (aka Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain des Mort)
A Very Long Engagement Of The Dead
A Brighter Summer’s Day of the Dead (for Mr Yang)
My homage to Angelopoulos . . .
Eternity and a Day of the Dead
Ulysses’ Gaze of the Dead
The Travelling Players of the Dead
and other things Greek . . .
Never on a Sunday of the Dead
Zorba the Greek of the Dead
Z of the Dead
Boys Town of the Dead? (Spencer Tracy, 1938, not the more recent ones: “I know that a mother can eat the brain of the toughest boy in the world, and he forgets it because he becomes a zombie.”)
The Muppets Take the Dead? (I just want to see the Swedish chef as a zombie “hurdy burdy burt BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS!”)
(I know I’m a year behind… I just couldn’t resist the word “zombies” in the tag cloud)