Ever since coming on board as executive producer/frequent episode director, makeup effects legend Greg Nicotero (KNB EFX Group) has infused a whole lot of horror movie love into AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” Nicotero, a huge horror fan who got his start working with Tom Savini on Day of the Dead, has paid tribute to many of his favorite cinema zombies over the years, often placing them into the episodes he directs as fun little Easter eggs for us fans. And goddamn do we love him for that.
We’ve made it our personal mission here on Dread to cover each and every one of those tribute walkers, as Nicotero calls them, and we’ve thus far collected them together into two posts: 8 Times “The Walking Dead” Paid Tribute to Our Favorite Horror Movies and “The Walking Dead” – Seven More Awesome Zombie Tributes. You’ll find smile-inducing homages to films like Shaun of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead, An American Werewolf in London, and even Lucio Fulci’s Zombie within those lists, and more recently, Nicotero showed off a Night of the Living Dead tribute walker that was left on the cutting room floor.
Which iconic zombie will next shamble his/her way onto the show? We’ll of course have to wait until the return of “The Walking Dead” this coming October to find out, but we did put together a list of zombies we’d love to see Nicotero pay tribute to in the near future. Below you’ll find 10 of our favorite zombies, and if they ever do pop up on the show, we’ll be sure to let you know.
Oh and after you’re done reading, comment and let us know which zombies you’d love to see on “The Walking Dead”!
1) KAREN COOPER – NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD
2) VICTOR PASCOW – PET SEMATARY
3) MADELINE SHORT PARKER – WHITE ZOMBIE
4) BILL MURRAY – ZOMBIELAND
5) MATTHEW BUCKNER – THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
6) BILLY BUTCHERSON – HOCUS POCUS
7) FIRST CUTSCENE ZOMBIE – RESIDENT EVIL (1996)
8) BIG DADDY – LAND OF THE DEAD
9) ZOMBIE FREDDY – THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD
10) NATHAN GRANTHAM – CREEPSHOW
