They Shoot Zombies, Don't They?

ABOUT THIS LIST

I have been following They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They? (TSPDT), a comprehensive ranking of the greatest films of all time, since 2010 (and eventually completed in 2014). While I appreciated the experience, my tastes often fall outside the general critical consensus, and I didn’t enjoy more than half the films. Nevertheless, it’s an invaluable resource for film lovers that I’d encourage everyone to explore.

My real passion has always been horror. I was frustrated by how underrepresented the genre was in general greatest film rankings, while dedicated horror lists often seemed questionable, repetitive or frustratingly short. It was always just the same films, and I’d already completed most of the ones I found.

One day while working my way through TSPDT, I started thinking of ways to play on the name. When I thought up They Shoot Zombies, Don’t They?, I was immediately overcome with the urge to attempt a canonical list dedicated entirely to horror. I began working on the project in 2014, collecting horror lists from across the internet and developing a system to weight them according to their sources. The first edition of They Shoot Zombies, Don’t They? was published in 2015, and I’ve continued updating and refining it ever since.

HOW THE LIST IS COMPILED

As the genre has historically received less attention from mainstream critics and film scholars, their lists are often limited and usually quite short. For that reason, TSZDT draws on a broader range of sources including critics, filmmakers, publications, websites, bloggers and horror fans.

Some might argue that including lists from ‘average people’ makes the results less authoritative, but I think the opposite is true; it gives us a list representative of everyone and every kind of film, from popular favourites and influential classics to critically acclaimed, overlooked, historically significant and culturally important films. Of course, not every source carries equal weight. Lists are assigned different levels of importance, with more established and credible sources generally contributing more heavily than individual or less authoritative lists.

TSZDT was never intended to be a direct horror equivalent of TSPDT, which served as an inspiration rather than a blueprint. But I hope the resulting ranking offers a broad and representative picture of horror cinema.

I’m always on the lookout for more horror lists to include. If you know of one I’ve missed, feel free to leave a comment on the site or get in touch through the iCM Forum, Facebook or Letterboxd. You can also follow the Facebook page for project updates.

SPECIAL THANKS

A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to the project over the years.

A particularly special thank you goes to Chris Reynolds, who’s basically been my second-in-command throughout the project. From compiling lists and retrieving IMDb information to collecting screenshots and reviews for the website and creating the Kemeny-Young program I use to calculate the rankings, he’s contributed an enormous amount of time and effort. TSZDT wouldn’t exist in its current form without him.

I’d also like to thank:

• 1SO – compiling lists
• Alyxstarr – compiling lists
• CMT – compiling lists
• Frbrown – compiling lists
• Kingink – compiling lists
• Melvelet – compiling lists
• Mjf314 – devising the weighting and point-distribution system and creating the original film-counting program
• PeacefulAnarchy – compiling lists
• Timec – compiling lists
• Bill Georgaris – creating They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?, the original inspiration for this project

And finally, thanks to the iCM Forum community for their contributions, suggestions and encouragement over the years, and to everyone else who has sent me lists or supported the project!

ABOUT ME

I’m a 35 year old film fan from Perth, Australia. My love of horror started at an early age thanks to my dad being a horror fan.

I can’t remember the first horror film I ever watched, but one of my most vivid childhood memories is begging my dad to let me watch The Evil Dead when I was seven. He eventually gave in, and after about 40 minutes of sitting in terror, I burst into tears during the pencil-in-the-ankle scene. I didn’t manage to finish the film until almost ten years later.

My all-time favourite horror film is From Dusk Till Dawn, and has been since I first saw it around age 8, and you can find more of my favourites here. I’m also on iCheckMovies, Letterboxd, Goodreads and StoryGraph.

When I’m not watching films, I’m usually playing video games, reading books or making another list.