What is the best zombie film of all time?

[Kevthenurse]

I gotta give it up to Night of the Living Dead. I saw that movie as an adult YEARS after special effects supposedly added an element of realism and dread to the zombie apocalypse genre but I still had to sleep with the lights on for about a week after seeing this. You may be asking yourself why and how an outdated, silly black and white movie with laughable special effects, two dimensional dialogue and a dubious at best explanation for the rise of the undead can scare an 80's and 90's kid like me, who grew up with such modern horror flicks as "Final Destination" "Scream" and "Jesus Camp" and would logically be desensitized to the quaint beginnings of horror--you might ask, or you might not. Either way, I will explain because I like to hear myself type. And except for the last, none of those movies elicted so much as a nervous shudder.
Americans are in love with happy endings. Ever notice that? Happy endings, and gorgeous people wearing designer clothing. Yes, the first thing I'm going to reach for when the zombie apocalypse hits is my $6000 Armani suit and my snakeskin loafers. And while I am preparing for the horror, I am going to stop at some salon and shill out another $300 for some ridiculous hair cut. If I'm going to be eaten by a zombie I want to look like Ryan Gosling doing it! That is how movie tickets are sold these days.
Any time a filmmaker decides to do something different and demonstrate that the hero doesn't always get the girl and the bad guys sometimes win (as common in the real world) the American audience leaves the theater or switches off their DVD player thinking "what an awful movie! I'm gonna go on Netflix (or IMDB) and blast the shit out of this movie, AND I'M GOING TO DO IT IN ALL CAPS WITHOUT USING SPELL OR GRAMMAR CHECK TOO SO PEOPLE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT MY TIME IS; oh my gawd...I want my two hours back (or three in the case of Lord of the Rings, but that is a topic for another thread)!
Night of the Living Dead had good character development, a plot that developed at a steady pace, and did away with the idea that all movies must have a happy ending. If the zombies don't get you, trigger happy rednecks will. Either way, the heroes lose, my friend. And sometimes, that is good storytelling.
I did like the comedic approach of "Zombieland" though, and it was a close second. But good storytelling is a dying art among today's directors who rely on special effects, perfectly sewn-up conflicts and personality-challenged beautiful people to fill movie seats.

Sorry for the long rant. I just had a conversation at work about how awesome True Blood, Twilight and Vampire Diaries are. UGH!