An Army of the Dead
Remember when the White Walkers were the most pressing issue of Season 8? Yeah, me too. An ode to undead plotlines can be found in this section to make up for that particular disappointment.
World War Z (2013)
“The Long Night” had some pretty insane stuff going on, but the eeriest aspect was without a doubt the way the wights took on Winterfell. Their erratic movement and tendency to crash down over the walls in a huge crush of bodies was very reminiscent of the film World War Z, as were their various screeches and screams. This is a large-scale zombie film with plenty of wall-climbing action that will make you think fondly on that epic episode.
The Walking Dead (2010 – )
Another long-running series with a huge fanbase, this would be a good show to start (or finish) in Game of Thrones‘ absence. Plus, the hordes of undead will fill your need for White Walkers, although the emphasis on the lives of the survivors will keep the zombies from becoming too tedious.
Land of the Dead (2005)
All of George Romero’s Living Dead films are more than valid and deserve a place on this list. However, the tactical intelligence of the head-honcho White Walkers is hard to find in other films and television shows. Land of the Dead, the fourth of the Living Dead series, makes the bold, and honestly hilarious, move of making the undead start to evolve and gain intelligence. They even begin to use weapons, even guns, against the remaining human survivors. It’s entertaining and fun, a definite highlight of the franchise.
Dead Snow (2009)
Zombie Nazis! In Norway! Enough said.
Unlikely Special Mention: Stardust (2007)
For the comical final sword fight between Mark Strong‘s corpse and Tristan (Charlie Cox).
I Will Go Down With This Ship
Gendrya, Briame, Jonmund, you name it.
The Princess Bride (1987)
“As you wish”
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Constant insults and clashing personalities giving way to romance — a crowd favorite.
Wonder Woman (2017)
Fierce warrior and swordswoman who leaves her small, blonde love interest in awe.
Epic Last-Second Kills
These films offer up some wild surprise kills. It’s hard to beat Arya swooping in unexpectedly and destroying the Night King, but these come close:
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
“First, we’re gonna seal off this portal…” Just when he was giving the most rousing speech of his career (as of 1999), Samuel L. Jackson is suddenly cut off by one of this film’s genetically altered sharks. Literally. Even when you know it’s coming, it continues to be an incredibly sudden and wacky way to kill off what seemed to be one of the film’s primary characters. Sounds familiar, actually…
Psycho (1960)
Cue “The Murder” score. Janet Leigh only makes it 47 minutes into the film. This is likely the most well-known horror movie kill in history, mostly because of how unexpected and jarring the entire scene is. On a first-time view, you might be thinking, what’s left? Who is my protagonist now? But the shocking shower kill is only the beginning of the surprises Hitchcock has in store.
Alien (1979)
“Lambert, am I clear? I wanna get the hell out of here.” The dinnertime-chestburster scene has haunted people for years, no doubt one of the most horrifying and unexpected things ever witnessed on the big screen. But it’s not the only surprise kill of the sci-fi classic — Dallas, the captain and a seemingly untouchable character, is snatched by the creature in a tense game of hide-and-seek in the ship’s ventilation ducts. The building terror in Dallas and the crew tracking him on the motion detectors makes his abrupt death all the more disturbing.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
“Oh man, I shot Marvin in the face.” Accidentally blowing someone’s brains out mid-conversation is alarming to say the least; poor Marvin definitely wasn’t expecting it. And in the middle of a philosophical debate about the existence of a higher power and miracles, of all things.
Get Over the Starbucks Cup Already
Here are some more anachronisms, this time intentional, to get your mind off the Season 8 goof. Musical anachronisms are more fun anyway:
Marie Antoinette (2006)
Wanting the film to focus more on the transformation of the young Marie Antionette rather than the time period, director Sophia Coppola purposefully snuck a pair of Converse tennis shoes into a shopping sequence. The youthful modern footwear adds to the fun atmosphere around Marie Antionette’s party-fueled early days of her marriage with Louis XVI of France. The montage in question being set to “I Want Candy” makes this anachronism two-fold.
A Knight’s Tale (2001)
This medieval flick is an incredibly fun Heath Ledger romp with some decidedly not-Middle Ages music. Queen’s “We Will Rock You” is a crowd favorite sing-along at jousting events, and nobles dance to David Bowie’s “Golden Years” at the ball. Although poorly received at the time, these and several other classic rock songs being featured in a medieval setting feels like something that might have gone over pretty well today.
Moulin Rouge (2001)
It actually took director Baz Luhrmann two years to even get the rights to most of the popular songs used in his 19th-century set musical spectacular, including hits from Nirvana, Elton John, The Police, and Madonna (just to name a few). There is so much modern music jam-packed into the film, and yet it all feels perfectly natural and at home in 1890s Paris. Many of the songs are re-worked and performed by the cast members, including Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman.
Battles for the Ages
Finally, perhaps what put Game of Thrones on the map as one of the greatest modern television series was its battles between huge, seemingly insurmountable powers. Earlier seasons gave us epic battle sequences like “Blackwater” and the iconic (yet tragic) battle at Castle Black. Our little minds were blown later on in “Battle of the Bastards,” the horror at the frozen lake in “Beyond the Wall” (anyone remember that wight-Polar Bear? Wild), and “The Dance of Dragons’” anxiety-inducing fighting pit ambush. Those are all some very big shoes to fill — although they’re no Clegane Bowl — but hopefully, these picks will ease the passing a bit.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Chosen over The Return of the King purely because of the battle of Helms Deep. This is perhaps one of the greatest film battles, the large-scale conflict adding to the awe-factor at the time of its release. The 39-minute long sequence is an astonishing climax for the trilogy’s second installment and doesn’t waste a single moment of its runtime. The battle of Winterfell in “The Long Night” is much longer, of course, but was very much inspired by the Two Towers climax both structurally and thematically.
Troy (2004)
This variation of The Iliad has some fantastic battle sequences, although it is an extremely condensed version of the Trojan War. Aerial shots as hundreds of arrows are fired on the beaches at once, flurries of chariots racing towards Troy, and Brad Pitt‘s Achilles going up against Eric Bana‘s Hector all make up the spectacle that is Troy. The impenetrable walls here might be a nice change of pace, though, after what we’ve seen go down at Winterfell and King’s Landing.
Attack on Titan (2013 – )
The highly popular anime series is known for being especially bloody and gruesome, but the battles between the elite soldiers and human-hungry Titans are where the action’s at. The amount of detail in battle scenes is captivating, with military forces leaping across rooftops using a series of cables and wielding swords to take down their colossal foes. Even more terrifying than undead Giants, the Titans are an entertaining enough adversary for a couple of seasons.
Vikings (2013 – )
Norse hero Ragnar inspired the crowd-pleasing series Vikings, which has plenty of antiquated combat and raids to function as a sort of sub-in for Game of Thrones. Although not half as involved or highly-developed as the latter, it shares enough grit in its battle scenes to fill the vacuum. The third season’s invasion of Paris, in particular, has been compared to “Hardhome” in terms of being a great battle sequence with real tension and considerably high stakes. The abridged history behind these battles adds to the appeal of the show, as well.
Related Topics: Game of Thrones, GoT, Thrones, watchlist
