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Zombies infest iconic movie posters (pictures)

An artist infuses classic geeky movie posters with zombie flair. Step inside our gallery to see parody posters from "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones," and more.

Christopher MacManus
Crave contributor Christopher MacManus regularly spends his time exploring the latest in science, gaming, and geek culture -- aiming to provide a fun and informative look at some of the most marvelous subjects from around the world.
Christopher MacManus
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1 of 10 Matt Busch

Bleak is the Future

The post-apocalyptic zombie genre seems to be enjoying a mild renaissance led by television shows such as "The Walking Dead" and video games like DayZ. If you're a fan of everything undead, it's likely you'll admire the work of 40-year old Michigan artist Matt Busch, whose zombie-filled movie posters run under the tagline Hollywood is Dead.

Four years ago, Lucasfilm contacted Busch to request zombified versions of the six "Star Wars" movie posters. "People loved it, and demanded to see more blockbuster faves, so I've been doing it ever since," Busch told Crave.

Enjoy this small collection of the many hand-drawn (and hand-painted) zombie movie posters created by Busch. It starts off with a reimagined "Back to the Future" poster entitled "Bleak is the Future." The parody, directed by Severed Spielberg, stars zombie actors Mykill J. Fox, Christopher Lied, and Cryptsin Glover. Tagline: "He was never in time for his classes. He wasn't in time for his dinner. Then one day, his time was up. Then everyone became his dinner."

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2 of 10 Matt Busch

Zombie Wars

Matt Busch's vision of "Star Wars" turned into "Zombie Wars," which takes place "a long time ago in a graveyard far, far away." The undead versions of Luke and Leia look downright scary compared with the mild-mannered versions seen in the movie, while Darth Vader's eyeball sticks out like a sore thumb. What do you think about that headless C-3P0 and blood tank R2-D2 in the background? Sounds like a spin-off just waiting to happen.
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3 of 10 Matt Busch

E.T. The Extra-Terrorestrial

When "E.T." debuted in 1982, most people loved its cute yet odd-looking alien protagonist. Matt Busch's take on the poster -- titled "E.T. The Extra-Terrorestrial" -- turns the innocent, homesick alien into a ravenous killer wielding a large knife.
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4 of 10 Matt Busch

Cadavatar

Cadavers come to life in "Cadavatar," an "Avatar" movie poster parody created by Matt Busch.

The amount of time needed to create each piece varies, the artist told Crave. "It depends on the intensity of the original," he said. "A simplified design can be done in a matter of hours. Most of the more epic and complex montages can take days if not weeks."

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5 of 10 Matt Busch

Zombie Wars: The Living Dead Strike Back

In the undead sequel to "Zombie Wars," called "The Living Dead Strike Back," a repulsive version of Han and Leia fall in love while the zombie epidemic continues. As Vader's skull looms, we see a skeletal version of Luke riding a Tauntaun with his guts hanging out. That happens to serve as great insulation against the brutal ice storms on Hoth.

With dozens of zombiefied posters under his belt, artist Matt Busch favors this poster to this day. "It's such an iconic poster, and the way it's altered is just so wrong," Busch said. "The way Han is over Leia in the original, the zombified version was pretty much begging for projectile blood vomit."

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6 of 10 Matt Busch

Star Trap III: The Living Dead Search for Spock

Captain Kirk and the "Star Trek" crew seek out a fallen companion in "Star Trap III: The Living Dead Search For Spock." The tagline on the amusing poster reads, "A dying planet. A fight for survival. Live long and eat brains." Artist Matt Busch says that after he completes painting, he scans the poster and does additional typography and logo work in Photoshop.
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7 of 10 Matt Busch

Indiana Bones and the Last Cadaver

Watch out for Indiana Bones in "The Last Cadaver," starring "the man with the rotting flesh" accompanied by a very hungry (and very undead) Sean Connery.
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8 of 10 Matt Busch

Lord of the Rank: The Festering of the Rotten

It's likely the "Lord of the Rings" spoof "The Lord of the Rank: The Festering of the Rotten" wouldn't take home as many Academy Awards as the original, but it sure would make for some scary storylines. It appears most of the cast has a serious desire for drinking blood.
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9 of 10 Matt Busch

From Rotten with Love

In this rotten remake of the iconic James Bond movie "From Russia With Love," an undead 007 played by Shorn Connery sheds the familiar code name and adopts 666. Admittedly, Connery still looks smashing in a bloodstained tuxedo.
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10 of 10 Matt Busch

Zombie Wars: Return from the Grave

With the second Death Star quickly approaching completion, an undead Luke Skywalker must confront his undead father and the Emperor for the final time in this "Return of the Jedi" parody titled "Return from the Grave." The fake zombie flick stars Marked For Death, Harrison Fork, Scary Fisher, Golly Gee Williams, and Anarchy Daniels. Doesn't Jabba look cute with those enlarged all-white eyeballs?

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