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The undead is a fascinating concept that depicts a subtype of consciousness, exhibiting unique characteristics of an individual neither fully alive nor dead. Arguably first seen in White Zombie in 1932, and reaching a mainstream audience thanks to Night Of The Living Dead in 1968, zombie movies have ticked away at viewers’ brains through various channels.
The undead has taken center stage across many genres outside the typical horror landscape, going into comedy, romance, action, and thriller movies. Moreover, thanks to the success of titles like The Walking Dead series, zombies have managed to stay relevant. Regardless of genre, many zombie movies are lovable and re-watchable, especially when they’re fan favorites like World War Z or Zombieland.
‘World War Z’ (2013)
World War Z is an action-horror zombie movie that focuses on survival, a cure, and the rapid nature of unknown diseases that affect the population at a mass scale. Starring Brad Pitt as Gerry, the former UN investigator, and Daniella Kertesz as Segen, the Israeli Defense Force soldier who accompanies him, the world is plagued by zombies with no end in sight.
An adaptation of Max Brook’s acclaimed horror novel, World War Z: An Oral History Of The Zombie War, the film deviates from its source material, but effectively utilizes common zombie tropes like uncontrollable creatures and the start of an apocalypse. Perfect for a thrilling escape film with no gore, World War Z leaves a sense of urgency within its viewers, and creates a satisfying distinction between the infected and the uninfected.
‘Warm Bodies’ (2013)
If Twilight changed its paranormal characters into zombies and added more comedy, then Warm Bodies would be a successful counterpart. The film follows R (Nicholas Hoult), a zombie who craves human brains for their ability to provide him with memories and make him feel alive again. Wandering through eight years of an apocalypse, R experiences the next best thing to brains to find a human connection: love. When he sees Julie (Teresa Palmer) for the first time, his dead heart starts to slowly beat again.
A clever take on romance, comedy, zombies, and an imaginative version of Romeo and Juliet, Warm Bodies humanizes zombies in a way that reminds audiences that the undead were once like them, and even uses a zombie (and his perspective) as the focal point.
‘Pet Sematary’ (2019)
The 2019 remake of Pet Sematary takes content from Stephen King’s novel of the same name, showcasing the supernatural talents of an ancient burial ground beyond the local pet cemetery. Relocating to Ludlow, Maine, married couple Louis and Rachel Creed (Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz) and their children Ellie and Gage (Jeté Laurence and Hugo/Lucas Lavoie) live peacefully until their pet cat, Church, is killed on a busy road.
When their sympathetic neighbor, Jud (John Lithgow) suggests burying Church in the ancient burial ground, the Creed family is shocked to find Church alive, but not quite himself, the next day. Resurrection is the focal point of the creation of ‘zombies’ in the film, and Pet Sematary diverges away from traditional notions of zombies with Stephen King’s interpretation of the undead: the same individual, but more sinister in their next life.
‘Dead Snow’ (2009)
Probably the most unique zombie movie interpretation, Dead Snow shocked audiences with comedy and horror, following the discovery of a battalion of Nazi soldiers who disappeared during World War II, and now roam an Arctic mountain for their prey. The film follows several students who spend their Easter vacation in a small cabin in Norway, unknowingly surrounded by the history of the undead who used to abuse and torture those in the area.
Graphic with gore, but generous with humor, Dead Snow is a well-loved zombie movie that toys with the idea of the undead attempting to protect their stolen treasure. It’s inspired by the Scandinavian folklore of the Draugr – a ghost inside their own dead body.
‘Night Of The Living Dead’ (1968)
Regarded as the zombie movie that shaped the current perception of the undead, Night Of The Living Dead is a science-fiction horror film of great influence. Night Of The Living Dead brings together strangers in an abandoned farmhouse, locked inside as the undead lingers around, attacking for their pound of flesh.
With a simple enough storyline, the film’s execution is what helped it earn its status as a cult classic and a template for the zombie movies to come. While the antagonists are referred to as ghouls – the undead who are peckish for live flesh – instead of zombies, the film is never less about revolution amidst catastrophe, and was also notably a standout for its casting choice of a Black man (Duane Jones) as the lead role for his talents. The lingering fear the film produces has continued to be considered scary across decades.
‘ParaNorman’ (2012)
A zombie movie safe for child viewers, ParaNorman is a comedy-horror film created using stop-motion, produced by Laika, the creators of Coraline. The film tells the story of Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee): an emotionally-isolated eleven-year-old who is considered an outsider after he claims that he can communicate with the dead.
Through his powers, Norman must enact an ancient ritual on the town to break the curse of the witch, but ends up resurrecting zombies. The film considers zombies a threat at the beginning, only for the audience to realize that they are simply spirits in dead bodies, and works to embrace those who are deemed bullied for being weird by giving them the spotlight.
‘Re-Animator’ (1985)
Another horror-comedy, Re-Animator is based on H.P Lovecraft’s novelette Hebert West—Reanimator, which was shortly followed by two sequels thanks to the film’s popularity. Re-Animator explores the inhibitions of Herbert West (Jeffery Combs), as he experiments with a chemical that can bring back alive deceased bodies.
Along with his classmate Dan (Bruce Abbott), Herbert must keep the formula safe, for Dr. Carl (David Gale) aims to steal the recipe and take credit for the creation. Inspired by Frankenstein stories, madness is a prominent theme, and yet shockingly, the scientists become more deluded than the undead they bring back into the world.
‘Rec.’ (2007)
Nothing is creepier than seeing zombies from a first-person perspective, which is why Rec. is an effective horror film that utilizes found footage to achieve a sense of verisimilitude. Reporter Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) and her cameraman Pablo (Pablo Rosso) follow firefighters around for a television segment While You’re Sleeping. Soon, they begin to encounter strange behaviors from residents in a local apartment, infected with a type of virus similar to rabies.
For the pair, the apartment becomes a maze where the horrors of the virus reveal themselves. Rec. is highly regarded in the horror genre for its firsthand depiction of uncovering a rampant infection, with the handheld camera style creating a haunting and stressful vibe that makes the zombies that much more terrifying.
‘Train To Busan’ (2016)
A thrilling ride like no other, Train To Busan is consistently regarded as one of the top zombie movies to watch of all time. The South Korean horror-thriller stars Gong Yoo as a workaholic father to Su-an (Kim Su-an), whose birthday wish is to visit her mother in Busan. The railroad adventure takes a turn for the worst when an infected woman enters a carriage, biting an attendant and rapidly spreading the zombie virus through the train.
The film’s reactionary atmosphere creates the urgency of survival, enhancing the creepiness of the zombies that multiply around the characters. A critique of human selfishness (particularly amidst travesty), Train To Busan is everything a zombie movie should be and more
‘Zombieland’ (2009)
The infamous zombie comedy Zombieland revolves around four unique strangers surviving in an apocalyptic world. Although weary of each other, they must join forces to stay safe from the rampant virus that has turned many fellow Americans. The geeky Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is on a journey to see if his parents survived the zombie apocalypse when he encounters Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) and sisters Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin).
Together, they fight zombies as they make their way to Pacific Playland, an amusement park that is said to be free of the undead. Staying alive through Columbus’ massive list of rules, the film is the most entertaining zombie movie out there, so much so that its sequel, Zombieland: Double Tap gained as much popularity.
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