28 Years Later … (2025)
Post-Holocaust/The Zombie Apocalypse
28 Days Later was the work that started the modern zombie film revival. Twenty-three years later, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland return to make a third film
Zombies
The zombie film is one of the most popular sub-genres of the horror film. A zombie is a reanimated corpse that has returned from the dead, slow, shuffling and lacking will. In the modern incarnation, the zombie has become a creature ravenous for human flesh.
The idea of the zombie comes out of African religion. The first ever zombie film was White Zombie (1932) and for the next 36 years, the zombie remained in the province of Voodoo, occasionally a creature of mad science or created by alien invaders. There it was slow, shuffling reanimated corpse but never more than that.
The modern zombie film began with George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968), an apocalyptic film about the dead risen and laying siege to the living in a farmhouse. This made the zombie into a flesh eater and created the popular mythology about it only being able to be killed by incapacitating the head. This created a number of imitators but the true popularity of the zombie film grew in the 1980s following Romero’s sequel Dawn of the Dead (1978), which added copious gore and splatter to the mix. There were a number of enthusiastic imitators in particular from Italy. The 1990s saw the first zombie comedies.
The zombie film underwent a revival in the mid-2000s with a series of works that remade or homaged Romero’s films and others that claimed to be spurious sequels. This was followed by a vast shuffling horde of mostly low-budgeted zombie films. During this time, we have seen zombie films from almost every film-making country in the world.
These low-budget copies soon revealed that the number of original plots available to the zombie film was limited. This period also saw an upsurge in the zombie comedy and by the 2010s this evolved to a series of gonzo takes where filmmakers mixed zombies up with the most absurd title or conceptual mashups. By the end of the 2010s, the gonzo zombie film too had started to run out of ideas.
Please Don’t Feed the Children (2024)
Imprisonment Thriller/Zombie Film
Steven Spielberg’s daughter Destry makes her directorial debut with a confused mix of an imprisonment thriller and a zombie film, albeit a zombie film that only produces a single zombie
Handling the Undead (2024)
The Resurrected Dead
A film adapted from a book by the writer of Let the Right One In concerning the resurrected dead, this goes some way to divorce itself from the zombie film and develops its horrors with striking slow burn effect
Mads (2024)
Deadly Outbreak
French horror film shot all in a single unbroken take as a deadly infection, possibly a zombie outbreak, spreads all around town
Festival of the Living Dead (2024)
Zombie Film
The Soska Sisters made a splash on the genre scene a few years ago. Here they make a tribute/follow-up to Night of the Living Dead but produce an utterly safe work that is the antithesis of the edginess that gained them a name
V/H/S/Beyond (2024)
Anthology of Found Footage Horror Tales
Seventh of the V/H/S Found Footage horror anthologies, this is one of the best with a number of the episodes venturing into SF and others that feature some genuinely outlandish moments
Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End (2024)
Zombie Outbreak
Big-budgeted Spanish-made zombie film based on a best-selling book. Very much a post-Covid depiction of the zombie apocalypse, this rehashes the familiar basics capably well
Dick Dynamite: 1944 (2023)
Parody of WWII Heroics/Gonzo Splatter
A gonzo parody of WWII heroics a la Inglourious Basterds with the addition of Nazi zombies, over-the-top splatter and some decidedly non-PC humour, this proves an enormously entertainingly comic-book of a film
Zombie Town (2023)
R.L. Stine Adaptation/Zombies Emerge Out of a Film
An adaptation of an R.L. Stine book, a work of safe anodyne horror about zombies trapped inside a film overrunning a town
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Marvel Comics Magician Superhero
Doctor Strange was one of the better MCU films. Here Sam Raimi takes over from Scott Derrickson in the director’s chair. The sequel readily delves into multiverse themes
Virus: 32 (2022)
Argentinean Zombie Film
Slapped with a misleading pandemic-related title, this is an Argentinean zombie film made with an admirable ferocity
Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)
Revived Witches/Disney Film
As part of their attempt to sell everything including the family silver, Disney make a sequel to their witch comedy, bringing back the three original actresses who are now looking a little long in the tooth
Revealer (2022)
Stripper and Fundamentalist Trapped Together During the Apocalypse
This sells you with its concept – a stripper and a religious fundamentalist are trapped together in a peepshow as the apocalypse occurs – and works surprisingly well
Bridge of the Doomed (2022)
Zombie Film
This is in essence a zombie film version of the classic historical film Zulu with a small group of soldiers tasked with protecting a bridge against a zombie horde
Dead Zone (2022)
Zombie Film
Not to be confused with the Stephen King novel/film. A zombie film with a military focus, one of several that appropriates the basics of Escape from New York as a tactical unit is sent into an infestation zone to retrieve an antidote
Final Cut (2022)
Zombies on a Zombie Film Set Comedy
One Cut of the Dead was one of the freshest takes on the overworked zombie film in recent years. Here Academy Award-winning director Michel Hazanavicius conducts a French remake
Among the Living (2022)
Post-Apocalyptic Survival
Modest, low-budgeted British film about people trying to survive in the aftermath of a catastrophe. A zombie film that has borrowed a few leaves from A Quiet Place
Aquarium of the Dead (2021)
Zombified Marine Life
The Asylum produces a sequel to Zoombies. While the original featured zombified zoo animals, this time we get an aquarium of zombified marine life
Black Friday (2021)
Zombified Shoppers Comedy
A horror comedy that goes the next logical step and turns Black Friday shoppers into a zombified horde. With Bruce Campbell as a store worker who steps into the fray
Night of the Animated Dead (2021)
Animated Remake of Night of the Living Dead
A remake of the original zombie film Night of the Living Dead conducted in animation
Pussy Cake (2021)
Girl Rock Band vs Zombies
An Argentinean film where the four members of a girl rock band are forced to deal with a zombie outbreak
Reign of Chaos (2021)
Deities War in the Aftermath of Civilisation
Low-budget film that takes an ambitious conceptual grasp in its story of deities and daughters of goddesses warring in the ruins of civilisation
Brain Freeze (2021)
Quebecois Zombies
A Quebecois (French Canadian) zombie film about the residents of an island being turned into zombies by a fertiliser used on the golf course
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)
Videogame Adaptation/Zombies and Mutations
A reboot of the Resident Evil film series under a new director with Johannes Roberts who abandons the previous action poses for a far darker and more visceral survival horror approach
Army of the Dead (2021)
Zombie Heist Film
Zack Snyder makes a zombie heist film that if nothing else overspills with interesting ideas and a comic energy that goes along way to forgiving Snyder for trashing George Romero in Dawn of the Dead
Wyrmwood: Apocalypse (2021)
Zombie Apocalypse
Sequel to the cult Australian zombie film, this refines the first film and exists as even more of a visual comic-book – all that seems missing is the dialogue that comes in comic balloons
Army of Thieves (2021)
Army of the Dead Prequel/Heist Film
Prequel to Army of the Dead set around the character of the German safecracker as he is dragged into conducting an impossible heist
Witness Infection (2020)
Mafia Zombies Comedy
Unexpectedly rather funny comedy that combines Mafia on a witness protection program and zombies
Alone (2020)
Zombie Film
English-language version of the Korean zombie film #Alive about a guy stranded in an apartment during the zombie apocalypse trying to communicate with the girl across the street
Wait, Wait, Don’t Kill Me (2020)
Zombie Outbreak
Film about a virus that causes people to become dehydrated and turn into zombies
#Alive (2020)
Korean Zombie Film
A charming and delightful South Korean zombie film about the friendship that grows across the gap separating them between a nerd trapped in an apartment and a girl in the building opposite during a zombie outbreak
Re-Elected (2020)
Zombies of US Presidents
Horror comedy about an attack by the zombies of resurrected former US Presidents
Sky Sharks (2020)
Nazi Zombies on Flying Sharks
This has been conceived as the ultimate modern exploitation film featuring Nazi zombie piloting flying sharks. Think Iron Sky by way of Sharknado. The results are highly entertaining
Peninsula (2020)
Train to Busan Sequel/Zombie Film
Yeon Sang-ho makes a sequel to his international breakout zombie film hit of Train to Busan, appropriating the basics of Escape to New York to good ends
Fat Ass Zombies (2020)
Gonzo Zombie Comedy
Another zombie film that comes with a deliberately ridiculous title, even if the title ends up being a misnomer. This site’s choice for the worst film of 2020
Corona Zombies (2020)
Corona Virus Zombies
A Charles Band film that has the distinction of being the first film released during the Corona Virus Pandemic of 2020. You watch out of curiosity of how the usual logistics of filmmaking deal with quarantine and social distancing
Curse of the Blind Dead (2020)
Blind Knights Templar Zombies
A revival of the popular 1970s Blind Dead series about Knights Templar zombies. In this era of zombie films homages and remakes, it is a surprise nobody has thought to do so before
Two of Us (2020)
Zombie Film
Thai-made film that gives off some initial The Quiet Earth vibes as two girls enjoy a private paradise in a holiday resort following the collapse of civilisation
Betaal (2020)
Bollywood Zombies
Bollywood conducts a reasonable attempt to make its own equivalent of the zombie film in this mini-series about people at siege from undead British colonial soldiers awakened
The Dead Don’t Die (2019)
Zombie Comedy
Jim Jarmusch is one of the foremost American independent directors and makes films that come with a dry, deadpan wit. The question as Jarmusch makes his first zombie comedy is what can he bring to a genre that has been in full-on self-parody mode since Shaun of the Dead in 2004
Zoombies 2 (2019)
Zombie Zoo Animals
Zoombies, based around the idea of zombified versions of zoo animals, was a modest hit for The Asylum. While announcing itself as a sequel, this actually acts as a prequel explaining the origin of the zoombie outbreak
Doom: Annihilation (2019)
Videogame Adaptation/Labyrinth of Monsters
Doom was the videogame if you had a computer in the 1990s. This is the second film based based on the game and actually does a far better job of getting the essence of the game and paying fanservice to its elements than the earlier bigger budgeted 2005 film did
One Cut of the Dead in Hollywood (2019)
Zombies on a Zombie Film Set Comedy
One Cut of the Dead was one of the freshest and most hilariously original takes on the zombie film of recent. This is a sequel
Infeccion (2019)
Venezuelan Zombie Film
A zombie film from Venezuela
Yummy (2019)
Sinister Hospital Black Comedy/Zombie Oubreak
Belgian film that starts out as a blackly funny work about a cut-price East European hospital before seguing into a zombie film
Zombi Child (2019)
Voodoo Film
An extraordinary French film that has nothing at all to do with flesh-eating zombies but delves into voodoo religion that expands out to makes contrasts with French colonialism with striking results
Little Monsters (2019)
Zombie Comedy
This has a premise that doesn’t do much to enthuse – a hapless loser has to take care of a bunch of kids during a zombie outbreak. I appeal to you to sit in past that and you will find yourself in the midst of the funniest zombie comedy since well Shaun of the Dead
Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)
Zombie Comedy
Zombieland has been elevated to the status of a classic of the zombie genre; I found it enjoyable but probably overrated by people who haven’t seen enough other works in the genre. The question going into this sequel is whether it can strikes the same notes.
Eat Brains Love (2019)
Zombie Romantic Comedy
The appealing idea of a romantic comedy/road movie where both characters are zombies. The plot is all over the place but the premise is conducted with some amusement
Transit 17 (2019)
Zombie Film
Belgian zombie film about a military unit assigned to travel through zombie-infested territory to rescue a girl who has an immunity
Blood Quantum (2019)
American Indians vs Zombies
This had me sold from its premise of American Indians vs zombies. Made by Canadian First Nations people, this features an Indian reservation as the last refuge against the zombie apocalypse
Zombie Tidal Wave (2019)
Gonzo Zombie Film
Ian Ziering and the director of the Sharknado films reunite in an effort to repeat the same kind of deliberately ridiculous success with a gonzo zombie film
The Driver (2019)
Car Ride Through the Zombie Apocalypse
Zombie action film with Mark Dacascos driving through the apocalyptic landscape in a luxury car looking for a home for his daughter
The Dustwalker (2019)
Aliens Create Zombies in the Australian Outback
A zombie film of sorts in which the people of an Australian outback town are possessed by an alien force
Zombie for Sale (2019)
South Korean Zombie Comedy
A rather charming South Korean comedy about a family who try to exploit the commercial aspects of having a tame zombie
The Rizen: Possession (2019)
Labyrinth of Lovecraftian Horrors
Sequel to the earlier The Rizen with the group of people trapped inside a labyrinth of Lovecraftian horrors
The Night Eats the World (2018)
French Zombie Film
The zombie genre has become creatively overused and exhausted in recent years but this French entry plays with an appealing originality, sort of like a low-key version of Dawn of the Dead where a man builds a Parisian apartment building into his own paradise
The Death Cure (2018)
Young Adult/Dystopian-Post-Holocaust Adventure
The Maze Runner was a solid Young Adult effort that built out an effective Conceptual Breakthrough story; this the second of two sequels that feel like a series of canned action scenes in search of a purpose
Redcon-1 (2018)
Zombie Action Film
An action film about soldiers on an expedition into a zombie-filled quarantine zone. This comes with a furious pace that feels more as though you are watching a videogame than a film
Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness (2018)
Animation/Young H.P. Lovecraft's Adventures
The third of the trilogy of animated films from Arcana Studios based around the adventures of a young H.P. Lovecraft
Day of the Dead: Bloodline (2018)
Zombies
One of a growing industry of zombie films that leech off the George Romero name. This remakes Romero’s Day of the Dead, which means it cherry picks key elements and rearranges them in a different way but lacks everything else that Romero offered
Patient Zero (2018)
Rabid Zombies/Man Who Can Speak Their Language
A zombie film in all but name concerning people infected with a mutant strain of rabies. Former Doctor Who star Matt Smith is absurdly miscast as someone who can speak the language of the infected. Unfortunately the film does nothing at all to make the central premise believable.
The Mummy (2017)
Revived Mummy
The reboot of the Mummy series emerges as a wannabe Michael Bay film where even star Tom Cruise plays second banana to the CGI eye candy. Equally, an attempt to jumpstart a shared universe out of Universal’s Famous Monsters with the inclusion of Dr Jekyll seems awkward
The Cured (2017)
In the Aftermath of a Cure for the Zombie Apocalypse
The zombie genre has become creatively exhausted. This is one of the most original takes yet that asks what would happen if a cure were found but the zombies returned to life with full memory of everything they had done
One Cut of the Dead (2017)
Zombies on a Zombie Film Set Comedy
The idea of a zombie film all shot in a single take. This proves a novelty amusement but then the film spins this on its head and becomes positively ingenious.
Cargo (2017)
Australian Outback Zombie Film
An Australian effort that feels like a zombie movie version of Walkabout with an infected Martin Freeman wandering the Outback searching for someone to care for his infant daughter before he succumbs
Toxic Shark (2017)
Toxic Waste Mutated Killer Shark
Another in plethora of gonzo killer shark films viz Sharknado concerning a mutated shark that spews a plume of toxic waste. Not the bottom of the barrel, an adequately made B movie that takes itself relatively seriously
Dead Shack (2017)
Zombie Film
The zombie film is feeling very played out these days. This is a no expectation entry (even the title seems utterly generic) that proves an unexpected delight, filled with endearing characterisations
Attack of the Southern Fried Zombies (2017)
Zombie Film
Seemingly another ridiculously titled zombie movie but in actuality this is no more than a regular zombie film played straight that has been slapped with a gonzo title as a selling point
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
Pirate Fantasy Swashbuckler
After the two last lacklustre entries, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise starts to recover where the two new directors pull off some spectacular comedy-action sequences that go a long way towards recapturing what the series used to be
Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
Zombie Musical
This claims to be the first zombie musical. Surprisingly enough, it isn’t. A cute idea but you have the sense the only musical the filmmakers had seen beforehand was High School Musical
Zombies Have Fallen: Vengeance Runs Deep (2017)
Psychic Powers
The title gives the impression this is intended as a zombie film take on the action film Olympus Has Fallen. The confusion you have in watching is that this is actually a film about a girl with psychic powers on the run. Brief zombie scenes turn up later in the show to justify the title but feel that they have strayed in from another film.
The Rizen (2017)
Labyrinth of Lovecraftian Horrors
Amnesiac persons wake up in a bunker filled with monstrosities. Sort of H.P. Lovecraft served up as a low-budget variant on Resident Evil
Granny of the Dead (2017)
Zombie Seniors
A British-made effort that offers the amusing idea of zombified geriatrics on their walking frames. However, the actual film lacks any tongue-in-cheek approach and emerges as excruciating on all counts
Here Alone (2016)
Survival After a Plague Outbreak/Social Collapse
Beautifully filmed, intimate work about a woman’s attempts to eke out survival in the woods in the aftermath of an unspecified apocalypse. It is only part way through that we realise we are watching a zombie film
The Girl With All the Gifts (2016)
Zombie Film
The zombie film has become a creatively exhausted genre in recent years. This is an effort that completely changes the game with fiercely original effect, anchored by one of the best child performances in some time
Interstellar Wars (2016)
Alien Invasion/Alien Zombies
Directed by low-budget actress Marlene Mc’Cohen, this is both an alien invasion and a zombie apocalypse film. A film where those involved are making an effort but the skill gap falls well short of the basics, particularly in the story field and budget needed to make a film work
Isle of the Dead (2016)
Zombie Film
Zombie film that appropriates the name of the Val Lewton classic (and Arnold Bocklin’s painting) but is actually a low-budget copy of Resident Evil
It Stains the Sand Red (2016)
Zombie Film
The most original treatment of the zombie film in some time. Rather hilariously, what we get is a film about a girl being pursued by a single zombie (at a walking pace) and the slow relationship she develops with it
Ibiza Undead (2016)
Lads vs Zombies Comedy
British lad culture take on the zombie film. Think a version of Shaun of the Dead inhabited by guys around the age of 20 whose only real concerns is getting laid and wasted. The constant vulgarity of the humour becomes tiresome and as a zombie film it is negligible
Zoombies (2016)
Zombie Zoo Animals
From The Asylum, the company that brought the world Sharknado and 2-Headed Shark Attack, a film about a zoo filled with zombie animals. Played more seriously than you might expect, this falls just between The Asylum’s usual corner cutting and the odd moment of effectiveness
Cell (2016)
Stephen King Adaptation/Cellphone Zombies
Adaptation of the Stephen King novel about zombies created by a cellphone signal. Critically panned but this kicks in with a sensational opening scene and overspills with more fascinating ideas than it has room to deal with
Seoul Station (2016)
Animation/South Korean Zombie Film
Train to Busan was a massive breakout hit from South Korear. Overlooked in the buzz was this animated prequel from the same director released at the same time. The zombie film and animation are an uneasy mix but this works well, if not with the same kick as Train to Busan
Night of Something Strange (2016)
Zombie-Creating Sexually Transmitted Disease
Film about a zombie-creating sexually transmitted disease that feels like it was made by a bunch of drunken adolescents trying to out-gross each other after an all-weekend beer party. A film that is readily ventures into bad taste and is prepared to offend
Pandemic (2016)
Zombie First Person Shooter Found Footage Film
While the title leads you to expect a plague outbreak film, you soon discover this is a zombie film. What it is is a Found Footage film mounted as a First Person Shooter film at which you have to admit that it launches into action with considerable gusto and ferocity
Peelers (2016)
Strippers vs Zombies
There have been a surprising number of films in recent years offering up the combination of zombies and strippers. Although what we have is never quite specified as zombies, this offers up strippers kicking zombie ass with a great deal of gore-drenched relish
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)
Jane Austen Retold with Zombies
Based on the book that led a publishing phenomenon in which literary classics are mashed up with monsters, this has the difficult balancing act – that of making Jane Austen’s Regency romance sit alongside zombies – nevertheless manages to play both with an impeccably straight-face
Range 15 (2016)
Zombie Comedy
This is a crowdourced film made by military veterans who set out with the idea of creating better military characterisations in films. Bizarrely enough, they turn to the zombie comedy to do so and the result is the crassest, most willfully offensive zombie film ever made
Attack of the Lederhosen Zombies (2016)
Gonzo Zombie Comedy
One has seen just a few too many wacky titled zombie comedies and this Austrian film seems another wannabe until the climactic scenes where it redeems itself with a completely demented bloodbath
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)
Videogame Adaptation/Post-Holocaust Zombies
The Resident Evil films are designed for people who were introduced to drama via the Xbox, action sequences that can be assembled in random order and where it doesn’t matter what happens. I watched this, the sixth and final entry, with next-to-no enthusiasm but then quite unexpectedly it starts to work
Bigfoot vs Zombies (2016)
Bigfoot Tackles a Zombie Outbreak
Mark Polonia has been producing ultra-cheap horror films since the 1980s and developed a reputation as the worst directors currently working. This does not disappoint on what you expect
Mythica: The Godslayer (2016)
Epic Fantasy Adventure
The fifth and final of the surprisingly good Mythica series that has consistently made a strong, rousing variant on the Epic Fantasy tropes on a low budget
Train to Busan (2016)
Zombies on a Train
The zombie film has become an overworked vein in the last few years, reduced to self-parody. This South Korean film does nothing to reinvent the zombie film, just contains the drama aboard a train for the duration, but manages to create a grippingly intense epic of the genre
Zombieworld (2015)
Anthology of Zombie Short Films
In the same vein as ABCs of Death and V/H/S films, this is a multi-director anthology of zombie-themed short films. As always in an anthology, the episodes vary but these are of a generally good quality with the standout being the side-splitting episode in which Jesus faces a zombie horde
Zombie Shark (2015)
Gonzo Killer Shark Film
A fairly typical entry in the gonzo killer shark fad. The filmmakers have clearly had a title idea that they were able to sell but not too many ideas how to make it work. Director Misty Talley offers a sufficiently tongue-in-cheek approach to overcome most shortcomings
Zombie Killers Elephants Graveyard (2015)
Zombie Film
Another entry among the zombie revival fad of the 2000s/10s, this should be commended for taking an epic and ambitious scope in its story, enough it feels to fuel multiple seasons of The Walking Dead
The Empire of Corpses (2015)
Anime/Alternate Victorian England Based on Frankenstein Technology
Fascinatingly original anime set in an alternate history Steampunk version of Victorian England that has developed a technology based on Frankenstein’s corpse resurrection experiments
Maggie (2015)
Zombie Film
If the phrase ‘Arnold Schwarzenegger zombie film’ is not capable of getting you excited, then you’re visiting the wrong site. This is surprisingly good, the complete opposite of anything we expect of either a Schwarzenegger or zombie film, where he can even be said to be giving a serious performance for once
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)
Zombie Comedy
There is something appealing to the film’s premise – of boyscouts with their knowhow and do-gooder mentality being the best equipped to survive the zombie apocalypse. Instead we end up with a film not nearly as clever as it thinks it is being
The Scorch Trials (2015)
Young Adult/Post-Holocaust Adventure
The Maze Runner was one of the better Young Adult films, creating an intriguing conceptual mystery; this sequel ignores all of that, even throws the book out and is essentially a jumble of random sf tropes that amount to no more than running, shooting and things exploding