Best to Worst Zombie Movies That I've Seen (So Far)
A countdown of the best zombie movies/tv shows that I've seen, updated as I watch more. I know there's some glaring omissions from the genre, but I'm working on seeing more so bear with me if you don't see one of your favourite classics.
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- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDavid EmgeKen ForeeScott H. ReinigerDuring an escalating zombie epidemic, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter and his TV executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.Absolutely amazing, even more so when you realize that they did it all without CGI, most of it on the spot and with a budget under $1 million in 1978's money. Incredible.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDuane JonesJudith O'DeaKarl HardmanA ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the Northeast of the United States.Surprisingly well done and shockingly violent for the time. It's very well acted too (well, with the exception of Barbara anyway), and basically created the genre.
- DirectorEdgar WrightStarsSimon PeggNick FrostKate AshfieldThe uneventful, aimless lives of a London electronics salesman and his layabout roommate are disrupted by the zombie apocalypse.Great characters, story and humour that stays faithful to the genre.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsCillian MurphyNaomie HarrisChristopher EcclestonFour weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.Technicalities aside, I'm counting this as a zombie movie. Sue me.
- DirectorYeon Sang-hoStarsGong YooJung Yu-miMa Dong-seokWhile a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan.A modern classic zombie movie with really inventive, creative use of its setting to crank up the tension. The zombies here are downright terrifying, the characters are compelling, and (like every good zombie movie) there's a healthy dose of social commentary granting the movie a deeper thematic resonance.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsLori CardilleTerry AlexanderJoseph PilatoAs the world is overrun by zombies, a group of scientists and military personnel sheltering in an underground bunker in Florida must decide on how they should deal with the undead horde.Romero's Dead series began to go downhill here, but that's only because the first 2 movies were so strong. Unlike "Night" or "Dawn", Day of the Dead suffers from poor characters and acting, but it stands amongst its predecessors in practically every other level.
- DirectorRuben FleischerStarsJesse EisenbergEmma StoneWoody HarrelsonA shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, a gun-toting bruiser in search of the last Twinkie and a pair of sisters striving to get to an amusement park join forces in a trek across a zombie-filled America.A funny, entertaining and pointless romp through zombie-infested America. Maybe you didn't realize it, but it's an allegory for post-modern life. Brain-splode.
- DirectorJaume BalagueróPaco PlazaStarsManuela VelascoFerran TerrazaJorge-Yamam SerranoA television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.Again, technically not a zombie movie, but it has almost all the elements in place. In any case, it's a far better film than Diary of the Dead...
- CreatorFrank DarabontStarsAndrew LincolnNorman ReedusMelissa McBrideSheriff Deputy Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma to learn the world is in ruins and must lead a group of survivors to stay alive.I enjoy the series, but it has been admittedly uneven. That's really unfortunate too, because some episodes are absolutely brilliant and could easily snatch a spot in the Top 5 here. On the whole however, it is merely "good".
- DirectorZack SnyderStarsSarah PolleyVing RhamesMekhi PhiferA nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.Not nearly as good as the original, but it is certainly entertaining, and top-tier as far as remakes go.
- DirectorDan O'BannonStarsClu GulagerJames KarenDon CalfaWhen two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.Admit it. This isn't a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. However, it is a fun and trashy b-flick. Just don't expect to use your... braaaaaains (sorry, I had to).
- DirectorLucio FulciStarsTisa FarrowIan McCullochRichard JohnsonStrangers searching for a young woman's missing father arrive at a tropical island where a doctor desperately seeks the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead.An enjoyable little exploitation film. Hardly a complex film, but surely enjoyable if you're a fan of gory 70s exploitation-horror (and if you're a real fan of zombie movies, then I'm sure you'll get a kick out of it). Also, how many zombie films these days have the audacity to pull of a zombie vs shark battle?!
- DirectorJuan Carlos FresnadilloStarsJeremy RennerRose ByrneRobert CarlyleSix months after the rage virus was inflicted on the population of Great Britain, the US Army helps to secure a small area of London for the survivors to repopulate and start again. But not everything goes according to plan.Smarter than your average zombie flick, but only when it *wants* to be - there are some serious logical gaps that serve as an excuse to make the zombies rise again. On top of that, it just feels kinda soulless compared to the original, but it does have some entertaining and epic set-pieces.
- DirectorJonathan LevineStarsNicholas HoultTeresa PalmerJohn MalkovichAfter a highly unusual zombie saves a still-living girl from an attack, the two form a relationship that sets in motion events that might transform the entire lifeless world.This movie is very charming, which nearly makes up for all its other gaping flaws. It's story is both cliche and absurd, although it keeps things interesting with its dark humour and zombie twist. It may just be Twilight with zombies, but it's still significantly better than any of those movies were. Also, this movie was considerably gorier than World War Z, how did it get a PG-13 rating? Bloody MPAA...
- DirectorMichael HurstStarsEmmanuelle VaugierEd QuinnSticky FingazA virus breaks out at a university and people start to become zombies. After 29 days, a team of AMS scientists and soldiers are sent in to deal with the problem. But while they search, things go wrong.This was the last sequel anyone expected to be anywhere near good... and yet, it's actually pretty awesome. And it's obvious that they took one of the best sequels of all time (Aliens) and used its formula to make a badass film. The acting is pretty terrible, the story is dumb and for a movie focused on soldiers and it's pretty obvious they didn't have a military advisor on set. None of that *really* matters though, because no one really expects that out of this sort of film. House of the Dead 2 is just an absolute blast to watch for all its cheese and cleverness, and is finely crafted b-movie entertainment.
- DirectorMakoto KamiyaStarsPaul MercierAlyson CourtLaura BaileyLeon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield must battle a rogue warrior seeking revenge after unleashing the deadly G-Virus, whilst a mutated monster goes on a rampage.Much better than the live action RE movies, although it doesn't break any new ground for the genre.
- DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsRose McGowanFreddy RodríguezJosh BrolinAfter an experimental bio-weapon is released, turning thousands into zombie-like creatures, it's up to a rag-tag group of survivors to stop the infected and those behind its release.Has some cool moments, but in trying to emulate bad movies it succeeds... and isn't very good as a result. Huh. Imagine that. Mindlessly entertaining and funny but not one you're gonna want to watch all the time.
- DirectorTommy WirkolaStarsJeppe Beck LaursenCharlotte FrognerJenny SkavlanA ski vacation turns horrific for a group of medical students, as they find themselves confronted by an unimaginable menace: Nazi zombies.A well-made foreign zombie movie. Although the plot itself is very cliched, there's a few awesome scenes that make it worthy of a viewing for genre fans. Also - freaking Nazi zombies!
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsJohn LeguizamoAsia ArgentoSimon BakerThe living dead have taken over the world, and the last humans live in a walled city to protect themselves as they come to grips with the situation.I actually enjoy this movie. It's the logical next step from Day of the Dead, although I will admit that it is definitely an unnecessary sequel. Dead Reckoning is awesome.
- DirectorRussell MulcahyStarsMilla JovovichAli LarterOded FehrSurvivors of the Raccoon City catastrophe travel across the Nevada desert, hoping to make it to Alaska. Alice joins the caravan and their fight against the evil Umbrella Corp.Let me say first off that this movie takes a huge *beep* on everyone who was a fan of the video games or the first 2 movies... then again, those movies sucked so I don't really care. It's stupid-fun and some of the set-pieces are pretty cool (such as the flock of crows).
- DirectorPaul W.S. AndersonStarsMilla JovovichAli LarterWentworth MillerWhile still out to destroy the evil Umbrella Corporation, Alice joins a group of survivors living in a prison surrounded by the infected who also want to relocate to the mysterious but supposedly unharmed safe haven known only as Arcadia.Not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination, but the action scenes are fantastic.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsMichelle MorganJoshua CloseShawn RobertsA group of young film students run into real-life zombies while filming a horror movie of their own.This is where the movies start getting bad. While I don't really like this movie, like "Land" it's a logical step for the series. With the hand-held camera sub-genre coming to prominence at the time, it makes sense that Romero would want to take his own stab at it. Unfortunately the movie's just not that great.
- DirectorZack SnyderStarsDave BautistaElla PurnellAna de la RegueraFollowing a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.Army of the Dead has a fantastic premise, solid cast of characters and a director known for stylish action so this should be a slam dunk to be a good time, right? Well, to put it simply, no. Army of the Dead is bloated, badly-written, lacking focus and full of baffling decisions which make it far more of a slog than it should be. When it's actually being a zombie heist action film it's quite fun, but those moments are far too little in the 2 and a half hour runtime.
- DirectorAndrzej BartkowiakStarsKarl UrbanRosamund PikeDwayne JohnsonSpace Marines are sent to investigate strange events at a research facility on Mars but find themselves at the mercy of genetically enhanced killing machines.As far as video game movies go, Doom is decent. It actually takes quite a few steps towards attempting to be a competent movie, but fails due to its really cheap sets and dumb logic, not to mention that it is tonally inconsistent.
- DirectorPaul W.S. AndersonStarsMilla JovovichMichelle RodriguezRyan McCluskeyA special military unit fights a powerful, out-of-control supercomputer and hundreds of scientists who have mutated into flesh-eating creatures after a laboratory accident.Poorly shot crap, worse than AVP in my opinion.
- DirectorZach LipovskyStarsJesse MetcalfeMeghan OryVirginia MadsenAn ineffective vaccine fails to stop an epidemic which is turning people into zombies. The survivors organize themselves to escape from the living dead.Dead Rising: Watchtower is about as bog-standard as zombie fare goes, with only the brand tie-in nature of it allowing it to stand out in the slightest. The production values are rather low (appropriately, TV movie quality), but other than that it's just barely passable in pretty much every regard. Also... is Frank West this annoying in the games? Because he's pretty excruciating throughout this film, easily the worst part about it. If you enjoy the Dead Rising franchise then you might find something to like about this, but otherwise it's definitely worth skipping.
- DirectorHèctor Hernández VicensStarsSophie SkeltonJohnathon SchaechJeff GumA small group of military personnel and survivalists dwell in an underground bunker as they seek to find a cure in a world overrun by zombies.This movie was... actually not quite as bad as I was expecting. It's nowhere near worthy of being a Day of the Dead remake, and it mostly is content to just be a shitty zombie film, but it has slightly more ambition than your average low-budget zombie flick. The zombie stalker angle is also weirdly topical, although it would have been better as more of a Romero-style metaphor.
- DirectorMakoto KamiyaStarsMatthew MercerDave WittenbergWendee LeeSpecial Agent Leon S.Kennedy goes against his superior's orders and works to destroy a series of biological weapons being used in a war zone in Europe.While the animation is very good, I found this movie very dull. I mean, the story wasn't bad, but it did a poor job of making me care about anyone (even Leon came across as a bit of a brick wall) and the voice acting ranged from monotone to WTF. The second half of the movie is also basically non-stop action, but I couldn't find it in me to care about any of it because the poor investment in the characters. If you're a fan of the series then check it out, but otherwise I don't recommend it.
- DirectorGlenn MillerStarsIone ButlerAndrew AsperLaLa NestorWhen a strange virus quickly spreads through a safari park and turns all the zoo animals undead, those left in the park must stop the creatures before they escape and zombify the whole city.Look, this movie is trash and it doesn't have any pretensions to be anything more than that, as the film opens with a hilariously gory zombie monkey attack. Moreover, it's also a classic The Asylum mockbuster, this time riffing on Jurassic World in very obvious fashion (hell, they even say as much in the film). But by that low bar, Zoombies is actually kind of entertaining as far as these kinds of films go. I was laughing my ass off at the awful effects, the incredibly cheesy kills and the film doesn't really let up or cheap out on the premise like some of these films do (eg, Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, which is just plain boring). I also gave this an extra couple points due to 2 absolutely inspired scenes, one which involves a little girl beating a koala to death with a baseball bat and the other which sees birds nesting inside a disembowled-and-yet-still-alive woman's chest cavity, which distresses her greatly. I can't recommend that anyone actually watch Zoombies, but if you choose to see it, it's at least somewhat entertaining.
- DirectorKen WiederhornStarsJames KarenThom MathewsMichael KenworthyCurious kids unearth the barrels that previously helped revive the dead, which proves the second time's an undead charm.Basically the same movie as the first Return of the Living Dead, minus all the things that make it enjoyable.
- DirectorBurr SteersStarsLily JamesSam RileyJack HustonFive sisters in 19th century England must cope with the pressures to marry while protecting themselves from a growing population of zombies.Pride and Prejudice and Zombies should have been so simple - take the, er, skeleton of Pride & Prejudice and then go over the top with zombie action. Instead, the film opts for an excessively-serious take on Pride & Prejudice with some scenes and lines changed to add in zombies that makes them feel perfunctory rather than a key part of the story (imagine that). Oh and then add in that this is a wannabe gory zombie film that's being neutered by a PG-13 rating, so you can't even get any visceral thrills to stave off the boredom. Add it all up and you've got a boring, one-note slog that it should have been a slam-dunk fun time at the movies. You'll note that I thought Zoombies was better than this film, which should tell you everything you need to know about how boring this film is.
- DirectorAlexander WittStarsMilla JovovichSienna GuilloryEric MabiusAlice wakes up in the Raccoon City hospital after the area has been overrun by zombies, and must now make it out of the city before a nuclear bomb is dropped.While it's better shot than the first movie, in pretty much every other regard it's a worse film.
- DirectorJohannes RobertsStarsKaya ScodelarioRobbie AmellHannah John-KamenSet in 1998, this origin story explores the secrets of the mysterious Spencer Mansion and the ill-fated Raccoon City.I have so much I want to complain about with this movie, but I'll keep it relatively brief. An adaptation that's more faithful to the source material makes sense for Resident Evil, but there are so many bone-headed decisions made here and half-baked ideas. Tons of easter eggs and callbacks to the games, which end up serving no purpose to the actual narrative. Girlboss Claire is somehow less interesting than if she's just a normal person caught up in a terrifying situation. Leon as a washed-up failure of a cop is an interesting idea, but he is given absolutely nothing to do in the entire movie. Raccoon City as a ghost town feels like it was done to make COVID restrictions easier, but it robs the setting of the mass outbreak and chaos that makes it so compelling in the games. Resident Evil games don't exactly have great stories, but if you mash the shells of two games together, it ends up creating something even worse. Oh, and don't even get me started on the stealthiest zombies I've ever seen in a movie, dear God. The one positive I can say is that the cast are all really good, I just wish they had been given some proper material. As is, Welcome to Raccoon City's as bad as the worst Paul WS Anderson Resident Evils, which is something I never expected to have to say.
- DirectorPaul W.S. AndersonStarsMilla JovovichIain GlenAli LarterAlice returns to where the nightmare began: The Hive in Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse.Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is yet another tired entry in this franchise. Rather than being pure, dumb fun like Extinction or Afterlife, The Final Chapter is just plain dumb and dull, with its action sequences being arguably the worst in the entire series. If you liked the series already then you'll probably enjoy The Final Chapter, but for the rest of us it's just more dull BS.
- DirectorPaul W.S. AndersonStarsMilla JovovichSienna GuilloryMichelle RodriguezAlice fights alongside a resistance movement to regain her freedom from an Umbrella Corporation testing facility.I really didn't think it was possible for the Resident Evil movies to get even worse or even more mindless... but I guess that just goes to show how small my imagination is. Retribution is easily the worst in the series, and that's really saying something.
- DirectorEllory ElkayemStarsPeter CoyoteAimee-Lynn ChadwickCory HardrictA college student creates a drug called "Z" and sells it on campus, inadvertently resurrecting the living dead, who wreak havoc at a Halloween rave.A typically bad teen horror movie. You know your zombie movie's terrible when the zombies can't even say "brains" convincingly... but how many zombie movies are there where a zombie literally eats someone's ass? Hate shaky cam and quick cuts? Try strobe-light zombie fight. In addition, the attempts at humour generally fall flat (or are just grating). The only positive - some pretty impressive gore and make-up effects.
- DirectorEllory ElkayemStarsAimee-Lynn ChadwickCory HardrictJohn KeefeA group of teenagers, in an attempt to rescue their friend from an evil corporation, end up inadvertently releasing a horde of bloodthirsty zombies.Imagine your typical made-for-TV horror movie and I think you'll have a good idea of what this movie's like. Generic plot, bad acting, cheap production values and a low budget squander any good stuff that still remains (OMG, a minigun zombie!?!).
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsAlan Van SprangKenneth WelshKathleen MunroeOn an island off the coast of North America, local residents simultaneously fight a zombie epidemic while hoping for a cure to return their un-dead relatives back to their human state.There are good things to say about "Diary", but there is nothing nice I can think of for Survival. It's absolutely pointless, in no way is it an evolution for the series, unless the next logical step is to fall into self-parody. While the other movies had a healthy dose of social commentary, this is just... nothing. Everything about it is just so dumb that I can't recommend it to anyone.
- DirectorBrian YuznaStarsJ. Trevor EdmondMelinda ClarkeKent McCordHaving recently witnessed the horrific results of a top secret project to bring the dead back to life, a distraught youth performs the operation on his girlfriend after she's killed in a motorcycle accident.This movie is basically Twilight with zombies and a self-mutilation fetish. Seriously, the amount of emo in this movie is disturbingly painful, and the teenage melodrama doesn't help either. Finally, it breaks almost all the established zombie rules of the Return series.
- DirectorJohn LydeStarsCorey SevierEve MauroJasen WadeThe story follows Dusty, a yoga instructor from Colorado, who is on a desperate rescue mission to save her crazy brother Derek, a conspiracy theorist who is convinced Osama bin Laden is still alive, despite having been buried at sea. In Afghanistan, Dusty falls in with a team of NATO special forces on a secret assignment. Turns out Derek is not so crazy after all, and that Osama has returned from his watery grave and is making an army of zombie terrorists. When the group crashes headlong into the growing zombie apocalypse, Dusty and the troops must find and destroy the root of the zombie insurgency before it infests the rest of the world.The only nice thing I can say about this movie is that the make-up and cinematography are pretty good considering the budget. Otherwise, this movie is dumb as dirt - you can tell that it's the ramblings of a bunch of Call of Duty/Nazi Zombie players put to film. The "special forces" characters are stupid, the the civilians unbelievably stupider. It's not even all that fun/campy/over-the-top to compensate. On top of it all, it's rather insensitive too, considering that soldiers and civilians are still dying in Afghanistan to this day.
- DirectorUwe BollStarsJonathan CherryTyron LeitsoClint HowardA group of college students travels to a mysterious island to attend a rave, which is soon taken over by bloodthirsty zombies.It really is as bad as you've heard (and easily Uwe Boll's worst film all-round), so there's not much need for me to delve too much into that. However, it's an absolute blast to watch for those of us who love *beep* movies, and by that virtue alone I highly recommend it (and would watch it over Survival of the Dead any day of the week).
- DirectorJerry WarrenStarsDon SullivanKatherine VictorSteve ConteA crazed female scientist uses nerve gas to turn local teenagers into her unquestioning slaves.This movie is awful in every conceivable way. Acting, costumes, cinematography, editing, writing, etc... which is to say that it's hilarious. Watch at your own discretion.