As we creep and crawl closer to the Halloween season, it’s time to bring the horror. From funny to frightening, here are 15 of the best zombie movies ever made.
As far as I’m concerned, no time is inappropriate to binge a horde of zombie movies, whether they’re favorites, new releases, or recommendations from fellow enthusiasts. However, right now is the perfect time to bring on the horror, seeing as how we’re creeping up on the Halloween season.
The zombie concept has long evolved from 1932’s not-scary-at-all White Zombie, where reanimated corpses were less of a threat as voodoo-inspired enslaved beings who just sort of stood around looking weird. Thanks to George Romero, the godfather of the modern zombie craze, the concept went from boring to frightening with his idea of reanimated corpses driven by cannibalistic urges to feast on the flesh of the living.
It’s a given, then, that all his zombie movies hold honorary spots on any list. They’re all classics that serve as the foundation of our zombie fascination. Since Romero, the zombie concept has evolved so far beyond his idea of what’s frightening to encompass the downright horrific. Here are 15 of my favorite zombie movies that I consider to be the best ever made, in order of release date.
1. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Director: George Romero
Starring: Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman
Where to Watch: HBO Max
One of the three best college and graduate courses I ever took focused on Zombies As Metaphors, and it kicked off a deepening fascination that turned into an obsession. I’ll always love Night of the Living Dead for that reason, and because, at the time it premiered, it generated controversy amongst the mainstream, mostly with its casting of a heroic Black man in the protagonist role and that horrifying ending.
Our story follows a diverse group of seven people who take shelter in an abandoned Pennsylvania farmhouse as the dead reanimate with a taste to feast on the living. Ever the practical protagonist, Ben (Duane Jones) does his best to control the situation and the fear it’s inciting, but when the reanimated flesh-eaters surround the house, panic takes over and any order the survivors create slowly dissipates piece by piece until nothing and no one is left.
What makes these slow zombies so frightening is their relentlessness and ability to multiply. You can find safety, but when they find you, you’ll be outnumbered. Their need to consume is insatiable. So, the fact that Romero uses zombies as societal metaphors for crippling issues like racism and self-destruction is quite warranted in deepening this level of horror.
Night of the Living Dead makes this list because of its status as zombie royalty, pioneering the shift of horror conventions away from the norm and into a gritty, visceral experience that has left us salivating for more for over 50 years.
2. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Director: George Romero
Starring: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, Gaylen Ross
Where to Watch: Rent it on Prime Video
Romero followed up on the zombie craze he created with Dawn of the Dead, which is Romero’s most entertaining zombie film–much more than its dread-inducing predecessor. It’s witty and again offers scathing social commentary on material society and consumerism.
Hordes of zombies swarm the country as terrified survivors band together, trying everything in their power to prevent more attacks and stay alive, but nowhere–city or countryside–is safe. In Pennsylvania, a radio station employee and his girlfriend barely escape by helicopter with the help of two renegade SWAT team members. They retreat to the safety of an enclosed shopping mall, where they plan to make what could be humanity’s last stand.
Dawn of the Dead boasts well-written characters with arcs you’ll become invested in, solid acting performances, and a healthy amount of blood-pumping action interwoven with humor. There’s also plenty of gore for fans of the extreme, so that’s a bonus.
3. Zombie Flesh Eaters/Zombi 2/Zombie (1979)
Director: Lucio Fulci
Starring: Tisa Farrow, Richard Johnson, Auretta Gay, Ian McCulloch
Where to Watch: Rent it on Prime Video or Apple TV
Zombie Flesh-Eaters put Italian director Lucio Fulci on the map, thanks to a gruesome amount of gore and action, and that infamous splinter-to-the-eyeball scene. To this day, just thinking about the first time I saw it still makes me cringe and want to ball up in my chair.
Zombi 2’s plot centers on a New York reporter who follows a woman to a remote Caribbean island, where her doctor-father desperately works to find the cause of and cure for the recent undead epidemic.
You don’t watch this low-budget Italian indie flick for the acting and cinematography. You watch it for what has become lasting iconic imagery, gory special effects, and unforgettable sequences that achieve a shockingly impressive sort of brilliance. Zombie is simple in its purpose: the pure unearthly terror of an escalating situation.
4. Day of the Dead (1985)
Director: George Romero
Starring: Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato, Sherman Howard
Where to Watch: Rent it on The Roku Channel or Apple TV
Day of the Dead, Romero’s third film in his epic zombie trilogy, presents a most scathing, unforgiving view and representation of classist society: the wealthy in the big tower, and the grunts in the dirty shadows doing all the work.
Trapped in a missile silo, a small team of scientists, civilians, and trigger-happy soldiers battle desperately to ensure the survival of humanity. As scientists work to find a way to tame the zombies and teach them basic human behavior, tensions rise inside the facility and reach a breaking point as hordes of zombies gather outside.
Unlike its two predecessors, in Day of the Dead, our survivors aren’t banding together. They’re splitting apart, all pulling for different directions and outcomes, and in having everyone at each other’s throat this way, Romero managed to achieve the successful creation of an oppressive pressure cooker in which the survivors lay the foundation for their impending doom.
Arguably more polished than Night and more refined than Dawn, the film is the most tightly scripted of the trilogy while still maintaining the director’s trademark gore and cinematic effects. Romero has been quoted as saying that Day of the Dead was his favorite film of all of them.
5. The Evil Dead Franchise
Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: Bruce Campbell
Where to Watch: Rent it on Apple TV
While Sam Raimi’s reanimated corpses aren’t zombies in the traditional sense, they’re still reanimated corpses and they qualify. Known as “deadites,” they are demonic spirits that possess people and turn them into violent, destructive beings.
When Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell, of Hysteria!), his girlfriend, and three of their friends hike into the woods to stay the night at a cabin, they find an old book with creepy vibes but can’t leave it alone. The book, called the Necronomicon, has text that reawakens the dead when read aloud, so when the friends release a flood of evil, they must fight for their lives or join the evil dead.
The Evil Dead (1981) is the first in Sam Raimi’s low-budget trilogy introducing his concept of the Book of the Dead and its deadites, but it’s a beautiful depiction of DIY horror-comedy done right, with extremely graphic violence and gore.
As a sequel, Evil Dead II (1987) continues the story with Ash and his fight. The third film in the trilogy, Army of Darkness, came in 1992, and the franchise saw a soft reboot in 2013 with Evil Dead, which introduces new characters. Its success led to another installment released in 2023, Evil Dead Rise.
6. 28 Days Later (2002)
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston
Where to Watch: Prime Video
You didn’t think I was going to exclude literally one of the top best zombie movies of all time, did you?
Cillian Murphy, of Oppenheimer, stars as Jim, a London bike courier who wakes from a month-long coma—butt-naked, I might add—to find that the entire city is in shambles, not a soul in sight. As he wanders around looking for signs of life, he nearly loses his own when a pack of rabid beings chase him.
Weeks earlier, a group of animal rights activists freed a caged chimpanzee from a medical research facility that was infected with the Rage virus. The virus rapidly spread throughout London, decimating the human population. With few survivors left, Jim and a small group must make their way to advertised safety, and that’s when your heart won’t just pound. It’ll explode.
28 Days Later shattered Romero’s zombie mold and terrified audiences across the world with its introduction not just of fast zombies but of rabid, lightning-fast zombies. It’s the crème de la crème of stylized horror—a trademark of the very brilliant Danny Boyle. It’s also a scathing political allegory, which is perhaps more horrifying than the movie’s actual narrative.
In short, 28 Days Later is the whole package neatly wrapped, with a perfect, giant red bow on top that may or may not drip with Rage-infected blood. Here’s to hoping the 28 Years Later trilogy will do the same!
7. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Simon Peg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Martin Freeman, Penelope Wilton
Where to Watch: Prime Video
Arguably the funniest zombie movie ever made thanks to its dry British humor and its ability to take itself seriously in the most polite, professional manner possible, Shaun of the Dead is a mild parody of Romero’s Dead trilogy, though it makes countless references to other films.
Simon Pegg, of the Mission: Impossible franchise, stars as Shaun, a 30-something loser with a dull, routine existence. The only unpredictable thing in his life is his girlfriend, who desperately wants Shaun to grow up and be a man.
All that changes when the town is suddenly overrun with zombies, but Shaun is so checked out, he doesn’t even notice, not even when one comes after him. In fact, Shaun and his roommate think she’s just a drunk, lost patron who wound up in their yard, so they taunt her. When he realizes what’s happening, Shaun must rush to save his mum, his girlfriend, and his best friend, whether he’s ready or not.
Shaun of the Dead reached instant cult status with its incredibly entertaining, cleverly crafted narrative that’ll have you dying of laughter while rocking out to some pretty cool tunes.
8. Dead & Breakfast (2004)
Director: Matthew Leutwyler
Starring: David Carradine, Diedrich Bader, Erik Palladino, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Ever Carradine, Jeremy Sisto
Where to Watch: Prime Video
As a voracious consumer of film and television, I’d be willing to bet that Dead & Breakfast is the best undead horror movie—and probably the worst—you’ve never seen. You likely never heard of it because it was a small little indie flick that was released first but got lost in the giant shadow that was the international success of Shaun of the Dead.
As the second funniest zombie spoof, Dead & Breakfast features an outrageous blend of facetious humor, over-the-top gore, and musical interludes. It’s a redneck zombie spoof about six friends on a road trip gone very, very wrong. On their way to a Texas wedding, the group takes a wrong turn and find themselves lost in the creepy, sleepy little town of Lovelock, where nothing is natural.
It’s also the funniest musical you’ve never seen. Director Matthew Leutwyler makes creative use of the movie’s most important scenes by having them intermittently narrated by a local gas station attendant and real-life musician. His twangy, comedic songs are so catchy and well-performed, they’ll have you rolling with their summaries of plot descriptions.
Don’t misunderstand this one here, y’all. Its tone is intentional, poking fun not just at the undead genre but also at themselves as filmmakers and actors. It’s unpredictable, full of blood and gore, and is a must-see for enthusiasts of the absurd.
9. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Director: Zach Snyder
Starring: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Ty Burrell
Where to Watch: Prime Video
I won’t lie: The first time I saw this movie by the inimitable Zack Snyder, I slept with the bathroom light and the TV on for a full week. I also barred any kids from my house, because kids are just creepy and in turning them into rabid, fast zombies, Snyder came at us with no holds barred.
When her husband is attacked by a zombified neighbor, Ana (Sarah Polley, of Women Talking), manages to escape but soon realizes her entire Milwaukee town is consumed by the walking dead. She and a small group of survivors hole up in a local shopping mall, then band together to fight this flesh-eating horde.
An aggressive, visceral, high-octane, action-horror experience, Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead is a worthy remake of the Romero classic, even with its lack of emphasis on deeper themes. It still showcases American culture’s obsession with consumerism, and it features some righteous special effects makeup while even briefly flirting with found footage. Exciting, right?
Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead is thrilling and heart-pounding to the max, from start to finish, culminating with an eerie sense of dread that washes over you, then sticks. I love it.
10. [REC] (2007)
Directors: Paco Plaza, Jaume Balagueró
Starring: Manuela Velasco, Pablo Rosso
Where to Watch: Prime Video
This hit Spanish film is a supernatural zombie horror flick that will terrify the snot out of you.
[REC] follows a late-night television reporter and her cameraman as they become trapped in a quarantined apartment building as a ravenous infection spreads throughout their city that turns humans into vicious cannibals. From there, the two record the brutal events transpiring around them.
Even in Spanish, [REC] is one of the scariest, most intense found-footage horror films shrouded in claustrophobia I’ve ever seen. There were moments where I felt as though I was trapped and couldn’t breathe. This zombie movie unfolds in an extremely haunting atmosphere and is full of so much stress and chaos, the jump-scares serve as icing on the cake.
You won’t find elaborate special effects here, only organic reactions, environment, and spontaneity to create a palpable sense of dread and horror. [REC] delivers on every level and saw so much success that it inspired an entire franchise and even an American remake.
11. 28 Weeks Later (2007)
Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Rose Byrne, Robert Carlyle, Imogen Poots, Idris Elba, Harold Perrineau
Where to Watch: Hulu
While not really a sequel to 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later certainly is another installment in the hit franchise; it just doesn’t follow the same characters or storyline. It is, however, full of fear and adrenaline as one of the scariest, most underrated zombie movies ever made.
28 Weeks Later is set six months after the original Rage epidemic, which has all but annihilated the British Isles. When the United States Army declares the threat over and soldiers arrive to restore order and begin reconstruction, refugees return, and one of them carries a dangerous secret: The Rage virus still lurks and has evolved to become more dangerous than ever.
While featuring a more chaotic take on the outbreak, there is no one, real character-focused arc and no character-based safety in this film, and it’s far more disturbing than you’d expect. It’s super-intense, terrifyingly fast-paced, and is riddled with much more visceral scares compared to 28 Days Later.
12. Zombieland (2009)
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin, Bill Murray
Where to Watch: Prime Video
The third funniest zombie movie on my list, next to Shaun of the Dead and Dead & Breakfast, is Zombieland. It’s a gem of a horror comedy that brings its A-game.
After a virus turns most people into zombies worldwide, survivors are locked in a drawn-out battle against the undead. It’s this battle that makes Zombieland so memorable and funny, as we see in the interactions between our four main survivors: Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson, of X), Wichita (Emma Stone, of Poor Things), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg, of A Real Pain), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin, of Slayers).
This little gem is gross, gory, and full of so much tongue-in-cheek humor, you’ll forget that what you’re watching is also supposed to be a horror movie. Its humor is spot-on and effective, enhanced by Eisenberg’s obsessive but smart list of rules, which include cardio, limbering up, buckling up when driving (for those times you have to plow through a herd), being aware of bathrooms, traveling light, and not being a hero.
Simply put, Zombieland is brilliant. From writing and casting to acting and pacing, it’s another total package.
13. The Crazies (2010)
Director: Breck Eisner
Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, Danielle Panabaker
Where to Watch: Prime Video
Another worthy Romero remake, The Crazies is a gripping horror-thriller that doesn’t just pay homage to its predecessor but also stands completely alone as a stand-out entry in the genre.
Anarchy reigns when a plane crashes in a small town and a secret biological weapon is released, turning the peaceful residents of small-town Ogden Marsh into homicidal maniacs with an insatiable bloodlust.
In an effort to contain the spread of infection, authorities seal off the town and use deadly force to keep anyone from coming in or going out of city limits. Now trapped among killers, Sheriff Dutten (Timothy Olyphant, of Alien: Earth) and his wife, along with two companions, must band together and find a way out before madness and death overtake them all.
The Crazies is one hell of a science fiction horror flick that’ll have you on the edge of your seat thanks to its intense, heart-pounding suspense. You’ll also appreciate the thrills and unfiltered commentary on societal breakdown and government conspiracies. Though a B-movie, it stands as a solid example of one of the few remakes to surpass its original.
14. World War Z (2013)
Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Matthew Fox, Daniella Kertesz, David Morse
Where to Watch: Hulu
Inspired by the 2006 novel of the same name, World War Z is, along with very few others, one of the best zombie movies ever made. Every single thing about it is so petrifying and moves at such a chaotic, panicked pace that you will not be able to look away … or move, or, at times, even breathe. You might even sh*t your pants.
When former U.N. investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt, of F1) and his family get stuck in urban gridlock, his suspicion that they’re in no ordinary traffic jam is confirmed when the city erupts into full-blown chaos. Cars are slamming into each other, people are flying through windshields, and ravenous beings are slamming their heads into glass to devour the living.
As a lethal virus spreads throughout the world, healthy people are transformed into vicious, feral beings whose only purpose is to consume humanity. When the government comes calling, Gerry puts his life on the line to lead a world-wide search for the source of the infection and, with any luck, find a way to stop its spread.
The first 10 minutes of this movie set the tone and pace, leaving your adrenaline flowing full-force, and it never settles. The film’s portrayal of relentless, rapid-moving literal swarms of zombies is so realistic, it’ll unnerve you. Moreover, the chaotic collapse of society during a global pandemic at such an incredible speed is overwhelmingly stunning.
World War Z is a zombie movie that takes the terror already existing in the genre and amplifies it through mass panic, military response, and the quick collapse of order, making the apocalypse feel all encompassing as opposed to a contained event.
15. Train to Busan (2016)
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Starring: Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Su-an
Where to Watch: Prime Video
A perfect follow-up to World War Z is Train to Busan. What I love about this zombie horror gem is that most of it takes place on a train traveling from Seoul to Busan. If you’ve ever wondered—after seeing 28 Days Later, of course—the ways in which a horror movie can be so artistic, this movie is your answer.
Gong Yoo stars as Seok-Woo, a father who’s taking his young daughter on her birthday to see her mother in Busan. However, just as they board the train, the life they knew turns horribly nightmarish when a zombie outbreak hits South Korea. What they don’t know but soon find out is that one got on the train.
The rest of this movie is one intense, breath-holding, badass fight to survive this train ride from hell, just to reach the only city in South Korea still deemed safe. There are moments that will break your heart, moments that will fill you with terror, and moments that will leave you breathless and speechless.
Train to Busan gives audiences a fresh view on zombie media, successfully blending thrilling action with a deeply emotional story that’ll capture your heart from the first scene. It also features outstanding cinematography that’s so fluid, you don’t even notice editing techniques. It is, without a doubt, the most terrifying train ride you’ll take in your life.
