The zombie movie is a genre unlike any other in the film. It can be a complete exploitation vehicle replete with buxom babes and crazy flesh eaters. It can be well put together stylistically and elevate both the genre and medium, or it can serve as a metaphor for the times we are living in. When MovieWeb interviewed the Godfather of zombie movies George A. Romero, he was asked if he wanted to make any more Dead films. To paraphrase, he said that he did, but he wanted to have the films “mean something.” One could argue that you could do this in any genre, but there is something about the zombie genre that lends itself to metaphors.
So what makes a great zombie movie? Is it the FX? Is it the story? Is it how it might speak to the events of our time? Is it the walking dead themselves? It seems that it needs to be a mix of all these things. And, if the film is lucky, even amidst the craziest moments of doom, it appears that an element of comedy doesn’t hurt either. These films can’t be Mr. Holmes. The need to have a big mix, the kitchen sink, and let’s not forget at least a little sex never hurts. Unless it’s with a biting severed head hungry for more brains!
The best zombie films can be political (Night of the Living Dead), farcical (Zombieland), scary (Day Of The Dead), and unique (Shaun of the Dead). Like anything, these rules aren’t hard and fast. Just because a zombie film has all these elements, doesn’t necessarily make it a good zombie film. It still needs to be well-executed. Trust us when we say that over the years, there have been plenty of Living Dead movies that have either been brain-dead or completely devoid of life altogether. You won’t find any of those movies here.
In putting together this list of ‘The 18 Best Zombie Movies of All Time’, we wanted to satisfy ourselves as well as the hardcore fans of the genre. As we stated above, zombie films are unique. They take us into a world that is both multifaceted and horrifying. It stands to reason that a list celebrating these films should be both scary and filled with surprises.
With that said, here are our picks for the 18 best Zombie movies of all time.
This article was updated by Jessica Gardner in January 2022. If you are into zombie flicks, good news! We have updated our article to 18 of the best zombie flicks of all time.
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19 Juan of the Dead
La Zafona Producciones
Juan of the dead is a film by Alejandro Brugues, it resembles Shaun of the Dead in tone, however, it is less middle-class suburbia and more impoverished street gang. Juan of the Dead utilizes political underpinnings reminiscent of many of its predecessors. The film follows Juan and his best friend Lazaro, two slackers who capitalize on the zombie apocalypse. The pair starts a small business that will clean up the zombified remains of loved ones, for a nominal fee of course. The film is equal parts horror, comedy, and thought-provoking.
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18 Bio Zombie (1998)
Brilliant Idea Group
On the face of it, Bio-Zombie might play as a redux of the themes in Dawn of the Dead. A Hong Kong shopping center is experiencing business as usual until zombies appear and take it over. From this moment on, Wilson Yip’s film becomes a frenetic game of cat and mouse as the remaining shoppers and employees fight for survival. This is a film that most casual zombie fans probably don’t talk about too much. However, those in the know truly understand just how important this overseas import is. Sure, it is from the 1990s, but its heart is in the 1980s and even more importantly, one can tell the filmmaker and writers love the movies that inspired it.
17 Slither (2006)
Bright Light Pictures
Slither sees a small town infected by aliens. Shortly after this, the town becomes a zombie haven that must be stopped. Featuring an eclectic cast that includes Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, and Michael Rooker (a true cult character if ever there was one!), Slither is altogether a different kind of zombie movie. Yes, we’ve seen this story a million times before. However, director James Gunn seems to be reveling in what it means to be a flesh-eating monster. This film is filled with blood, gore, and humor. While there doesn’t appear to be a big message like the films of George A. Romero, this movie is a good time because it is so well executed.
16 The Beyond (1983)
Fulvia Film
Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond is another artfully done horror affair. The story follows a woman who inherits a home (a classic horror movie trope) and comes to learn that it sits on an entrance to hell. On its own, this story probably doesn’t pop off the screen, but one doesn’t necessarily enjoy a Lucio Fulci movie for the story! This film is visually stunning. There is gore and grotesque goings-on that are entirely on another planet. However, this movie always remains tasteful. Lucio Fulci can straddle those worlds that make this film stand out. It was released in 1981, and while it looks dated because it is an old film, there is nothing “old” about The Beyond. A true masterpiece of cinema.
15 Night of the Creeps (1986)
Tri-Star Pictures
How could a zombie movie by the creator of The Monster Squad not be good? Night of the Creeps focuses on these small creatures who invade human beings through the mouth and then turn them into zombies. Keeping with the great 1980s tradition of young people solving their problems, it takes a few teenagers to realize that something needs to be done. With horror movie stalwart Tom Atkins involved in the proceedings, Night of the Creeps still makes for a great late-night viewing experience. While maybe not as well known as some of the more popular zombie-fare, Night of the Creeps holds up because it is a zombie film that honestly believes in itself.
14 Pet Sematary (1989)
Paramount Pictures
Not a zombie flick per se, this film, based on a novel by Stephen King is many things at once. The Creeds move to a new home in Maine. Everything is good in this quiet setting until the Creeds’ young child is killed. This is when the parents find out about a Pet Sematary behind their home. They learn that they can bury their child there, and he will come back. Well, he does and, as you can guess, he isn’t the boy he once was. Making the killer an adorable little boy completely throws off our expectations of what a killer is capable of. While some Stephen King adaptations are hit or miss, Pet Sematary hits as a zombie film because it is replete with thrills, chills, gore, and a killer that can disarm you with their smile. The movie spawned a sequel Pet Sematary 2, A 2019 reboot, and a prequel to the 2019 film starring Samantha Mathis and Henry Thomas.
13 The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
Universal Pictures
Is there a zombie movie, or any movie for that matter with a cooler title? Lensed by horror maestro Wes Craven, this film looks at how voodoo might play a role in the reanimation of human beings. Shot on location in Haiti, this film was a slow burn of the highest order. However, like The Believers and other horror movies of that time, this film is scary simply because of its subject matter, focusing mainly on voodoo. With the image of Bill Pullman on its one-sheet, this movie was very good at tapping into our true fears of life, death, and beyond.
12 Planet Terror (2007)
Troublemaker Studios
Planet Terror isn’t just a movie recalling the great grindhouse films of the 1970s and 1980s. This is a great movie simply because of its careless abandon. The story is simple, the government makes a mistake with a biological weapon, which leads to lives lost and the outbreak of zombies. The zombie outbreak spreads and a group of oddballs is thrown together to stop it. Filled with blood, guts, and gore this movie may have been overpriced in its creation, but look at the remains we’re left with. Everything about this film is over the top for the sake of being over the top. The theatrical release Grindhouse was a double feature with Planet Terror and Death Proof. Grindhouse bombed at the box office but that shouldn’t hurt Planet Terror’s standing as a classic.
10 Zombieland (2009)
Columbia Pictures
Zombieland is comedy first, gore second, but neither is any more or less important in Ruben Fleischer’s thrill ride. With characters that have names like Columbus, Wichita, and Tallahassee (so named because this is where in the US they hail from), one thing is clear in Zombieland, survival is the name of the game. Part road trip, part coming of age story, all fun…Zombieland is what one might imagine Planes, Trains, & Automobiles would’ve been if there were flesh-eating monsters, guns, chainsaws, Twinkies, and Bill Murray involved. While not deconstructing the genre, Zombieland rises above the fray simply because, in a lot of ways, this movie is a comic road trip and the flesh-eaters seem to be asking for permission to join it. One gets the feeling that had they had a choice, they never would’ve gotten involved with these crazy people in the first place! The sequel Zombieland 2: Double Tap was released in 2019.
9 28 Days Later (2003)
Searchlight Pictures
Harkening back to the statement-driven films of Night of the Living Dead and Dawn Of The Dead, 28 Days Later is a gore-fest, horror movie, and cautionary tale. After animal activists invade a laboratory, they inadvertently release a virus that creates a zombie outbreak. However, these zombies are different, and the way they act is more rage-based than the other kinds of flesh-eaters we are used to seeing. Danny Boyle has proven himself to be a master genre jumper. He has deftly crafted a tale that calls out humanity in all its guises. Some simply exist and don’t pay attention, then some pay too much attention to everything and soon forget about the humanity they are trying to preserve. With 28 Days Later, Danny Boyle seems to be saying that if we are going to survive this world, maybe we all (zombies included) need to be somewhere in the middle. The movie spawned a sequel 28 weeks later, that didn’t quite live up to the original, however, Cillian Murphy has stated he would return for 28 months later.
8 Dead Alive a.k.a Braindead (1992)
WingNut Films
Before Peter Jackson made films that couldn’t cost less than 150 million dollars, he made this tiny zombie film that has had a life of its own. The story follows a boy whose mom becomes infected by a monkey. She dies but, alas, returns and starts making meals out of almost anything living. One could say it is the FX that makes this film work. You could argue that people just love zombie films. However, we think Peter Jackson, by tapping into the bond between mother and son, has ultimately made a scary movie about universal truths. Which makes this film stand the test of time.
7 Day Of The Dead (1985)
United Film Distribution Company
Underscoring this 1980s masterpiece is the sense of futility that this film gives off. It is almost as if George A. Romero is standing on a building screaming, “You see what happens when you don’t embrace something different, something odd, something out of your ordinary?!?! It eventually overcomes you!” In Day of the Dead scientists have now been relegated to an underground safe house where, again, zombies are trying to kill them. This movie is a slow burn as far as action goes, but once things get going, the beasts have been unleashed and nobody, no matter where they go is safe! SyFy will re-imagine the zombie flick for the small screen in a Day of the Dead Tv Series.
6 Re-Animator (1985)
Re-Animator Productions
Now this movie is a true cult classic! On the face of things, Stuart Gordon’s tale of medical students experimenting on and ultimately re-animating dead people, might not even seem like a zombie movie in the classical sense of the term. However, there is such a sense of smarts about this film, it even makes its camp factor a bit creepy. One watches Re-Animator and never really knows where they stand as a viewer. Should we be scared? Should be we be laughing? Is it wrong to gleefully dine in the terror of medical experimentation gone awry? Whatever your feelings, Re-Animator is a film for the ages, so popular in fact there is a Halloween event touring the movies filming locations.
5 The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Cinema 84
Director Dan O’Bannon’s mid-80s film was more fun than the other Dead films, but that doesn’t mean it is less effective. The great conceit of zombie films is that even amidst these treacherous situations, there is plenty of room for humor and contemplation. The story is simple, a gaseous substance is released into the air, and suddenly the dead return to wreak havoc. This would be enough, but these zombies have a punk rock angle! Now, maybe this was a subtle way of saying that marginalized sub-cultures would soon take over pop culture (as it happened!), or perhaps it was a way of cashing in on one of punk rock’s nadir moments. Whatever the case, it is very hard to sit through The Return of the Living Dead and not be entertained.
4 Zombie (1980)
Variety Film
This seminal zombie film has it all. First off, it has the legendary Lucio Fulci as its director. He was a man who reveled in the work he did within the horror genre. It was as if he saw all the violence, gore, and mayhem that zombies could elicit, and he knew that could be a platform to explore other ideas. Secondly, you have people in a tropical paradise that are experiencing a nightmare. The ability to contrast pristine settings with flesh-eating creatures from the undead is part and parcel of what makes these films effective. Lastly, look at the cover art for this movie. If you met someone who had no idea what a zombie was, all you would need to do would be to show them this image. It is grotesquely beautiful just Zombie itself.
3 Shaun of the Dead (2004)
StudioCanal
Released in 2004, Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead was truly a revelation. This was a film that turned the genre inside out. Yet, it wasn’t deconstructing the zombie films that had come before it (like Scream did with the horror genre), it was celebrating them in a way that everybody was “in on the joke” because there was no joke to be had. As with all great zombie films, Shaun of the Dead centers around (you guessed it!) a zombie outbreak. However, rather than just fighting for survival, our main characters (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost), have to reconcile relationships in the process. Sure, this film is filled with jokes and grand moments of comedy, but it is truly groundbreaking the way this film breaks down the zombie genre and manages to give us a pretty darn good gore-fest in the process.
2 Dawn Of The Dead (1978)
Laurel Group
George A. Romero returned ten years later with another gem. Set in a mall, Dawn Of The Dead seems to be overtly skewering the American tenets of capitalism and consumerism. With the zombie problem now at epidemic proportions, people are forced to hole up in a mall as they seek refuge and fight off these human flesh eaters. Aside from the top-notch FX and intriguing story, Dawn Of The Dead is a great movie; it just happens to have zombies in it. No death in this film is a throwaway. There is a reason for each kill. Statements are being made, and by proxy, Dawn Of The Dead elevates itself in the process. Zack Snyder did a remake of Dawn of the Dead in 2004.
1 Night of the Living Dead (1968)
George A. Romero’s groundbreaking tale of zombies attacking people in a small house is a thing of legend. Never before had we seen brutality like this on-screen. How many times before this had we seen an African American man as the hero in a horror movie? Filled with comedy, frights, and the somberness of the 1960s, Night of the Living Dead was also a metaphor for the atrocities of war with the US incursion in Vietnam firmly in its sights. A truly groundbreaking, landmark film in ANY genre. The iconic zombie classic is even going to take on the form of animation in Night of the Animated Dead.
