Following the news that a 28 Months Later movie may finally happen, we’re taking a look back at the UK’s best horror films in the zombie subgenre. After the quick succession of 28 Days Later in 2002, followed just under two years later by Shaun of the Dead, the United Kingdom became the go-to place for the zombie apocalypse on the big screen.
Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead coined the term the “zom-com” and seemingly the horror comedy genre was in vogue again for its cheapness and ease with the like-minded British film industry. Copycats came and went, now marooned to the straight-to-DVD bargain bins of your local ASDA, but England and the United Kingdom’s zombie movement of the 2000s will not be forgotten for its effect on the industry. Below are some of the best.
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9 Cockneys vs Zombies (2012)
Limelight Productions
A fun who’s-who of British acting royalty must battle for their lives by way of East London in Cockneys vs Zombies. A bank robbery goes awry (it always does!) when the heist is interrupted by the undead. Sporadically very funny — from a zombie baby being drop-kicked and a sight gag about a fake mustache — Cockneys Vs Zombies is an example of a fine idea done perfectly well enough. Writer James Moran’s Severance from 2006 is better though.
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8 The Plague of the Zombies (1966)
Hammer Films
This was seemingly the only foray into the zombie genre from the great Hammer Films studio — and even then it’s incredibly brief. An unknown plague has a village in Cornwall, England under its spell with the inhabitants dying at a rapid rate. The local doctor sends for help, bringing an outsider into the village. Now rather dated, and with slow-as-a-snail pacing, this feels a bit like if Coronation Street did zombies, with its Cornish setting and Scooby-Doo-like motives. However, the film’s big intro of the zombies is a cracker, and like all Hammer horror, it looks pretty great.
7 Doghouse (2009)
Sony Pictures
In this now perhaps dated concept, the small village of Moodley in the middle of nowhere suffers a zombie plague that has infected only the female sector of the population. Away for a lads’ weekend, several boys are killed off one after the other by the opposite sex. With some really bright, nasty kills, Doghouse is a fun one with brilliantly nuts-and-bolts English casting in Stephen Graham (Boiling Point, Peaky Blinders) and Danny Dyer (Human Traffic). Solid low-budget British filmmaking pops in this excitingly bad taste zom-com.
6 Outpost (2008)
Black Camel Pictures
While it is hard to pin down exactly if these undead Nazis are actually zombies, ghosts, ghouls, or what have you, Outpost is a blast nevertheless. Pinned down in a foxhole, a troop of British soldiers must survive the night against all manner of WWII evils. Gritty and brutal, think Dog Soldiers but with zombies and you’re on the right track. Need more? Check out Sweden’s Dead Snow.
5 The Girl With All the Gifts (2016)
BFI
Although this one does suffer from the worst use of zombie slang (they’re called “hungries,” and it’s just awful every time it’s said), The Girl with All the Gifts really is one of the most assured films on this list. A collective of children are studied to see why the zombie virus only affects them when faced with human. After a slow start, The Girl with All the Gifts really jumps up a level with hundreds of zombie supporting artists storming an army base in what feels like an English remake of Romero’s ultra bleak Day of the Dead (1985). This is another example of having a fantastic cast, not at all feeling that the material is below them. Glenn Close is (obviously) superb as the mad scientist. While undoubtedly the prettiest looking film on this list, be prepared for very downbeat viewing from the off.
4 28 Weeks Later (2007)
UK Film Council
In the follow-up to Danny Boyle’s now modern day classic, 28 Weeks Later succeeds in upping the ante in every single way. Tripling the original’s paltry £5 million budget to (a still relatively low but well utilized) £15 million shows, with some really awesome tension throughout this unrelated follow up about a family split apart by the chaos. If the original movie was Alien, this is the action packed follow up in Aliens. Idris Elba and Jeremy Renner both star in this underrated sequel, and a more than deserved third film is mooted.
3 Dead Set (2008)
Endemol Shine UK
Dead Set was released over multiple nights on Channel 4 in 2008, but the DVD collected the episodes into one big feature and it’s so good that we’re counting it here. Before Black Mirror, writer Charlie Brooker made this satirical look at a group of survivors trapped in the Big Brother house during the apocalypse. Naturally, the egos on display are grotesque and the satire itself is rather heavy-handed, but the premise is so much fun and the violence so bloody. As this is also through Channel 4, the attention to detail in being able to use the actual Big Brother set from the same channel really makes this one creepy.
This cast is also packed, with Riz Ahmed (The Sound of Metal, Venom) and Jackie Winstone featuring throughout, and Andy Nyman shows why he is one of the best working actors in the UK right now. Ready yourself for a gory, funny, but surprisingly bleak viewing experience.
2 28 Days Later (2002)
20th Century Studios
Now a flagship example of what British cinema can and should be, 28 Days Later said that the zombies (sorry, “infected”) can run now, and it added a tremendous sense of danger to the viewing from its sleepy, lonesome opener. Between Cillian Murphy (star), Danny Boyle (director), and Alex Garland (writer), all three would become huge names and move on to larger and more expensive projects, but this was their first proper hit between them. Marvel at the film’s low budget simplicity and mastery of tension, cinematography, and score. Its big and brash sequel makes a perfect double bill.
1 Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Universal Pictures
Not merely a spoof or love letter to Romero, Shaun of the Dead is a genuinely hysterical horror comedy in its own right that would change the face of British filmmaking going forward. A gold standard for both horror and comedy, Shaun (a perfect Simon Pegg) has just split with his girlfriend, and in a bid to win her back must prove himself in a last ditch survival effort in the forefront of the zombie apocalypse. The first chapter of Edgar Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy, and perhaps the best, Shaun of the Dead remains just as delightful today as it was nearly 20 years ago. With one of the greatest bromances on screen in Shaun and Ed (Nick Frost), this is movie so well put together that repeat viewings only reward the viewer in uncovering more details.
