30 Essential Zombie Movies

30 Essential Zombie Movies The zombie: Without remorse and pity, driven by a single hunger, and damn near impossible to put down permanently. There have been times since their introduction into movies in the 1930s where it felt like we’d never see a zombie movie again. Then there are eras of the opposite, where you couldn’t stick your arm out in a multiplex without a shambling ghoul nearby, ready to chomp.

An independent film with a budget barely above six figures, Night enthralled audiences with its mysterious plot, shocking gore, progressive casting and social commentary, and, natch, the unforgettable hordes of the gaunt, hungry undead. Crowned the godfather of zombies, Romero made five more Dead movies, the best of which are featured in this guide, including Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead. Despite Romero’s efforts, it would still be a long shuffle into the early 2000s before zombies would break out of horror niche and crawl all over pop culture.

The success of the Resident Evil video games revealed an audience appetite hitherto untapped, inspiring a gushing fount of zombie movies released between 2000 and 2005. There was the loving spoofery of Shaun of the Dead. The blockbuster theatrics of the Resident Evil adaptation.

Ever since, zombies have shown no sign of slowing down. (Some have even figured out how to run.) They may not have gotten the highest critical marks, but offer just as much color, life, and odor to this list.

Synopsis: A medical student (Jeffrey Combs) brings his headless professor back from the dead with a special serum…. A medical student (Jeffrey Combs) brings his headless professor back from the dead with a special serum…. [More] Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale Directed By: Stuart Gordon #7 Rec (2007) 89% #7 Adjusted Score: 89819% Critics Consensus: Plunging viewers into the nightmarish hellscape of an apartment complex under siege, [Rec] proves that found footage can still be used as an effective delivery mechanism for sparse, economic horror.

A reporter (Manuela Velasco) and her cameraman record the horrifying outbreak of a disease that turns humans into vicious cannibals…. [More] Starring: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano, Carlos Lasarte Directed By: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza #5 Zombieland (2009) 89% #5 Adjusted Score: 99769% Critics Consensus: Wickedly funny and featuring plenty of gore, Zombieland is proof that the zombie subgenre is far from dead. Synopsis: After a virus turns most people into zombies, the world’s surviving humans remain locked in an ongoing battle against the…

[More] Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin Directed By: Ruben Fleischer