Ever since the walking dead first appeared on screen, zombies have permeated the pop culture lexicon. If you can’t decide what to pad a horror movie with, fill it with hordes of zombies. At this point, there isn’t a moviegoer alive that won’t immediately recognize these pale-faced cannibals. Often tied to outbreaks and viruses, the zombie genre reflects more than just our fear of blood, gore, and death. A zombie apocalypse is almost always a result of humanity’s flaws/shortcomings/missteps, which are further explored in the wake of civilization. Regardless, these films are wild. Here are the wildest of all time.
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Wildest Zombie Movies
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13. 'Dead Snow'
Norwegian medical students enjoy a remote Arctic Easter weekend with Nazi zombies (a battalion that disappeared during World War II). Enough said.
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12. 'Pontypool'
2009’s Pontypool switches the genre up by changing the way the zombie virus is transmitted. In this film, people don’t become infected via bites. Instead, the infection travels verbally: a word or phase people repeat over and over again until they become undead. It is brutal and disgusting as you’d expect while also being thought-provoking.
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11. 'World War Z'
World War Z was a pleasant surprise when it came out in 2013. Although it does follow U.N. Investigator Gerry Lane as he attempts to determine the source of a global zombie pandemic, World War Z is not faithful to its source material. This doesn’t make it any less entertaining; the film’s massive scale and scope make it stand out from the more contained zombie flicks.
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10. 'Re-Animator'
Re-Animator was one of the first zombie films to go the comedic route (on top of excessive gore). Just when the genre was going stale for some, this installment changed the game, paving the way for the likes of the Evil Dead franchise and Shaun of the Dead.
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9. 'Night of the Living Dead'
Night of the Living Dead is the "OG" zombie film. It follows seven people trapped in a farmhouse under attack by a growing group of undead corpses. Despite coming out in 1968, its message and themes are still relevant today.
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8. 'Rec'
2007’s Rec follows a late-night TV host and her cinematographer after being trapped in a quarantined/sealed apartment building with a strange/deadly virus. Among the sea of found footage films, Rec sets itself apart by feeling appropriately claustrophobic and gripping given the circumstances of the narrative.
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7. 'Braindead'
Peter Jackson directed a zombie film in 1992, and it was called Braindead. Sometimes referred to as the “goriest movie ever made,” the film follows Lionel Cosgrove (Timothy Balme) whose overprotective mother is bit by an infected rat-monkey at the zoo, turning her into a zombie. At first, Lionel attempts to keep his undead mother locked in the basement, but eventually, she ends up turning the neighbors. Braindead follows in the footsteps of Dawn of the Dead and Evil Dead, balancing slapstick and scares.
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6. 'Zombieland'
Zombieland is just good fun; playing in the zombie genre’s sandbox. Told from the point of view of Columbus and his set of rules, the film might be the most endearing (comedically) in the genre. With a charming cast the likes of Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin (not to mention Bill Murray...briefly), Zombieland feels like a post-apocalyptic world we wouldn’t mind living in.
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5. 'Train to Busan'
Train to Busan follows a man and his estranged daughter trapped on a speeding train during a zombie outbreak in South Korea. As one of 2016’s best surprises, the film is terrifying and poignant, with complex characters and thrilling action. A must watch.
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4. '28 Days Later'
A group of animal rights activists free an infected "rage" chimp from a medical facility and cause the zombie apocalypse. Danny Boyle's film may have been the lightning rod that kicked off the intelligent version of the 21st century's undead genre.
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3. 'Evil Dead II'
Sami Rami's The Evil Dead had some humor, scares, and gore but Evil Dead 2 is like all of that on crack. The typical horror movie aims to elicit a feeling of discomfort, and Rami and Bruce Campbell accomplish the unexpected and produce a feeling of joy. Is this the most enjoyable horror movie ever made? Feel free to sound off.
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2. 'Shaun of the Dead'
Many people consider Shaun of the Dead to be one of the greatest zombie films of all time. The film follows Shaun (Simon Pegg), a loser with an easy existence, who must rise to the occasion and protect his mom and girlfriend during a zombie apocalypse. The horror/comedy balances its genre dynamic perfectly, making it one wild ride.
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1. 'Dawn of the Dead'
George Romero's 1978 cult classic Dawn of the Dead is a paragon of retro horror. A sequel to Night of the Living Dead (released almost a decade earlier), Dawn succeeded in character development where the former did not. With an emanating sense of dread (rather than cheap thrills) the film critiques American consumerism and serves as a template for basically every entry we’ve seen in the genre since.
