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This isn’t going to be a list of every zombie film in the world. These are just the ones that I had enjoyed watching and would recommend to others if they’re interested. So, in no particular order check out these zombie films.
To be clear, zombies are fictional creatures usually portrayed as reanimated corpses or virally infected human beings. They are commonly portrayed as cannibalistic in nature. While zombie films generally fall into the horror genre, some cross over into other genres, such as comedy, science fiction, thriller, or romance.
I’ve separated these into two categories: Serious/Horror and Comedy/Fun
Serious/Horror
REC (2007) - is a Spanish found footage horror film co-written and directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza. The film centers on a reporter and her cameraman covering a firefighter intervention in an apartment building in Barcelona; as the situation escalates after some of the building’s occupants show animalistic and murderous behavior, they find themselves confined inside the perilous building.
The sequel REC 2 directed by Balagueró and Plaza in 2009 is just as good, but it goes in a different direction of what the sickness really is. I don’t recommend the other films since they’re not that great. There’s also the United States version of REC, under the name Quarantine in 2008. Quarantine is almost a shot-for-shot remake of REC with a different ending and not as much religious themes to it. It’s decently good for a remake, but not as good as the original. Note: The infected humans, while not technically zombies, they still display the same behavior and characteristics. So I consider this to be at least partially in the sub-genre of zombie films.
28 Days Later (2002) - is a British post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Alex Garland, and starring Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns, and Christopher Eccleston. The plot depicts the breakdown of society following the accidental release of a highly contagious virus and focuses upon the struggle of four survivors to cope with the destruction of the life they once knew. Note: Technically these aren’t the slow rotting corpses of traditional zombie movies, but instead living, breathing, fast humans whose behavior has been modified by a literal Rage Virus.
28 Weeks Later (2007) - is a British-Spanish post-apocalyptic horror film co-written and directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. A sequel to Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, it stars Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Catherine McCormack, Imogen Poots, and Idris Elba. The plot depicts the efforts of NATO military forces to salvage a safe zone in London following the events in 28 Days Later, the consequence of two young siblings breaking protocol to find their infected mother, and the resulting reintroduction of the Rage Virus to the safe zone.
Pontypool (2009) - is a Canadian psychological thriller film directed by Bruce McDonald and written by Tony Burgess, based on his novel Pontypool Changes Everything. In a small town of Pontypool, Ontario it was just another typical day for radio announcer Grant Mazzy as he heads in for work at the radio station. But it’s not, as he begins to hear reports of a deadly virus that changes people. Note: Many people tend to also recommend this if you’re a fan of the podcast Welcome To Night Vale.
Train to Busan (2016) - is a South Korean zombie apocalypse action thriller film directed by Yeon Sang-ho and starring Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, and Ma Dong-seok. The film takes place on a train to Busan, as a zombie apocalypse suddenly breaks out in the country and compromises the safety of the passengers. If you enjoy this film you may like the animated prequel, Seoul Station, which was also directed by Yeon.
Dawn of the Dead (197 cool - is a American independent zombie horror film directed by George A. Romero. It was written by Romero in collaboration with the Italian filmmaker Dario Argento and produced by Richard P. Rubinstein. It was the second film made in Romero’s Night of the Living Dead series and shows in a larger scale the apocalyptic effects on society, though it contains no characters or settings from the film Night of the Living Dead. In the film, a phenomenon of unidentified origin has caused the reanimation of the dead, who prey on human flesh. David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, and Gaylen Ross star as survivors of the outbreak who barricade themselves inside a suburban shopping mall amid mass hysteria.
Dawn of the Dead (2004) - is a American action horror film directed by Zack Snyder (in his feature film directorial debut) and written by James Gunn. It is the remake of George A. Romero’s 1978 film, and stars Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, and Mekhi Phifer. Its plot centers on a handful of human survivors living in a shopping mall located in the fictional town of Everett, Wisconsin, surrounded by swarms of zombies. Ty Burrell, Michael Kelly, Kevin Zegers, and Lindy Booth play supporting roles; the original’s cast members Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, and Tom Savini appear in cameos.
Cargo (201 cool - is a Australian post-apocalyptic drama thriller film directed by Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke with a screenplay by Ramke based on their 2013 short film of the same name. The film stars Martin Freeman, Anthony Hayes, and Caren Pistorius. Stranded in rural Australia in the aftermath of a violent pandemic, an infected father desperately seeks a new home for his infant child, and a means to protect her from his own changing nature.
The Girl with All the Gifts (2016) - is a British post-apocalyptic zombie horror drama film directed by Colm McCarthy and written by M.R. Carey adapted from his novel of the same name. Starring Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine, Glenn Close, and Sennia Nanua. The film depicts a dystopian future following a breakdown of society after most of humanity is wiped out by a fungal infection. The plot focuses on the struggle of a scientist, a teacher, and two soldiers who embark on a journey of survival with a special young girl named Melanie.
Comedy/Fun
Shaun of the Dead (2004) - is a British horror comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, written by Wright and Simon Pegg, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost. Simon Pegg plays Shaun, a directionless Londoner who is caught in an apocalyptic zombie uprising.
Zombieland (2009) - is a American post-apocalyptic zombie comedy film directed by Ruben Fleischer and written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The film stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin as survivors of a zombie apocalypse. The film follows a geeky college kid making his way through the zombie apocalypse, meeting three strangers along the way and together taking an extended road trip across the Southwestern United States in an attempt to find a sanctuary free from zombies.
Cockneys vs Zombies (2012) - is a British zombie comedy film directed by Matthias Hoene and written by James Moran and Lucas Roche. The plot centers on a group of Cockneys who arm themselves to rescue their grandfather and his friends from their retirement home as a zombie apocalypse takes place in the East End of London.
Cooties (2014) - is a American horror comedy film directed by Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion from a screenplay written by Ian Brennan and Leigh Whannell. The film stars Elijah Wood, Alison Pill, Rainn Wilson, Jack McBrayer, Whannell, Nasim Pedrad, Brennan, and Jorge Garcia as a group of elementary school employees who fight to survive an outbreak among students that turn them aggressive and cannibalistic.
Juan of the Dead (2010) - is a Spanish-Cuban zombie comedy film written and directed by Alejandro Brugués. The day after Havana is invaded by the living dead, Juan and his best friend Lazaro, both who were once lazy fisherman decide to use this opportunely to start up their own ethically unsound zombie-killing business with differing results. This film has been described as Cuban’s version of Shaun of the Dead a lot, because it combines humor, political satire and of course, zombies.
Honorable Mentions
I Am A Hero (2016) - is a Japanese live action film adaptation of the horror manga I Am A Hero by Kengo Hanazawa. It is directed by Shinsuke Sato and starring Yo Oizumi, Kasumi Arimura and Masami Nagasawa. The story begins with Hideo Suzuki, a 35-year-old manga artist assistant, whose life seems to be stuck around his exhausting but low-paying job, unfulfilled dreams, and unsatisfying relationships. One day, the world as Hideo knows it is shattered by the presence of a disease (nicknamed ZQN) that turns people into homicidal maniacs who resemble and behave like zombies, and whose first instinct is to attack and devour the nearest human. Armed with only his sporting shotgun, he runs for his life, meeting strangers along the way.
Maggie (2015) - is a post-apocalyptic horror drama film directed by Henry Hobson, in his directorial debut, written by John Scott 3, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Abigail Breslin and Joely Richardson. In the present-day Midwestern United States, society struggles to function in the aftermath of a zombie pandemic barely under control. The film is a fascinating look into the deterioration of a young girl’s humanity as she gradually becomes one of the undead. Her father, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, does everything in his power to keep her safe and away from the inevitable. There isn’t any action, but Maggie is instead an introspective look at love and what it means to be human.
Warm Bodies (2013) - is a American paranormal romantic zombie comedy film based on Isaac Marion’s novel of the same name. Directed and written by Jonathan Levine, the film stars Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Analeigh Tipton, and John Malkovich. The film focuses on the development of the relationship between Julie Grigio, a young woman, and “R”, a zombie, and how their eventual romance develops throughout. The film is noted for displaying human characteristics in zombie characters, and for being told from a zombie’s perspective.
Fido (2006) - is a Canadian zombie comedy film directed by Andrew Currie and written by Robert Chomiak, Currie, and Dennis Heatonfrom an original story by Heaton. In an alternate history version of the 1950s, cosmic radiation has initiated a zombie apocalypse, and while the bulk of it has been dealt with, the lingering radiation means that anyone that dies eventually rises again as a zombie. To help maintain order, a company called Zomcon comes into power, fencing in safe communities from the heavily infested “Wild Zone”, and develops a containment device to curb the remaining zombie’s flesh-eating urges. With the device in place, the zombies provide a cheap source of manual labor and become a productive part of society.
The story begins when status-conscious homemaker Helen Robinson (played by Carrie-Anne Moss) purchases a zombie in order to save face in front of new neighbors the Bottoms. This causes friction with her husband Bill, who hates zombies as a result of his experiences in the Zombie Wars, but son Timmy—who happens to be something of an outcast at school—quickly befriends their new acquisition, whom he names “Fido.”
Aaah! Zombies!! (2007) - is also known as Wasting Away and is a American zombie comedy film directed by Matthew Kohnen. The events of the plot take place from the zombies’ point of view, focusing sympathetically on a group of them. The film uses color footage to show the action from the zombies point of view in which they see themselves as normal humans and occasionally switches to black-and-white footage to show the zombies from the point of view of normal humans.
Life After Beth (2014) - is a American zombie comedy film written and directed by Jeff Baena. The film stars Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, Molly Shannon, and John C. Reilly, with Anna Kendrick, Cheryl Hines, Paul Reiser, and Matthew Gray Gubler in supporting roles. After his girlfriend unexpectedly dies, Zach is devastated. However, he gets a second chance at love after she rises from the dead.
 DamnBlackHeart · Thu Oct 18, 2018 @ 12:09am · 0 Comments |
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