The Top Zombie Films You Need to See

"White Zombie" (1932) (Gene pick)

This film is significant for two huge reasons. One, it's the first time the word "zombie" is used in a film. Two, it's the inspiration for the name of Rob Zombie's original band, White Zombie. There's a good reason it inspired him, it's a surprisingly good film. Set in Haiti, Bela Lugosi plays Legendre, a voodoo master loosely associated with the owner of a local sugar plantation. When the plantation owner falls in love with a beautiful guest engaged to another man, he turns to Legendre to make her do what he wants. Legendre has been the secret of the owner's success before, since most of the plantation workers are in fact zombies.

"Night of the Living Dead" (1968) (BOTH pick)

This is the one that really started it all. The original George Romero film, shot on a low budget in rural Pennsylvania with a cast of unknowns, the film founded modern zombie lore, from eaters of living flesh (an attribute properly ascribed to ghouls, while vampires drink blood) to killing them by destroying the brain. Plus the film has aged very well. Filmed in stark black and white with remarkably good acting, the movie is still frightening and the sight and sound of zombie engaging in what came to be known as a "blood feast" is still disturbing.

"Dawn of the Dead" (1978) (BOTH pick)

The second film in George Romero's Living Dead series has a different tone from original film, and it adds to the zombie mythos. Continuing the events of the first film, the zombie apocalypse continues and the living are fighting for survival. One group of survivors ends up trapped in a large shopping mall. The woman among them is pregnant, and one of them has been bitten, leading to the theme common in other zombie films, "What do you do if you or someone you love is bitten?" Not only is this a good film of its own accord, it plays on a number of fantasy themes, such as, living in a store, where you can use and consume all of the things you can't afford, for free. Also, for anyone who has ever worked in retail, or who doesn't like shopping, the zombies play the part of shoppers, shambling around the mall mindlessly, while the human survivors pick them off.

"Lucio Fulci's Zombie" (1979) (BOTH pick)

Italian horror films are different from those in Britain, America, and elsewhere. You may get one or more American actors in a film, it may be set in New York, but they up the gore and shock level in ways you don't typically see elsewhere. Expect injuries to the eye, expect maggots, expect disturbing themes. Expect guys like in the movie poster above. And among the Italian horror directors, Lucio Fulci is a master.

"Evil Dead" (1981) (BOTH pick)

The first film from legendary horror director Sam Raimi, and the first film with his frequent collaborator, legendary actor Bruce Campbell, this film forges a new set of rules for zombie films that continue through two more films (Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness) and the recent series "Ash vs. Evil Dead". In this film, friends staying at a cabin in Michigan discover a book called the Necronomicon, which begins an assault from the undead. While humans can still be turned by a bite, one key difference is, parts of these zombies can act independently. You don't have to see all of them, but after you see this one, you'll want to.

"Night of the Comet" (1984) (BOTH pick)

In this film, the Earth passes through the tail of a comet. All over the world, people go outside to see the lightshow in the sky, which also happens to turn them to dust. With most of the world's population gone, the few who are left fight to survive against the once-human creatures that were also a result of the comet. In a very 80s moment that has a similar theme but a different feel from "Dawn of the Dead," two sisters decide that the best thing to do when most of the world is gone is go to the mall and shop.

"Re-Animator" (1985) (Dandy pick)

Med student Dan (Bruce Abbott) acquires a new roommate, Herbert (Jeffrey Combs), and discovers in the basement that Herbert is re-animating tissue with a serum that he developed. After being banned from university, Dan and Herbert try the serum on a human subject from the morgue in hopes of reinstating them into their chosen careers. Things go wrong as the subject becomes violent and a fame-seeking doctor wants to take all the glory of this serum as his own creation.

"Return of the Living Dead" (1985) (BOTH pick)

Intended as an unofficial sequel to George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead," this one also takes zombie films in a slightly different direction. It turns out that the military sealed up some of the zombies from original outbreak in steel drums used for containing toxic material. When they're cremated and the zombie ashes go out through the chimney of the crematorium, they meet a cloud, which turns them into toxic zombie rain, which soaks into the ground of a cemetery, creating a brand new outbreak. In this film, we get a talking zombie, and we discover what it's like to be a zombie, and that what they crave is brains. Plus, an awesome punk soundtrack to go along with, yes, punk zombies.

"Night of the Creeps" (1986) (BOTH pick)

"Thrill me." That's the line you'll always remember, and if you say it, fans of this film will know exactly what you're quoting, and they'll love you forever. It's difficult to describe the film fully, as it's many things. Taking place in both 1959 and 1986, the film starts as a slasher film with a sci-fi twist. When fraternity pledges in 1986 find the body of the victim from the earlier part of the film, the body comes to life, starting a zombie outbreak, which then brings in the fraternity film element, in which the ending many of us watching college films had hoped for arrives as many fraternity and sorority members are brutally killed.

"C.H.U.D. 2 - Bud the C.H.U.D." (1989) (Dandy pick)

A military experiment of creating a super soldier goes awry as the zombie escapes and runs amok throughout a small town, biting the residents and creating his own army. In a fun twist of events, Bud (Gerrit Graham) still has human emotions as he discovers a picture of Katie (Tricia Leigh Fisher), falls in love, and starts a pursuit to make her his.

"28 Days Later" (2002) (BOTH pick)

By the time this film had come out, zombie films were commonplace and anyone who went to see one knew the rules. Zombies were typically slow and mindless and to stop them you shot, stabbed, or bludgeoned them in the head. With this film, director Danny Boyle broke all the rules and set knew ones. In this world, the cause of the outbreak is the Rage virus, which can be spread not only through bites but by getting bodily fluids from the infected into an open wound, or even one's eyes. He also did a great job of showing what the world would be like if say, you just woke up out of a coma in the hospital and all the people were gone.

"Resident Evil" (2002) (Dandy pick)

A virus is unleashed in a laboratory facility below ground to Raccoon City. It’s up to special military forces to eliminate the mutating zombies and kill a supercomputer that is far more dangerous. An action-packed and scare-fright film headed by female protagonist Alice (Milla Jovovich) based loosely off the video games of the same name.

"Dawn of the Dead" (2004) (BOTH pick)

This remake is true to the original, with essentially the same theme. Survivors of the zombie apocalypse take shelter in a mall and try to survive long enough to get out. It's scarier than the original, plus it has Ving Rhames, who brings a lot to the film. In an odd coincidence, the film is set in Milwaukee, and it looks convincingly like the Milwaukee area. There's even an abandoned mall in Milwaukee (Northridge) that could have served well enough for the shooting of the film. Yet somehow, it was filmed in Ohio, at an abandoned mall there.

"Shaun of the Dead" (2004) (BOTH pick)

The first film from director Edgar Wright and actor Simon Pegg, this comedy is directly influenced by the George Romero Living Dead films. In it, our hero isn't a solider or any sort of heroic type at all. He's not even Ash Williams. He's a directionless slacker, his best friend is also a slacker, and they mostly want to sit around. But they are the ones trying to save their family and friends when the zombies appear.

"28 Weeks Later" (2007) (BOTH pick)

Continuing the zombie saga started with "28 Days Later", this film shows how NATO forces are trying to establish a zombie-free zone in London. The military angle is interesting, and it's fun to see early appearances from stars who became much bigger later, such as Imogen Poots, Idris Elba, and Jeremy Renner.

"Quarantine" (2008) (BOTH pick)

Found footage films are tedious. Really tedious. But this one is good. Jennifer ("Dexter") Carpenter stars as a TV reporter assigned to follow a fire crew throughout their day. They get sent to an apartment building on a call and find themselves in the middle of an outbreak of a super-strain of rabies, similar to the Rage Virus from ""28 Days Later." Unlike other films, the found footage angle works with this one, as it's a tv crew, and in some cases it makes the film scarier.

"Dead Snow" (2009) (BOTH pick)

A really well done Norwegian horror-comedy, the film is about teens being attacked by zombie Nazis. Yes, World War II Nazis, who are resurrected as zombies. What more could you want?

"Zombieland" (2009) (BOTH pick)

This horror-comedy features an all-star cast, including a brilliant cameo from Bill Murray as himself. The film, narrated by Jesse Eisenberg, follows four survivors of the zombie apocalypse who encounter each other and band together as a loose family. The film has strong performances, witty dialogue, and a great balance of comedy and action, but its other strength is its self-awareness. It doesn't need to explain why the zombies are there. We've all seen zombie films, we know how it works. They're very much the Romero rules. Zombies are stupid, slow, and immune to pain. Don't get bit, aim for the head. These are among the many rules for survival Eisenberg's character includes as part of his narrative, which all the members of his group have learned to follow, and which we've seen in other films. The difference is, similar to "Scream" and slasher films, here the rules are actually laid out.

"The Battery" (2012) (Gene pick)

Brilliant film. Essentially this is a minimalist film about survival, with zombies in it. Two best friends, who together were nicknamed "The Battery" when they were star baseball players, have been driving around, foraging for supplies, and fighting zombies, when their station wagon breaks down. One of the friends is more impulsive, and he has no problem killing zombies. The other is more reserved, and he'd prefer not to, thinking of them as sick people. Now they're trapped in their station wagon, forced to live on their very limited supply of food, water, and bullets. And the zombies keep coming.

"Warm Bodies" (2013) (Dandy pick)

From the perspective of a zombie, R (Nicholas Hoult) can remember certain things about being human, but not any specific details. The little twist with eating brains is being able to “read” their memories. After killing her boyfriend, R saves Julie (Teresa Palmer) from being eaten by other zombies. As they’re relationship develops, the question remains-can the zombies’ condition be reversed as they grapple with remembering humanity?

"World War Z" (2013) (Gene pick)

Loosely based on the brilliant novel by Max Brooks, this film takes a similar approach as "28 Weeks Later," as it looks at the zombie apocalypse as a global pandemic, this time fought by the World Health Organization. Brad Pitt plays the central character, tasked with travelling the world trying to find a cure. He gives a good performance, and overall the film is high on tension and action. It also does a great job with innovation, particularly showing the scale of the problem and what happens when you're fighting an army of thousands, who feel no pain, don't get tired, and are of a singular mindset. Like ants, they'll climb on each other, form walls of each other, overcoming any barrier to get to you, and that's terrifying.

"Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse" (2015) (Dandy pick)

Three high schoolers are so uncool with being scouts. After having what is thought to be their last scout camping trip, they’re blissfully unaware of their town being attacked by zombies. When Ben (Tye Sheridan) and Carter (Logan Miller) ditch their friend and head back to town, all hell breaks loose as they battle zombies as they make their way to the big party-where all the cool kids are.

"Train to Busan" (2016) (Dandy pick)

As you can guess by the title, this all happens on a train from Seoul to Busan as a zombie outbreak occurs and the passengers struggle for survival. The interesting take with the zombies is that they react to sound, seemingly blind otherwise. Among the passengers is a Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) with his daughter. As he helps the high school kids with survival and keeping his daughter safe, will they make it to Busan safely?

Gene Lass and Dandy J. West are lifelong horror fans and film buffs. They are the former editors of the blog "So Good It's Scary."