#–A–B–C–D–E–F–G–H–I-J-K–L–M–N-O-P-Q-R–S–T–U-V–W-X-Y-Z

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#Alive (Korean: #살아있다 )
Released: 2020
Director: Cho Il-hyng
Synopsis: Live streamer Joon-woo (Yoo Ah-in) is forced to survive alone in his apartment during a zombie outbreak. When he sees a neighbour in the opposite building who is also alive, they work together to figure out a way to get to safety while their buildings are surrounded by zombies.
Verdict: A creepy and at times funny zombie film that Yoo holds up well on his own (until joined by Park Shin-hye as his neighbour). It uses alot of modern technology to frame Joon-woo’s story of survival, and as always, the Korean way of doing zombies is horrifyingly entertaining. 3/5

28 Days Later series
Released: 2002-present
Synopsis: 28 days after the outbreak of a virus, Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes from a coma to discover that society in Britain has completely collapsed. The films follow different groups of survivors as they navigate this new world of infected, maniacal people.
Verdict: Hailed as a film that redefined the zombie genre, 28 Days Later was a huge succes, and its sequel, 28 Weeks Later was also dubbed a worthy successor, though the third film, 28 Years Later, a little less so. They introduce interesting characters and fearsome ‘zombie’-type antagonists, and the level of commitment to making it as realistic as possible makes the series most terrifying. 
Read the full 28 Years Later review.

B

Braindead (US: Dead Alive)
Released: 1992
Director: Peter Jackson
Synopsis: When his overbearing mother is bitten by a rat-monkey hybrid creature and turns into a zombie, Lionel (Timothy Balme) finds himself trying to survive in the middle of an outbreak along with love interest Paquita (Diana Peñalver).
Verdict: This early work of Peter Jackson, he of Lord of the Rings, has absolutely nothing in common with his later fantasy work bar one thing: his clear commitment to bringing something visually alive for audiences. Content-wise, it’s hilarious, gory, and a perfect B-horror-type film, and it certainly has that classic New Zealand-vibe of not taking itself too seriously. 4/5

C

Cargo
Released: 2017
Directors: Ben Howling, Yolanda Ramke
Synopsis: Andy (Marting Freeman) is bitten by a ‘Viral’, a zombie-like creature, and has 48 hours to find a suitable home for his one-year-old daughter before becoming a Viral himself.  Along the way he meets many different people in different situations, trying to survive or succumbing to consequences.
Verdict: In the grand scheme of zombie movies, Cargo won’t be up there with the best of them, but it’s somewhere suitably in the middle, where it’ll entertain for the most part whilst hopefully giving audiences something to think about. It shows off some of the beautiful yet extremely harsh Australian outback and gives a small but important voice to Aborigine life and beliefs. 3/5
Read the full Cargo review.

E

The Evil Dead franchise
Released: 1981-2023
Synopsis: Starting with 1981’s The Evil Dead, the series begins with the opening of a demonic book and the playing of a demonic tape, then all literal hell breaks lose. The series goes on to follow mainly the character Ash and his fight with demons. Cut to 2013’s Evil Dead and we have something of a reboot/remake that adds a heck of a lot more gore and horror to the events mirroring those of the ’81 original.
Verdict: If you’re down for some intense gore and terrifying hell creatures, this is for you. Particularly, if you want some added comedy/B-movie-style horror, start with the 80s trilogy. Then, to really drive home the fear aspect, flip to 2013 – this one features some pretty awesome and frightful cinematography, though 2023’s Evil Dead Rise leaves a lot to be desired plot- and performance-wise.

L

Lisa Frankenstein
Released: 2024
Director: Zelda Williams
Synopsis: In 1989, teenager Lisa (Kathryn Newton), is an outcast at school and at home, spending her time at the graveside of a young Victorian man. After a lightning strike, the young man, known as ‘the Creature’ (Cole Sprouse), is reanimated and finds his way to Lisa. Together they embark on a series of ‘mishaps’ that brings Lisa more and more out of her shell.
Verdict: This film pays homage to teen films of the likes of Pretty in Pink and Edward Scissorhands and blends teen problems of then and now with gothic cult hits. In typical Diablo Cody style, teen angst and social issues are mixed with dark comedy and violence for a sturdy and fun story. 4/5
Read the full Lisa Frankenstein review.

The Living Dead franchise
Released: 1968-present
Synopsis: Beginning with the classic Night of the Living Dead zombie movie, the franchise moves through multiple iterations and remakes and spin-offs, some official, some unofficial, with different styles of filming used throughout, to bring us a smorgasbord of zombie features.
Verdict: Night of the Living Dead is truly a classic and a must-watch for any hororr fan, kicking off the zombie movie invasion. The one conistency through all following films, whether officially part of the Living Dead franchise or not, is the zombie and multiple filmmakers’ versions of it. It is a creature that began its undead life in movies thanks to the late George A. Romero’s initial feature film. A marathon of these films can be super fun, if you’re feeling forgiving of some of the lesser installments.

M

Mads (French: MadS)
Released: 2024
Director: David Moreau
Synopsis: In one mad evening/night, three young people find themselves spreading a strange disease that seems to make people violent and turn on each other.
Verdict: While the premise might not sound all that original, the fact it is a one-shot is what makes it stand out. It is extremely well done, and the three main actors do an amazing job of keeping up with the action and making events seem as real as possible. Again, although the basic story is familiar, the plot itself is unpredictable. 4/5
Read the Tiny Tapes Mads review.

R

REC quadrilogy (Spanish)
Released: 2007-2014
Director: Jaume Balagueró/Paco Plaza
Synopsis: While reporting from the night shift at a fire station, news reporter Ángela (Manuela Velasco) heads out to an apartment building with the crew where there has been a mysterious outbreak affecting the building’s occupants. Following these events, the outbreak spreads to other areas and people.
Verdict: REC and REC 2 are excellent films, full of suspense, horror and shocking revelations. The other two films that round out the quadrilogy aren’t nearly as good, with number four being particularly disappointing, not to mention unnecessary. Best to also avoid the American remakes, Quarantine and Qurantine 2: Terminal.

Resident Evil franchise
Released: 2002-2021
Synopsis: Based on the video game series, the franchise mostly follows Alice (Milla Jovovich), a covert operative, as she works to take down the Umbrella Corporation, their bioweapons being responsible for a zombie outbreak. The franchise then introduced a reboot film that is more faithful to the game and its characters.
Verdict: Coming soon

S

Shaun of the Dead
Released: 2004
Director: Edgar Wright
Synopsis: The lackadaisical Shaun (Simon Pegg) alienates all those around him, in part due to his even lazier best friend, Ed (Nick Frost). But when zombies begin to swarm their town, Shaun and Ed must find a way to survive, rescue their loved ones, go to the Winchester for a pint and wait for it all to blow over.
Verdict: An excellent zombie movie that takes its inspiration from the likes of Night of the Living Dead and throws in heaps of comedic value. All performances are fantastic, the chemistry between the actors making the comedy even more hilarious, and the simplicity of the production overall makes it a down-to-earth delight. 4/5

T

Train to Busan series (Korean: 부산행 )
Released: 2016-2020
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Synopsis: Divorced workaholic Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) takes his daughter to Busan to visit her mother, but the train they are travelling on is besieged by zombies. In the 2016 prequel animation Seoul Station, the zombie outbreak begins with an injured man outside Seoul train station, and in 2020’s Peninsula, people are struggling to survive in a dystopian society filled with zombies and unruly people.
Verdict: This is a strong franchise overall, with Train to Busan in particular being a succesful zombie film that showcases how well South Korea can do zombies and horror in general. Seoul Station uses excellent animation to provide an origin story, and Peninsula plays on a post-outbreak world that brings terrors other than zombies alone.

W

Warm Bodies
Released: 2013
Director: Jonathan Levine, based on the novel by Isaac Marion
Synopsis: When a zombie named R (Nicolas Hoult) meets a human girl named Julie (Teresa Palmer), he begins to experience human feelings again, both mentally and physically. As the two grow close, R feels himself becoming more and more human, until they suspect there might be a way to cure the zombies.
Verdict: A strange Romeo and Juliet-esq film that spans multiple genres, from romance and comedy to horror and drama. It’s a fun perspective for a zombie movie, to see from that of a zombie that still has some semblance of human morals and consciousness. It’s cute, it’s funny, it’s gory, and it’s perfect for a range of audiences. 3/5

World War Z
Released: 2013
Director: Mark Forster, based on the book by Max Brooks
Synopsis: Former UN investigator Gerry (Brad Pitt) travels around the world in search of the origin of a mass outbreak of zombies that are destroying the world, as well as a way to put an end to the outbreak.
Verdict: World War Z takes the standard zombie trope and reframes it from the POV of the world rather than just America or another western country. The horror and fear lies mainly in the race against time to find a way to stop the outbreak rather than relying on the zombies alone to terrify, and it is further bolstered by a great leading performance from Pitt. 4/5

Z

Zombieland duology
Released: 2009/2019
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Synopsis: After a zombie outbreak, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) goes on a long trip where he befriends different people, and they band together in order to reach their respective destinations safely. Despite rules about not getting too close to each other, the group soon come to find they don’t want to be without each other.
Verdict: The first film really put an epically fun spin on the zombie genre, kind of an American version of Shaun of the Dead. It’s got good humour, dialogue and performances. Double Tap takes things to the next level in terms of humour, with Woody Harrelson especially on top form, and it makes for an even more entertaining film.

Zombie Flesh Eaters (Italian: Zombi 2)
Released: 1979
Director: Lucio Fulci
Synopsis: When her father’s boat is found abandoned with naught but a zombie aboard, Ann (Tisa Farrow) travels to an island in the Caribbean to find out what happened to him, where she discovers that, thanks to the islanders’ use of “voodoo”, the dead inhabitants are not staying dead.
Verdict: This “video nasty” has claimed cult status in the decades since its release (marketed in Italy as an unofficial sequel to Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, titled Zombi in Italy, hence the Zombi 2 title). It’s certainly a significant film for fans of the zombie genre, famed for its scenes of blood and gore and zombie vs. A VERY REAL shark, but viewers who prefer a more modern zombie movie may not enjoy it so much. As long as you know what to expect, you won’t be disappointed. 3/5