15 Best Zombie Movies Of All Time

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for quite some time, you would have noticed an increasing demand for zombie movies, especially after the TV series “The Walking Dead”, which brought the zombies to the small screens in a big way. Zombie films nowadays easily attract large audiences at theaters and as a result, Hollywood has had several new zombie blockbusters in recent years. We today have compiled a list of the 15 best zombie movies of all time for horror genre fans that love the concept of zombies:

 

15. White Zombie (1932)

Madeleine Short and Neil Parker are all set to get married. She is coaxed by her acquaintance Monsieur Beaumont to get married at his Haitian plantation. However, Beaumont has other plans in mind. He wants Madeleine to run away with him. For that, he takes the help of Murder Legendre, an evil voodoo master who runs his mills by controlling the undead people, the zombies.

Madeleine arrives in Haiti to meet up with her fiancé Neil and they both go to their lodging to prepare for their wedding, where things take a turn for the worse.

White Zombie is considered to be the first full-length zombie film in cinematic history. The initial response to the film was negative; however, later a vast majority of the critics praised the film for its original atmosphere.

 

14. Cemetery Man (1994)

Groundskeeper Francesco Dellamorte is a worker at an Italian cemetery where his job is to shoot zombies as they rise from the ground. Having nothing to do and with zombies coming out of their graves to have him for breakfast, Francesco wants to move out of the place. His troubles add up when he meets a series of strange women whom he loves before they die.

The film has everything you would expect from an Italian horror film and is a must-watch for fans of the genre. The film was considered comedic; however, comedy in the movie is nearly non-existent. Cemetery Man follows a much darker tone.

 

13. The Night of the Living Dead (1990)

The movie begins in a cemetery, where an unknown event causes the recently dead to return to life. These undead prey on the living. One woman manages to escape from the zombies and takes refuge in a farmhouse with a few more people. With flesh-eating zombies all around, they need to survive the night. Will they make it?

The Night of the Living Dead is a remake of George A. Romero’s classic zombie film. Since this film follows the original nearly shot to shot, there are not many quality comparisons to be made.

 

12. Dead Snow (2008)

Eight medical students on a ski trip to Norway discover that Hitler’s deeds did not die with him. Among the hills of Oksfjord, a battalion of undead Nazi soldiers wander around waiting for someone unfortunate enough to come across them in these remote mountains. It’s Easter vacation now and what is a better way to spend the vacation than skiing in the mountains of Norway?

The eight friends pack their bags and move out to have fun. But things take a turn for the worse for them. The movie succeeds in being charismatic and likable. The movie is a perfect mix of comedy and horror and is technically quite brilliant.

 

11. Planet Terror (2007)

A dangerous government experiment has gone wrong and has spread a plague that turns humans into zombie-like creatures. They have taken over the planet and the remaining survivors fight these creatures to regain control.

While these humanoids kill and multiply, a man named Wray, a stripper named Cherry, a smuggler named Abby, and Dr, Dakota must find their way to a helicopter which is their only hope of leaving this nightmare alive.

 

10. Re-Animator (1985)

Preventing death is the biggest medical goal. Herbert West, a talented medical student manages to achieve this goal and creates a serum that can recreate life in dead things or even parts of dead things.

However, his amputated superior, Dr. Carl Hill assumes control of Herbert’s experiments and uses the serum on himself. Now West and his co-worker must regain control of the situation and find a way to control the effects of the outbreak.

 

9. Day of the Dead (1985)

The zombies have taken over the world and have outnumbered humans 400,000 to 1. The ratio makes the risk too big for any strong action by humans. A group of human survivors has taken refuge in a nuclear silo. Grown tired of the situation, most of them have nothing else to do but yell at each other.

Sarah, a scientist among the survivors is trying to develop a cure for the undead problem whereas Dr. Logan wants to capture the zombies and turn them into domestic help. Things heat up when the army interferes with their plans.

 

8. I Walked With a Zombie (1943)

A young Canadian nurse comes to the West Indies to care for the plantation manager’s wife, Jessica. Jessica suffered mental paralysis due to a high fever. The nurse falls in love with the manager, and she decides to give him what she thinks he wants.

She sets out to cure Jessica in any way possible at whatever cost, which eventually ends up with the use of a voodoo ceremony.

 

7. Dawn of the Dead (2004)

The movie is a remake of the classic horror film by George Romero The Dawn of the Dead and is considered to be one of the finest zombie movies ever made.

Ving Rhames and Sarah Polley are some of the last few people on Earth who witness dead people coming back to life. After a group of survivors is trapped in a plaza, they start looking for a way out and decide that the only way to truly end this misery is to go to an island far offshore that is supposed to be zombie-free.

 

6. Dead Alive (1992)

The village dweeb (Timothy Blame) is trying to maintain his romance with Paquita (Diana Penalver). While he does it, he also needs to conceal the fact that his mother (thanks to a bite from a “Sumatran Rat Monkey”) is a flesh-eating zombie.

To make things worse, Les, his greedy uncle, thinks that his sister is dead and now he wants to acquire her furnished mansion. Things start getting out of hand when Les throws a party to celebrate his inheritance, and his sister and her infected friends break out of the basement and start a feast on the guests.

Dead Alive aka Brain Dead is the bloodiest zombie film that has ever been produced and with a slight touch of comedy, the film offers a unique tone that you cannot find in any other zombie film.

 

5. 28 Days Later (2002)

Animal rights activists free some infected chimpanzees which end up in horrific results. Jim, a bicycle courier, wakes up from a coma 28 days later in a hospital only to find the city completely abandoned. After an ambush at a seemingly deserted church, Jim meets a few survivors and joins forces.

It is later revealed that the chimpanzees were carrying a virus that causes its host to go into a fit of murderous rage. Only one hope remains for them. Can they leave the country to find peace elsewhere or has the “rage” virus infected the whole world and consumed its population?

 

4. Zombieland (2009)

Columbus is a shut-in who is living in the zombie world and has made a set of rules that he follows to stay alive. He is forced to team up with a zombie slayer, Tallahassee, who is on a mission to find the last Twinkie on Earth.

The duo meets with Wichita and Rock, two girls who have taken up unorthodox methods to stay alive. Down the road, Columbus is faced with a choice to follow his rules and stay alive or break a rule and save a life.

 

3. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Shaun isn’t having the time of his life. He is facing many problems. His long-time girlfriend dumped him after having enough of meeting him daily at his favorite pub with his best buddy. His temporary job isn’t doing well; his staff doesn’t take him seriously as a temporary boss.

And in the middle of all this, the hungry flesh-eating zombies start to rise in numbers. Now Shaun must save himself, his ex, his mom, and his precious record collection. There is a time when a hero must rise…. from his couch.

 

2. Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Following the events of Night of the Living Dead, four survivors of the zombie apocalypse take refuge in a shopping plaza. Taking stock of their surroundings, they lock the place down, arm themselves, and prepare the place for what might be temporary living.

As months go on, tensions begin to rise among them. To make things worse, a gang of lethal bikers discovers the plaza and infiltrates it. The survivors now need to fight the lethal bandits and keep the hungry zombies at bay.

 

1. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

The world is in chaos as the dead have started coming back to life and eating human flesh. Speculation rests on a NASA satellite that has recently returned from Venus, but nothing is confirmed. It turns out that the only way to kill the undead is to destroy their brains.

A young woman is visiting her father’s grave and takes refuge in a farmhouse where a man protects her. Things take a turn for the worse when they discover people in their basement. Now they must find a way out of the house as quickly as possible.

 

Honorable Mentions

Our list of the best zombie movies ever cannot be justified without mentioning these titles:

• Zombie (1979)
• Rec (2007)
• Pontypool (2009)
• Deadgirl (2008)

What are the best zombie movies of all time in your opinion? Let us know in the comments section below!