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37 Zombie Movies That Will Quite Literally Scare the Living Out of You

Is flesh gluten-free? Asking for an undead friend.

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best zombie movies
John Francis

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FYI: Just because Halloween parties are a no-go this year doesn't mean you have to forgo celebrating the holiday entirely. Yeah, I'm bummed I won't be able to show off my killer (har har) costume to anyone other than my roommates, but you better believe I'm still partaking in all the other spooky szn traditions. You can catch me in a Halloween candy stupor throughout the entire month of October, streaming a different scary movie every single night.

One of the trickiest parts of Halloween is deciding which treat to eat because there are so many options. Another sticky sitch? Choosing which scary movie is worth your time. You've got horror-comedy movies, ghost movies, movies that claim to be the scariest films of all time, plus *new* horror movies. There just aren't enough hours in the day to watch 'em all. Zombie movies, I'd argue, are in a category all on their own. Mastering the high-low art of ridiculous-yet-delicious plot lines along with special-effects-filled legitimately freaky scares, zombie movies are timeless—especially thanks to genius directors who dream up new and terrifying ways for the flesh-eating beings to symbolize modern-day nightmares. Anyways, enough nerding out. Let's get on with this list of the best zombie movies of all time.

1

Train to Busan (2016)

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I, too, once dreamed of going on one of those futuristic bullet trains. Then I watched Train to Busan and now I'm not too sure. Something about a deadly zombie outbreak and being trapped in a high-speed cylinder makes me feel a bit hesitant. The film is at once a zombie horror and a social commentary on class, with exhilarating cinematography that adds to an already thrilling ride.

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2

Dead Alive (1992)

Dead Alive (originally titled Braindead) is a pretty hilarious story about a son trying to keep his overprotective-mother-turned-zombie from infecting the neighbors and unleashing flesh-eaters into the community. It's sprinkled with nightmarish scenes...so if you're prone to queasiness, maybe avoid this one.

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3

Little Monsters (2019)

Little Monsters is a cute lil zom-com starring Lupita Nyong'o as a school teacher who must save her students from a zombie outbreak. Josh Gad co-stars.

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4

Maggie (2015)

A father's love has no bounds—even if his daughter becomes infected with a disease that turns her into a cannibalistic flesh-eater. Schwarzenegger plays the dedicated dad who will stop at nothing to save his girl, played by Abigail Breslin.

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5

Cemetery Man (1994)

Apparently killing the recently buried dead who come back to life as zombies is just part of the job as a cemetery caretaker in Italy. Also a requirement: falling in love with a new widow whose husband is buried in the same cemetery. Cemetery Man is kinda a love story, kinda a bloody gory zombie movie.

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6

Zombie (1979)

If you wanna go all O.G. zombie movie, look no further than this 1979 classic. You're in for good ol' fashioned rising from the dead, mummy walking, and quintessential '80s melodramatic screaming. It came out waaaay before CGI and it's still terrifying, so shoutout to those make-up and costume designers.

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7

Blood Quantum (2019)

Usually when you come out of a zombie movie, you can't stop thinking about all the gore and those adrenaline-pumping scenes. It's not as common to walk away more informed on significant historical and cultural matters. But Blood Quantum manages to leave you with both. The film explores racism, colonialism, and the very real threat of extinction that Indigenous communities face. It's a cultural critique on marginalization, while also providing a healthy dose of blood n' guts.

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8

Cabin in the Woods (2012)

At first, you might think that Cabin in the Woods is just your run-of-the-mill classic horror movie about a group of friends going to a secluded cabin deep in the forest. But things get more than a little freaky, and I'm not talking about the zombies. Chris Hemsworth AND Jesse Williams star, btw. Fans of Black Mirror will be obsessed.

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9

The Cured (2018)

After finding a cure for a zombie plague that erupted across Europe, those who were infected with the disease can rejoin society. But people question whether the once-infected zombies are actually cured or if they'll eventually revert back to their murderous ways.

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10

The Evil Dead (1981)

When a group of friends hike to a cabin in the middle of the woods for a fun night off the grid, they find a sketchy old book that they should probs avoid but **shockingly** they do in fact open it and subsequently end up reawakening the dead. Now they must fight to survive or else become possessed and part of the evil dead. A major old school gory zombie movie with lots of guts, blood, and dismembered body parts. Not for the faint-hearted.

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11

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998)

You can't talk zombie and not mention Scooby-Doo. It's just not right. ICYMI, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island is the OG zombie movie from your childhood that lowkey still slaps because of course it does.

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12

The Ravenous (2017)

We love a good cannibalistic zombie thriller!! French film The Ravenous skips the usual build-up of a zombie movie and starts right in the middle of all the action. Set in a small town outside of Quebec, the zombies in this indie flick are more human than monsters, which makes it 10x more scarier.

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13

Night of the Comet (1984)

Night of the Comet is a classic '80s teen movie but instead of a suburban high school, it's set in an apocalyptic, post-comet world. Think killer perms and leg warmers with a side of zombies and fighting for survival.

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14

Life After Beth (2014)

Aubrey Plaza plays Beth, a girl who dies and is then resurrected as a zombie. As an undead girl, she wreaks havoc on her boyfriend’s life...ya know, just like any of us would.

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15

The Rezort (2016)

Hmm...a movie about a bunch of zombies who get sent to live on a luxury island resort, where rich tourists can hunt them on a safari vacation. WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?

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16

The Beyond (1981)

The Beyond is notorious for making, like, zero sense whatsoever. But who cares? It’s a zombie movie. It doesn’t need to. It’s about a hotel that was built on one of the gates of hell. (Oops!) Please do not watch this if you have a weak stomach.

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17

Night of the Creeps (1986)

A movie about frat guys called Night of the Creeps? I’m listening. In this tongue-in-cheek ’80s movie, two guys accidentally unleash a zombie corpse on the night of their fraternity initiation. It’s wild.

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18

The Mad (2007)

The Mad is a super-cheesy comedy that taps into the whole mad-cow-disease thing. Everyone turns into zombies after eating some contaminated burgers. Issa mess!

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19

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

ICYMI: Director George Romero’s low-budget classic basically paved the way for every zombie movie you’ve ever seen. More than that, the movie remains incredibly chilling in its own right: Seven people who are trapped in a rural farmhouse get picked off one by one by a bunch of flesh-eating monsters. The realization that the monsters’ victims aren’t just killed but also reanimate as living corpses is drawn out to expertly horrifying effect.

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20

Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Often credited as the first movie to introduce the concept of zombies eating brains, Return of the Living Dead follows a ragtag group of people—including a warehouse owner, a mortician, and a gang of teenage punks—that faces off against a crew of zombies. Some extra behind-the-scenes drama: The film sparked a legal battle with George Romero, who was pissed that RotLD was in competition with his own sequel, Day of the Dead, which opened in theaters that same year.

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