The horror genre has always been one of the most consistently popular in cinema, and the evolution of several horror subgenres was always inevitable. However, while some have faded in popularity, one has continued to thrive, with new stories emerging regularly and capturing audiences’ imaginations: zombie movies. With the idea behind modern zombie movies widely attributed to George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, the subgenre has developed over the years into a bona fide cultural phenomenon, spanning multiple mediums and earning consistent popularity. There have been many great zombie stories told on the big screen, but not all have been as successful as they deserve.
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With the massive popularity of the genre, it’s only natural that there would be some titles that slip through the cracks. However, when those same titles happen to be some of the best and most innovative zombie movies out there, it seems especially unfair to allow them to remain overlooked. There are many great zombie movies that toy with the genre’s format and established tropes, as well as delivering excellent narratives about the living dead, but for some reason, nobody seems to talk about them.
7) Warm Bodies (2013)
While it may not be one of the scariest zombie movies out there — in fact, far from it — Warm Bodies is a perfect example of how the genre can be used in inventive and entertaining new ways. Based on Isaac Marion’s novel of the same name, which is in turn inspired by William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Warm Bodies tells the story of R (Nicholas Hoult) and Julie (Teresa Palmer) as they fall in love, slowly restoring R’s humanity. Despite being a zombie movie, it’s predominantly a quirky romance, and one that deserves to be talked about much more thanks to the interesting spin it puts on the genre.
6) The Cured (2017)
While many zombie TV shows and movies speculate about potentially curing a viral zombie outbreak, it’s not often that one explores the aftermath of such a breakthrough. The Cured imagines a world still reeling from a zombie virus, in which many formerly infected people have been cured and are forced to live in internment camps. Starring Elliot Page, The Cured is a much more thoughtful approach to the genre, examining potential societal implications of curing and attempting to rehabilitate zombies. While it’s a fascinating watch, it’s rarely talked about, and has been unfairly overlooked.
5) The Dead Don’t Die (2019)
There have been a handful of memorable zombie comedies over the years, but few have been able to boast a cast as star-studded as that of The Dead Don’t Die. Starring Adam Driver, Bill Murray, and Chloë Sevigny as small-town cops contending with a zombie apocalypse, The Dead Don’t Die also features Tilda Swinton, Iggy Pop, Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits, Selena Gomez, Austin Butler, and Danny Glover, among other famous faces. It’s an absurdist comedic examination of the genre that manages to tap into key tropes while also offering something fresh and entertaining, but it’s sadly another zombie movie that isn’t talked about enough.
4) Pontypool (2008)
Of all the great zombie movies to deserve a sequel, Pontypool stands out as one of the most overlooked. It’s a unique take on the zombie genre, and toys with established elements and tropes that fans had come to expect. The 2008 movie features a small Canadian town that is beset by a zombie horde, with the deadly virus being transmitted through specific words in the English language. Putting an inventive and original spin on the genre helped make Pontypool something of a cult classic, but it’s often not spoken about outside of its established following.
3) Dead & Buried (1981)
The phrase “ahead of its time” is one that is often overused in pop culture, but Dead & Buried is one of the few horror movies that truly deserve to be described as such. The 1981 movie follows Sheriff Dan Gillis as he unravels a spate of mysterious and brutal murders, uncovering an experimental treatment that has been used to reanimate corpses. Dead & Buried puts an interesting thematic spin on established zombie tropes, and despite a cult following and a reputation for solid visual effects, it’s one of the the genre’s movies that is rarely talked about.
2) One Cut of the Dead (2017)
Independent horror movies have often left their mark on the genre, and One Cut of the Dead is no different. The independent Japanese film follows a crew attempting to make a single-take live-action zombie film when they are beset by a very real zombie horde. Its presentation allows for a meta approach to the zombie genre, while also providing tense, claustrophobic, and violent horror action. Despite breaking box office records by making more than 1000 times its original budget, One Cut of the Dead is criminally overlooked within the history of zombie movies.
1) Little Monsters (2019)
While it may not be one of the most disturbing or messed up zombie movies, Little Monsters is almost certainly one of the most unfairly underrated. Starring Lupita Nyong’o, Josh Gad, Alexander England and Kat Stewart, the Australia-set zombie comedy earned critical praise upon its release. Following a musician, a children’s television personality, and a kindergarten teacher as they team up to protect a group of schoolchildren from a zombie apocalypse, Little Monsters is undoubtedly unique. For all its quality, it’s a movie that is rarely mentioned in conversations about the genre, which considering its star power seems especially unfair.
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