Zombies on screen are not just horror: films about the living dead include comedies, action movies, dramas and even romances. We gathered 12 films, from Night of the Living Dead (1968) to 28 Years Later (2025): American and British ones, plus a Spanish, a South Korean and a Japanese film. Each comes with the year, the director, the running time and a reason to watch. No spoilers: only the setup, and no descriptions of violent scenes. Most of these films are meant for adults, so check the age rating on the film’s page in your service before watching. The facts come from Wikipedia pages checked on October 21, 2026.
Night of the Living Dead
Official trailer · “Night of the Living Dead” (1968)Night of the Living Dead is an independent American horror film that George A. Romero not only directed but also shot as cinematographer and edited himself. Several strangers hide from the reanimated dead in a farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania. In the film itself the monsters are called not zombies but “ghouls”, yet according to Wikipedia it was this film that set the modern image of the zombie in popular culture. It was made for about $100,000, and in 1999 it was added to the US National Film Registry. Why watch: a classic that all later zombie films are easy to compare against.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Dawn of the Dead is Romero’s second film about the living dead, an American-Italian co-production. The characters of the first film do not appear: this one shows how the epidemic changes an entire society, while four survivors barricade themselves in a suburban shopping mall. The Italian director Dario Argento co-financed the film, and his version features music by the band Goblin. Wikipedia singles out its satire of consumer society. Why watch: here the mall is both a shelter and a jab at consumerism.
28 Days Later
Official trailer · “28 Days Later” (2002)28 Days Later is a British post-apocalyptic horror film written by Alex Garland. A bicycle courier (Cillian Murphy) wakes from a coma to find that society has collapsed because of a highly contagious virus that makes people aggressive. The empty streets of London were filmed in short sessions early in the morning, with traffic briefly held back. Boyle himself does not consider it a zombie film, but Wikipedia says it was this film that revived the genre thanks to its fast “infected”. It grew into a whole series: the latest installments came out in 2025 and 2026. Why watch: a tense drama about a handful of people in an emptied country.
Shaun of the Dead
Official trailer · “Shaun of the Dead” (2004)Shaun of the Dead is a British comedy that Edgar Wright co-wrote with Simon Pegg. Pegg plays Shaun, a London salesman whose job and relationship are both going nowhere, and on top of that the city is overrun by zombies. His best friend Ed is played by Nick Frost, in his first film role. The film opens Wright and Pegg’s Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy and received three BAFTA nominations. Why watch: if you want to laugh more than you want to be scared.
Rec
Official trailer · “Rec” (2007)Rec is a Spanish found-footage horror film: everything the viewer sees was supposedly shot by a TV cameraman’s camera. TV reporter Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) and her cameraman follow firefighters on a night call to an apartment building in Barcelona, and then the authorities suddenly seal the building and declare a quarantine. The film was a success with both critics and audiences, and it spawned three sequels and the American remake Quarantine (2008). Why watch: a short, dense story in a confined space.
Zombieland
Official trailer · “Zombieland” (2009)Zombieland is an American zombie comedy and Ruben Fleischer’s directorial debut. Four survivors of the zombie apocalypse set off on a long trip across the country in search of a safe place and call each other by the names of cities: Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita and Little Rock. The roles are played by Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin. A sequel, Zombieland: Double Tap, came out in 2019. Why watch: a road comedy in which Eisenberg’s character survives by his own list of rules.
World War Z
Official trailer · “World War Z” (2013)World War Z is an American disaster action film loosely based on Max Brooks’s 2006 novel. Brad Pitt plays Gerry Lane, a former UN investigator who travels the world looking for a way to stop a sudden pandemic. It was filmed in Malta, Glasgow and Budapest. According to Wikipedia, the film grossed more than $540 million and became the highest-grossing zombie film. Why watch: a global scale instead of a single house, with the action moving from country to country.
Warm Bodies
Official trailer · “Warm Bodies” (2013)Warm Bodies is an American zombie comedy based on Isaac Marion’s 2010 novel. At its center is the relationship between a girl named Julie (Teresa Palmer) and a zombie named R (Nicholas Hoult): the closer they get, the more R returns to human life. Julie’s father is played by John Malkovich. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed $117 million. Why watch: a romance in a genre usually ruled by horror.
Train to Busan
Official trailer · “Train to Busan” (2016)Train to Busan is a South Korean action horror film set almost entirely on a KTX high-speed train from Seoul to Busan as a zombie outbreak suddenly breaks out across the country. The lead role, a father taking his daughter to her mother, is played by Gong Yoo; the cast also includes Jung Yu-mi and Ma Dong-seok. It premiered at the midnight screenings of the Cannes Film Festival, and in Korea it was the first film of 2016 to be seen in cinemas by more than 10 million viewers. Why watch: tension in sealed train cars, where everything depends on what the passengers do.
One Cut of the Dead
Official trailer · “One Cut of the Dead” (2017)One Cut of the Dead is an independent Japanese satirical comedy about a film crew tasked with shooting a zombie horror film for live television in one continuous take. First the viewer sees the film itself, and then the story goes back in time to show how it was prepared. It was made with little-known actors for about ¥3 million ($25,000), and according to Wikipedia it grossed more than a thousand times that. There is no Ukrainian Wikipedia page for it, so the Ukrainian version of this article also uses the international title. Why watch: a comedy about filmmaking in which the zombies are just an excuse.
Army of the Dead
Official trailer · “Army of the Dead” (2021)Army of the Dead is an American heist film set during a zombie apocalypse. Zack Snyder conceived it as a spiritual successor to his debut, the 2004 Dawn of the Dead. The mercenary Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) assembles a team to rob a casino in Las Vegas, which was cut off from the world after the outbreak. Netflix released the film in May 2021, and at the 94th Academy Awards it won the Oscars Fan Favorite audience contest. Why watch: a mix of a heist action film and a horror film.
28 Years Later
Official trailer · “28 Years Later” (2025)28 Years Later is the third installment in the 28 Days Later series, again made by Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland. A boy who grew up in the world after the outbreak sets off on a dangerous journey with his sick mother to find treatment for her. The cast includes Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes and young Alfie Williams. The film became the highest-grossing in the franchise, and in January 2026 a direct sequel directed by Nia DaCosta, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, came out. Why watch: a coming-of-age story, not just a survival one.
How we chose
We picked films in which an outbreak of the living dead or the infected is at the heart of the plot and which have detailed Wikipedia pages. We wanted to show the genre from different angles: Romero’s classics, British and American comedies, big action films and cinema from Spain, South Korea and Japan. We describe only the setup, without gory details. We do not invent ratings or use the word “best” as our own judgment.
What to choose by mood
| What you want | What to pick |
|---|---|
| The classics where it all began | Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead (1978) |
| A good laugh | Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, One Cut of the Dead |
| Romance | Warm Bodies |
| A large-scale action film | World War Z, Army of the Dead |
| Not in English | Rec, Train to Busan, One Cut of the Dead |
| Danny Boyle’s series | 28 Days Later, 28 Years Later |
If you want something scary but without zombies, see our selection of horror films for people who scare easily. Other classic monsters are gathered in our overview of vampire films, and stories about people in desperate situations in our selection of survival films.
Tip. If zombie films are new to you, start with a comedy: “Shaun of the Dead” or “Zombieland”. The shortest film in the selection is “Rec” (78 minutes), and the longest is “Army of the Dead” (148 minutes).
Frequently asked questions
Which film should I start with if I have never watched zombie films?
With the comedies Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland: they have more humor than horror. If you are curious where the genre came from, watch Night of the Living Dead (1968).
Are there films in the selection that are not in English?
Yes: Rec was made in Spain, Train to Busan in South Korea and One Cut of the Dead in Japan.
Is 28 Days Later considered a zombie film?
Danny Boyle himself does not think so: in the film a virus changes people, and they are called “the infected”. Still, according to Wikipedia, it was this film that revived the genre and influenced later zombie films.
Are these films suitable for children?
Mostly not: these are horror films for adult viewers. For example, the page for Army of the Dead on Netflix for Ukraine carries a 16+ rating. Before watching, check the age rating on the film’s page in your service.
Where can I watch these films?
Service catalogs change, so we do not give a general list. Army of the Dead is a Netflix film: on the service’s page for Ukraine, Ukrainian is among the audio languages. For the other films, check the film’s page on the service available to you.
Sources
- Night of the Living Dead (Wikipedia)
- 28 Days Later (Wikipedia)
- Shaun of the Dead (Wikipedia)
- Train to Busan (Wikipedia)
- Netflix Ukraine: Army of the Dead
Data was checked against Wikipedia and the Netflix page for Ukraine on October 21, 2026.
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