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Following up on a recent article of mine exploring the psychological background as to why Zombies scare us so much, I thought I’d delight you all with my Top 5 greatest zombie movies of all time. There are so many around. And, of course, it depends on how gory you like it. These are my personal favorites. Not amongst the goriest I admit but, in my opinion, these are the zombie movie highlights with the most interesting storylines.
To quickly recap as to why zombies scare us so much:
This seems due to a little-known psychological phenomenon called ‘The Uncanny Valley.’
The “dead” eyes and near-human characteristics of zombies provoke an instinctive disquiet in us. This is down to our inability to process these “strange” faces using normal psychological mechanisms.
The face we see technically has all the features that should make it recognisable to us as a human being – but instead we are faced with something feral, lacking humanity. And it scares the crap out of us.
If you’re interested, here the article in which we go a bit more in-depth on the subject.
This is a 2013 American action horror film directed by Marc Forster, based on the title of the 2006 novel of the same name by Max Brooks.
It stars Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane, a former United Nations investigator who travels around the world gathering clues to find a way to stop a zombie pandemic.
This movie is pure horror bliss throughout. Amazing musical score which will never leave your mind again, by Muse. A complex, fascinating story. And twists, turns, and solutions which even sound highly probable in their scariness.
Beautiful cinematography as well. Visual storytelling at its finest!
A 2002 British post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland.
It stars Cillian Murphy as a bicycle courier who awakens from a coma to discover that the accidental release of a highly contagious, aggression-inducing virus has caused the breakdown of society.
This classic still ranks as one of the best modern zombie movies in my opinion. Even though the director himself doesn’t consider it to be a zombie movie at all.
Yet 28 Days Later has been credited over and over with reinvigorating the zombie genre of horror film and influencing a revival in the decade after its release, with its fast-running infected almost-zombies, and the movie’s character-driven drama.
A 2016 British post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film directed by Colm McCarthy and written by Mike Carey.
Starring Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine, Glenn Close, and Sennia Nanua, the film depicts a dystopian future following a breakdown of society after most of humanity is wiped out by a fungal infection.
The plot focuses on the struggle of a scientist, a teacher, and two soldiers who embark on a journey of survival with a special young girl named Melanie.
This is an amazingly creative and original way of telling a zombie horror story.
Again, the visuals are beautiful as well, the cinematography is stunning, and the twists and turns of this exciting and unusual story will keep you glued to your seat for the entire length of the movie.
A 2016 South Korean action horror film directed by Yeon Sang-ho and starring Gong Yoo, and Jung Yu-mi amongst several others sharing the limelight.
The film mostly takes place on a high-speed train from Seoul to Busan as a zombie apocalypse suddenly breaks out in the country and threatens the safety of the passengers.
The film premiered in the Midnight Screenings section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on 13 May.
On 7 August, the film set a record as the first Korean film of 2016 to break the audience record of over 10 million theatregoers.
Pure hair-raising, fast-paced horror throughout. Fantastic!
A 2004 zombie comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg.
Pegg stars as Shaun, a downtrodden salesman in London who is caught in a zombie apocalypse with his friend Ed (Nick Frost).
Basically, Shaun is a bored and incompetent salesman whose life has no direction. However, his uneventful life takes a sudden turn when he has to take charge of dealing with an entire community of ultra-slow yet deadly zombies.
The film premiered in London on 29 March 2004 and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 9 April 2004 and in the United States on 24 September.
It was met with acclaim and commercial success, grossing 30 million USD worldwide on a budget of 6.1 million USD.
The movie received two nominations at the British Academy Film Awards. It was ranked third on the Channel 4 list of the 50 Greatest Comedy Films and quickly acquired a cult following.
In film studies, the film is seen as a product of post-9/11 anxiety, as well as a model for transnational comedy. The spread of zombiism in the film has been used as a modelling example for disease control.
The Uncanny Valley or Why Do We Fear Zombies So Much
Bewegtes Land, an Art Project For Train Passengers
Liam Klenk was born in Central Europe and has since lived on four continents. Liam has always been engaged in creative pursuits, ranging from photography and graphic design, to writing short stories and poetry, to working in theatre and shows. In 2016, Liam published his first book and memoir, 'Paralian'.
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