Zombie films were all but dead until The Walking Dead debuted in 2010. But like the undead monsters, the hunger for more brought the ravenous fiends back into the mainstream. The Last of Us didn’t just change video games, it was also the first great live-action television adaptation on HBO. Recently, Netflix also adapted an anime titled Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead into live-action—adding to its already impressive roster of zombie films.
The streamer may have hit the gas on Korean programming after the success of Squid Game, but horror fans recognize that films such as Train to Busan and series like Kingdom rocketed zombie content to a whole new peak of creative energy. Timing is everything, and the genre’s focus on survival elements certainly felt familiar during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many people felt like they were living in a post-apocalyptic world, and films such as #Alive certainly capitalized on the moment.
Netflix curiously lacks both Train to Busan and World War Z in its library, but the streaming service is still chock-full of other heavily worthy fare. These are the best zombie films on Netflix.
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead
Adapted from the anime of the same name, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead features an office worker who strives to escape the mundane, zombie-like nature of his corporate job. In a twist of fate, reality starts to turn the metaphor into something real. Fearing the end, our main character writes a bucket list of 100 things to do before you become a zombie.
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Warm Bodies
The classic (can 2013 be considered classic?) romantic zombie film, Warm Bodies made audiences want to kiss a undead guy. Never before had a movie asked: What if the zombie is hot, but in like a Twilight way? Readers, we have your answer.
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Army of the Dead
Zack Snyder’s zombie cut—which features Dave Bautista in his first major leading role—hit Netflix right around the same time as the re-released Justice League. And the zombie heist film reminded fans of the superhero director’s debut, 2004’s Dawn of the Dead remake—which was a very good thing. Army of the Dead‘s success even earned it a spinoff: Army of Thieves.
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Zombieland
A theme park in Los Angeles named Pacific Playland is believed to be a safe haven in Zombieland, only for our travelers to find that LA is anything but empty. Starring Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg, the film was a low-budget success. But LA… devoid of zombies? They should have known better.
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Kingdom: Ashin of the North
Spinning off the South Korean zombie series Kingdom, Ashin of the North is a prequel film that goes more in-depth into the mysterious Ashin’s backstory. The period drama also explains how the dead in this story become reanimated. We won’t spoil that for you here, though.
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#Alive
A Korean gamer, checked out from the news while streaming with friends, leaves his game to find that an outbreak of zombies has taken over his block—and chaos ensues. Thanks to superb acting from Yoo Ah-in, the film’s comedic-yet-frightening tone shines through as he and his introverted friends struggle to survive.
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Cargo
Martin Freeman stars in this zombie survival film that focuses more on emotional storytelling than elements of horror. With little-to-no gore and a baby in tow, Cargo is more about preserving humanity than it is about scaring you out of your wits—ain’t nothing wrong with that.
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Ravenous
Through a series of vignettes, Ravenous (AKA Les Affamés abroad) tells the stories of members of a small, Quebecois rural community during the early days of a zombie outbreak. It won Best Canadian Film at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, impressing audiences and voters with its brooding, meditative horror sensibility.
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Doom: Annihilation
Sometimes you watch a movie based on a video game and you think: “have they ever even played a video game before?” (Looking at you Monster Hunter!) Thankfully, Doom: Annihilation did its homework. It may not be the best film about Marines who must kill demon zombies on a strange planet, but Doom: Annihilation suitably answers the question “what if Doom was a movie?”
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I Am Legend
The monsters in I Am Legend may not be zombies exactly, but the vagueness of their origins means that they’re not not zombies either. Starring Will Smith in a last-man-on-earth role, I Am Legend centers on a virus that turned 99% of humanity into cannibalistic mutants who are harmed by sunlight. Setting out to find a cure (since he seems to be the only one who is immune), Smith and his trusty dog venture into the barren city.
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Day of the Dead: Bloodline
When a horror franchise gets to its 10th film, it’s usually time to hang up the hat. Movies like Hellraiser: Judgment didn’t exactly wow fans of the ’80s cult classic over 40 years later, but rare exceptions like last year’s Halloween Kills (the franchise’s 12th film), still made over $130 million at the box office. Day of the Dead: Bloodline, the third remake of Romero’s celebrated Day of the Dead, falls somewhere in between those very wide goalposts, but the creepy, suspenseful zombie flick is still sure to scare the pants right off of you.
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All of Us Are Dead (Series)
Like Battle Royale meets Train to Busan, All of Us Are Dead is the second-most popular South Korean-produced TV series for Netflix behind Squid Game, drawing in over 361 million viewing hours in just its first 10 days on the streaming platform. With fun zombie acting and a large cast of young talent, this show—yes, we’re bending the rules!—is a great new watch.
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