The streamer features impressive remakes and international heavyweights.
Ever since The Walking Dead took the world by storm, zombies have been increasingly hard to avoid. Sure, they’re not as prevalent as they were a few years ago, but walkers are still lurking around every corner. They’re especially prevalent on Netflix, the illustrious streamer that carries a fair amount of undead content. Whether it’s originals like Army of the Dead or international heavyweights like Train to Busan, Netflix has zombie movies in many sizes.
Here are the 10 best zombie movies on Netflix right now, from raunchy comedies to character dramas and gross-out extravaganzas.
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Universal/courtesy Everett Collection
Before making his bed with the DCEU and Rebel Moon, Zack Snyder broke big with this surprisingly satisfactory remake of horror legend George Romero’s genre classic. His Dawn of the Dead also takes place in a mall, this time topping off the consumerism commentary with updated special effects that have some real bite.
Where to watch Dawn of the Dead: Netflix
EW grade: N/A (read the review)
Director: Zack Snyder
Cast: Sarah Polley, Kim Poirer, Jake Webber, Michael Kelly, Ty Burrell
Related content: George Romero movies, ranked
Train to Busan (2016)
A father and daughter’s weekend trip is derailed when an epidemic sweeps across the country and through their train car, turning those in its path into ravenous (and terrifyingly fast) zombies. Train to Busan is a full-throttle horror film, a kinetic action picture, a disaster film, and one of the only movies about the undead that may let you off with a lump in your throat.
Where to watch Train to Busan: Netflix
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Cast: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Su-an, Choi Woo-shik, Ahn So-hee, Kim Eui-sung
Related content: Train to Busan sequel Peninsula picks up the zombie action four years later
Army of the Dead (2021)
Zack Snyder’s cheeky subversion of genre hits a sweet spot that’s part Ocean’s Eleven, part his remake of Dawn of the Dead (see above). Snyder is clearly back in his comfort zone, unburdened by superhero mythology and uncommitted actors. That assurance shows in the final product. While his Dawn remake remains his best movie, Army of the Dead comes close to tapping into its predecessor’s grimy, gristle-splattered aesthetic. Plus: Tig Notaro, flying a helicopter.
Where to watch Army of the Dead: Netflix
Director: Zack Snyder
Cast: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Ana de la Reguera, Omari Hardwick, Garret Dillahunt
Related content: Zack Snyder takes us behind the scenes of the apocalyptic Army of the Dead title sequence
Cargo (2017)
Martin Freeman gives “a performance in turns stoic and heartbreakingly desperate,” says EW’s critic, in this story about a father and his daughter in the Australian outback struggling for survival after a zombie outbreak. It’s more of a character drama than a horror film, and admittedly is not a ton of fun, but it’s a strong movie and a brave take on the zombie mythos. If you’re a fan of the genre, Cargo will offer you something with more emotional weight than you’re used to.
EW grade: B (read the review)
Director: Ben Howling, Yolanda Ramke
Cast: Martin Freeman, Simone Landers, Anthony Hayes, Susie Porter
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (2023)
Adapted from the anime of the same name, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead concerns Akira (Eiji Akaso), a corporate drone who feels as though he’s become a zombie in his waking life. When an actual outbreak hits his city, it ironically gives him something to live for. By turns funny, tragic, and disgusting, Zom 100 takes a few pages from Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead playbook and executes them in an invigorating, surprisingly tender manner.
Where to watch Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead: Netflix
Director: Yûsuke Ishida
Cast: Eiji Akaso, Mai Shiraishi, Shuntarō Yunagi, Yui Ichikawa
Alive (2020)
courtesy netflix
A man confined to his apartment during a zombie outbreak must figure out how to fend for himself with a lack of technology as the undead close in. This stylish genre mashup from South Korea is one of the country’s best zombie products (which is saying a lot).
Director: Cho Il-hyung
Cast: Yoo Ah-in, Park Shin-hye, Jeon Bae-soo
Izla (2021)
In Izla, influencers head to an isolated island to make content but get more than they bargained for when they realize the land hosts a horde of terrible secrets. This refreshing comedy pokes fun at the zombie genre while lampooning classic horror films and couples retreat comedies. It doesn’t always hit its targets, but it’s sharply written and performed with a bevy of gross-out effects that scratch the gore itch.
Director: Barry Gonzalez
Cast: Analyn Barro, Sunshine Garcia, Beauty Gonzalez, Paolo Contis
Valley of the Dead (2022)
Valley of the Dead has a similar premise to 2081’s Overlord, but this film does it in a more balanced and assured fashion. Soldiers in the Spanish Civil War must battle zombies created in a Nazi experiment in this wildly frenetic, imaginatively gory actioner.
Where to watch Valley of the Dead: Netflix
Director: Javier Ruiz Caldera, Alberto de Toro
Cast: Aura Garrido, Asia Ortega, Miki Esparbé, Francisco Reyes
Ravenous (2017)
If you enjoy the New French Extremity horror movement, you’ll love this nasty little survival pic about residents in Quebec who are besieged by a body-morphing, flesh-craving disease that turns them against their loved ones.
Where to watch Ravenous: Netflix
Director: Robin Aubert
Cast: Charlotte St-Martin, Marc-André Grondin, Monia Chokri, Luc Proulx
Related content: The 37 scariest movies of all time
Don’t Kill Me (2021)
After dying of a drug overdose and returning to life, Mirta (Alice Pagani) discovers that she must eat living human beings to stay alive. Don’t Kill Me is a nihilistic drama that is certainly not for everyone, but it makes up for some questionable indulgences with its commitment to the tone. The movie never backs away from its bleak premise.
Where to watch Don’t Kill Me: Netflix
Director: Andrea De Sica
Cast: Alice Pagani, Rocco Fasano, Silvia Calderoni, Anita Caprioli
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.
