Here are several beloved zombie films ranked by your likely chances of survival, from most to least likely.
As with most horror subgenres, it’s easy to sit back and stuff our faces with popcorn and Raisinets while watching a zombie movie, shaking our heads at all the idiotic decisions made by the hapless human characters on-screen. After all, how hard is it to dodge around shambling corpses who can barely walk?
In spite of the admirable confidence expressed by most viewers, zombie movies might just be one of the hardest horror subgenres to survive within. Contending with rampaging zombie hordes, diminishing food and supplies, dwindling resources, and equally desperate fellow survivors, it takes some true preternatural skills (and plenty of luck) to make it out of a zombie film alive. From cult classic comedies to iconic George A. Romero films, here are several beloved zombie films ranked by your likely chances of survival, from most to least likely.
Yes, yes, we know – a zombie movie as revolutionary as Dawn of the Dead ranked at the very bottom of our list? But when you come right down to it, the survivors of Dawn of the Dead had it pretty good! Compared to most other zombie films, they never had to brave hazardous environments, forage for food, or put up much of a fight against the zombies (until the very end, anyway). In fact, there aren’t many places we can think of that an average survivor might travel to than an ordinary shopping mall. All you need to do is keep the zombies out and keep yourselves locked in. What could go wrong … right?
While an altogether comedic movie, there is a clear element of danger in Edgar Wright’s humorously light-hearted take on the traditional zombie format. A nostalgic love letter to the early films of George A. Romero, Shaun of the Dead features a similarly slow-moving depiction of the undead as Dawn of the Dead or Night of the Living Dead before it. For this reason, you stand a far better chance of outrunning your mummified pursuers, so long as you don’t hesitate too long in trying to save any ex-lovers or estranged step parents.
It’s hard to beat a classic, especially when it takes the form of George A. Romero’s genre-defining zombie film, Night of the Living Dead. Popularizing the trope of resurrected corpses with a hankering for human flesh, Night of the Living Dead forever changed the trajectory of cinematic horror, triggering a massive wave of zombie films from the late ‘60s into the early ‘90s. Evaluating it from today’s perspective, the zombies in Night of the Living Dead might appear somewhat tame compared to the gore-covered monsters in Zombieland or 28 Days Later. But that doesn’t mean they’re completely harmless, pursuing their intended prey with the unwavering determination of a T-800.
With the zombie resurgence of the 2000s, the malevolent undead took on a drastically altered form. Instead of shambling towards their prospective prey, these new age zombies bolted at their victims with the speed of a drug-fueled gazelle or a cannibalistic toddler. As a result, most of the films on this half of the list feature running zombies, I.E. one of the most terrifying and difficult-to-survive zombie variations out there. In Zombieland, however, all one needs to do is follow the list Columbus devised on how to survive the post-apocalyptic future, including such simple rules as “beware of bathrooms,” “travel light,” and “always carry a change of underwear.”
Imagine waking up from a month-long coma and finding the world around you ravaged by a zombie apocalypse. Thrusting viewers into the perspective of a sympathetic and relatable group of survivors, 28 Days Later also introduced audiences to a brand new breed of flesh-eating ghouls. Faster, stronger, and far more agile than the zombies that populated the Living Dead series, 28 Days Later undoubtedly features one of the most frightening portrayals of the infected we’ve seen yet. All this being said, the only chance you have for survival is escaping the United Kingdom as quickly as possible (and whatever you do, don’t trust any shady military broadcasts you happen to hear).
Though not overarchingly faithful to its source material, World War Z nevertheless offers up a terrifying hypothesis: What if the entire world became overrun by an unending army of zombies? It’s this factor above all else that makes World War Z’s setting so tricky to navigate. In a world where human safe havens are rapidly being demolished, where does one go to find refuge from the undead? If that weren’t enough, World War Z’s infected literally topple over each other in their quest for the next next, racing forward like an insane hive of killer ants pouring from their hills in droves.
What makes 28 Weeks Later so much more dangerous a setting than 28 Days Later? Easy: the zombies portrayed in the film have had far more time to spread their illness to other regions of the world. As a result, the environment presented in 28 Weeks Later might just be the most grueling to survive in. Instead of the glimmer of hope for humanity’s survival in 28 Days Later or World War Z, in 28 Weeks Later, the zombies have practically already won. While it initially appears the virus might be contained to the United Kingdom, the ending of the film shows that humanity’s chances are futile, with the Rage Virus spreading to France, Europe, and (presumably) the rest of the world.
