Love ‘The Last of Us’? More Zombie Apocalypse Movies and Shows to Watch While You Wait for the Next Episode
End-of-the-world entertainment is all the rage these days. With HBO’s latest smash series “The Last of Us” thrilling subscribers, it’s worth looking around at other cataclysmic entertainment to keep us glued to our seats until the next episode. Yes, we know “The Last of Us” is about a fungus that overtakes its hosts (not a reanimated corpse), but the same principle applies. Until the next adventure of Joel and Ellie, here are some titles to queue up on your playlist.
And if you’d like to get a free trial of HBO Max to see “The Last of Us,” it’s easy to jump on board.
Zombie All-Stars
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The Walking Dead
October 31, 2010Sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other survivors along the way.
After a very long run, this series just wrapped its final season. Jump back to season 1 to remember how it all began, and keep your eyes peeled for star-in-the-making Steven Yeun.
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28 Days Later
October 31, 2002Twenty-eight days after a killer virus was accidentally unleashed from a British research facility, a small group of London survivors are caught in a desperate struggle to protect themselves from the infected. Carried by animals and humans, the virus turns those it infects into homicidal maniacs — and it’s absolutely impossible to contain.
This movie kicked off the “fast zombie” craze that has endured for 20 years. Technically this is a virus and not a zombie situation, but it’s all the same.
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28 Weeks Later
April 26, 2007The inhabitants of the British Isles have lost their battle against the onslaught of disease, as the deadly rage virus has killed every citizen there. Six months later, a group of Americans dare to set foot on the isles, convinced the danger has come and gone. But it soon becomes all too clear that the scourge continues to live, waiting to pounce on its next victims.
While this movie doesn’t hold up as well as its predecessor, the opening sequence is an all-time nail-biter.
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Train to Busan
July 20, 2016Martial law is declared when a mysterious viral outbreak pushes Korea into a state of emergency. Those on an express train to Busan, a city that has successfully fended off the viral outbreak, must fight for their own survival…
This highly entertaining zombie adventure features Gong Yoo as a father trying to connect with his estranged daughter. He’d later appear in the breakthrough Netflix series “Squid Game” (2021).
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Dawn of the Dead
March 19, 2004A group of survivors take refuge in a shopping mall after the world is taken over by aggressive, flesh-eating zombies. This modern horror favorite features a fantastic opening sequence. Director Zack Snyder provides the visual flash, while writer James Gunn brings humor and heart to the bloodbath.
The cast is top-notch, with Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, Michael Kelly, Mekhi Phifer, and a pre-“Modern Family” Ty Burrell.
This movie manages to be deeply scary and wildly funny. It was directed by Zack Snyder with a script by future “Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn. Get a load of pre-“Modern Family” Ty Burrell!
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Shaun of the Dead
April 9, 2004Shaun lives a supremely uneventful life, which revolves around his girlfriend, his mother, and, above all, his local pub. This gentle routine is threatened when the dead return to life and make strenuous attempts to snack on ordinary Londoners.
This brilliant comedy from director Edgar Wright manages to weave expertly between horror and hilarity.
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World War Z
June 19, 2013Life for former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane and his family seems content. Suddenly, the world is plagued by a mysterious infection turning whole human populations into rampaging mindless zombies. After barely escaping the chaos, Lane is persuaded to go on a mission to investigate this disease. What follows is a perilous trek around the world where Lane must brave horrific dangers and long odds to find answers before human civilization falls.
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[REC]
November 23, 2007A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.
If you enjoy this popular title, there are sequels galore.
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Zombieland
October 7, 2009“Columbus” has made a habit of running from what scares him. “Tallahassee” doesn’t have fears. If he did, he’d kick their ever-living ass. In a world overrun by zombies, these two are perfectly evolved survivors. But now, they’re about to stare down the most terrifying prospect of all: each other.
This horror-comedy features a great cast with Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin. It also features one of the most famous cameos of all time. (We won’t spoil it.) So grab a Twinkie and get ready to splatter the undead!
Neither this movie or its sequel are particularly scary, but they are fun. Bill Murray’s cameo is one for the ages.
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All of Us Are Dead
January 28, 2022A high school becomes ground zero for a zombie virus outbreak. Trapped students must fight their way out — or turn into one of the rabid infected.
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Night of the Living Dead
October 4, 1968A group of strangers trapped in a farmhouse find themselves fending off a horde of recently dead, flesh-eating ghouls.
Director George Romero brought us the OG zombie movie back in ‘68. This was the original film that spawned several sequels.
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Dawn of the Dead
September 2, 1978During an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter, and his television-executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
This title is often thought to be the best-ever zombie movie, but it’s a hard one to stream.
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Army of the Dead
May 14, 2021Following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble: venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.
Not the best flick, but “zombies in Las Vegas” is a neat spin on the genre.
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I Am Legend
December 12, 2007Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone.
Also not technically zombies, but basically zombies… kind of.
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Resident Evil
March 15, 2002When a virus leaks from a top-secret facility, turning all resident researchers into ravenous zombies and their lab animals into mutated hounds from hell, the government sends in an elite military task force to contain the outbreak.
It’s worth watching this movie to remember how video game adaptations usually go very, very wrong. Still, there’s a fun amount of schlock here, and the movie spawned an absurd number of sequels and a much-loathed Netflix series.
Non-Zombie Apocalypse Entertainment
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Threads
September 23, 1984Documentary style account of a nuclear holocaust and its effect on the working class city of Sheffield, England; and the eventual long run effects of nuclear war on civilization.
This movie is cited over and over and over again as one that will mess you up. It traumatized anyone who saw it in the 80s.
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The Road
November 25, 2009A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind and water. It is cold enough to crack stones, and, when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the warmer south, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there.
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Children of Men
September 22, 2006In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child’s birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.
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Snowpiercer
August 1, 2013In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine.
This dazzler comes from “Parasite” director Bong Joon-ho and features a great cast with Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton.
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A Quiet Place
April 3, 2018A family is forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound. The family uses sign language to communicate, but can they stay quiet long enough to outlast the beasts waiting to devour them whole?
John Krasinski directs and stars in this modern horror classic alongside his wife, Emily Blunt.
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This Is the End
June 12, 2013While attending a party at James Franco’s house, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel and many other celebrities are faced with the apocalypse.
All this “end of the world” stuff can get heavy, so here’s a comedy to balance things out.
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Twelve Monkeys
December 29, 1995In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth’s population and forced the survivors into underground communities. But when Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990 instead of 1996, he’s arrested and locked up in a mental hospital. There he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly, and patient Jeffrey Goines, the son of a famous virus expert, who may hold the key to the mysterious rogue group, the Army of the 12 Monkeys, thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease.
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Planet of the Apes
February 7, 1968Astronaut Taylor crash lands on a distant planet ruled by apes who use a primitive race of humans for experimentation and sport. Soon Taylor finds himself among the hunted, his life in the hands of a benevolent chimpanzee scientist.
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Rise of the Planet of the Apes
August 3, 2011A highly intelligent chimpanzee named Caesar has been living a peaceful suburban life ever since he was born. But when he gets taken to a cruel primate facility, Caesar decides to revolt against those who have harmed him.
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Mad Max: Fury Road
May 13, 2015An apocalyptic story set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and most everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life. Within this world exist two rebels on the run who just might be able to restore order.
The entire Mad Max series is fun, but “Fury Road” probably should have won Best Picture. The film picked up a whopping 6 Oscars!
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Soylent Green
April 18, 1973In the year 2022, overcrowding, pollution, and resource depletion have reduced society’s leaders to finding food for the teeming masses. The answer is Soylent Green.
The ’70s trotted out some incredibly bleak films. This one was set in the then-distant future of 2022.
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Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
June 22, 2012As an asteroid nears Earth, a man finds himself alone after his wife leaves in a panic. He decides to take a road trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart. Accompanying him is a neighbor who inadvertently puts a wrench in his plan.
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Melancholia
May 26, 2011Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.
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The Day After
November 20, 1983In the mid-1980s, the U.S. is poised on the brink of nuclear war. This shadow looms over the residents of a small town in Kansas as they continue their daily lives. Dr. Russell Oakes maintains his busy schedule at the hospital, Denise Dahlberg prepares for her upcoming wedding, and Stephen Klein is deep in his graduate studies. When the unthinkable happens and the bombs come down, the town’s residents are thrust into the horrors of nuclear winter.
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Don't Look Up
December 7, 2021Two low-level astronomers (Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence) must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy planet Earth.
This movie boasts an all-star cast including Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Cate Blanchett, and Meryl Streep.
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Annihilation
February 22, 2018A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition into a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don’t apply.
