This Is the Best Zombie Movie of All Time, According to Data

“Resident Evil: Apocalypse” was the second of the original six “Resident Evil” films based on the Japanese video game franchise of the same name. Milla Jovovich stars as a security operative out to contain a virus that has overwhelmed a city and turned it into a ghost town.

Thirty years after the original “Pet Sematary” graced the big screen, Rotten Tomatoes critics felt the reboot was more like “an exhuming.” In the remake, a doctor (Jason Clarke) and his family relocate to rural Maine and discover a mysterious burial ground, setting off a chain of terrifying events.

In this, the third “Resident Evil” film, a woman with superhuman powers joins forces with former colleagues and others to battle a zombie-causing virus. Rotten Tomatoes critics dismissed the movie as “more of the same.”

Brian Yuzna mined the “Re-Animator” theme in this sequel to the original 1985 “Re-Animator.” As the title suggests, “Bride of Re-Animator” is an homage to classic horror films. In this movie, two scientists construct a she-monster around the heart of one of their former girlfriends.

A-listers Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, and Adam Driver play cops in a small town where a series of peculiar occurrences culminates in the dead arising from their graves to seek the flesh of the living. Jim Jarmusch directed and wrote the film, which Rotten Tomatoes critics said a “sharp wit and a strong cast make this a zom-com with enough brains to consume.”

“Maggie” is among the biggest box-office successes in the zombie genre, grossing $457.3 million. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a father who tries to save his daughter from a virus that has turned her into a zombie. Rotten Tomatoes critics felt the movie was “redeemed by strong performances and an unexpectedly thoughtful tone.”

Jane Austen might recoil in horror over “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” a mashup of period movies and zombie flicks. In 19th-century England, a female martial arts expert and an arrogant but prolific zombie-killing gentleman join forces to fight the undead. Rotten Tomatoes critics said the film “manages to wring a few fun moments out of its premise, but never delivers the thoroughly kooky mashup its title suggests.”

Also known simply as “ZMD,” “Zombies Of Mass Destruction” is a nod to post-9/11 political satire that pleased critics. The plot concerns an Iranian college student and a gay businessman who unite to battle zombie hordes.

Another Brian Yuzna entry on the list, “Beyond Re-Animator” didn’t receive the same level of critical acclaim as the Yuzna-produced “Re-Animator” from 1985. In this one, a doctor, who as a boy, had seen his sister killed by a reanimated corpse, looks into the research of the doctor who performed the gruesome experiments.

Brian Yuzna, who produced the well-received zombie flick “Re-Animator” in 1985, directed “Return of the Living Dead III.” In the film, a teen uses a chemical developed by the army to bring his dead girlfriend back to life after she was killed in a motorcycle accident.

Rotten Tomatoes critics felt “Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse” failed to live up to its zany title and said it was a routine zombie comedy-thriller. In the film, bullied Boy Scouts put their outdoors skills to use in battling the undead.

David Gebroe directed, wrote, and co-produced this horror rom-com. Things go wrong for honeymooners at the Jersey Shore when the husband is attacked on the beach by a creature emerging from the ocean. His body starts deteriorating and he desires human flesh. Critics liked its combination of horror and romance and Rotten Tomatoes awarded it a score of 82%.

Another entry in George A. Romero’s zombie résumé, “Diary of the Dead” is about college students traveling across Pennsylvania to a friend’s house to avoid the zombie onslaught with their journey documented by a film student. Like in previous “Dead” films, Romero’s movie doesn’t stint on social and political commentary.

In “Little Monsters,” a boy (Fred Savage) befriends the creature under his bed (Howie Mandel), who takes the young man to his world of monsters. At first amused by their hijinks, the boy becomes concerned when he starts turning into a monster himself.

In the age of COVID-19, the plot of “Flight of the Living Dead” – a virus unleashed on passengers about a 747 – has special resonance. The film earned an 89% score among Rotten Tomatoes critics.

One of the early zombie films in George A. Romero’s oeuvre, “The Crazies” is about a nurse and her husband trying to escape from a town overrun with zombies . Rotten Tomatoes critics didn’t think the movie was “top-shelf Romero,” but added that “its blend of genre thrills and social subtext should still be enough to satisfy discerning horror fans.”

“The Serpent and the Rainbow” starred Bill Pullman as an anthropologist who goes to Haiti to study a drug used in religious ceremonies that turns people into zombies. His research runs afoul of Haiti authorities who regard him as a threat. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes said that although the film is “occasionally overwhelmed by excessive special effects, ‘The Serpent and the Rainbow’ draws on a chilling atmosphere to deliver an intelligent, politically informed story.”

George A. Romero reinvigorated the zombie genre with “Land of the Dead” in 1985. The movie starred Dennis Hopper as the ruthless ruler of a feudal society of humans who are the minority in a zombie-dominated world.

The movie title is no deception. “Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead” is a sci-fi send-up about fast-food slingers who discover that their restaurant is built on an ancient burial site and that the chickens they are cooking are out to get them. Rotten Tomatoes critics said the movie may “be relentlessly tasteless and juvenile, but it’s also a lively slice of schlocky fun.”

Rotten Tomatoes critics found absurd humor lacking in the reboot of “Evil Dead,” but but noted that it made up for it with gore and terror. Sam Raimi, who directed and wrote the original, produced the reboot.

“Night of the Comet” spoofs sci-fi and Valley Girl culture. Catherine Mary Stewart and Kelli Maroney play sisters who, following a comet sighting, are among the few survivors of a zombie invasion. They must evade both the undead and scientists who want to do experiments on them to try to develop an antidote. The sci-fi sendup earned it a 79% score among Rotten Tomatoes critics.

In “Dead & Buried,” a sheriff and his wife discover that the town coroner has been creating a zombie army. The film benefited from familiar television faces James Farentino as the sheriff and Jack Albertson as the town coroner, as well as an appearance by Robert Englund, who played the serial killer Freddy Krueger in the “Nightmare on Elm Street” film series.

This remake of the George A. Romero classic benefits from better effects than the original. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes called the reboot a “worthy horror showcase.”

The oldest film about the undead on this list starred Bela Lugosi as the master of zombies in Haiti. He’s hired by a man who, angry at a woman who spurned his marriage request, plans to kill her and have Lugosi bring her back as a zombie who will be his bride forever. The movie resonated more with critics on Rotten Tomatoes than with fans.

Brad Pitt starred in this zombiefest as a UN investigator who sees a city descend into chaos as a fast-moving virus turns people into brain-dead zombies. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes found the film uneven, though they liked Pitt’s performance.

Will Smith burnished his big-screen credentials in this horror flick about a scientist – one of the last survivors of a zombie apocalypse – who is searching for a serum to cure the plague that created the zombie mutants.

The scary stories of the title are told by Sarah Bellows, the daughter of an influential family, and the tales become real for the unfortunate teens who visit Sarah’s mansion. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes liked the plot twists and “ingeniously designed set of monsters.”

Rotten Tomatoes critics called “Creepshow” an uneven anthology of the macabre, directed by gore master George A. Romero. It boasted a strong cast that included Hal Holbrook, E.G. Marshall, and Fritz Weaver.

“Overlord” was the operational name of the D-Day invasion, and this film does have a World War II theme. American paratroopers drop behind German lines to destroy a radio transmitter. However, they happen upon an evil experiment that soon pits the outnumbered group in battle against the undead.

‘Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead” combines zombies with Nazis. In this gruesome tale, a guy axes his girlfriend to death, cuts off his arm with a chainsaw, and watches his friends get munched on by undead Nazis. In its rating, Rotten Tomatoes warns of “strong bloody horror violence.”

Joseph Levine’s different take on walking-dead genre – a zombie rom-com – is about a zombie who rescues a living girl from the undead who becomes more human as their bond strengthens.

Nudity, gore, drug use, and graphic bloody violence are the hallmarks of “Planet Terror.” Rose McGowan plays a go-go dancer who has lost a leg to zombies. It’s replaced by a machine gun and McGowan shows no reluctance in using the lethal appendage. Rotten Tomatoes critics called it an “unpredictable thrillride.”

“Zombieland: Double Tap” returns the cast of the original 2009 “Zombieland” – Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin – to the front lines of the war with the undead. In the sequel, they meet up with survivors in a commune on their way to Graceland in Memphis.

This remake of George A. Romero’s horror classic pays homage to the original with Sarah Polley and Ving Rhames playing human survivors looking to fend off reanimated corpses in Milwaukee.

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes called “I Walked With a Zombie” a “sultry sleeper that’s simultaneously smarmy, eloquent and fascinating.” One of the oldest zombie-themed films on the list, it was directed by France’s macabre master, Jacques Tourneur,

George A. Romero, who virtually invented the modern zombie movie genre, returned with “Day of the Dead” in 1985. After the world is overtaken by zombies, scientists and military personnel hunker down in an underground bunker in Florida to figure out if they should educate, destroy, or run from the undead. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes didn’t think it was Romero’s best effort, but there was enough gore to get the job done.

From the fertile imagination of Tim Burton sprang “Corpse Bride,” an animated film about love among the undead. The movie delighted Rotten Tomatoes critics who called it “whimsically macabre, visually imaginative, and emotionally bittersweet.”

The third Evil Dead movie directed and co-written by Sam Raimi to star scene-chewing Ash Williams finds him caught in the medieval period searching for a book that will return him to his time. However, he unleashes evil upon opening the book. The third of three Evil Dead films scored the lowest of the trio.

Two oafish employees in a warehouse inadvertently release a gas that reanimates corpses and turns them into zombies. The two klutzes, their boss, and a mortician fight to survive the onslaught. The combination of horror, gore, and comedy earned “The Return of the Living Dead” a score of 91% among Rotten Tomatoes critics.

In “Re-Animator,” medical student (Jeffrey Combs) brings his headless professor back from the dead via a special serum, with horrifying consequences. The movie puts the “dead” in deadpan humor, and Rotten Tomatoes critics awarded the film a score of 94%.

In “Zombieland,” four humans untouched by the virus that turns people into zombies have to fight off ravenous hordes of the undead. Starring a post-“Cheers” Woody Harrelson, the film’s combination of comedy and horror earned it a score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Sam Raimi wrote and directed “The Evil Dead,” which introduced Ash Williams as a young man horrified to see his friends become possessed by evil spirits in a cabin in the woods. “The right amount of gore and black humor” are why Rotten Tomatoes critics gave it a score of 95%.

Sam Raimi wrote and directed the second of the three Evil Dead films in which hero Ash Williams fights demons in a secluded cabin that have possessed his girlfriend. Rotten Tomatoes critics appreciated the amped up special effects that they said made the sequel at least as good as the original.

George A. Romero, the godfather of gore, set the standard for zombie flicks with this black-and-white masterpiece filmed in documentary style. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes hailed the movie for its “tight editing, realistic gore, and a sly political undercurrent.”

Mixing comedy and horror, “Shaun of the Dead” is about a going-nowhere 30-something living on the fringes of London who has to defend his girlfriend and mother from zombies who’ve taken over the city. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes said the film had “loads of wit.”