Humans have long been curious about zombies and viral, infection-induced apocalypses. But, Pre-Covid, most people were just auto-piloting their way through life and crossing bridges as they got to them. Then, there were the doomsday peppers - proactive survivalists who have been planning for the darkest hour and stockpiling necessities to outlive a dying society ravaged by zombies.
We all rolled our eyes until we witnessed the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. We observed the whole world shut down. We normalized a wardrobe change that included face shields and medical masks. We saw toilet paper become more valuable than gold, and we experienced an unprecedented fear of the future. While we evaded the typical Hollywood-style zombies - we saw the immediate and long-lasting ramifications of a new pathogen being introduced to our population.
Covid-19 caught our attention and reignited our curiosities about infectious diseases and the catastrophe they can unleash on mankind. Aside from living through it, what better way to prepare for a virus that threatens humanity than to collect survival notes from our top 25 favorite zombie movies and TV shows?
25. Dead Alive (1992)
When a mama's boy decides to explore a relationship with a potential love interest, his mother shows up to sabotage their date at a zoo. After she is bitten by a rat-monkey, she dies and becomes a zombie. Now, he must keep her locked away to protect the unknowing neighbors.
24. Warm Bodies (2013)
After humans have been infected by a plague, a young woman is rescued by an atypical zombie that still has the ability to connect with the world around him.
23. Resident Evil (2002)
After a genetics laboratory is compromised by a lethal virus, a group of operatives is sent inside to stop the outbreak from developing into a public catastrophe.
22. World War Z (2013)
A couple and their children are filled with confusion and fear when a normal traffic jam suddenly becomes a bloody hellscape of death and explosions. After finding out that a virus has taken hold of the city, turning people into violent zombies, they must survive long enough to stop the infection from spreading.
21. 28 Days Later (2003)
Four weeks after the initial outbreak of a 'rage virus', a young man wakes up from a coma in an abandoned hospital. Eventually meeting other survivors, they must fight to find safety away from flesh-eating zombies.
20. #Alive (2020)
A video game streamer gets an emergency alert informing him of a serious viral outbreak. Upon looking out of his window and witnessing pandemonium, he locks himself inside of his apartment and prepares to outlive the chaos.
19. Fear The Walking Dead (2015-present)
A Los Angeles family must adapt and survive when the world becomes incapacitated by a zombie outbreak and threatens the existence of humanity.
18. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
After a woman witnesses her husband die and return as a zombie, she escapes her home to find her neighborhood is a chaotic nightmare. With the dead roaming the streets, she heads to a local shopping mall to seek shelter and to survive the apocalyptic mayhem.
17. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
In 'a night of total terror', a group of people use an abandoned farmhouse as shelter when they find themselves being hunted by the living dead.
16. Little Monsters (2019)
A kindergarten teacher, a grungy musician, and a children's television star must band together and protect the children when an unpredicted onslaught of aggressive zombies flood a school field trip at a farm.
15. Black Summer (2019)
During the most fatal summer after the start of a zombie apocalypse, we follow survivors on their different journeys. From searching for missing family members to seeking shelter - they must all out-run the zombies and build a new way of life.
14. 28 Weeks Later (2007)
Six months after a deadly virus has infected the streets of Great Britain, American soldiers assist with rebuilding a safe haven, in London, for survivors. Their quarantined town is threatened, and the virus is reignited, when an infected refugee enters the town.
13. The Walking Dead: Dead City (2023)
After her son has been kidnapped by The Croat, Maggie heads to Manhattan to employ a plan to rescue him. With the help of Negan, they embark on a treacherous journey that forces them to confront current threats and past mistakes.
12. Z Nation (2014-2018)
A few years after an extinction-level zombie outbreak, a group of inmates are forced to undergo an experimental vaccine test. When only one inmate survives, he becomes the key to the continuation of humanity.
11. REC (2007)
When emergency services are requested, a reporter and her cameraman follow a group of firefighters into an apartment building to shadow them. A simple task quickly turns dangerous when they become trapped inside with a vicious, virus-infected woman.
10. The Girl With All The Gifts (2016)
After a fungal infection devastates humanity by turning humans into flesh-eating predators, a special young girl - who is immune to the disease - helps avert the total destruction of mankind.
9. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (2023)
While being held captive on a cargo ship by a dangerous organization, Daryl escapes and finds himself on the coast of France. Eager to get home to America, he agrees to help a young boy who holds a secret that could save the future of France.
8. Day of the Dead (1985)
A group of soldiers, scientists, and citizens are trapped in an underground bunker after zombies have claimed the Earth. With tensions rising and personalities clashing, they must find a way to cooperate in order to save humankind.
7. The Returned (2012-2015)
Nestled in the mountains of France, a small community experiences an eerie phenomenon when residents die and then resurrect as if nothing happened.
6. All Of Us Are Dead (2022-present)
In a South Korean high school, a group of students struggle to survive a zombie outbreak that is invading their classrooms. Hoping to escape and find help, they must kill or be killed.
5. iZombie (2015-2019)
After being infected at a party, a medical examiner-turned-zombie uses a new skill to help her local police department solve murder cases.
4. Santa Clarita Diet (2017-2019)
Real estate agents and married couple, Sheila and Joel, live an uneventful life in suburban California. That is, until Sheila starts to display zombie-like symptoms such as a profound hunger for human flesh.
3. Train to Busan (2016)
During a zombie outbreak in South Korea, a group of passengers on a high-speed train must survive the trip from Seoul to Busan.
2. The Walking Dead (2010-2022)
Sheriff Rick Grimes wakes up in a hospital and quickly learns that his world has been overrun by zombies. Linking up with friends and family, they must persevere against 'walkers' and other survivors.
1. The Last of Us (2023-present)
Years after society collapses from a fungal infection that reduced humanity to zombies, a survivalist is tasked with escorting an immune 14-year-old girl to safety.
