# The best zombie movies of all time

The zombie films at the top of Empire's 25 best, Rotten Tomatoes' 100 essentials and Paste's 50, from Romero's classics to Train to Busan.

- 196 votes · 12 items
- Oct 13, 2025 · seasonfinale92
- https://even.best/en/l/553/the-best-zombie-movies-of-all-time

## Top 12

1. **Night of the Living Dead** (24 · ▲26 ▼2) — George A. Romero, 1968. The independent film that invented the modern zombie.
2. **Dawn of the Dead** (22 · ▲23 ▼1) — George A. Romero, 1978. Survivors in a shopping mall; a satire of consumerism.
3. **Shaun of the Dead** (15 · ▲17 ▼2) — Edgar Wright, 2004. Simon Pegg and the Winchester pub; the great zombie comedy.
4. **28 Days Later** (14 · ▲16 ▼2) — Danny Boyle, 2002. Cillian Murphy wakes up in an empty London; third on Empire's list.
5. **Day of the Dead** (13 · ▲14 ▼1) — George A. Romero, 1985. Scientists and soldiers in an underground bunker.
6. **One Cut of the Dead** (11 · ▲13 ▼2) — Shinichiro Ueda, 2017. A low-budget Japanese film with a brilliant structural twist.
7. **Train to Busan** (10 · ▲11 ▼1) — Yeon Sang-ho, 2016. A KTX train from Seoul and an outbreak on board.
8. **Braindead** (10 · ▲11 ▼1) — Peter Jackson, 1992. Splatter comedy famous for its lawnmower finale; seventh for Empire.
9. **The Return of the Living Dead** (8 · ▲13 ▼5) — Dan O'Bannon, 1985. Punk zombies who crave 'brains'.
10. **\[REC\]** (8 · ▲9 ▼1) — Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, 2007. A quarantined Barcelona building, found-footage style.
11. **Dawn of the Dead (2004)** (7 · ▲11 ▼4) — Zack Snyder, 2004. The remake with fast zombies; second in Ranker's fan vote.
12. **Zombieland** (2 · ▲6 ▼4) — Ruben Fleischer, 2009. Rules for surviving the apocalypse and a Bill Murray cameo.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.