6 Best Zombie Movies Released Since 2010

Image via Summit Entertainment Published Jul 29, 2026, 5:08 AM EDT A New York native, Joe graduated from an avant-garde theater school upstate, where he was obsessed with sketch comedy. There, he and his lunatic friends founded The Sketchies — which still lives on at Skidmore College today. Living in New York City, a screenwriter friend of his then taught him how to write for film. This awakened a new passion in Joe. Since then his scripts have garnered over 200 festival selections, nominations, and wins all over the globe (including the BlueCat Best Feature award). Several of his screenplays have been made into feature films — some of them not that bad! Overall, he loves to create unique, hilarious, touching, and bizarre stories. Sign in to your Collider account Why do we like zombie movies? Is it because the prospect of the dead returning to life is terrifying at a marrow-deep level? Perhaps moviegoers like the idea of reanimation; that we have the possibility of a little extra “life?” Maybe the symbolism of unanimous "group-think" mentality is intellectually stimulating, as we've witnessed this in real life? Or…is it because we lack…brrraaaiinnnsss? It’s a mystery that will never be solved, but luckily for the drooling ghoul movie-lovers, there’s been a fecund batch of zombie flicks produced over the last 16 years. Here are simply the best zombie films that have been released since 2010. Some of these films focus on very real, very grave topics, such as Blood Quantum, whereas others are a lot more fun and embrace the comedic side of being undead, like Anna and the Apocalypse. All these movies have one thing in common, though: they may feature murderous corpses, but they are not mindless. 6 'Warm Bodies' (2013) Image via Lionsgate Very few films can claim to fit into the horror and teen romance genres (sorry, kids, Twilight is not a horror movie). Director and co-writer Jonathan Levine’s take on love in the post-zombie apocalypse world, Warm Bodies, is definitely a multi-quadrant pleaser. It’s cheekily fun, bursting with ironic humor and a genuine, albeit bizarre, love story. “R” (the delightfully dead-pan Nicholas Hoult) is a sentient zombie (at least in his head, where he’s able to communicate to the audience via voice over), just trying to grab a (juicy human flesh) snack and “live” out his days. He is part of a faction of zombies that are fairly chill, whereas there is another gruesome group, the Boneys, who are sickeningly skeletal, more animalistic, and, frankly, terrifying. One day, during a Boneys attack, R lays his vacant eyes on Julie (the pulchritudinous Teresa Palmer), and it’s love at first sight. He teaches her how to fake being a zombie to pass through a horrid horde of them, and from that point on, they’re off to the romantic races (as she then instructs him how to be “human” again). R’s affection appears to be contagious, as hints of humanity spread to the other Z-people. Levine does a remarkable job of intertwining the horror with humor, and the savagery with cute moments. A supporting cast that boasts John Malkovich (as Grigio), Dave Franco (as Perry), and Rob Corddry (in the role of “M,” R’s bestie) also helps elevate this unique tale. It’s a highly amusing watch, rife with ferocious flesh-chomping and “lively” romantic moments. 5 'Anna and the Apocalypse' (2017) Image via Orion Pictures If Warm Bodies broke the zombie genre mold, Anna and the Apocalypse absolutely shattered it. It’s not only a zombie flick, it’s also a high school musical comedy — set during Christmas. Movie…brain…overload… Incisive direction by John McPhail, of screenwriter trio Alan McDonald, Tommy Reilly, and Ryan McHenry’s clever script, makes this one of the most cherished holiday films of all time (well, for horror fans, anyway). This smartly conceived, heart-warming (and eating) holiday movie is essentially High School Musical meets Shaun of the Dead meets…every Hallmark movie you’ve even seen. Anna (the astoundingly hilarious Ella Hunt) is your typical secondary school (that’s high school in England) student, giddy for the end of her senior year, so she can start her real life. She, and everyone else, has their world flipped upside down when, instead of opening gifts on Christmas morn, they’re forced to combat zombies who are ho-ho-hungry for flesh. And what better way to defeat the undead…than with full-on, Broadway-scale musical numbers? Anna’s best mate, John (the equally comedically gifted Malcolm Cumming), is the perfect sidekick in Anna’s coming-of-age journey of zombie sleighing, er, slaying. The whole supporting cast also helps make the exceptionally witty script sing. Watching zombies in snowman and elf costumes eat it in bloody brilliant ways makes this a joy (to the world!) to watch on its own merit; the razor-sharp delivery of the witticisms really is the icing on the (fruit) cake. 4 'The Girl with All the Gifts' (2016) Image via Warner Bros. What if zombies…weren’t brainless after all? That’s the curiosity-piquing question posed by director Colm McCarthy in his adaption of the M. R. Carey novel The Girl with All the Gifts (Carey also wrote the screenplay). The basic scenario here is that a nasty little fungus spread via spores (this was released years before The Last of Us, mind you) has ravaged the world, turning the unfortunately infected into “Hungries” (and not the fun, hippo kind). Humanity is, of course, resilient, and people have found a way to survive. At a fortified army base, a new generation (the real Gen Z) of hungries are being reared. These tykes, while they still lust after flesh and delicious brains, are sentient, sometimes sensitive individuals. The protagonist is Melanie (amazing young talent Sennia Nanua), a precocious yet timid girl, who appears to be immune to the shroomy pathogen. She and her “classmates” are kept under strict surveillance, as they are studied by science folk, namely the seemingly callous Dr. Caroline Caldwell (Glenn Close, in yet another wicked role), who want to use them in their mission to develop a ‘hungry’ vaccine (ie, dissect their brains). Melanie bonds with Helen Justineau (the always captivating Gemma Arterton), her teacher and de facto maternal figure. Anyhoo, a mob of feral hungries descends on the base, and Helen, Melanie, and some others flee into the wilderness. It’s a very thought-provoking film; not your typical mindless monster one. Brimming with caustic commentary on the way we treat the planet and each other, this innovative zombie flick provides a refreshing lens to view the genre with. Collider Exclusive · Horror Survival Quiz Which Horror Villain Do You Have the Best Chance of Surviving? Jason Voorhees · Michael Myers · Freddy Krueger · Pennywise · Chucky Five killers. Five completely different ways to die — if you're not smart enough, fast enough, or self-aware enough to avoid it. Only one of them is the villain your particular set of instincts gives you a fighting chance against. Eight questions will figure out which one. 🏕️Jason 🔪Michael 💤Freddy 🎈Pennywise 🪆Chucky TEST YOUR SURVIVAL → 01 Something feels wrong. You can't explain it — you just know. What do you do? First instincts are the difference between the survivor and the first act casualty. ALeave immediately. I don't need to understand a threat to respect it. BStay quiet and observe. If I can see it, I can understand it. If I can understand it, I can avoid it. CStay awake. Whatever this is, I am not going to sleep until I feel safe again. DConfront it directly. Fear grows in the dark — I'd rather know what I'm dealing with. ECheck everything, trust nothing. The threat might be closer than I think — and smaller. NEXT QUESTION → 02 Where are you most likely to find yourself when things go wrong? Setting is everything in horror. Where you are determines which rules apply. ASomewhere remote — a cabin, a campsite, off the grid and away from people. BA quiet suburban neighbourhood where nothing ever happens. Except tonight. CIn my own head — the most dangerous place of all, depending on what's already in there. DWherever children are — because something about this place attracts the worst things. ESomewhere ordinary — a house, a toy store, a place where the last thing you'd expect is a threat. NEXT QUESTION → 03 What is your most reliable survival asset? Every survivor has a quality the villain didn't account for. What's yours? APhysical fitness — I can run, I can swim, I can outlast something that relies on brute persistence. BSpatial awareness — I always know the exits, the hiding spots, the fastest route out. CPsychological resilience — I've faced my worst fears before. They don't have the same power over me. DEmotional steadiness — I don't panic. Panic is what gets you caught. EScepticism — I don't underestimate threats because of how they look. Size is irrelevant. NEXT QUESTION → 04 What kind of fear is hardest for you to fight through? Knowing your weakness is the first step to not dying because of it. AThe unstoppable — something that will not stop, cannot be reasoned with, and is always getting closer. BThe invisible — a threat I can feel but can't locate, watching from somewhere I can't see. CThe psychological — something that uses my own mind and memories against me. DThe unknowable — something ancient, shapeless, that feeds on the fear itself. EThe mundane — a threat so ordinary-looking that no one will believe me until it's too late. NEXT QUESTION → 05 You're with a group when things start going wrong. What's your role? Horror movies are brutally clear about who survives group situations and who doesn't. AThe one who says "we need to leave" first — and means it, even when no one listens. BThe one who stays quiet, watches the others, and figures out the pattern before anyone else does. CThe one who holds the group together when panic sets in — because someone has to. DThe one who asks the questions nobody wants to ask — because ignoring them gets people killed. EThe one who takes the threat seriously when everyone else is laughing it off. NEXT QUESTION → 06 What's the horror movie mistake you're most likely to make? Honest self-assessment is a survival skill. Denial is not. AGoing back for someone — I know I shouldn't, but I can't leave them behind. BAssuming I'm safe once I've found a hiding spot. That's when it finds me. CFalling asleep when I absolutely cannot afford to. Exhaustion is its own enemy. DLetting my curiosity override my instincts — I always need to understand what I'm dealing with. EDismissing the threat because of how it looks. That's exactly what it wants. NEXT QUESTION → 07 What's your best weapon against something that can't be stopped by conventional means? Every horror villain has a weakness. The survivors are always the ones who find it. AThe environment itself — I use the terrain, the water, the geography against it. BPatience — I wait, I watch, and I strike at the one moment it doesn't expect. CLucidity — if I can stay in control of my own mind, it loses its primary weapon. DCourage — facing it directly, refusing to run, taking away the fear it feeds on. EImprovisation — I use whatever's at hand, however unconventional. Creativity over brute force. NEXT QUESTION → 08 It's the final scene. You're the last one standing. How did you make it? The final survivor always has a reason. What's yours? AI kept moving. I never stopped, never hid for too long, never let it corner me. BI figured out the pattern before anyone else did — and I used it against the thing following it. CI stayed awake, stayed lucid, and refused to give it the one thing it needed most. DI stopped being afraid of it. And the moment I did, everything changed. EI took it seriously from the start — and I never once made the mistake of underestimating it. REVEAL MY VILLAIN → Your Survival Odds Have Been Calculated Your Best Chance Is Against…Your instincts, your strengths, and your particular way of thinking under pressure point to one villain you actually have a fighting chance against. Everyone else — good luck. Jason VoorheesJason is relentless, but he is also predictable — and that is the gap you would exploit. He moves in straight lines toward his target. He doesn't strategise, doesn't adapt, doesn't outsmart. He simply pursues. Your ability to keep moving, use the environment, and resist the panic that freezes most victims gives you a genuine edge. The Crystal Lake survivors were always the ones who stopped running in circles and started thinking about terrain, water, and distance. You think like that. Which means Jason, for all his indestructibility, would face someone who simply refused to be where he expected. Michael MyersMichael watches before he moves. He is patient, methodical, and almost impossible to detect — until it's too late for anyone who isn't paying close enough attention. But you are paying attention. You notice the shape in the window, the car parked slightly wrong, the silence where there should be sound. Michael's power lies in the invisibility of ordinary suburbia — the fact that nothing ever looks wrong until it already is. Your spatial awareness and instinct to map every room, every exit, and every shadow before you need them is precisely the quality Laurie Strode had. You are not a victim waiting to happen. You are someone who already suspects something is wrong — and acts on it. Freddy KruegerFreddy wins by getting inside your head — using your own fears, your own memories, your own subconscious as weapons against you. That strategy requires a target who can be destabilised. You are harder to destabilise than most. You've faced uncomfortable truths about yourself and you haven't looked away. The survivors on Elm Street were always the ones who understood what was happening and chose to face it rather than flee from it. Freddy's greatest weakness is that his power evaporates in the presence of someone who refuses to give him the fear he feeds on. Your psychological resilience — the ability to stay grounded when reality itself becomes unreliable — is exactly the quality that keeps you alive here. PennywisePennywise is ancient, shapeshifting, and feeds on terror — but it has one critical vulnerability: it cannot function against someone who genuinely stops being afraid of it. The Losers Club didn't survive because they were braver than everyone else. They survived because they faced their fears together, and faced them honestly. You ask the questions others avoid. You look directly at what frightens you rather than turning away. That directness — the refusal to let fear fester in the dark — is Pennywise's worst nightmare. It chose the wrong target when it chose you. You are exactly the kind of person whose fear tastes like nothing at all. ChuckyChucky's greatest advantage is that nobody takes him seriously until it's already too late. He exploits the gap between how something looks and what it actually is. You don't have that gap. You take threats seriously regardless of how they present — and you never make the mistake of underestimating something because of its size or appearance. Chucky relies on surprise, on the delay between recognition and response. You close that delay faster than almost anyone. Your instinct to treat every unfamiliar thing with appropriate scepticism — rather than dismissing it because it seems absurd — is the exact quality that keeps you breathing. Against Chucky, not laughing is already winning. You are very good at not laughing. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 3 'Blood Quantum' (2019) Image via Elevation Pictures Like the smart George Romero zombie films of yore (Night of the Living Dead, Day of the Day), Blood Quantum takes the basic general premise of the genre (the dead arise) and sets it against the backdrop of 1981 Quebec, Canada, and interjects a very intriguing aspect of indigenous culture. Writer/director Jeff Barnaby leads the audience on a delightful, anxiety-inducing journey. However, don’t be misled; just because this movie is satisfying on an intellectual level, doesn’t mean that it’s not utterly stuffed with gore, guts, and gruesomeness. Things kick off on a Mi’kmaq (Red Crow First Nations) reservation, where something a trifle odd starts happening. The carcasses of deceased animals begin coming back to life, and they are anything but cute. The "virus" causing this then jumps to humans, and the zombification spreads like wildfire. However, the indigenous people do not suffer from this, and they also can’t be “turned” when bitten. The reservation eventually becomes one of the last vestiges where people can escape the flesh-eating corpses that have taken over. So, of course, non-indigenous people show up on their doorstep seeking refuge. The leader of the haven is Traylor (Michael Greyeyes), who has a lot of (morally) difficult decisions to make. This film is a pretty direct metaphor for how indigenous people have always had to contend with “others” infiltrating their spaces, eager to consume their resources and corrupt the land. Yet, it’s not a ham-fisted tale by any means. Barnaby does a superb job of blending the heady material and ethical conundrums with hard-core zombie antics and legit, wince-inducing body horror. 2 '28 Years Later' (2025) Image via Sony Pictures Releasing The 28 (insert time period here) series is certainly one of the best zombie franchises ever — definitely rivaling Romero’s aforementioned Dead collection. Each film is distinct, yet pleasurably familiar. The third installment of the lot is markedly different in tone than its predecessors, but it’s just as fine a film as any of the others. Internationally acclaimed director Danny Boyle takes the global issue of zesty zombie-ism and focuses it on a smaller, more intimate group. The world may be a disaster, but people have a tremendous way of surviving… The (hopefully) tall tale is set in the present (obviously, 28 years after the first film), on a remote island where a tiny, but happy community lives in relative peace and harmony, detached from the rest of the world (see, zombies in this world have a fear of water, so island life is ideal, aside from just sipping Coronas on the beach). Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and his wife, Isla (Jodie Comer), keep things running smoothly on the island…until a boat carrying a flesh-hungry horde of the undead hits their shore. The unmitigated chaos that ensues (including the epic scene when the zombies actually touch dry land) ratchets the action up tenfold. As Jamie and Isla frantically try to protect their boy, Spike (Alfie Williams), and the other islanders, some of the best…and worst…aspects of humanity are put on shocking display. 28 Years Later focuses on some of the same themes of deep familial commitment and self-sacrifice seen in the sequel, 28 Weeks Later, but it’s got its own flair and stylish message about survival…along with creepy-as-all-hell reanimated dead people. 1 'Train to Busan' (2016) Image via Next Entertainment World While 28 Days Later should be credited as the first zombie movie to feature extremely fast-moving zombies, Train to Busan gets a lot of credit for fine-tuning the concept and showcasing really speedy, really dangerous zombies in a whole new (claustrophobic) light. Director Yeon Sang-ho creates a high-anxiety atmosphere that never gives the viewer a chance to catch their breath, while also delivering some serious social commentary (unfortunately, the implication is that human nature is rather selfish and cut-throat). When you’re a workaholic, divorced dad, like Seok-woo (Gong Yoo), connecting with your child can be challenging. Add a legion of lightning-quick, human-organ-starved zombies and it’s an even pricklier affair. Indeed, Seok-Woo has his hands full as a passenger on a KTX bullet train, as a truly horrific pack of the undead attempt to gorge themselves on every person in sight, including his quiet yet morally strong daughter, Soo-an (Kim Su-an). Seok-Woo and the others have taken this train from Seoul to Busan, as it’s purported to be the last safe city in the country. Unfortunately, one of the infected manages to hop the train, and well, you can do the math (these versions of zombies quickly pass the “disease” from themselves to their victims). The rest of the people on the train? Well, a lot of them seem to have forgotten whatever classes in etiquette they may have taken, and do whatever it takes to survive — including serving up fellow passengers to the monsters, when convenient. Ultimately, this excellently crafted film concludes with a touching message about paternal instincts…amidst all the blood and guts. Train to Busan Release Date July 20, 2016 Runtime 118 minutes Director Yeon Sang-ho Writers Park Joo-suk