The release of George A. Romero’s Night of the Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ was a groundbreaking moment in the history of the zombie genre, but it wasn’t the only hugely influential film about the rising unᴅᴇᴀᴅ. While it’s true that the film laid the foundations for the current modern zombie movie landscape, there were plenty of great zombie movies before and after Romero revolutionized the genre.

Many of the best horror movies of all time were zombie stories of unᴅᴇᴀᴅ creatures rising from their graves, as these flesh-hungry supernatural foes act as thought-provoking metaphors for issues related to class, capitalism, and racial prejudices. Whether it’s genre-bending horror comedies or even supernatural love stories, there are so many interesting, groundbreaking zombie movies out there.

White Zombie (1931)

While Night of the Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ is commonly considered the beginning of the zombie movie genre as we know it, it’s far from the first zombie movie ever made. The depiction of zombies on screen has a long cultural history, although before Romero’s groundbreaking release, it was more steeped in Haitian mysticism and voodoo magic, like in White Zombie.

This 1931 pre-Code zombie film starred Bela Lugosi as an evil voodoo master attempting to transform a young woman into a zombie in rural Haiti. Often considered the first feature-length zombie film ever released, White Zombie laid the groundwork for the genre for the next 30-plus years, before Romero’s reimagining of zombie mythos changed horror forever.

Dawn Of The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ (1978)

Night of the Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ wasn’t the only zombie movie made by George A. Romero, as he followed it up with the equally groundbreaking sequel, Dawn of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. While the original film tapped into themes of racism and mᴀss hysteria, Romero’s follow-up tackled rampant consumerism and the dehumanizing impact of capitalism.

Dawn of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ highlighted how zombie movies could be effectively used as a means of social satire and expanded the post-apocalyptic world that Romero had created. This was followed by even more sequels in Romero’s Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ series and countless unofficial remakes and spin-offs.

The Return Of The Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ (1985)

Alien screenwriter Dan O’Bannon made the leap into filmmaking himself with the zombie comedy The Return of the Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, which acted as a homage to the works of Romero. However, while Night of the Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ first introduced the world to flesh-hungry zombies, it was actually O’Bannon who first came up with the concept of them craving brains.

This subtle shift in the unᴅᴇᴀᴅ zombies’ motivations had a profound effect on the genre as a whole, and the idea that zombies survive by consuming human brains has become ingrained in pop culture. With a punk rock aesthetic and a unique sense of humor, The Return of the Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ was the defining zombie movie of the 1980s.

28 Days Later (2002)

Director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland reinvigorated the zombie genre for a new generation with 28 Days Later. With a gritty sense of realism and a great lead performance from Cillian Murphy, this felt like a zombie movie with real stakes, standing in stark contrast to the more lighthearted zombie comedies that had taken hold throughout the 1990s.

However, the most influential aspect of 28 Days Later was the way it presented its zombies, not as slow-moving stragglers, but as agile infected humans. These fast-moving zombies were difficult to escape from, making them even more terrifying and helping influence later movies like I Am Legend and World War Z.

Shaun Of The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ (2004)

The distinctive visual style of director Edgar Wright paired perfectly with the comedy stylings of Simon Pegg in Shaun of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, a zombie comedy whose тιтle was a reference to Romero’s Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ series. As a genre parody that worked equally well as a compelling zombie horror movie, it set a new standard for comedy horrors.

As a classic British comedy that focused on everyday characters just trying to get to the pub to wait out the apocalypse, Shaun of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ worked so well because it had great characters bolstering an already engaging story. Starting with this film, The Cornetto Trilogy cemented Wright, Pegg, and Nick Frost as important voices in the world of comedy.

Rec (2007)

The Spanish horror movie Rec combined found footage styling with supernatural concepts, all wrapped up in an occult zombie movie package. Set during a terrifying demonic zombie outbreak that acts similarly to a virus, this nightmarish story explores issues related to conspiracy, exorcism, and the Vatican.

Set in an apartment building under siege by supernatural forces, Rec was a genre-bending horror that showcased zombie stories don’t have to follow typical tropes and clichés. As one of the best Spanish horror movies of all time, Rec received several sequels and an American remake тιтled Quarantine.

Warm Bodies (2013)

While romance and zombies don’t usually go together, that’s exactly what happened with Warm Bodies, a comedy horror reimagining of Romeo & Juliet. With Nicolas Hoult as an unᴅᴇᴀᴅ zombie known as R, unlike typical portrayals of these unᴅᴇᴀᴅ creatures, he still hung onto remnants of his humanity and could even have rudimentary conversations with his fellow zombies.

Warm Bodies saw R’s humanity slowly reimagined after he developed a relationship with a girl named Julie. This unique rom-com was unlike any zombie movie before it and helped lay the groundwork for later paranormal romances like Life After Beth.

Train To Busan (2016)

The South Korean zombie movie Train to Busan was impactful enough to find a global audience and stands as one of the greatest horror movies of the 21st century. With a touching story about a workaholic father learning to make time for his young daughter, this was about more than just brain-hungry zombies and post-apocalyptic threats.

Set almost entirely onboard a train, the claustrophobic tension and panic-stricken atmosphere of this Yeon Sang-ho movie highlighted Korean cinema’s potential in international markets. With an animated prequel, a standalone sequel, and an American remake in the works, Train to Busan stands as one of the most urgent and impactful zombie movies of recent times.