When It’s Zombie Awareness Month, What Horror Movies Should I Watch?

It’s Zombie Movie Marathon May

THE HEADLINE

A month dedicated to zombie awareness is a silly premise. But when the world is changing fast and the future seems more and more unpredictable, the Zombie Apocalypse isn’t any less likely than some of the ridiculous things we’ve already seen this year.

Some things that characterize the arrival of the zombie apocalypse are disease, plagues or pandemics that change people into brain-hungry gouls. Climate change and satellites in outer space are also known to play a factor too.

And as you’ll see in most of the films I mention here and in the zombie genre as a whole, the government is either absent or ineffective. Communities and grass-roots groups have to come together, overcome differences, and find their own ways to fight back; our heroes are essentially on their own to survive.

Sound familiar?

So, in that spirit, I’ve put together just a ‘starter pack’ of essential zombie films from a few subgenres. If you’re already a zombie movie lover from way back, may I suggest a rewatch of some of these favourites and let the political chaos of 2025 re-flavour your present perspective.

I’ll be covering a lot more zombie-themed films this month on The Spooky Scholars Podcast so please take a listen over there for new episodes every Tuesday in May.

THE HELPLINE

Night of the Living Dead

This is George Romero’s classic, game-changing zombie masterpiece. It established the characteristics and tropes of the zombies we know today, like the brain deadness and slow walking. I know it’s hard to imagine zombies any other way, but before this there was a lot of voodoo misrepresentation going on as zombie films often exotified and exploited the voodoo religion.

As a seasoned horror fan, rewatching Night of the Living Dead is always worth it to get a different perspective for different points in time. After a rewatch this week, it was even more clear to me of its commentary on war, race, and a group of incompetent, ‘shoot first, ask questions later' type of people in charge.

You should also check out Birth of the Living Dead (2013), a documentary where Romero recounts the making of his original indie marvel.

Dawn of the Dead (1978), Romero’s second zombie film in his ‘Dead’ series, is a reminder of the current commercial boycotts and a way to reminisce over the days when we could all afford to go to the mall and buy stuff. It has a similar vibe of the media being front and centre and how daily life in 2025 can feel like chaos.

In fact, you can look at the full, six-film ‘Dead’ series as part of a full commentary on various aspects of socio-political landscape:

Day of the Dead (1985) explores how communication is key for small groups to work together. It’s actually a quite frightening look at how a breakdown is more likely to happen from within than from an external source.

In Land of the Dead (2005) Romero opts to give the zombies here more speed and capabilities. There’s also a haunting commentary on the wealth gap.

Diary of the Dead (2007) is a found footage close up look at the beginning of the fall of civilization.

Survival of the Dead (2009) looks at how opposing views create ‘islands’ of thought and how death is imminent if there’s no cooperation and the gap can’t be closed. Y’know, and if we didn’t already have a front row seat to all of that already.

Shaun of the Dead

This is a beloved horror comedy that’s deserving of a rewatch any time. The comic relief for the aforementioned daily chaos brings some hope that regular people can find ways to fight back.

What can make this one really fun is when you do your other zombie movie homework and can catch all the references along the way.

Zombieland (2009) & Zombieland:Double Tap (2019)

One of my personal favourites for the story and the comedy. There are some great kills that make it fun for horror fans and the story and production is there for everyone else. I also love that the sequel was just as entertaining, which isn’t always the case in zombie sagas.

This movie makes me hope that the apocalypse is exactly like this. I mean, who wouldn’t want Woody Harrelson at their side for the end of the world?

Warm Bodies (2013)

This is part comedy, part Romeo and Juliet. Our Romeo is a zombie and our Juliet is human. It really doesn’t sound like a premise that could work, but it does. It’s cleverly written and Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer do a fantastic job bringing this to life…so to speak.

The ‘28’ Franchise

28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, and the soon to be released, 28 Years Later. This series brought speed back to zombies with the ‘rage virus’. Not only are the zombies fast, but the infection works quickly too, moving us along from the original Romero type and into a more truly terrifying prospect for our own looming zombie apocalypse.

These are staples in the zombie genre but they’re more dramatic and real, which isn’t always my personal favourite. But as an instructional guide to the apocalypse, these are probably our best bet.

Colin (2008)

This is a unique, first person take on the zombie film. It follows Colin as he’s changed into a zombie and has to navigate his London neighbourhood and new found monstrousness.

We all want to better understand the other side of things so this film gives us some perspective on what the zombies are going through. I mean, have some empathy!

Train to Busan (2016)

The characters draw you in from the start and the restrictive setting of the train allows for so much creativity. The powerful performance by Gong Yoo illustrates the character arc and you can’t look away—even when it’s gory!

The father-daughter drama makes this an emotional ride and the zombies are there to highlight their relationship and soulful connection even further.

It’s really amazing, now that I look at this short list of zombie films, just how much emotion can be explored and portrayed in movies about slow-moving ghouls taking over the world. But I’m realizing now, in real time, that’s kind of the point.

The heroes’ emotional journeys are so much more heightened by the fact that zombies are emotionless and drone-like. This is what allows humanity of everyone else to come through.

I guess I’ve never really thought that hard about zombie movies before, which, I suppose, is why there’s a zombie awareness month.

So take this month to brush up on your zombie apocalypse survival knowledge but also note the message of community, partnership, and loyalty.

When the zombie apocalypse is finally upon us, it will be our true sense of humanity, our love for the people around us and our passion to fight for survival and freedom that’ll be our salvation.

Happy Zombie Awareness Month!