All 6 Zombie Movies Of 2025, Ranked

Published Oct 1, 2026, 7:00 PM EDT Karlis has been obsessing over television and movie news since he first learned how to read. He has worked in tech, as a musician, and in journalism with a well-rounded knowledge base of pop-culture throughout the eras. He claims that he has memorized the entire Internet Movie Database, and to date no one has been able to refute this. Holding a Bachelor's Degree in Religion and Culture from Wilfrid Laurier University, Karlis loves to examine the intersections of popular science-fiction and culture. His latest novel MASS. is available now on Amazon and examines a world where obesity has become a federal crime. 2025 was a fantastic year for horror and featured the release of six excellent zombie movies. Similar to 2026's best zombie movies, the year saw several approaches to the genre, including a fantastic and unexpected sequel to a 2007 hit as well as a unique drag show spin from a director with a stunning horror legacy. Zombie films are certainly having a moment, thanks to the franchise-revitalizing Resident Evil movie from Zach Cregger. While the games have been beloved for decades, the films up to this point have been more divisive. Fortunately, this new installment is almost universally beloved, setting up a bright future for even more zombie stories on the big screen. Upcoming horror films will see more zombies returning in 2026 and beyond. Return of the Living Dead is set to be the next entry planned for release in November, amidst a year that has already seen a great deal of horror successes. Films like Obsession and Backrooms have only created further anticipation for new horror stories. Still, the appetite for zombie movies in the culture is as insatiable as the hunger for brains that the monsters themselves experience, and each new release certainly has the potential to become one of the best zombie films ever made. These six excellent and entertaining films all make clear arguments for their place in the legacy of the genre. 6 Until Dawn Until Dawn might be the lowest entry on this list, but there is still much to enjoy in the film, directed by David F. Sandberg. While it was not as strong as the beloved video game on which it was based, the curious assemblage of horrors, including the zombie-like Wendigos, makes for an entertaining watch. Incorporating the time-loop mechanic of the video game was an ambitious move that did not entirely pay off. However, all of this built to make the Wendigo villains that much more terrifying. Pale, dead-eyed, and malicious, these monsters helped to make the ending of the film its most successful part. With more Until Dawn video games ahead, there is hope that another attempt will be made to turn the series into a film in time. Until then, this project remains a decent, albeit slightly disappointing, video game adaptation. 5 Forgive Us All This entertaining neo-Western had great potential. Evil Dead Rise star Lily Sullivan played the central role of Rory, a grieving mother who has lost her family to the horrors of a zombie apocalypse. The movie, filmed in New Zealand, is great to look at and leans heavily into its dark and thoughtful drama. Unfortunately, this does not always work, and the balance between character work and horror at times feels unsteady and unsuccessful. Heavy with grief, the movie is still occasionally quite strong. The script is decent, and the performances are excellent. However, anyone expecting a thrilling experience from this slow-burn horror drama may leave feeling at least a little bit disappointed. 4 The Elixir Credit: Yu Yu Winnetou / © Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection The Elixir is a strong Indonesian zombie film from 2025, even if it is a mostly forgettable streaming movie. The film centers around the outbreak of a virus in a small Indonesian village and was directed by Kimo Stamboel. Where The Elixir works especially well is in its execution. Rather than relying on computer-generated special effects, The Elixir was made with a great practical eye for the construction of its zombies and its gore. Believable and tense, this well-crafted film was a gripping and entertaining technical marvel. Granted, there is little in the movie's script or story to set it apart from the many other entries in the zombie sub-genre. However, for its unique setting and its strong execution, The Elixir remains worth watching. 3 Queens Of The Dead © Shudder /Courtesy Everett Collection A fantastic and fun comedy that puts its own unique spin on the zombie sub-genre, reviews for Queens of the Dead confirm it as one of the most raucously entertaining films of 2025. With an excellent cast that includes Katy M. O'Brian and Margaret Cho, the film puts a unique spin on zombie movies with its unusual setting. The film's zombie outbreak occurs against the backdrop of a drag show in Brooklyn, and leads to a number of surprising and hilarious alliances. This clever film subverts expectations for queer characters in horror movies while telling a strong story that leans heavily into humor and camp. More than this, however, the movie is simply incredibly well made. Directed by George A. Romero's daughter, Tina Romero, it feels like an essential new look at the zombie genre that has the potential to grow even more important and even more beloved as the years go by. 2 The Gorge While the monsters in the Apple TV original movie The Gorge are not explicitly referred to as zombies, they still share many similarities with the historic movie monsters, and the film is too strong to leave off this list. In fact, the movie's approach to the creatures actually has a lot in common with the new Resident Evil movie. The monsters in the film, referred to as the Hollow Men, are the result of a failed bioweapons experiment. From this, their bodies and DNA merged with plants and animals alike, turning into something mindless and monstrous, but with an evolved capacity for hunting down and destroying their prey. These terrifying zombie-like monsters help to elevate what is already a strong offering from Apple TV that features both Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy. Through and through, this excellent science fiction horror leans into the texture and trappings of a zombie story to great success. 1 28 Years Later No other films provided as strong a zombie experience in 2025 as 28 Years Later did. The sequel, released 18 years after 28 Weeks Later, was a fantastic installment in Danny Boyle's incredible series, and turned what could have been a fairly standard zombie movie into a thoughtful and unique story about survival and ambition. The film's cast was especially strong, including Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and Ralph Fiennes, among many others. While the story took some strange turns, especially at the end of the film, which saw the introduction of the Jimmies, all of these culminated in making one of the boldest and most creative swings in recent horror. It is disappointing that the box office for 28 Years Later and its sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, were not stronger, and an additional 28 Years Later film, while still being worked on, is not guaranteed. However, it seems to be agreed now that each film is among the best zombie films released in their respective years.