
Move over, suave vampires. Take your seats, charismatic serial killers. Get away, child-possessing demonic spirits. It’s zombie time. Ghouls and goblins are fine, but there’s something uniquely visceral about a corpse lying around that keeps us coming back for more. The horror genre has always been a touching and abundant way to confront the indelible and inconvenient truth that we are all going to die someday. Sickness, pestilence, contagion, and worried deaths are a surefire way to stare our mortality in the face. And if we happen to get a morbid, bloody kick along the way, all the better.
Zombie movies these days come in all shapes, sizes, speeds, and creeds. Some members of the undead can talk and reason. Others walk and stumble with the elegance and grace of a blindfolded ostrich. Some zombies are literally reanimated corpses while others simply look like zombies, ravaged by mysterious diseases and featuring a violent and bloody death.
If watching the dead rise, raise hell, and sink their teeth into their fellow man gets you going, you really are spoiled for choice. There are plenty of zombie movies out there, but knowing where to direct all that undead enthusiasm can be a little tricky. Lucky for you, we’ve scoured Hulu’s library to put together the best zombie movies for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy it and remember not to get within bite range.
Updated on December 22, 2021: If you can’t get enough of the undead, be sure to check back here every month. As zombie movies roll in and out of Hulu, we’ll keep you posted on all the undead action.
Crazypeople
A remake of George A. Romero’s 1973 classic of the same name, “The Crazies” takes us to a small town in Iowa called Ogden Marsh, where the locals are starting to act a little strange. And by “strange” we of course mean thoughtlessly and violently homicidal. David, the county sheriff, discovers a mysterious military plane in the town’s river, leading him to believe the cargo may have tainted the town’s water supply. But before David can investigate further, Ogden Marsh is cut off from the world and soldiers arrive to quarantine and contain the infected residents. Things quickly escalate as David’s pregnant wife, Judy, fails the infection test. A taut and bizarre budget-boosting remake of Romero’s little-seen original, “The Crazies” is an epidemic nightmare well worth your time.
- Featuring: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson
- Director: Breck Eisner
- Year: 2010
- Duration: 101 minutes
- Evaluation:R
- Rotten Tomato Score: 70%
The Cured
A plague known as the “Maze Virus” has swept across Europe, leaving those infected in a homicidal zombie-like state. Ireland has been particularly affected and although a cure has been discovered, 25% of the affected population are resistant. Thus, the creation of two stratified groups: the Cured and the Infected, who are held captive for fear of a new epidemic. An intimate and infectiously passionate look at what happens when the walking dead come back to life, “The Cured” is a performance-driven take on what it might be like to pick up the pieces after a zombie outbreak.
- Featuring: Elliot Page, Sam Keeley, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor
- Director:David Freyne
- Year: 2017
- Duration: 95 minutes
- Evaluation:R
- Rotten Tomato Score: 70%
The evil in us
Six best friends enjoying the 4th of July holiday find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. That is – in the grip of an insidious drug-centric terrorist attack that turns users into bloodthirsty cannibals. Vibrating in the same space as “Cabin Fever” and “28 Days Later,” here’s a movie with further proof that remote cabins in the woods and tainted narcotics are a match made in the hell of the flesh.
little monsters
A rude and ramshackle musician, a children’s TV personality, and a cheerful kindergarten teacher team up to protect a group of young school kids during an unexpected zombie outbreak. A hilarious, delicious and contagiously energetic Australian offering, “Little Monsters” is a new entry in the ever-growing list of zombie rom-coms (zom-rom-coms). As if we needed more proof that elementary school teachers are the best.
- Featuring: Lupita Nyong’o, Josh Gad, Stephen Peacocke
- Director: Abe Forsythe
- Year: 2019
- Duration: 94 minutes
- Evaluation:R
- Rotten Tomato Score: 79%
World War Z
A big-budget adaptation of Max Brooks’ 2006 novel of the same name, “World War Z” sees the world thrown into madness when a mysterious infection begins to turn the entire human population into rampaging zombies. After narrowly averting chaos, United Nations investigator Gerry Lane is tasked with investigating the disease, setting off a global trek in which Lane must piece together the puzzle before humanity eats itself alive. A wild action flick that could have been called “A Local Man Watches the World Burn,” director Marc Forster delivers two things that never go out of style: Brad Pitt and zombie mayhem.
- Featuring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale
- Director: Marc Forster
- Year: 2013
- Duration: 115 minutes
- Evaluation: PG-13
- Rotten Tomato Score: 66%
resident Evil
Based on the video game of the same name, “Resident Evil” is a nu metal-fueled gorefest that manages to do right by its source material while crafting its own unique storyline. When a virus escapes from a top-secret underground facility, an elite military task force is dispatched to contain the outbreak. Unfortunately, the virus turns researchers and lab animals into flesh-hungry zombies. Sure, it’s a bit clunky, as many reviewers have pointed out. But sometimes that’s exactly what the evil, bio-weapon-infected doctor ordered. Packed with thrills, “Resident Evil” is a must-watch for horror fans.