Cliff Notes – Sure! Here’s the revised title:
9 Zombie Films to Watch Ahead of 28 Years Later
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28 Years Later marks the return of the iconic zombie franchise, set almost 30 years after the original films, with a focus on survivors living among the infected.
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Directed by Danny Boyle and featuring a star-studded cast, the film is part of a trilogy, promising more horror to come for fans of the genre.
- As anticipation builds, viewers can explore a selection of nine notable zombie films currently streaming, enhancing the lead-up to the cinematic release.
28 Years Later hits cinemas today (Picture: Miya Mizuno)
Twenty-three years after we first saw the devastating effects of the Rage Virus, 28 Years Later has finally hit cinema screens.
Rumours of a sequel to smash hit zombie films 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later have been rumbling following the release of the latter in 2007.
And horror fans’ prayers were answered when director Danny Boyle officially announced a third film was on the way with original writer Alex Garland returning.
Not only that, 28 Years Later is part of a trilogy of films, so there’s even more terrifying running undead moments to haunt our nightmares on the way.
Released today in cinemas, 28 Years Later is set almost 30 years after the events of the first film (as the title would suggest), in which a group of survivors have found ways to live among the infected.
Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes, and Jodie Comer, it is undoubtedly one of the biggest horror films hitting the big screen in 2025.
But before you check it out in cinemas, you can get in the mood for some brain-eating action with these nine zombie films streaming right now.
Train to Busan
Where to watch: StudioCanal+ via Prime Video
You probably don’t expect to end a zombie film in floods of tears, but we can promise that is likely to happen if you decide to watch Train to Busan.
Directed by Yeon Sang-ho, the 2016 horror film mostly takes place on a KTX train from Seoul to Busan when a zombie apocalypse breaks out in the city.
Two of the passengers on the train are Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) and his daughter Su-an (Kim Su-an), travelling to see Seok-woo’s estranged wife and Su-an’s mum, Na-young.
The Night Eats The World
Where to watch: Prime Video
The opening scene of 28 Days Later is incredibly eerie, with Cillian Murphy’s Jim waking up to find the world ravaged by the Rage Virus.
2018 film The Night Eats The World begins much the same, with musician Sam (Anders Danielsen Lie) waking to find himself the lone survivor in a city hit by a zombie apocalypse.
Trapped in an apartment, he barricades himself in and begins formulating a way to survive.
The Girl with All the Gifts
Where to watch: Available to rent via Prime Video, Apple TV+, and the Sky Store
Following in the footsteps of the 28 Days franchise, The Girl With All the Gifts is a refreshing and bleak take on the zombie film that questions the state of humanity.
The film begins on a military base where children, who harbour a disease caused by a parasitic fungus, are held in the hope of obtaining the cure that turns humans into mindless zombies called ‘hungries.’
When the base is attacked, one child, Melanie (Sennia Nanua), escapes with teacher Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton), Sergeant Eddie Parks (Paddy Considine), Dr. Caroline Caldwell (Glenn Close), and soldier Gallagher (Fisayo Akinade).
MadS
Where to watch: Shudder via Prime Video
Released last year, MadS quickly became one of the highest-rated horror films of 2024 according to Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s easy to see why.
Directed by David Moreau and told all in one, long take, it follows the story of French club kid Romain (Milton Riche), who wakes up from another night of partying to do it all over again.
While driving, he encounters an escaped patient from a local medical facility who appears to be injured, drastically changing the course of his evening.
REC
Where to watch: Arrow via Prime Video
Found footage films immerse us in the events onscreen, which is absolutely terrifying when you consider the events of REC.
The 2007 film stars Manuela Velasco as reporter Ángela Vidal, who, along with her cameraman Pablo (Pablo Rosso), accompanies a group of firefighters to an emergency call at an apartment building.
Once inside, she discovers an infection is spreading among the residents, and all occupants must follow a strict quarantine, with the events of the night being captured in full, horrifying detail by Pablo’s camera.
Savageland
Where to watch: JustWatch TV and FOUND for free
Another chilling found footage zombie film is Savageland, which unfolds in one of the most unique ways of any pick on this list.
The mockumentary explores the massacre of a small border town separating Arizona and Mexico, with suspicion falling on the lone survivor.
However, the photographic evidence captured by the man shows the chilling details of what really happened.
Life After Beth
Where to watch: Available to rent via Prime Video and Apple TV+
The adage ’til death do us part’ is proven very, very false in the 2014 horror comedy Life After Beth.
Loosely based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, Life After Beth follows Zach (Dane DeHaan), who is grieving the loss of his girlfriend Beth (Aubrey Plaza).
However, when she is reanimated as a zombie, he is now tasked with preventing her deterioration while giving their relationship another shot at happiness.
Pontypool
Where to watch: Prime Video
Many films on this list take place in limited locations with protagonists defending themselves against flesh-hungry zombies in a contained space.
And 2008 psychological thriller Pontypool, based on the novel Pontypool Changes Everything, is no different.
The film follows radio announcer Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie), who finds himself trapped at his radio station during a live broadcast as a zombie outbreak begins, with Mazzy and the crew inside forced to fight for survival.
Maggie
Where to watch: Available to rent via Prime Video, Apple TV+, and the Sky Store
Yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger is in a zombie film, and what’s more, it will absolutely devastate you to your core.
It is unique in that it is set after the zombie apocalypse, but society has not completely fallen; rather, it is coming to terms with the devastating effects it has had on society.
In the Midwest United States, Wade (Schwarzenegger) is enjoying his final weeks with his daughter Maggie (Abigail Breslin) after she was bitten by a zombie and is slowly turning into one of them.
28 Years Later is in cinemas now.