Zombies in the Movies - 2000 and Beyond

After a slow decade in the '90s, zombie films picked up some steam at the turn of the century. Japanese horror and a popular remake of an already-popular movie reanimated the walking dead, so to speak. As I stated in this article on the '70s and this article on the '80s producers saw an opportunity to cash in on a genre that didn't require a lot of out-of-pocket cost and could easily turn a profit. There were quite a few high points in the first decade of the 21st century and I'll examine those here.

The Dead Hate the Living

An indie zombie flick that is unique in delivery and story structure. References to other popular zombie and prolific filmmakers who made them.

Versus

Very odd zombie action movie from Japan. A personal favorite of mine, I think this is the best zombie movie of the 2000s.

Wild Zero

Another zombie film from Japan. This one stars the Japanese punk rock band Guitar Wolf and is part horror, part comedy, part romance and a whole lot of fun.

Stacy

Extremely gory and violent Japanese film where a strange ailment afflicts every girl in the world aged 15-17 and turns them into zombies.

28 Days Later

28 Days Later is a movie that I personally don't like but many others do. It reminds me too much of Day of the Dead but you may find it enjoyable. A sequel, 28 Weeks Later, was released a few years later.

Battlefield Baseball

As you probably guessed by now, many zombie movies came from Japan around this time. Battlefield Baseball is another must see Japanese zombie movie.Another one worth checking out is Tokyo Zombie

Undead

Don't let the generic title fool you, Undead is phenomenal movie from Australia. The plot revolves around meteorites that fall to Earth and turn people into zombies.

Dawn of the Dead

Dawn of the Dead is the best remake since The Fly as far as I'm concerned. Writer James Gunn and director Zack Snyder produced their unique vision of the film while staying true to the original elements.

Dead & Breakfast

This movie features a scene with zombies line dancing to country music. Need I say more?

Land of the Dead

Twenty years after release of Day of the Dead George Romero returns with Land of the Dead. Not as good as his past films but worth seeing.

Fido

Fido is a Canadian film that is 90% dark comedy and only about 10% horror. The movie takes place in an alternate universe where where zombies are used as servants.

Mulberry Street

Indie zombie movie where an infection breakout in New York turns people into zombies.

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead

The best movie Troma Films has produced since Terror Firmer. Intelligent, funny and very, very gross it is pure Troma gold.

REC

Shot from a first person point of view this Spanish movie has a plot similar to 28 Days Later, only better. A remake was released in the United States under the title Quarantine.

Dead Snow

The best Norwegian zombie movie to date. Of course, I'm not really sure if there are any others. All joking aside this is my favorite horror film of 2009.

Zombie movies aren't going away anytime soon and with the popularity of Zombieland their popularity is picking up again. Be on the lookout for many new films.