Zombies movies have been going strong for many decades now. While the genre had been around before 1968, George A. Romero helped popularize it and bring it into the mainstream with his seminal Night of the Living Dead. The genre then exploded throughout the 70s and 80s, paled a little in the 90s, and made a monumental comeback in the 2000s.
Along the way, there have been many bad zombie movies, but also many classics. It’s easy to root through the good and the bad, but sometimes those seemingly distinct lines can be blurred. These are five zombie movies that are way underrated, and five that are overrated.
Underrated: Day Of The Dead (1985)
Day of the Dead is slowly gaining respect, but for the longest time, it was considered the nadir of the Romero trilogy. Following the tremendous success of Dawn of the Dead, Day was seen as overly depressing and dark, not to mention a little slow-paced.
It grossed half of what Dawn made ($34 million vs. $66 million) and received a relatively subdued response. Luckily, opinion seems to rightfully be turning, as Day is a masterpiece of unrelenting horror.
Overrated: Dawn Of The Dead (1978)
This may be sacrilegious, but Dawn of the Dead can be considered a little overrated. It’s certainly not a bad movie by any means, but it’s often regarded as the greatest zombie movie ever made. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really hold up.
The acting is quite hammy at times, the slow pace can brutally test one’s patience, and even the iconic gore effects seem a little cheesy and cheap by today’s standards. It’s a great film, but it’s also massively overrated.
Underrated: Dawn Of The Dead (2004)
It’s a stretch call the Dawn of the Dead remake better than the original, but it’s still an exceptionally made zombie film that can proudly stand within the canon. Many people tend to write off the remake simply because it’s a remake.
However, the movie contains a much smoother pace, resulting in a more relentless (and possibly more entertaining) experience for modern audiences. It also contains a strong cast of characters, each of whom is played well by a respectable cast. Don’t sleep on this one.
Overrated: Zombieland (2009)
Zombieland is one of the most popular zombie comedies of all time, and it certainly makes for a solid 90 minutes of entertainment.
But there are flaws that make it come across as a bit overrated. For one thing, there’s not much of a story, and the movie seems more like a loosely connected collection of funny vignettes. And what is there comes across as cliché. Also, the characterization is somewhat weak and generic, even though everyone is played well by their respective actors and actresses.
Underrated: World War Z (2013)
World War Z gets a lot of flak because it’s a very poor adaptation of Max Brooks’s seminal novel. Aside from the title, the movie bears no resemblance to the source novel. But taken on its own, as a standalone movie without connections to the Brooks novel, World War Z is a very solidly crafted piece of work.
Yes, the tame violence and PG-13 rating hinders it a little bit, but the movie is still a relentless, exciting, and visually distinctive zombie tale.
Overrated: 28 Days Later… (2002)
28 Days Later helped kickstart the zombie renaissance of the 2000s by introducing fast zombies into the lexicon. While fast zombies are now traditional, they were essentially unheard of in 2002, and 28 Days Later greatly influenced later zombie movies like Dawn of the Dead and Train to Busan.
But 28 Days Later is 2/3 a great movie, 1/3 a silly one. The third act veers off the rails, and while there are some good parts to it, it’s not in keeping with the spirit and tone of the first two.
Underrated: Train To Busan (2016)
Maybe underrated isn’t the right word to describe Train to Busan, as everyone who has seen it tends to have enjoyed it. Perhaps, undervalued.
When it comes to the greatest zombie movies of all time, Train to Busan is hardly mentioned or discussed. Maybe the lack of discussion stems from its status as a foreign movie, as many people don’t like watching movies with subtitles. Regardless, Train to Busan deserves a spot in the ranking, because it’s truly a masterpiece of the zombie genre.
Overrated: Cargo (2017)
Cargo is often deemed a zombie movie for the thinking man, as it mainly uses its surface zombie story to expound on Aboriginal Australians. There are many good aspects to Cargo, including Martin Freeman and its unique Australian setting.
But the movie feels a little pretentious like it’s so concerned with being smart and unique that it fails to be entertaining in its own right. Cargo is a good time, but also a little forgettable. There’s nothing here that earns it “classic” status.
Underrated: Overlord (2018)
Overlord was released in 2018, yet very few people saw it. Grossing just $41 million at the box office, Overlord was considered a financial disappointment, despite receiving strong reviews.
This movie is a thrilling and gleefully outlandish throwback to grindhouse movies of old, often intentionally veering into the ridiculous. But this ridiculous nature results in a palpable sense of fun. Overlord isn’t scary, but what it is is continuously entertaining.
Overrated: Zombi 2 (1979)
The Italian zombie film Zombi 2 is sometimes considered a cult classic, but others would argue that it’s just not a very good movie. It became known for its gore, having been famously deemed a “video nasty” in the UK.
This helped popularize the movie with gorehounds and those who seek low-budget horror, but there’s very little to this movie aside from its gore. Those who love Zombi 2 love it for its violence, not for its story, characters, or competent filmmaking.
