It’s always fun to imagine how one might survive a given zombie movie, with some of them presenting particularly hopeless survival scenarios that few are likely to survive. A big part of the appeal of the best zombie movies is the fantasy of existing in a wild and chaotic zombie apocalypse, with movies like Zombieland directly evoking the macabre fun of this idea. However, for every zombie scenario that would be a cakewalk to survive, there are many more that present unsurmountable levels of danger.
A big part of what makes a given zombie movie more deadly than its peers is the actual nature of the zombies within it, with all types of different zombies having been created in increasingly insidious stories. The method of transmission, physical environment, and level of infection are also crucial factors to consider as well, with the undead themselves sometimes being only one small part of the ambient dangers existing in a post-collapse society. Depending on the circumstances, some zombie movies seem all but impossible for the average layperson to survive.
10
28 Days Later
Is A Hellish World To Exist In
28 Days Later
8/10
- Release Date
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June 27, 2003
- Runtime
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113 minutes
- Director
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Danny Boyle
The most obvious zombie movie universe many might point to as being particularly dangerous technically doesn’t feature actual “zombies” at all. The infected of the 28 Days Later franchise have succumbed to a rapidly spreading “Rage Virus”, affecting the behavior of its victims to an inhuman degree. While every carrier is technically a living person, they stop at nothing to violently tear apart other humans, passing on the disease via the transmission of bodily fluids.
The 28 Days Later infected might have the durability and longevity of normal humans, unlike walking corpses, but are significantly hostile in their speed and ferocious stamina. The film was one of the first to popularize the idea of “fast” zombies, which always carry with them a higher rate of death for hapless survivors. The recently-released 28 Years Later further emphasizes just how hard it is to survive in a post-outbreak Britain in the movie universe, with hostile military forces and “normal” humans being present threats as well.
9
Return Of The Living Dead
Comedic, Yet Undeniably Deadly
Just because Return of the Living Dead is more of a black comedy that a straight-laced horror film doesn’t mean that it’s any kinder with its chances of survival. In fact, the zombies of Return of the Living Dead are some of the most terrifying every created for film, despite how endearingly goofy they can look rendered with budget special effects. The film supposes that the undead are created by a mysterious toxic gas, reanimating any corpses it comes into contact with as veritable monsters.
The zombies of Return of the Living Dead are incredibly durable, laughing at being shot in the head and able to operate their body parts independently even when completely dismembered. The only way to assuredly kill them is to incinerate them completely, and only one small whiff of the toxic gas is all it takes to be turned into one. Most alarmingly of all, the zombies of Return of the Living Dead are intelligent, able to use tools, talk, and even set traps, making them by far the most impossible undead force to escape.
8
Dawn Of The Dead (2004)
Traps Survivors In A Dense Cityscape
A remake of the George A. Romero classic of the same name, 2004’s Dawn of the Dead showcases just how much more deadly zombies get with a little bit of increased speed. Being essentially identical to the standard slow shamblers of Romero’s work beyond their improved ability to chase survivors, the zombies of this film gather en masse to trap a terrified group of human survivors in a mall. Just outside are hordes of the nightmarish undead, turning the shopping depot into a pressure cooker of tension and paranoia.
As if avoiding being eaten by the zombies isn’t bad enough, navigating the delicate human politics of the small group trapped within the mall is what makes Dawn of the Dead particularly difficult to survive. Even escape to an island is no guarantee of survival, as the grisly final sequence implies the film to have no survivors by the time credits roll. Between the dense urban environment and the fact that only one small scratch is all it takes to be turned, Dawn of the Dead makes natural selection into an outright dismissal.
7
Army Of The Dead
Includes A Whole Zombie Society
Combining the speed of the Dawn of the Dead zombies with the intelligence of the Return of the Living Dead zombies, the flesh-eaters of Army of the Dead are a whole new species. The Zack Snyder film takes place in a quarantined Las Vegas, which has been totally walled-off by the government following a devastating zombie outbreak. A gang of criminals breaks into the quarantine zone in order to extract a valuable score left behind.
Technically, Army of the Dead would be very easy to survive by simply opting not to take part in such a dangerous heist. Once inside Vegas, however, one’s chances of survival drop to near zero, as the intelligent zombies capable of leadership and complex society present a more alarming threat than imaginable. That’s not even to mention the terrifying zombified tiger stalking the city streets, representing certain death to anyone unlucky enough to encounter it.
6
World War Z
Presents Hordes Of Zombies On An Unprecedented Scale
World War Z
6/10
- Release Date
-
June 21, 2013
- Runtime
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1h 56m
- Director
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Marc Foster
World War Z has something of an uneven reputation among zombie fanatics, with some critics and fans decrying its divergence from the book of the same name, while others insist it is an underrated classic. Whatever the estimation of it as a good movie, there’s no denying that it presents one of the most hopeless situations for a zombie apocalypse ever conceived. Individually, these zombies might not be anything special, operating as the average undead with a weakness to head shots, albeit faster than usual.
What makes World War Z truly such a desperate survival scenario is the sheer scale of the outbreak, with a gargantuan chunk of the global population being turned. This results in literal tidal waves of bodies that pile up against human compounds, scaling literal buildings with the sheer quantity of bodies the infection has at its disposal. This undoubtedly makes the monsters of World War Z some of the most powerful zombies in fiction.
5
I Am Legend
Doesn’t Let Its Zombies’ Weakness Outweight Their Danger
I Am Legend
6/10
- Release Date
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December 14, 2007
- Runtime
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101 minutes
- Director
-
Francis Lawrence
-
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Salli Richardson-Whitfield
I Am Legend features another particularly unique brand of zombies that might be misinterpreted as easier to deal with due to having a key weakness. More like vampires, the Hemocytes, a.k.a. Darkseekers, are named after their affinity for shadow, seemingly being harmed by direct sunlight and only coming out at night. These mutant infected were borne out of a botched cure for cancer, leaving Will Smith’s Dr. Robert Neville as seemingly the last sole survivor of New York City.
Being the only survivor of an apocalyptic event is maddening enough without having to also figure out a means of survival in the face of these terrifying nocturnal creatures. The Darkseekers have human levels of intelligence, meaning that they aren’t easily fooled, trapped, or managed like the average movie zombie. Between the isolation and the terrifying intellect of the film’s monsters, the premise of I Am Legend is far deadlier than its protagonist’s ability to walk around freely in the daytime might imply.
4
Train To Busan
An Almost Hopeless Undead Deluge
Train to Busan
- Release Date
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July 20, 2016
- Runtime
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118 minutes
- Director
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Yeon Sang-ho
While an entire Train to Busan series of movies have since been developed, the compelling scenario presented by the first film is still the most striking and deadly. The Korean zombie flick presents a relatively standard infection, with fast, ferocious zombies overtaking the peninsula alarmingly quickly. The protagonists have to survive being stuck in the claustrophobic confines of the titular train line while legions of zombies hungrily await them in the next car over.
The sort of sprinting, rabid zombies presented in Train to Busan are scary enough on their own. Pepper in the difficulty of coordinating hostile strangers and the terror of the train’s close confines, and it’s easy to see why few characters live to see to the film’s eponymous destination. Train to Busan is one ride few viewers can realistically hope to survive in one piece.
3
Land Of The Dead
A Dreary Existence In The Post-Apocalypse
Land of the Dead
- Release Date
-
June 24, 2005
- Runtime
-
93 minutes
- Director
-
George A. Romero
Unlike most of George A. Romero’s zombie movies, Land of the Dead focuses more on the dangers of eking out an existence in a volatile post-society world alongside other humans rather than the zombies themselves. The story takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which has a become a sort of safe zone led by a tyrannical despot. It’s all those living under his rule can do to curry favor and improve their squalid conditions.
That being said, when the zombies do arrive, they arrive in full force, led by the unusually intelligent zombie leader “Big Daddy”. Though Big Daddy and his horde don’t kill everyone in Pittsburgh, they leave few survivors, and one would be lucky to be one of them. That’s only supposing that surviving in such a brutal regime prior to that point could be secured, by no means a guarantee.
2
Resident Evil
Deadly Right From The First Movie
Resident Evil
8/10
- Release Date
-
March 15, 2002
- Runtime
-
100 minutes
- Director
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Paul W. S. Anderson
No matter how divorced they may be from the beloved Capcom games of the same name, the bizarre Resident Evil movies present some of the most dangerous incarnations of zombies ever conceived. In this universe, the infected hordes are the result of the mysterious T-Virus, a lab-grown bioweapon capable of not only raising undead armies, but mutating life into horrific monsters. Right from the first film, the franchise proves itself as perhaps the most hopeless zombie universe to attempt to survive.
If someone plopped into the first Resident Evil movie could survive the hostile A.I. keeping everyone locked inside or the standard rank-and-file zombies, they’d still have to contend with the terrifying Lickers, special mutant variants that look like a flayed version of Tom Hardy’s Venom. Between dodging laser defense grids and the slow backstabbing of fellow amnesia-ridden infiltrators, nothing about the scenario of Resident Evil is straightforward to survive. It’s no wonder the entirety of Raccoon City is in ruins by the end of the film.
1
The Sadness
Has A Very Fitting Title
The Sadness
- Release Date
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May 12, 2022
- Runtime
-
99 minutes
- Director
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Rob Jabbaz
-
-
-
-
Tzu-Chiang Wang
Business Man
Even the most violent zombie movies offer some degree of fun escapism, but that can’t be said for the little-known Taiwanese film The Sadness. Inspired by the Crossed comics by Garth Ennis of The Boys fame, the film imagines a zombie plague that doesn’t merely infect its victims into becoming mindless, bloodthirsty killers. Instead, the “Avlin virus” of The Sadness causes its victims to become depraved sadists, acting out the most vile atrocities imaginable by human nature upon infection.
The psychological toll of attempting to survive the plot of The Sadness would be too much for any sane person to bear. Even if the infected are just normal humans in terms of strength, the cruelty to their actions and speed at which their infection spreads (with victims succumbing to the virus after mere moments of contact with an infected person’s bodily fluid) presents an utterly hopeless scenario. Few zombie movies dare to be as cruel to anyone stuck in them as The Sadness is.
