Not always, but a good deal of the time,zombie moviesdeal with the end of the world, and that’s automatically a pretty heavy thing to tackle. If zombie films don’t want to get fully apocalyptic, then an outbreak can pretty easily decimate a small town or a city over the course of 90+ minutes, and so even if such a scenario isn’t as expansive, that can be pretty upsetting, too.
Such is the nature of this kind of horror movie, with some of the best zombie-related films balancing spectacular carnage alongside emotionally devastating stories, with all that occasionally also getting balanced with darkly comedic elements, too.Of all the zombie movies ever made, the following rank among the most depressing, for one reason or another, and are ranked below, starting with the fairly depressing and ending with those that are outright tragic.
10’The Night Eats the World' (2018)
Directed by Dominique Rocher
Its title hints at a doomed world, butThe Night Eats the Worldfocuses mostly on France, showing one man’s fight for survival in Paris after he wakes up after a party and finds himself in the middle of a zombie outbreak. It might not reinvent the wheel narratively, as far as these sorts of movies go, but it is uniquely upsetting for a zombie film.
It’s all about capturing a sense of isolation, and does a good job of showing the speed at which a hypothetical world-ending outbreak could bring about… well, the end of the world. Maybe don’t watchThe Night Eats the Worldif you want a zombie movie with any kind of escapist value, though, but check it out if you’re okay with things getting pretty real and somber.
The Night Eats the World
9'28 Days Later' (2002)
Directed by Danny Boyle
There are some human and even hopeful moments found in parts of28 Days Later, but long stretches of the film are also pretty downbeat and starkly realistic. There’s a sense of paranoia inherent to the early 2000s that’s captured remarkably well here, withthe grittiness and shakiness of the visualsplaying a large part in making it all seem like it’s really happening.
The characters here have to survive a pretty desperate situation, and, as many other characters in various other zombie movies have found,ultimately discover that other survivors can be just as dangerous – or even more so – than the infected.28 Days Laterstill leaves a mark when watched today, and if it didn’t end on the surprisingly positive note it did, it would rank much higher as far as depressing zombie movies go.
28 Days Later
Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors attempt to find sanctuary.
8'28 Weeks Later' (2007)
Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Though it might not feel as intense throughout,28 Weeks Laterultimately ends up being more depressing than28 Days Later, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows that28 Years Lateris coming out. After all, you’re able to’t go from something relatively hopeful at the end of28 Days Laterright to a continuation of the story that once more sees hordes of infected making the planet uninhabitable.
In contrast to that first movie,28 Weeks Laterends with things worse than ever, and all but confirms thatany progress made when it came tocontaining the virus has been undone, and that things are now even more widespread. You also see a ton of people die throughout the entirety of the film, with28 Weeks Laterruthlessly eliminating most of its characters at a pretty speedy rate, from start to finish.
28 Weeks Later
7’Maggie' (2015)
Directed by Henry Hobson
A far cry from the sorts ofmovies he’s best known for starring in,MaggiefeaturesArnold Schwarzeneggerin a rather dramatic role in a movie that’s deliberately not very action-packed. It’s not exactly a good movie, but it is worth mentioning when it comes to talking about depressing zombie films, given it’s all about a father trying to protect his daughter after she gets infected during a zombie epidemic.
So, points for trying something new, as far as Schwarzenegger movies go,butMaggieis also a bit too slow, plodding, and generic in execution, which undoes some of what might make it sound intriguingin theory. There aren’t really alternatives for superior Schwarzenegger zombie movies, but if you want to see a betterAbigail Breslinzombie film, there is always 2009’sZombieland.
Directed by Zack Snyder
Afterdirecting a string of superhero movies,Zack Snyderreturned to the zombie genre almost 20 years on from his directorial debut,Dawn of the Dead(2004), with the similarly titled (but not related)Army of the Dead. It might not sound too depressing going by the premise alone, considering it’s a zombie film that also functions as a heist movie, and it’s set in the always colorful and zany Las Vegas.
But despite some fun moments, there is a certain nihilism toArmy of the Dead, and, for better or worse, it all ends up pretty despairing by the end. It takes the28 Weeks Laterapproach of killing tons of people, andsuggesting that something like a worldwide zombie outbreak can never be truly contained or conquered.At least the heist stuffand ultra-violent action scenes might put a smile on your face?
Army of the Dead
Directed by George A. Romero
Like28 Days Later,Day of the Deaddoesn’t end on a totally miserable or hopeless note, but much of the film prior to the conclusion is pretty downbeat and emotionally intense.George A. Romeroworked withTom Savinihere to push boundarieswhen it came to on-screen bloodshed, andthe confined setting of the film(so much of it takes place underground) also adds to the hopelessness of it all.
There’s no fun to the zombie apocalypse, as there sometimes was in 1978’sDawn of the Dead.Day of the Deadfeels like it kind of tells it like it is, or, more specifically, tells it how it would be. Some individuals might survive and endure,butDay of the Deadargues that if a zombie outbreak happened, the human race at large would generally be doomed, and it argues such a point quite persuasively and viscerally.
Day of the Dead
Directed by Bob Clark
A uniquely bleak zombie film,Dead of Nightis also sometimes known asDeathdream, and is the second most well-known horror movieBob Clarkdirected in 1974 (the first wasBlack Christmas, of course). It’s about a couple receiving news that their son has been killed in Vietnam, but then he somehow returns home, only he’s… well, you’re able to probably guess what he is, considering we’re talking about zombie movies here.
Dead of Nightis small-scale and intimate, and finds horror in its grounded and deliberately not-very-exciting approach to the zombie genre. This makes it rather striking and upsetting,playing on a parental fear that’s especially prevalent during wartime, and emphasizing/exaggerating such real-life terror by adding in the more traditional sort of horrorthat always comes with cinematic depictions of zombies.
Dead of Night
3’The Wailing' (2016)
Directed by Na Hong-jin
The Wailingis another strange zombie movie that’s so much more than a traditional zombie film. Calling it such is underselling it, considering it runs for about 2.5 hours andfeels most like a folk horror filmwith a good deal of mystery to its narrative. Perhaps knowing that undead and/or infected will play some kind of role is a spoiler, but at the same time, knowing that’s coming could also make things more intriguing.
It’s about a small town, achallenging investigation, and a sicknessthat is having a disturbing effect on many people it seems to come into contact with.The Wailingmoves slow but isalways confident and, at the very least, persistently eerie in an admirably quiet way. When it wants to get gnarly, confronting, and depressing, it inevitably succeeds in those areas, too.
The Wailing
2’Zombie Flesh Eaters' (1979)
Directed by Lucio Fulci
If you wantentertainment alongside undeniable bleakness,Zombie Flesh Eatershas got your back. This film walks a strange line between schlock and despair-filled horror, doing so with a simple premise that involves an outbreak on an island that could have world-ending implications if it were to spread elsewhere in the world… which it eventually does, by the film’s end.
Before then, though,Zombie Flesh Eatersalso has fun with some very over-the-top violence, all of which is kind of horrifying but also perhaps a little goofy.Still, there is something genuinely haunting about the way it builds towards its hopeless climax, and the ending itself is effective in its bleakness. It’s a tonally wild movie for sure, but absolutely a classic as far as zombie-related cinema is concerned.
An original and genre-defining zombie movie,Night of the Living Deadis arguably even more hopeless than Romero’s later (mostly) miserable zombie flick, 1985’sDay of the Dead. It has the sort of claustrophobic setting that film has, and is similarly pessimistic about the way humanity would handle the dead rising from their graves, ultimately ending on an even more hopeless note.
It’s not as violent asDay of the Dead, or many other zombie movies it inspires, but the horrific parts ofNight of the Living Deadhit hard without there needing to be a reliance on terrifyingly gory violence. It feels more realistic with the approach it takes, and thoughit’s clearly a film of its time, it’s still prettyimpressive howdesperate, sad, and harrowing it ends up being, even when watched more than half a century on from release.
