Movies
The Best Zombie Films You Can Watch on Shudder Right Now
A list of the the best zombie horror films you can stream on Shudder right now.
Howdy, Horror Press reader! You know usually I’d start the article with a folksy aphorism, or a fun story, but Editor James-Michael said “think fast” and threw some sort of rat-monkey into the basement where I type these articles up before shutting the door.
Long story short, I’ve been bitten by it and I’m having trouble focusing, so right to brass tacks. Today we’ll be highlighting the best zombie films you can watch on Shudder, to make that movie night selection just a little bit easier.
I will also clarify, there are a lot of zombie-like movies on Shudder, with films like Demons, Azrael, and The Sadness filling those ranks. So, for the purpose of defining the zombies, we’re going with ravenous, mindless, undead creatures who specifically infect others by biting or scratching or eating them. So, while Night of the Living Dead technically never calls them zombies (they’re actually some of cinema’s first “ghouls”), it counts as a zombie film.
The Best Zombie Horror Films You Can Stream on Shudder
ZOMBIE (1979)
“You’re not actually going to start the list with that movie right?”
It’s a list of zombie movies. It’s called Zombie.
More importantly, Lucio Fulci’s cult classic is the quintessential Italian zombie film. Known as Zombi 2 in the rest of the world (since the first Zombi is the Italian localization of Romero’s Dawn of the Dead), it’s a very simple zombie film executed wonderfully. Beyond the legendary underwater zombie versus shark brawl that has made this movie a bit of a meme among horror fans, this is also the stomping grounds of Fulci’s most frequent collaborator: Giannetto De Rossi, a special effects artist so good I considered putting his name in bold for emphasis.
This is arguably the best of Rossi’s work, made most memorable by the film’s iconic scene of a worm-infested zombie rising from its grave. Really, it’s a top-notch highlight reel of all the skills that made Rossi an invaluable asset on a gamut of films ranging from David Lynch’s Dune to Alexandre Aja’s High Tension. If makeup and effects are what makes a horror movie for you, you have to watch this one.
BLOOD QUANTUM (2019)
Now this, this is a modern zombie movie with a whole lot of substance, and a fair bit of sauce.
When a zombie epidemic rips through the Northern reaches of Canada, it turns out one slice of the country’s demographics is completely immune to the virus: the indigenous First Nations people, who quickly set up a reservation fortress to safeguard the community. Jeff Barnaby uses this premise to skewer the unfortunately all too common divide between white Canadian citizens and their First Nations counterparts, the history of which is soaked in heaps of racial violence and an ugly colonialist legacy.
Beyond its thoughtful narrative, Blood Quantum also delivers on some of the nastiest practicals in a zombie movie from the past decade, with some being on par with Rossi’s work above thanks to an award-winning makeup and visual effects team. The action is good, the story is great, and the films’ thematic underpinnings make for a phenomenal watching experience that sticks with you and makes you want to learn more about the film and the surroundings it came up out of.
DEAD SHACK (2017)
When you have deadbeat parents watching over you that you can’t rely on, and you’re left to fend for yourself on a weekend out in the sticks, what are you to do when you find out your neighbor has zombies in her house? Suit up and try to kill them yourself, to hilarious effect.
One of the two horror comedies on this list, Dead Shack reminds me a lot of another highly underrated Shudder offering, Boys From County Hell. It’s got dark humor that’s more slapstick than the dry Irish flavor from Boys, but like that film, it’s supplemented by a fairly strong and charismatic cast of young actors, thrust into a hilarious situation where things just keep going wrong.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
And in the softest of softball lobs I’ll ever put in one of my recommendation articles, here’s George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead! It is such a classic, I don’t even know what I can say about it that hasn’t been said; it’s just such a core component of horror cinema, every frame has been pored over like an ancient text on how to make low-budget filmmaking legendary.
Having rewatched it for this article, Duane Jones’ performance in this movie is still unbelievably compelling after all these years, and it feels so fresh still because of the vocal command he projects. It’s a masterclass in acting in general and has cemented him as one of my favorite horror protagonists of all time. He’s simply the blueprint.
PENINSULA (2020)
The oft-forgotten sequel to Train to Busan, I wrote a retrospective article about Peninsula last summer for Horror Press. You can find a more in-depth analysis of the film there, but I’ll give a basic rundown here: Peninsula is a massive departure from its predecessor in tone, plot, action—honestly, its entire cinematography is cut from different cloth. Trading in sentimental horror on trains for pulse-pounding action sequences in zombie-filled car chases, director Yeong Sang-ho weaves a wild action-horror film that’s got a high rewatch value. It is an easy-to-enjoy thrill ride through post-apocalyptic South Korea.
ONE CUT OF THE DEAD (2017)
If there’s any country that knows how to do zombie movies better than America, it’s Japan. An independent horror film in a sea of Japan’s bigger budget splatter films, One Cut of the Dead made waves not just for its 37-minute one-shot that opens the movie and gives the film its title, but for the sincerely heartwarming message it has to send about the struggles of making horror movies. I’ve kind of mentally dissociated One Cut of the Dead as a zombie movie because it’s just one of, if not the most, perfect pieces of meta-horror that I’ve had the pleasure of watching. I can’t guide you through this one without spoiling a whole bunch, but I can guarantee that you will leave this movie glad you watched it.
Also, a small sidenote: Harumi Shuhama’s performance in this makes me smile every time I watch it. She’s deeply talented, we need her in more horror movies.
(POM!)
MADS (2024)
Saving the best for last, last year’s MadS is maybe the film I was least excited to watch and the one I was most impressed with the result of.
For a very long time, I would have stopped being impressed with one-take movies a while back (I know it sounds odd because I just sang One Cut of the Dead so much praise, but stick with me). Because when you watch enough one-takes you can see the clear points where they cut. If the simulation breaks, the gimmick kind of just dies. But MadS is not only a true blue one-take (if it is spliced together takes, it’s unbelievably skilled at hiding it), it uses that one shot to build a kind of tension that made my spine start to tie around itself tight. It’s composed in uncomfortable closeups for most of the runtime, but even when the shots go wide, its composition, its lighting, its sound design, and the way director David Moreau makes the camera move makes you feel like you can’t get far enough away.
It made me unironically feel like I had pressure building on my neck as the film makes you watch the infection spread. MadS above all else serves up one of the most harrowing depictions of a zombie outbreak ever, and its tactile effectiveness is a testament to its cinematography; a cinematography that doesn’t let up until that final shot, and sticks to you like superglue with you after it’s wrapped up.
Netflix did not give me a lot to work with this month. I may have also zoomed through many of my favorite things on the platform these last few months. So, many of these are titles I have been meaning to check out, and I hope they are worth the wait. However, I cannot promise the carnage, chaos, and confusion I normally provide for this column. This means you’ll have to forgive me for having less razzle dazzle and a little more uncertainty while I list some stuff off the less beaten path. Gather around, and I’ll tell you what I am trying to get into this March!
Archive (2020)
In 20238, George Almore’s newest AI prototype is nearly complete. However, this humanesque machine is also hiding one of George’s secrets that must remain hidden. While I love some British sci-fi and believe we should watch as many of the 2020 movies that slid under our quarantined radar, I’m pulling up for another reason. I want to see Theo James in something that isn’t The Monkey. Literally. I didn’t enjoy that movie, and I seem to be the last person I know who was unfamiliar with James before that. So, I’m trying to rectify that and see what he can do in anything else. Hopefully, after catching this on Netflix, I will have a new movie that comes to mind when he is mentioned. Fingers crossed, friends!
Green Room (2016)
A punk rock band gets trapped in a venue where skinheads want to kill them. So many people have told me this movie is worth my time, but because it’s always too soon for violent racists in this decade, I keep putting it off. However, I am so curious to see what Patrick Stewart, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, and the late Anton Yelchin are doing in this movie. Green Room is also one of the few A24 horror movies that I have not seen, which makes it even more intriguing. While I doubt 2026 will calm down enough for this not feel too real, I think it’s time for me to be brave and cross this movie off my list already. So, I might have to grab a drink, a weighted blanket, and remote so I can open Netflix.
M3GAN 2.0 (2025)
Two years after M3GAN’s murder spree, she is rebuilt by her creator to take down a military-grade weapon made from her stolen tech. Is this movie as good as the original written by Akela Cooper? Obviously not. No one can do what Cooper does and we shouldn’t hold people to that very high bar. Is this movie way too damn long? Also, yes. However, was there still a lot of fun to be had along the way? I thought so. While M3GAN 2.0 isn’t the sequel we wanted, I’m happy to rewatch it for free at home. We lose a lot of the threads I loved in the first one, but I’ll be damned if this isn’t the new Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day anyway. In a perfect world, Akela Cooper will reopen the computer (after receiving a very large check from Blumhouse) and give us a third installment to bring our dancing diva back into the horror fold.
Life After Beth (2014)
A man discovers his dead girlfriend is back, and that might be for the worst. I never watched this horror comedy, but I’m sad and hoping Aubrey Plaza can change that. After all, if she can’t wake us up after a long winter, then who can? I also imagine Plaza as a zombie is kind of great. Along for the ride is Molly Shannon, so between the two of them, I expect some chuckles and guffaws. Maybe the powers that be at Netflix knew we could all use a laugh, and that’s why this is waiting for us on the other side of February. Or possibly they wanted to apologize for that last season of Stranger Things. Or maybe it’s just a wacky coincidence, and I’m looking for meaning where there is none. Either way, I have a date with this movie, and you might want to check it out too.
Teen Wolf (2011-2017)
Getting bitten by a werewolf turns life upside down for a high school student and his best friend. Hear me out! I doubt there is a world where I will watch all six seasons of this. Hell, I doubt I’ll even finish the first season. However, I skipped this MTV moment when it originally aired. Which is why I didn’t know who Dylan O’Brien was when Send Help was announced. So, I’m using this Netflix account to see where he started now that I have seen him in something. You can join me in this or mark your time as safe and watch something else. I don’t blame you either way, and I hope you’ll respect my privacy during this adventure.
That’s what I’m doing with my Netflix account this month. Here is hoping April gives us more scary movies because some of us deserve it. Most importantly, I deserve it.
Shudder is still that girl even in March. Our beloved streamer is adding classics like The Fog and Messiah of Evil. They are also adding a couple of films that are precious to my generation, like May. The app always has an eclectic lineup, but this month is an embarrassment of riches. At least if you are like me, and looking at a list of movies you have had on your watch list forever. That is why it took me a hot minute to figure out which five titles should be this month’s priority. However, I cracked the code and think I have something old, something new, and definitely at least a couple of things that will turn blue. Check out what I am trying to see on Shudder this month. Also, be sure to let me know if you are as geeked about these titles as I am.
The Best Movies to Stream on Shudder This Month
The Last Horror Film (1982)
A New York taxi driver stalks an actress during the Cannes Film Festival. I love 80s slashers and have been on a quest to watch them all. This one has eluded me for a couple of years, and I am so happy Shudder is finally letting me cross it off my list. I am not expecting this to break my top 1980s slashers. I’m not even counting on it to be one of the best movies about a stalked actress of that era. However, I’m excited to finally see it for myself with an adult beverage in hand.
You can watch The Last Horror Film on March 1st.
Fade to Black (1980)
A film fanatic begins murdering people who betray him while stalking his idol. I finally caught this on Shudder in the last couple of years and will be using its return as an excuse to rewatch it. Very few movies cater to the slasher kids and film nerds as well as this one. Fade to Black is the kind of psychological horror comedy that is the reason 1980s horror remains unmatched. The costumes, the obsession, and the kills are the most fun you can possibly have on a Shudder Saturday. Do yourself a favor and hit play immediately.
You can watch Fade to Black on March 9th.
Hostile Dimensions (2023)
Two filmmakers travel through alternate dimensions seeking out the truth about a missing graffiti artist. This found footage film has been on my list for years, and I am so grateful that Shudder is finally letting me see it. I have heard so many great things, and the FOMO was killing me. Hopefully, Hostile Dimensions lives up to the hype. Otherwise, I have to ask my nearest and dearest to explain themselves and then stop accepting recommendations from them. Will it scratch the found footage itch I have this month? There is only one way to find out, and that is why I will be sat the day this drops on the app.
You can watch Hostile Dimensions on March 9th.
1000 Women in Horror (2025)
Women have been an integral part of the genre since Mary Shelley started thinking about Frankenstein. However, we do not always get the credit and respect we deserve. Which is why I am thrilled 1000 Women in Horror is celebrating the badasses who revolutionized horror films. Not only is the documentary opening the libraries for us, but it’s also bringing current faves along for the ride. Akela Cooper, Toby Poser, and Jenn Wexler are just some of the names I know who are about to inspire so many women to get serious about making their movies. I cannot stress enough how happy I am that Shudder is adding this to its lineup.
You can watch 1000 Women in Horror on March 20th.
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
College friends backpacking through Britain are attacked by a werewolf. As a werewolf film enthusiast, I know they are not all made equally. That is one of the many reasons why this is easily one of the best werewolf movies the genre has. The transformation alone is worth the price of a Shudder subscription. So, it shouldn’t come as a shock that this is one of the five titles I’m most excited to see this month. Hell, it’s probably in everyone’s top five to be completely honest. I cannot think of a better way to close this month out than with a top-tier werewolf flick.
You can watch An American Werewolf in London on March 31st.
I told you, Shudder is that girl. Whether you’re on spring break, taking a mental health day, or just dissociating, this app has got you covered. Make sure you dig into some of this sick, twisted, and cool cinema. As for me, I will see you next month with more recommendations.
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