Hey guys! Ready to dive headfirst into the world of the undead? If you’re anything like me, you’re probably obsessed with zombie movies. There’s just something about the thrill of the chase, the suspense, and the sheer chaos that keeps us coming back for more. In this article, we’re going to take a deep dive into some of the best zombie apocalypse movies out there, looking at what makes them so awesome and why you absolutely need to watch them. From the classics that started it all to the modern blockbusters that redefined the genre, we’ve got something for everyone. So, grab your popcorn, maybe a baseball bat (just in case), and let’s get started!

The Undead Unleashed: A Look at the Zombie Genre

Before we jump into the reviews, let’s chat about what makes a great zombie movie, shall we? The zombie genre has evolved massively over the years. Initially, zombies were often slow, shambling creatures, easily dispatched. Think of George A. Romero’s iconic films. They were more about social commentary and less about the zombies themselves. Over time, the undead got a serious upgrade! We’re talking about faster, smarter, and way more terrifying zombies. This evolution has led to some incredible variations in storytelling and action.

Now, what makes a zombie movie truly stand out? First, it’s gotta have great characters. We need to care about the people fighting for survival. Are they relatable? Do they have compelling backstories? Their struggles, their relationships, and the difficult choices they make during the zombie apocalypse can make or break a film. Second, the atmosphere is key. The best zombie movies create a sense of dread, claustrophobia, and constant tension. The world needs to feel dangerous and unpredictable. A decaying city, a deserted town, or a heavily guarded compound – the setting is almost a character itself. Third, the zombies themselves need to be done right. Are they scary? Are they threatening? Do they have unique characteristics? The visual design of the zombies, how they move, and the way they are dealt with contribute to the overall experience. A fresh take on the undead can revitalize a genre that, let’s be honest, can sometimes feel a bit repetitive. Finally, and this is super important, a good zombie movie needs a strong story. The plot should keep you hooked, with unexpected twists and turns. It should have a clear goal, high stakes, and a satisfying resolution (or, you know, at least a memorable cliffhanger!). With these elements in mind, let’s see which movies have nailed it!

Top Zombie Apocalypse Movies You Can’t Miss

Alright, let’s get to the good stuff! Here are some of the best zombie apocalypse movies that you absolutely have to watch:

1. 28 Days Later (2002)

Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later is a game-changer. It didn’t invent the zombie genre, but it sure as hell revolutionized it. Forget slow, lumbering zombies; these infected individuals are fast, furious, and utterly terrifying. The movie follows Cillian Murphy as Jim, who wakes up from a coma to find London deserted and overrun by rage-filled infected humans. The cinematography is stunning, capturing the desolation of a post-apocalyptic London. The pacing is relentless, with the infected providing some of the most heart-stopping chase sequences in movie history. Beyond the action, 28 Days Later offers a powerful commentary on human nature and the breakdown of society. It asks, who are the real monsters? The infected, or the survivors struggling to rebuild?

• Why it’s a must-watch: Fast-paced, intense, and a true visual feast. It redefined zombie speed and intensity.
• Key elements: Fast zombies, desolate environments, and a gripping survival story.

2. Dawn of the Dead (1978)

George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead is a zombie classic. A group of survivors takes refuge in a shopping mall during a zombie outbreak. This movie is a brilliant satire of consumerism. While they’re battling the undead, they also have to deal with the temptations of the mall. The practical effects are gruesome and impressive, even by today’s standards. Romero uses the zombie outbreak to comment on societal issues. It’s a great example of how the zombie genre can be used to make broader points about society. Dawn of the Dead is a must-see for any zombie fan.

• Why it’s a must-watch: A genre-defining classic, with fantastic effects and social commentary.
• Key elements: Shopping mall setting, practical effects, and social satire.

3. Train to Busan (2016)

Train to Busan is a South Korean zombie thriller that delivers pure adrenaline. A group of passengers on a train from Seoul to Busan find themselves in the middle of a zombie outbreak. The claustrophobic setting of the train intensifies the suspense. This movie has fantastic action sequences, heartfelt moments, and some genuinely shocking moments. Train to Busan isn’t just about survival; it’s about the bonds of family and the lengths people will go to protect each other. If you’re looking for a zombie movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat, this is it.

• Why it’s a must-watch: Intense, emotional, and a masterclass in suspense.
• Key elements: Claustrophobic setting, emotional depth, and incredible action.

4. World War Z (2013)

World War Z takes a global approach to the zombie apocalypse. Brad Pitt plays a former UN investigator racing against time to find a cure. The movie features huge, sweeping shots of zombie hordes, which is a spectacle to behold. Although it differs significantly from the book, it’s a thrilling action movie with fantastic production values. It offers a fresh perspective, exploring the worldwide impact of the outbreak. It’s fast-paced, action-packed, and full of memorable scenes.

• Why it’s a must-watch: Large-scale action and a global perspective on the outbreak.
• Key elements: Global scope, action sequences, and a race against time.

5. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Shaun of the Dead is a comedy-horror masterpiece. It follows Shaun, a man who is trying to turn his life around during the zombie apocalypse. The film perfectly blends humor with horror, creating a unique and entertaining experience. The characters are lovable, and the jokes land perfectly. If you want a zombie movie that makes you laugh and scream, Shaun of the Dead is the perfect choice.

• Why it’s a must-watch: A hilarious and heartwarming take on the zombie genre.
• Key elements: Comedy, strong characters, and a unique blend of genres.

Honorable Mentions and Underrated Gems

While the movies above are essential viewing, there are plenty of other zombie films that deserve a shout-out. For example, [REC] (2007) is a found-footage Spanish horror film that is terrifying. Its claustrophobic setting and relentless pacing will keep you on the edge of your seat. Zombieland (2009) is a fun and quirky road trip movie that offers a lighter take on the zombie genre. The Girl with All the Gifts (2016) is a thought-provoking film that explores themes of humanity and survival in a unique way. One Cut of the Dead (2017) is a Japanese zombie comedy that starts as a low-budget zombie film and then cleverly twists into something more. It’s a meta-commentary on filmmaking that is both funny and surprisingly touching. These movies may not be as well-known as the blockbusters, but they each offer something unique to the genre.

The End is Nigh: Final Thoughts

So there you have it, folks! A rundown of some of the best zombie apocalypse movies out there. From the fast-paced thrills of 28 Days Later to the social commentary of Dawn of the Dead, there’s a zombie movie for everyone. The genre continues to evolve, offering new perspectives on human nature, survival, and what it means to be alive. So, next time you’re looking for a thrill, grab some snacks, dim the lights, and settle in for a night of zombie fun. You might just find yourself screaming at the screen, and that’s the whole point, right?

What are your favorite zombie movies? Let me know in the comments below! And don’t forget to stay safe out there… you know, just in case!

MILAN — He’s as smooth as a bobsled track and sharp as a skate blade.

Snoop Dogg, the rap rapscallion who puts the OG in Olympic Games, plopped down on a couch in the NBC green room and muted the TV. It’s exhausting being everywhere at all times at the most spread-out Winter Games in history.

Whether he was carrying the Olympic torch, skiing with Picabo Street, sliding a curling stone or driving a Zamboni, Snoop was everywhere. He finished each day with a highlight show from the Milan studios.

So ubiquitous was the so-called Ambassador of Happiness, you’d swear NBC duped a Snoop — or maybe two.

“The Winter Olympics are underrated,” he said in an interview Friday at the network’s Olympic complex. “It’s not highly touted like it should be. This is an event that is just as good as the Super Bowl, as the Summer Olympics. There’s so much action and there’s so much happening, and it’s not just one day. It’s not just four quarters. It’s weeks of great competition — on ice, for the most part.”

It’s almost as if the angular, 6-foot-4 Snoop is on ice as he glides through the back halls of NBC’s temporary headquarters, wearing a white turtleneck under a red, white and blue leather jacket with “COACH SNOOP” across the front. He’s wearing a gold-rope chain with the Universal logo as a pendant, and gold-rimmed sunglasses that are square and lightly tinted.

He greets everyone he sees and a friendly assistant follows him, handing out Olympic pins of a tiny, cartoonish Snoop with his arms raised at his side, standing in front of an American flag.

Is it any wonder this guy creates a buzz in every venue he enters? He is the No. 1 celebrity sighting at the Games.

“Snoop has a joy about him, a childlike curiosity, and he’s also a people person,” said Molly Solomon, executive producer and president of programming for NBC’s Olympics coverage. “He wants to lift people up in all aspects of his persona.”

NBC began using the rapper as part of its Olympic coverage during the Tokyo Games in 2021 with the streaming Peacock show “Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart & Snoop Dogg.” Many of their playful clips and humorous commentaries went viral and were especially appealing to younger viewers. Snoop genuinely enjoyed the competition, even though a lot of it was new to him.

Three years later, as the network was preparing for the Paris Olympics, executives were looking for ways to enhance the prime-time coverage, much of which would air on tape because of time-zone differences. They decided to expand Snoop’s role to give the perspective of a “superfan.” With these Olympics, his role further evolved into an experiential one, and to serve as an informal mentor and ambassador to the athletes.

“This is the biggest stage in the world,” he said. “Nobody gets to perform in front of the world like they do, with the whole world paying attention. To have all of that pressure of [something] you’ve been working for four years … Some of these girls and guys get that one shot, their event is only one time.”

As a roving correspondent, he did … well, some serious roving.

That included making the drive from Milan to Cortina for curling, sliding and women’s ski racing. That’s a four-hour van ride each way, some of it winding into the Dolomites.

“Trying to sleep with my head up against the window, with turning curves and every mountaintop,” he said. “Sliding by trains and traffic, and oh my God, I couldn’t drive out here. One-way streets. Little-bitty trains coming this way, that way. Bicycles, mopeds. It’s a lot.”

He also made a 3½-hour trip to Livigno to watch snowboarding — and said that if he had to pick a sport to compete in, that would be his choice.

“I could get good in snowboard, because I just like the creativity of when you’re in the air you have full control but you in the air,” he said. “I just feel like that’s something I could really be good at.”

So he must have skateboarded as a kid growing up in Long Beach, right?

“Never,” he said. “That’s what I’m saying. None of these sports are near and dear to me. That’s why it’s gonna be a first-time trial. But I know who I am. I don’t like to fail. I don’t like to lose. So I’m just such a perfectionist that I will get good enough to be good enough.”

He’s 54 and concedes his body can’t always accomplish what his mind thinks it can. He tried running the 200 meters at the Olympic trials in Oregon before the Paris Games and did so in 33 seconds, but he limped away with an injury. So he has a goal for when the Summer Games come to Los Angeles in two years.

“When we get to L.A., my mission is for me to run the 200 in under 30 seconds,” he said. “In 2028, I should be 56 years old. So if I can run it in under 30 seconds at 56, that’s a gold medal for me.”

Solomon said NBC is still brainstorming about how Snoop’s role will evolve for the 2028 Games.

Honorary Team USA coach Snoop Dogg throws a curling stone as Americans Daniel Casper and Tabitha Peterson Lovick watch on Feb. 6 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

(Richard Heathcote / Getty Images)

“Of course, L.A. is Snoop’s hometown,” she said. “So he will be a hometown hero.”

Snoop said his love for the Olympics dates to the 1984 Los Angeles Games. He didn’t attend any events at the time, though, noting that for a 13-year-old kid growing up in Long Beach, the city felt “like a whole state away.”

“We were watching on television,” he said. “We never thought we could physically be there. … It just felt good to be an American, to watch us compete against the whole world and to see how great we were.”

He’s particularly interested in flag football — which will make its debut in the Los Angeles Olympics — and created a youth football league that counts among its alumni NFL standouts C.J. Stroud and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

“Flag football is a sport the whole world can grab ahold of,” Snoop said. “There are so many athletes that are in the NFL that are from different parts of the world that they’ve grown the sport from them just making it to the NFL and being an inspiration for the next generation.”

Spoken like a true Ambassador of Happiness.

PLOT: Bart Millard, lead singer of MercyMe, faces a personal crisis at the peak of his success. As his world unravels, he struggles with his beliefs and inner demons while seeking a path through adversity.

REVIEW: I should state right off the bat that I’m far from the faith based target audience for I Can Only Imagine 2, but I am aware of the band MercyMe. In fact, back in my middle school days, I saw the band perform live. So I do feel like I have some kind of experience with this music, even if it’s not my bag these days.

I Can Only Imagine 2 follows Bart Millard as he tries to lead his band MercyMe after their initial happy ending, but has issues at home that make him depressed. There is an interesting story there about what happens after you find big success, and where do you go from there now that you’ve tackled the mountain? But it’s more focused on Bart feeling like he’s failed as a father (which he states while providing for his big family, in his big house). Broadway star John Michael Finley does a good job as Bart, though it feels like his drama is just there for the sake of it. Milo Ventimiglia gives a good performance as Tim Timmons, a core member of the bad, even if the character himself is more annoying than anything. Dennis Quaid mostly shows up in archive footage, though he does get a quite meaningful flashback at one point.

The first film is about how Bart grew up and the creation of his Christian hit song, from which the film’s title is based. This sequel tries to show what it’s like for a musician to move forward after initial success and the struggles that may come with it, but it feels lost in its messaging. The lesson appears to be that you just need to create another hit song that catches on and brings massive success. So it’s kind of just hitting the same beats, but rather than starting from the bottom, we’re following them on a headlining tour. It’s hard to really feel like the band or the characters are really struggling in any significant way.

There’s so much manufactured drama here, and much of it feels unnecessary. One of the main conflicts of the entire movie is that Bart’s son Sam has Type 1 Diabetes. He has a lot of guilt regarding the fact that he has to hurt his kid by sticking him with a needle, and it reminds him of the abuse he endured by his father. You’d think this would be a slight subplot, but it extends the entire runtime and gets resolved in a montage. Sam gets mad at his father because he can’t take responsibility for his own health and remember to take his insulin. It comes across so childish, and even winding up in the hospital doesn’t teach him that he needs to remember to actually keep after his blood sugar levels. Instead, he’s just rewarded with a spot on the tour due to Bart’s guilt, versus Sam actually showing some initiative.

I Can Only Imagine 2 is packed full of random subplots yet none of them ever seen to really matter. It feels like the writer is just throwing a dart at a board covered with as many dramatic tropes as you can think of. Cancer? Check. Random pregnancy? Check. Son being mad at his father? You better believe that’s a check. I know that this is based on a true story but it’s all presented in such a rapid fire way that none of it even feels real. The ending text summary of what happened to everyone is real life just further adds to the feeling of “What was even the point of this film?”

However, it must be said that the music is well done and it was nice to see Red Rocks Amphitheater get such a spotlight as it is one of the greatest places to see a concert on the planet. But the messaging feels a bit lost and the focus is in the wrong spots. There are multiple times where characters are preaching to the viewer and it all feels very on the nose. I’m sure fans of MercyMe will enjoy seeing this but I’m really not sure the story transcends the faith-based audience for those without prior investment in the band. However, the target audience will no doubt appreciate it.

I Can Only Imagine 2 is now playing in theaters.

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