MY FAVORITE ZOMBIES!

11 hours ago
6 min read

Alright, here we go. Zombies. One of my favorite subjects, one of my favorite subgenres, and honestly one of the reasons I fell in love with movies in the first place.

As you probably already know, horror is my favorite genre. Always has been, always will be. Horror movies were my gateway drug into cinema. They were the first films that really grabbed me as a kid, scared the hell out of me, thrilled me, confused me, and made me realize that movies could do things nothing else could do.

And within horror, my favorite corner of the genre, my true comfort food, has always been zombie movies. Zombies are my thing.

Now, the word zombie itself goes way back. The concept predates movies by centuries. The term comes from Haitian folklore and African languages like Kikongo and Kimbundu, and originally described a corpse reanimated through magical practices, often connected to Vodou.

These weren’t flesh-eating monsters. They were enslaved bodies, spirits trapped in dead flesh, used as labor, stripped of identity and free will. Creepy in a very different, very real-world way.

One of the first things that introduced Western audiences to this idea was W. B. Seabrook’s book The Magic Island in 1929, which leaned heavily into the myth and mystery of Haitian zombie lore.

But the zombies that most of us know and love today, the ones staggering around looking for flesh, didn’t really exist until George A. Romero came along and changed everything.

Romero didn’t invent the word zombie, but he absolutely reinvented the creature. With Night of the Living Dead in 1968, inspired in part by Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, he gave us the modern zombie.

The walking dead. The flesh-eaters. The shambling corpses that just keep coming. Interestingly enough, the word zombie isn’t even used in that movie, but audiences quickly adopted it, and it stuck.

Romero then doubled down with Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, and beyond, and in the process he turned zombies into something more than just monsters. They became metaphors. They became social commentary. They became reflections of us.

Consumerism. Politics. War. Disease. Fear. Tribalism. Human stupidity. Romero figured out that zombies could carry all of that, and sometimes the real monsters weren’t the undead at all, but the living.

One of the things I love most about Romero’s zombies is that they aren’t just mindless killing machines. They’re drawn to things that once mattered to them. In Dawn of the Dead, they wander a shopping mall because it feels familiar. Comfortable. Like muscle memory from a life they barely remember.

That idea is haunting and sad and brilliant. And as Romero’s films went on, the zombies themselves almost became the protagonists, while the humans grew more selfish, cruel, and terrifying. That was always the point.

Of course, zombies didn’t stay frozen in Romero-land. The genre exploded, mutated, spread across the globe. You got Italian zombie movies, splatter films, comedies, action movies, romantic zombies, sympathetic zombies, fast zombies, slow zombies, smart zombies, dumb zombies, zombies on TV, zombies in video games, zombies everywhere.

We even hit a point where zombies became romantic leads and metaphors for outsiders and marginalized people, with movies like Warm Bodies and shows like iZombie and Santa Clarita Diet. Zombies became weirdly human again.

Now, I should clarify something, because I’m very strict about this. Zombies have to be dead. Dead, buried, gone, and then reanimated. People infected with a virus who are still alive are not zombies. I don’t care how much they snarl or bite or scream.

Movies like 28 Days Later feature infected humans, not zombies. Rage victims are not zombies. That’s a different thing. I’m not saying those movies are bad. I’m saying they don’t count for this list. Zombies die and then come back. That’s the rule.

And within all these movies, there have been some truly unforgettable zombie characters. Not just hordes. Individuals. Zombies that stick with you. Zombies that actors had a blast playing. Zombies that became iconic, instantly recognizable, burned into your brain forever.

That’s what this list is about.

These are my ten favorite zombies of all time from movie history. They are not ranked in order of preference. This is a random list. I love some more than others, but every one of these zombies earns their place.

And because Dawn of the Dead is the greatest zombie movie ever made and packed with legendary undead, I’ve also included a special recognition section just for that film.

So here they are. My ten favorite zombies of all time.

MY TOP 10 FAVORITE ZOMBIES (in random order):

BUB – DAY OF THE DEAD

Bub is the zombie that changed everything. The Greatest Zombie of them all. He’s proof that Romero never stopped evolving the genre. Bub can learn. Bub can remember. Bub listens to music, salutes, and fires a gun. He’s tragic, fascinating, and weirdly emotional. In many ways, Bub is more human than most of the living characters in the movie, which is exactly Romero’s point.

ED – SHAUN OF THE DEAD

One of the most lovable zombies ever put on screen. Ed as a zombie is funny, sad, and oddly sweet. He’s still Ed, still annoying, still hanging around the shed playing video games. Shaun of the Dead works because it understands zombie rules and then bends them with heart, and Ed is the perfect example of that.

R – WARM BODIES

A zombie with a conscience and a growing heartbeat. R represents encourage, a romanticized evolution of the zombie myth, but it works because it’s sincere. He’s lonely, confused, and self-aware in a way that’s surprisingly effective. A great example of how flexible the zombie concept really is.

TARMAN – THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD

This guy traumatized an entire generation. Fast, talking, screaming for brains, and impossible to kill. Tarman looks terrifying, sounds terrifying, and redefined what zombies could be. The moment he says “Brains!” is still one of the most iconic moments in zombie movie history.

KAREN COOPER – NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

The ultimate gut punch. A little girl zombie who murders her mother with a trowel. Romero broke every unspoken rule with Karen Cooper, and it’s still shocking today. She’s the moment you realize this movie is not messing around, and no one is safe.

BIG DADDY – LAND OF THE DEAD

Romero comes full circle. Big Daddy is a thinking zombie, a leader, a symbol of uprising. He organizes, remembers, and retaliates. He’s not just undead muscle; he’s a revolutionary figure. A fascinating evolution of Romero’s ideas about power, class, and rage.

FIDO – FIDO

A domesticated zombie on a leash. Equal parts funny, sad, and disturbing. Fido is gentle, loyal, and heartbreaking, and the movie uses him to explore conformity, control, and emotional repression. A brilliant twist on the zombie-as-pet idea.

HERZOG – DEAD SNOW

Nazi zombies are already insane, but Herzog takes it to another level. He’s imposing, menacing, and gleefully over-the-top. Dead Snow is splattery fun, and Herzog is the perfect undead villain to anchor the chaos.

ARTHUR GRIMSDYKE – TALES FROM THE CRYPT

Peter Cushing as a zombie???? Please! It does not get better than that. Grimsdyke is also one of the earliest and creepiest cinematic zombies. His slow, relentless pursuit is pure nightmare fuel. No jokes, no winks, just grim inevitability. This guy walked so modern zombies could run.

THE CONQUISTADOR - ZOMBIE

Lucio Fulci zombies hit different, and The Conquistador is pure nightmare logic. Rotting, worm-eyed, surreal, unstoppable, and soaked in atmosphere. This is zombie horror as dream logic, and The Conquistador embodies everything eerie and otherworldly about Fulci’s vision. He is also the ultimate poster image for zombies.

So there you go. Ten zombies. Ten unforgettable undead. Proof that zombies aren’t just monsters, they’re mirrors, metaphors, and sometimes even tragic heroes. And yeah, zombies are cool.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION FOR THE LEGENDARY ZOMBIES OF DAWN OF THE DEAD

And yes, Dawn of the Dead gets its own special recognition, because it deserves it. That movie is wall-to-wall iconic zombies, and they’re burned into my brain forever.

Flyboy: Played by David Emge , he is the most significant zombie in the film. After being bitten during the biker raid, he reanimates and leads the undead horde to the survivors' hidden lair.

Hare Krishna Zombie: Portrayed by Mike Christopher, this zombie is one of the film's most recognizable icons, wearing saffron robes and carrying a tambourine.

Plaid Shirt Zombie: Played by John Paul, he is one of the first zombies encountered in the mall and is often used in the film's promotional materials.

Helicopter Zombie: Portrayed by Jim Krut, this zombie is famous for the "scalping" scene where the top of his head is sliced off by the helicopter's rotors.

Machete Zombie: Played by Lennie Lies, he is known for having a machete buried in his head by Tom Savini's character.

Nurse Zombie: Played by Sharon Ceccatti, she is one of the "lead zombies" prominently featured during the mall sequences. The most haunting of all of the zombies in the film.