Zombie movies are one of the scariest tropes in the horror genre. But, which of these zombie film universes would be the hardest to survive in?
'Whod survive a zombie apocalypse' used to be a fun game, until the entire world had to quarantine itself to avoid a real plague. But almost every post-apocalyptic, sci-fi movie lover has a back-up plan, ready to survive an outbreak of flesh-craving undead monsters, should they be unleashed upon one the world's great cities.
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But lets get real for a minute: would you actually survive? Which zombie movie could you survive and what would be your strategy? Heres an easy ranking of 10 zombie movies based on how hard they would be to survive.
Mark Prices indie British film recorded on a standard mini camcorder unravels like real-time footage of a zombie apocalypse, which adds to the realness of the visual horror, without relying on too much gore. It explored the perspective of a young man who gets infected, experiences a zombification and tries to escape humans, who seem to have developed some functional tools and survival mechanisms to protect themselves.
The events of the film are quite centralized to a few locations, and the film does not really explore how the entire city is coping with the apocalypse. However, while the zombies are scrambling for sustenance, the humans seem to have come to terms with the new reality and have unified in small groups to equip themselves, which is a handy survival hack.
In Dead Snow, the zombie problem hasnt reached pandemic mode, which is quite a relief. The film follows a group of young students who are spending an Easter weekend in a snowy cabin in the mountains, which seems to be patrolled by zombified Nazi soldiers.
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Several members of the group die, but the world hasnt plunged into an apocalypse yet. However, chances are that the zombie soldiers do not plan to leave the snow-capped area since they seem to be doing fine on a diet of hikers. Escaping the snowy woods could probably solve the problem, but will they?
This gory Italian film basically shows an audience who watch a special film screening and then turn into flesh-chewing zombies. Most single-location zombie flicks have to work hard to keep the visuals fresh and not sink into predictability. This one takes place inside a Berlin movie theatre, which seems to be the epicenter of the infection, as people outside the theatre also get exposed to the infection during the screening of the movie (which does raise some questions).
Fleeing the movie theaterseems to be the most plausible way to escape since its a compact space filled with newborn frenzied zombies. It's only been a couple of hours since the spread began in the city and the channels of escape havent been totally compromised yet, so theres still hope.
In Zombieland, Tallahassee, Columbus, Little Rock and Wichita have survived the zombie apocalypse that has devoured everyone in the United States. The main charactersare trying to get to Pacific Playland amusement park in L.A., which is rumored to be a zombie-free zone, but there seems to also be large pockets throughout the country which arefree of zombies.
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The feverish, flesh-craving hordes are only concentrated in certain areas, while most zombies seem to be working solo. So, even if teaming up with fellow survivors isnt an option, being alert and arming up is a great way to keep the zombies at bay in the Zombieland universe.
Night of the Living Dead is one of the most unsettling films zombie films ever made. The story takes place over the course of a few days and follows seven people who are trapped in a western Pennsylvania farmhouse that is under attack by a group of frenzied cannibalistic zombies. The crisis hasnt reached an apocalyptic stage yet, as the radiation from a certain space probe that exploded in the Earths atmosphere is the main cause of the reanimation of corpses, and the effect isnt immediate.
Though the east coast is under attack, rescue centers have already been set up and law and government institutions seem to be functioning, which means there are certain channels and pathways which have not been compromised, and sheltering oneself to safety isnt entirely impossible.
The zombie outbreak in Dawn of the Dead is a recent one, and Ana and Louis arent even aware of the crisis because they missed one emergency bulletin. Though the origins of the infection remain largely unclear, its obvious that the zombification has not reached the pandemic stage yet.
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Much like most zombie films, teaming upis the go-to option in the Zack Snyder reboot, as well, as groups of armed people don't only have each others backs, but also shield themselves against potential attacks. Plus, the group was able to make it to the marina where they could board a yacht, which means there are certain commute options still working.
Quarantining indoors with some guns seems like a good way to avoid the zombie outbreak in David Cronenbergs zombie film. The strain of rabies which is spreading through Montrealhas taken over the city, however, the zombies are mostlyworking alone, as they wander the city in search of human flesh and peopleare only attacked when they are outdoors.
Plus, the origin of the infection could be traced successfully, which means there are medical units that are actively working towards curbing the contamination. And PPE wearing workers and soldiers seem to be working well, so not all establishments have stopped functioning.
The zombie plague spreads fast in this Brad Pitt-caper, even before people have a chance to understand whats happening. Pitt plays Gerry, an ex-UN field agent, who luckily has access to some military channels of commute and can fly around the world in the middle of a zombie apocalypse to learn about the origins of the virus.
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However, for a civilian, surviving the apocalypse in this movie could be objectively impossible, especially as the zombies seem to always to be forming hordes before attacking. There are thousands of casualties in the first phase itself. While commercial airlinesare still functioning, moving around is absolutely not recommended if someone were to looking to survive the zombies in this movie.
In Train To Busan, Seok-Woo and his daughter Su-An are not aware of a zombie infection that is spreading throughout the city, when they board a train. But within the next few hours, the infection spreads rapidly throughout the train and the world outside also has plunged into an epidemic.
Escaping zombification on the train is really tricky, especially before reaching the quarantine zone because isolation on the train is not an option for survivors. Law enforcementis working in pockets of the city since the ending features some snipers stationed at the station, which suggests there might be other rescue centers or military points throughout the city to help someone who does manage to survive.
When Jim wakes up in an abandoned hospital28 days after a contagious virus has devoured London, he finds the city to be completely desolate, almost hauntingly so. 28 Days Later never shows how exactly the virus managed to wipe outan entire city, but it's easy to deduce that surviving this plague would have been virtually impossible for anyone.
Jim encounters a handful of survivors and learns that there is a military blockade near Manchester, although it's also on a mission to lure female survivors into sexual slavery as a means to repopulate the world. This also means the zombies have wiped out almost the entire world in the course of just a few weeks, so surviving in this movie would be virtually impossible.
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JJ Rankin is a culture and entertainment writer. You can find her work if you want to, you know
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