10 Great Zombie Movies With At Least One Survivor

For better or worse, zombies have been an intrinsic part of the horror cinematic landscape of the 21st century.

Movie goers have been treated to nearly every category of blood-curdling automaton physically imaginable over the years, ranging from mindless revenants moaning as they shamble cluelessly along, to members of the undead who are essentially nightmarish superhumans.

The stratospheric success of zombie flicks on the whole means they have arguably outstripped the bounds of their original home. While zombie films do traditionally fall within the classification of the horror genre, they remain a distinct category of film in and of themselves, with sub-genres ranging from all the way from wacky zombie comedies to the almost unfathomable zombie romance.

Whatever the overall success of the movie itself, the unfortunate fact remains that these reanimated ghouls - for the most part - are implacable, cannibalistic antagonists. As such, even the most superb of zombie offerings provide no guarantee that the protagonists will actually survive the events of the film! Case in point; many iconic genre installments see the credits roll with what appears to be the death of the entire group of protagonists.

There's clearly a fine line to be tread when it comes to creating an excellent zombie outing that doesn't brutally murder the entire cast. Thankfully for the less nihilistic horror fans amongst us, the inhabitants of this list have clearly mastered that art.

Let's just get this out of the way straight off the bat - Army of the Dead is decidedly not the zombie equivalent of The Godfather.

The outrageously ambitious 2021 effort essentially sees the premise of the film's spiritual predecessor, Zack Synder's remake of Dawn of the Dead, meet Ocean's Eleven in a bona fide zombie heist film. An impressive ensemble cast helmed by Dave Bautista are tasked with breaking into a casino vault to steal $200 million - the only minor catch? Las Vegas has been quarantined off from the rest of the world after a zombie outbreak decimated the city.

Unapologetically in-your-face and laughably over-the-top from pretty much the first second, Army of the Dead remains a riotous watch nonetheless. The film notably benefits from some wickedly dark laugh-out-loud moments in amongst the carnage and blockbuster set-pieces, offsetting some of the more prevalent issues concerning meagre character development and flimsy plot devices. At the end of the day, it's a cracking zombie popcorn flick laden with gore and action, which is exactly what it aspires to be.

Snyder even manages to resist killing all of his protagonists this time around! After escaping the shockwave from a nuclear missile aimed for Vegas, the daughter of Bautista's character survives and is left to duly blow her now zombified father's head off amidst floods of tears. Omari Hardwick's Vanderohe also emerges from a locked casino vault after the missile strike, but having discovered a zombie bite soon after, he hardly counts as a "survivor".