10 Horror Movies That Brutally Punish Survivors

8. Ana, Kenneth, Nicole, Terry & Chips - Dawn Of The Dead (2004)

Dawn Of The Dead 2004 Sarah Polley
Universal Pictures

Some would argue that Zack Snyder's feature directorial debut, Dawn of the Dead, is the filmmaker's finest work to date. Going even further, some even offer up the opinion that this 2004 remake is a better movie than George A. Romero's iconic 1978 Dawn.

Whether it surpasses Romero's picture or not, it's hard to say that Snyder's Dawn isn't a fine movie in its own right - and one key component of that success is in how the '04 Dawn of the Dead forever keeps you on your toes.

Even when victory has seemingly been achieved in Snyder's film, there's a caveat waiting right around the corner.

The absolute best example of this is how the do-over ends. With Ana (Sarah Polley), Kenneth (Ving Rhames), Nicole (Lindy Booth), Terry (Kevin Zegers) and Chips the dog having managed to escape the undead masses and make their escape to freedom on a yacht, the credits of the 2004 movie have a gut punch lined up.

As those credits play, we see our survivors' journey to safety showcased. Shot on a camcorder, low-running supplies see the group arrive on an island to source more goodies - only to then be greeted by a fresh batch of zombies, as our heroes' ultimate fate is left ambiguous.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.