10 Underrated Zombie Horror Movies You Probably Haven’t Seen

In Little Monsters, a failed musician called Dave (Alexander England) agrees to take his nephew on a school trip, hoping to hook up with the teacher, Miss Caroline (Lupita Nyong'o). After the trip is interrupted by a zombie outbreak, the group find themselves teaming up with a children's entertainer and bonafide asshat, Teddy McGiggle (Josh Gad). 

Interestingly, there are no references to the undead whatsoever for the first 20 minutes, to the point where it doesn't feel like a horror movie at first. 

Instead, the first act focuses on setting up the characters' relationships and conflicts, making it more engaging when things go south. Dave may be selfish and lazy, but it's easy to be on his side, since he genuinely loves his nephew and is trying (and failing) to be a better person.

Though Nyong'o is superb as the badass kindergarten teacher, Gad steals the show as Teddy. The bitter and vile entertainer has the funniest lines, which the Frozen star delivers with impeccable timing. And yet, Gad manages to find the humanity in Teddy, making the sleazy dirtbag sympathetic.

Ironically, the weakest aspect of the film is the plodding carcasses themselves, since they look and act generically. However, this gripe is forgivable since every other element of Little Monsters is solid.