8 Smartest Decisions In Zombie Movie History

How to survive a zombie apocalypse? Just ask Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland and Braindead!

by Andrew Pollard
Shaun of the Dead
Universal Pictures

Like many subgenres within horror, the zombie movie is one so often filled with familiar tropes of chaos, carnage and unsurmountable odds for those who find themselves in the middle of the action. But while disposable characters are commonplace fodder for zombie pictures, there are obviously ways to somehow survive these onslaughts of the undead.

There's always the tried and trusted way of shooting your way out of a situation as the masses of zombies hone in on you, and it's even been shown multiple times how it can often be best to simply try and hitch a ride to an area or country that has yet to be violated by zombies. Then there are those other ways to avoid become zombie chow, those ways that call for some serious smarts to be utilised.

For every ten people who manage to survive a zombie apocalypse through bullets or sheer luck, there's that one person who came up with an utterly genius way to evade something truly horrible happening.

Here, then, are eight examples of times that the characters of a zombie picture made a decision that was pivotal to turning the tide.

8. Using The Tunnels - Train To Busan

Shaun of the Dead
Next Entertainment World

Whereas Snakes on a Plane was a shlocky gimmick that did exactly as it said on the tin, so, too, could Train to Busan have fallen into that trap with its premise of 'zombies on a train'.

Fortunately, Yeon Sang-ho's South Korean zombie effort was far more than simply the sum of its parts, with this 2016 hit proving to be a modern-day genre standout. In amongst its frenetic action and its sense of utter dread, Train to Busan also managed to serve up one particular moment of ingenious revelation.

Completely obvious when you think about it, yet something that few zombie picture protagonists ever think about it, Train to Busan's wannabe survivors had the penny drop that zombies aren't particularly useful when darkness comes a-calling.

It's Gong Yoo's Seo Seok-woo who discovers this realisation, with the undead becoming confused and redundant when the titular train enters a tunnel. And with tunnels on the horizon every two minutes, Seok-woo utilises the weapon of darkness to strategically make his way across the train to help in his particular rescue mission.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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 dayjob, 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.