5. 28 Days Later... (2002)
Forget all those pesky debates about whether 28 Days Later is indeed a zombie film or not, and just accept that it is an extremely skilful horror film, directed by Danny Boyle with his usual flare, even though he's working with a shoestring budget. The film opens with a man (Cillian Murphy) waking up in a hospital; he leaves to find London virtually deserted - with Boyle managing to get some stunning video footage of the City like you've never seen it before - and soon enough discovers that the remaining citizens appear to have become infected with a virus that turns them into senseless, rabid shadows of their former selves. He and a small number of survivors band together to try and survive the mess, but of course, things get even more complicated... Though the film begins as a grim zombie flick, it transforms in its second half into something much more interesting; a dark psychological thriller about the true nature of man when the chips are down. It ends up that the survivors essentially prove more threatening to each other than the creatures outside, building to a sensational climax that left the door open for the unexpectedly great sequel, 28 Weeks Later.