Zombie movies have been around for close to a century. Released in 1932, Victor Halperin’s White Zombie is often cited as the first film of its kind. In it, a voodoo master transforms a young woman into a vicious cannibalistic creature. However, zombie movies remained unpopular in the early years, with Jacques Tourner’s I Walked with a Zombie emerging as the only other popular undead flick of the early 20th century. It would take until George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead in 1968 for the genre to take off properly.
Since then, numerous other zombie movies have been released, including Shaun of the Dead and World War Z. Ordinarily, zombie movies fall under the horror genre, but a few tend to cross over into other genres, such as comedy, action, science fiction, thriller, or romance. Hollywood also produces the biggest chunk of such movies, but foreign film industries haven’t slept on the genre, gifting us hits like Train to Busan and One Cut of the Dead. But there are many others you probably don’t know about if you aren’t a diehard fan.
Here are 10 foreign zombie movies only true fans of the genre have seen.
‘The Odd Family: Zombie on Sale’ (2019)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Secret Big Pharma experiments go wrong in The Odd Family: Zombie on Sale, causing the creation of zombies. When one of the creatures escapes, it finds its way into a rural village and bites the elderly patriarch of the Park family. Instead of becoming cannibalistic, his virility and youth are restored. Sensing a business opportunity, the family starts charging elderly village residents to get a “zombie bite” at a fee. What could go wrong?
A Get-Rich-Quick Scheme Backfires
Wild and spellbinding, The Odd Family carefully tracks the boomerang of a family’s attempts to get rich quickly. Director Lee Min-jae’s deliberate camerawork — quick and stately — further enhances the violence that plays out when things don’t go according to plan. So expertly made is the film that you’ll hardly believe this is Min-jae’s debut. The performances from Jung Jae-young, Kim Nam-gil, and Uhm Ji-won will also leave you awed.
‘The Night Eats the World’ (2010)
Country of Origin: France
The morning after a party normally comes with regret or bliss, but for a musician named Sam (Anders Danielsen Lie), it comes with terror. After waking up, he finds that Paris has been overrun by zombies. He is thus forced to barricade himself inside his apartment building for months, his only companion, a zombie trapped in an elevator. His maturation in The Night Eats the World is thus reflected in the passing of the weeks and the different emotions he experiences.
Solitude in a Manner Never Portrayed Before
A zombie flick that evokes a striking visual and emotional purity, Dominique Rocher’s The Night Eats the World is ideal for those seeking a philosophical, contemplative cinema experience. This doesn’t mean the movie is heavy-going. It actually has the simplicity and exquisiteness that ensures a soothing, entrancing effect. After all, we don’t see endless kills. Don’t expect to see one of the scariest French films. Here, it’s just one man doing his best to survive and breaking down mentally while at it.
‘I Am a Hero’ (2018)
Country of Origin: Japan
In I Am a Hero, Hideo Suzuki (Yo Oizumi), a laid-back manga artist’s assistant, is forced to be proactive when a mysterious virus, known as ZQN, sweeps across the country, turning people into memory-retaining zombies. Using a shotgun he normally uses for skeet shooting, he teams up with a high school girl, Hiromi (Kasumi Arimura), who is infected yet surprisingly immune, to fight the creatures.
Time To Be an Action Hero
I Am a Hero is serenely photographed, spiritedly acted, and drenched in a melancholic mood that hauntingly reflects the movie’s central dilemma: the disruption of normalcy and the destruction of society. It’s not a requirement, but to fully appreciate the creative liberties taken in the live-action movie, read the manga series written and illustrated by Kengo Hanazawa before watching.
‘The Dead’ (2010)
Country of Origin: Britain
American Air Force Engineer Lt. Brian Murphy (Rob Freeman) is thankful when he emerges as the sole survivor of a plane crash off the coast of West Africa, but as he figures out how to get back home, he realizes the undead are on the loose in the region. Teaming up with Sgt. Daniel Dembélé (Prince David Osei), a local soldier looking for his son, traverses the harsh landscape while fighting relentless zombies. Who between them will survive in The Dead?
Soldiers Taking on Different Kinds of Enemies
Arresting and occasionally bizarre, The Dead is a cinematic balm for the senses and the soul. The number of misfortunes Murphy and Dembélé experience in the movie is shocking. Interestingly, Rob Freeman also got sick during filming, resulting in several weeks of hospitalization. On a deeper level, we get the feeling that universal forces are at work in this tale of an enlightened local and a wayward yet brave foreigner. In most popular zombie movies, there is usually a continual cycle of pre-destined occurrences, but here, the shockers never end. Sit back and watch the two men traverse the most complex situations.
‘Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead’ (2014)
Country of Origin: Australia
Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead opens on a sad note. Mechanic Barry (Jay Gallagher) is forced to kill his wife and daughter with a nail gun after they ‘turn’ during a zombie apocalypse. He then embarks on a desperate journey to save his sister. Along the way, he discovers that the plague has made gasoline useless, but zombie blood is highly flammable. He thus modifies a truck to use zombies as fuel as he figures out a way to end the chaos.
Zombie Mayhem with a Slice of ‘Mad Max’
The Australian outback is always a great place for mayhem to unfold, and, as anticipated, there’s plenty of disorder in Wyrnwood. The most credit goes to writer-director Kiah Roache-Turner for thinking of such a great plot. Besides that, stars Gallagher and Bianca Brady (portraying Barry’s sister) play off each other expertly, and sterling support comes from Berynn Schwerdt, appearing as a mad scientist. Luke McKenzie (better known for High Country) is also well-cast as a mean, predatory captain.
‘Let Sleeping Corpses Lie’ (1974)
Countries of Origin: Spain and Italy
Antique dealer George (Ray Lovelock) demands a lift from Edna (Cristina Galbó) when she accidentally damages his motorbike while reversing. On their way, an agricultural machine designed to kill pests using radiation starts to reanimate the dead. When they tell the story to a lawman, he is skeptical and labels them Satanists responsible for the events. This leaves them with two missions in Let Sleeping Corpses Lie: flee from the law and stop the chaos.
Fugitives on a Mission
Winner of a CEC award, this glorious film evokes the near-constant frustration and despair that stem from a zombie apocalypse. Let Sleeping Corpses Lie also rides on the strength of the director Jorge Grau and his two leads, who perform like they owe him something. The broader discussion surrounding pollution and environmental conservation makes the film as relevant in the 2020s as it was in the 20th century. Dig deep and you find many better ‘70s zombie movies.
‘Dead Snow’ (2009)
Country of Origin: Norway
Heading to a remote cabin for a getaway is never a good idea, but movie characters never get the memo. This time, it is medical students, who have retreated to the snowy mountains for a fun Easter break. There, they discover a stash of gold once stolen during World War II, and before they can figure out what to do with it, they are attacked by a horde of undead Nazi soldiers. Who will survive in Dead Snow?
Nazi Zombies? Kill them All
This indelible and occasionally funny zombie flick boasts a smart, detailed screenplay, a terrific ensemble cast, and let’s not forget those epic shots of Norwegian mountains. There’s plenty of fun to be had since Nazis are the kind of villains everyone likes to see get killed. Here, they are formidable, but director Tommy Wirkola grants fans their wishes by featuring spectacular moments when the zombie heads are separated from their bodies. A must-watch for any genre lover.
‘The End?’ (2017)
Country of Origin: Italy
In The End? (also titled In un giorno la fine), white collar man Claudio (Alessandro Roja) arrives at the office for an important meeting, only for an elevator malfunction to occur. While trapped inside, a zombie plague occurs. With no way out, he is forced to watch as those who have turned slaughter those who haven’t.
Forced to Spectate
With The End? director Daniele Misischia singlehandedly revived the popularity of a then-fading genre in Italy while reminding the world what a great talent Alessandro Roja is. We can see it all in Roja’s face: the fear, the frustration, the despair, and the anger as he stays trapped within a box. Whether or not he will get out remains the bigger question, but boy does the entire saga feel refreshing.
‘Cemetery Man’ (1994)
Country of Origin: Italy
There is a major mystery in Cemetery Man (Dellamorte Dellamore). In a small town, the dead always rise from their graves a few days after burial. Cemetery caretaker Francesco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett) thus spends hours dispatching the zombies. Things get complicated when he falls for a widow.
Love Proves To Be Man’s Greatest Weakness Once Again
Unlike so many zombie films, Michele Soavi’s brilliant Cemetery Man favors cynicism and the delusional nature of love over knee-jerk, kill-or-be-killed survival tropes. Coming on the heels of his ‘80s success, Rupert Everett reached his peak here, the movie helping to establish the baseline for the charming yet naïve persona he’d maintain throughout his career, including in Ridley Scott’s Napoleon. Martin Scorsese would later reveal to the New York Times that this was one of his favorite movies of the ‘90s.
‘#Alive’ (2020)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Video‑game streamer Oh Joon‑woo (Yoo Ah-in) is used to staying in his room, but a zombie apocalypse makes him realize the importance of venturing outside from time to time. Unable to get outside, he makes himself useful, creating vlogs about survival tips and trading crucial supplies with a neighbor using zip lines. But how long can he keep this up in #Alive?
No Way Out
A barbed inspiration for many other 2020s Korean zombie movies of its kind, #Alive is the quintessential survival film, a seamless blending of creativity and tension. Somehow, it manages to entertain audiences without overfeeding them with zombie attacks. Tears will well up in your eyes when the protagonist starts feeding on alcohol only to survive, only for him to suffer thirst and hallucinations. And watch out for the moment when he decides he has finally had enough.
