When it comes to zombies, death is only just the beginning. Since the late great George A. Romero popularized them with his monumental classic Night of the Living Dead in 1968, the modern zombie trope has infiltrated nearly every asset of pop culture, from films and TV shows to literature and art. They’re one of the most iconic monsters in fiction, and there’s no denying their influence today.
Now, we’re blessed to see zombies reign supreme in theaters with the release of director Danny Boyle‘s thrilling continuation to the 28 Days Later franchise, 28 Years Later. With more chaos and zombie destruction, it’ll continue the zombie genre’s success at the worldwide box office. In honor of its arrival, let’s take a look back at some of the most famous zombie films and take a closer look at their exciting openers. The opening scenes are always what sells a horror film, and these zombie openers are truly some of the best in horror history. From an ’80s cult classic to a surprisingly good 2004 remake, here are some of the best zombie movie opening scenes.
10
‘The Return of the Living Dead’ (1985)
Starring Clu Gulager, Thom Mathews, James Karen, and Linnea Quigley
Starting off with one of the funniest zombie B-movie classics is the 1985 horror comedy The Return of the Living Dead, an amusing mix of horror and camp that kept zombies alive in the mid-’80s. Starring Clu Gulager and James Karen, it’s an outrageous tale about unkillable zombies who are resurrected from the dead after two bumbling employees, Frank (Karen) and Freddy (Thom Mathews), unwisely crack open a hazardous barrel containing a deadly virus in their warehouse in the first scene.
The opening scene perfectly sums up the goofy tone of this beautifully cheesy flick. All this mayhem and destruction that happens throughout the rest of the film is caused by two curious, dumb employees who never should have had that hazardous barrel in the basement, to begin with. It’s darkly hilarious and perfectly sets up the feel for the entire film. It’s a legendary opening scene that’s still funny and memorable.
9
‘Train to Busan’ (2016)
Starring Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Kim Eui-sung, and Ma Dong-seok
Hailed for its heartbreaking drama and nonstop action, 2016’s Train to Busan is cited as one of the greatest international zombie movies of the modern age. Featuring compelling performances and a tense, fast-paced plot, it opens with how South Korea became devastated by a fast-spreading zombie outbreak that was caused by a possible chemical spill from a bio-facility. Despite all attempts to contain the spill, it inevitably infects the wildlife in the area.
This opening, though simple in its execution, is incredibly terrifying and shows the futility of containing such a dangerous virus. It shows how humanity’s underestimation of nature has led to its destruction, as they couldn’t stop this virus from finding other ways to spread. It’s eerie and quick and sets up the many horrors to come in this modern horror classic.
8
‘Zombieland’ (2009)
Starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin
After Train to Busan‘s bleak opener, for a somewhat more lighthearted beginning, check out the beginning of the beloved late 2000s horror comedy Zombieland, one of the most unique and celebrated zombie movies to come in recent years. Starring Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg, it starts with Eisenberg’s character, Columbus, as he narrates the rules to surviving a zombie apocalypse, concluding with a montage of several zombie attacks, while Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls” epically plays over the opening credits.
This opener is darkly funny, uniquely visual, and badass. It’s the perfect beginning for such a unique, fun zombie flick like this, complete with effective camera shots and CGI to enhance some of the action and storytelling elements. It sets up the tone instantly, and it never loses its ability to entertain, no matter how many times it is watched.
7
‘Re-Animator’ (1985)
Starring Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, and David Gale
One of the most delightfully cheesy ’80s horror movies, Stuart Gordon‘s Re-Animator is an incredible zombie flick that thrills audiences with how goofy and gory it is. And speaking of the gore, its opening shows just how bloody the rest of the film is going to get, as it sees the main character, Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs), in Switzerland using his unstable resurrection serum on his recently deceased mentor, Dr. Gruber (Al Berry), to bring him back to life. But the serum has the adverse effect of making Gruber come back and writhe in pain and have his eyes explode.
It’s shocking, intense, and hits you like a truck, making you question what the hell just happened. Re-Animator quite literally starts off with a bang and continues for the rest of the way through. This opener is iconic and unforgettable, especially when it’s accompanied by the opening credits with a kick-ass theme that was heavily inspired by Bernard Herrman’s theme to Psycho.
6
‘Shaun of the Dead’ (2004)
Starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, and Bill Nighy
The glorious mind behind some of the most fascinating and genre-bending tales of the modern century, Edgar Wright, changed the game for zombies by bringing it one of its most hilarious and brilliant classics to date, Shaun of the Dead. A marvelous story with brilliant writing and wonderful characters, it opens with our loveable slob protagonist, Shaun (Simon Pegg), as he talks about relationships, life, and goals with his girlfriend and other friends at a pub called the Winchester. Next, a sequence follows as Londoners go about their day acting like they’re already zombies.
This opener not only perfectly establishes the main characters and their personalities, but their conversations foreshadow future events of the story. It’s a highly rewatching beginning that, like much of the rest of the film, is laced with fun little snip bits and moments that will become important later. The opening credits, which feature the Londoners slowly going about in their mundane, boring lives, also strongly foreshadow the impending zombie apocalypse that will happen soon in the story.
5
‘Dawn of the Dead’ (1978)
Starring Ken Foree, David Emge, Scott Reiniger, and Gaylen Ross
One of the great horror sequels ever made, George Romero’s incredible second installment of his Dead Trilogy, Dawn of the Dead, is a compelling mix of horror and drama that continues to be praised. From start to finish, it’s brilliant, and it begins with utter chaos as it follows one protagonist, Francine (Gaylen Ross), as she awakes from a nightmare to enter a living one as her television broadcast studio in Philadelphia is trying to warn the public of the devastating zombie outbreak that’s occurring right outside their doors.
This scene is nail-biting, bleak, and perfectly captures the confused chaos that arises when society begins to collapse. This moment shows panic as people are fighting among themselves, others are anxiously leaving the studio, and news anchors are disorganized and unable to calm the American public. It’s an anxiety-inducing opening scene that perfectly sets up one of the greatest zombie movies of all time.
4
’28 Weeks Later’ (2007)
Starring Jeremy Renner, Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, and Idris Elba
The often-overlooked sequel to 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, is a bit of a flawed but enjoyable continuation that certainly ramps up the zombie violence. Starring Jeremy Renner and Robert Carlyle, it opens with an insanely tense intro that sees one of the main characters, Don (Carlyle), who, in the first days of the rage virus outbreak, becomes the only survivor of his group after he makes the hard decision to save his own life and run while his wife, Alice (Catherine McCormack), and fellow survivors got overrun by the infected.
This scene is perfectly shot, powerfully suspenseful, and so incredibly nerve-wracking. It’s an explosive start that captures the wild chaos and carnage of the 28 Days Later universe. It’s truly exciting to constantly come back to it. It’s also a thought-provoking opening that makes you question Don’s decision to leave his people for dead, whether he had no other choice, and whether you would do the same in that type of hair-raising situation.
- Release Date
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May 11, 2007
- Runtime
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100 minutes
- Writers
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Enrique López Lavigne, Jesús Olmo, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Rowan Joffe
3
’28 Days Later’ (2002)
Starring Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, and Brandon Gleeson
Speaking of 28 Days Later, the first film will always go down as a terrifying modern classic. This really boosted the zombie genre in the early 2000s and gave it some newer and updated ideas. Its opening scene is just as terrifying and intense as the rest of the story. It sees British animal rights activists as they boldly break into a medical research lab to free the test chimpanzees. But, even when confronted by a nervous scientist (David Schneider) begging them not to let them out because they’re infected with something, the team unwisely lets them out and witness first-hand the deadly rage virus the chimps have become fueled by.
28 Days Later‘s opening paints a bleak and brutal look at how it is humans who can cause humanity’s downfall. This scene perfectly encapsulates the depressing tone of the rest of the film and establishes why this devastating virus recklessly began in the first place. It leaves you with a lingering question about which one was the more terrible decision: that even a devastating bioweapon like this would ever be engineered in the first place or letting out infected chimps even after someone tells you it would be a terrible idea.
2
‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1968)
Starring Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea, Karl Hardman, and Marilyn Eastman
It’s time to talk about the opener to the granddaddy of modern zombies, Night of the Living Dead. Everything from start to finish about this timeless classic is iconic, and its story is so eerie and atmospheric. It opens with the legendary scene of siblings Barbara (Judith O’Dea) and Johnny (Russel Streiner), as their day trip out into the Pennsylvanian countryside to put flows on their father’s grave goes horribly wrong when they counter a freshly raised zombie who brutally kills Johnny and sends Barbara on a nailbiting chase to an isolated farmhouse.
This is as classic as zombie movie openings get. Night of the Living Dead has had a profound effect on cinema, and every moment, especially the beginning, has become memorable. This opener is also significant for introducing the first on-screen appearance of the modern-day zombie archetype, as the late Bill Hinzman as the graveyard ghoul has become a huge influence on later depictions of these flesh-eaters. Overall, it’s an essential opening scene to an all-time classic horror masterpiece.
1
‘Dawn of the Dead’ (2004)
Starring Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Michael Kelly, and Jack Weber
Coming in at the top spot is one of the scariest, most chaotic, and pulse-pounding openers in horror history, the beginning of Zack Snyder‘s 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. A perfectly paced and set-up sequence that drops viewers right into the madness, it opens with our leading protagonist, Annie (Sarah Polley), as she goes about the day while the lingering threat of an unknown virus is foreshadowed all around her. Then, the next morning, she gets a rude awakening as society has instantly collapsed, and the dead have begun to take over.
No beginning scene better captures the raw intensity and confusion that comes from the start of a zombie apocalypse than this absolute banger of an opening scene. The first half is suspenseful as we follow Annie while she sees and hears small glimpses of what’s to come; then all hell breaks loose as zombie children start attacking her, her neighbors are torn apart on the street, and the nearby city is bombed by the military. It’s absolute chaos and deserves the number one spot as the greatest opening scene in any zombie movie.