Outside of invading every part of pop culture, zombies have invaded our imaginations, embedding them into our minds so we’ll truly never forget them. The zombie subgenre is littered with some of the most iconic and thrilling films in horror history. They’re often compelling and intense, but most of all, they grip us from start to finish.
Indeed, zombies are thriving today, especially with the recent success of Danny Boyle‘s 28 Years Later. There’s a great plethora of perfect zombie movies out there, from huge blockbusters to low-budget cult classics. They entertain us right up until the very end, and it’s the endings that are particularly striking. From the greatest to the most legendary, let’s take a look at the best zombie movie conclusions, ranking them on how they’ve captivated us, broken our hearts, and made us true fans of the subgenre.
10
‘Zombi 2’ (1979)
Directed by Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci‘s unofficial sequel to George A. Romero‘s Dawn of the Dead, Zombi 2, was a surprisingly solid international zombie film that featured decent gore, action, and a thrilling scene in which a zombie tears apart a shark. It also concluded on an eerie note as it saw the last survivors who sailed off from a zombie island return to the mainland to discover New York City and, presumably, the rest of the world had already become overrun by the dead.
Zombie movies rarely leave off on a happy note, and this finale is certainly bleak and continues the common theme of the dead being unable to be stopped. The shot of zombies slowly walking along the Brooklyn Bridge is an iconic image that has become immortalized in the history of zombie movies. It’s a fantastic end to an underappreciated zombie cult classic that deserves more attention.
9
‘The Return of the Living Dead’ (1985)
Directed by Dan O’Bannon
Capturing the campy, fun spirit of the 1980s, Dan O’Bannon‘s The Return of the Living Dead was a welcoming addition to the zombie subgenre that was incredibly hilarious and full of impressive effects and gore. Its ending, however, is much bleaker than the rest of the film, showing all the colorful characters we’ve followed in this situation getting blown up along with the rest of the zombies in a military air strike. However, this act proved to be more reckless as the toxic chemicals from the zombies now spread into the air and rained down on more cemeteries.
It’s technically an anti-climax as it just resolves the whole situation in a matter of seconds without giving the audience time to witness all their favorite characters meeting their tragic end. Some might say it’s a bit of a letdown, but this ending fits the film’s tone perfectly and represents just how ineffective and bumbling the military is portrayed in this movie. The ending shot as another cemetery gets resurrected is a memorable way to go out as it shows this process will just keep on happening.
8
‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1990)
Directed by Tom Savini
From legendary makeup effects artist Tom Savini comes his directorial debut of the 1990 colorized remake of Night of the Living Dead. A worthy retelling featuring better effects and more intense performances, it differs in several ways from its 1968 predecessor, most notably the conclusion. The ending sees the last survivor, Barbara (Patricia Tallman), as she accompanies a posse to clear out the farmhouse she and several others were staying at. After witnessing the posse shoot and torment zombies for fun, she looks on disgusted and worried about humanity’s future.
This is a somewhat drastic difference from the original but still captures the bleak theme of humanity’s downfall. It’s heartbreaking to watch as Barbara looks over the carnage and what the apocalypse has already done to society. It’s a harsh ending that, while not as devastating as the ’68 film, is quite depressing and thought-provoking.
7
‘Shaun of the Dead’ (2004)
Directed by Edgar Wright
Turning now to something more lighthearted, Edgar Wright proved zombie movies can be downright hysterical with a 2004 comedic tribute to George Romero and other zombie flicks, Shaun of the Dead. Truly one of the funniest horror comedies of all time, it’s a laugh riot from start to finish, concluding with the protagonist, Shaun (Simon Pegg), as he’s alive and well, living back in his flat with his girlfriend as London has resolved its zombie outbreak. But, not wanting to put down his newly zombified friend Ed (Nick Frost), he keeps him chained up in the shed, playing video games.
It’s a hilarious, bizarre ending that perfectly summarizes the fun tone of this movie. It also highlights Shaun’s personal growth as he finally grows up from being a slacker, but also hints that he won’t let everything go as he and Ed can’t seem to be without each other. It’s darkly heartwarming as well, and truly, it’s a welcoming end to a much-beloved classic.
6
’28 Days Later’ (2003)
Directed by Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle’s game-changing zombie disaster thriller 28 Days Later introduced a lot of fresh new ideas to the subgenre and continues to influence other zombie films today. Totally bleak for most of the film, it surprisingly ends on a more hopeful note, as it sees the last three survivors, Jim (Cillian Murphy), Selena (Naomie Harris), and Hannah (Megan Burns), sometime after narrowly surviving an encounter with deranged soldiers, as they’re spotted by a plane and possibly rescued.
It’s the closest thing to a happy ending a zombie movie like this can get, but that was initially the case. There were four total endings proposed for the film, with ultimately the less dark and more open ending showing up in the finished product. It’s up to the viewer to decide which ending would have worked better or if it should have ended more depressingly. Either way, what we got was still a fascinating ending that left much open for what’s going to happen now for the remaining three characters.
5
‘[•REC]’ (2007)
Directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza
From Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza comes one of the scariest found footage movies in recent memory, [•REC], a 2007 survival horror flick that sees a reporter and firefighters fighting for their lives in a zombie-infested apartment complex. It’s claustrophobic and incredibly intense, featuring a nightmarish finale that sees the last survivor, Ángela (Manuela Velasco), as she’s dragged off-screen in a dark room by the demonically possessed patient zero, Tristana Medeiros (Javier Botet).
This ending is shocking enough to take your breath away. The whole scene is a tense, nail-biting moment that’s unimaginably terrifying and will make you afraid of the dark. It’s the perfect way to conclude a bleak nightmare flick like this, and it remains one of the most terrifying endings in movie history.
4
‘Dead Alive’ (1992)
Directed by Peter Jackson
From Academy Award-winning New Zealand filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson comes one of his earliest notable films, Dead Alive or Braindead. Far different from how he directed his revered Lord of the Rings trilogy, this goofy, gory zombie flick is truly one of the bloodiest, most disgusting films ever made, and it’s awesome. In an outrageous film, of course, it ends in a spectacularly bloody fashion as our hero Lionel (Tim Balme) literally mows down a horde of zombies, defeats his mutated mother, and runs off with the woman of his dreams.
It’s a balls-to-the-wall kind of ending that’s wildly over-the-top and so memorable. In a film full of cheesy, gory fun, it’s impossible not to appreciate how this ending outshines the violence of the rest of the film. There was no better high to go out on, and this ending perfectly shows why Dead Alive is one of the most unique zombie movies ever.
3
‘Train to Busan’ (2016)
Directed by Yeon Sang-ho
The most thrilling zombie film recently was Yeon Sang-ho‘s Train to Busan, a non-stop horror thriller full of pulse-pounding action and heartbreaking drama. In the end, after so much death and destruction, the final two survivors, Seong-Kyeong (Jung Yu-mi) and little Soo-an (Kim Su-an) have finally reached the safety line outside Busan but are at first mistaken for being infected by a guard team in a tunnel. As the guards are about to open fire on them, Soo-an lets them know they’re human by tearfully singing a school song as a tribute to her recently deceased father, Seok-woo (Gong-Yoo), which allows the pair to safely cross behind friendly lines.
It’s a film you almost expect none of the characters to survive because of how brutal and unforgiving this aggressive zombie epidemic is. But, it surprises you with this heartwrenching but bittersweet conclusion, which acts as an emotional release for everything that transpires in this film. It’s still very sad since Seok-woo couldn’t join them, but it shows his death was not in vain and that, hopefully, the two girls will make it out of this tragedy intact.
2
‘Dawn of the Dead’ (1978)
Directed by George A. Romero
George Romero’s 1978 original Dawn of the Dead is undoubtedly a masterpiece to which most zombie movies today owe their success and influence. It’s a near-flawless classic that tells the iconic tale of survivors struggling to turn a massive shopping mall into their new home during the zombie apocalypse. But, by the end, the mall becomes reclaimed by the dead, and the final two survivors, Peter (Ken Foree) and Francine (Gaylen Rose) are forced to take a helicopter out into the countryside. With almost no fuel and no direction of where to go, the two’s future is left uncertain.
It’s a much more hopeful and ambiguous ending, considering the two were originally going to end their lives in one alternate version of the story. Dawn of Dawn‘s ending leaves it up to the viewers’ interpretation whether Peter and Francine will eventually reach safety. It’s a truly unique conclusion that will likely never be answered, but that’s what’s made it truly one of the best of all time.
1
‘Night of the Living Dead’ (1968)
Directed by George A. Romero
Finally, at number one, its honor should obviously go to the film that birthed the modern zombies, Night of the Dead. This is truly a timeless classic that continues to have a massive influence not just on zombie films but on horror in general. It’s bleak and eerie from start to finish and concludes with one of the most gut-punching downers in horror cinema. It sees the last survivor, Ben (Duane Jones), as he survived a gruesome night fighting against the dead, only to be mistaken for a zombie by a posse in the area, who shot him in the head before he could even speak.
It’s one of the saddest but greatest endings in horror history. It perfectly complements the tone and greatly pulls the rug right from under the audience, giving them one last shocker that will stick with them long after the credits are done. Overall, Night of the Living Dead‘s finale is iconic and unforgettable, truly deserving the top spot of having the best opening in any zombie movie.