Let's face it: zombies aren't exactly the scariest horror monster out there. They're incredibly slow, unintelligent creatures made of rotting, decaying flesh. Killing or outrunning them is typically easy, and given enough time, the zombies will likely die on their own due to the decomposition of their bodies. While several horror movies, shows, and games have worked within this framework to deliver some great and terrifying stories, it doesn't change the fact that the creatures just wouldn't be that scary in real life.
So when a story is able to have a fresh spin on the zombie formula, the true terror behind the zombie creature can finally be revealed. In media from recent years, zombies have become faster, more intelligent, and harder to kill, making the idea of a zombie apocalypse a much more unsettling concept than it once was when the horror monsters first gained popularity.
5 REC
Most of the time when people think of zombies, they think of a virus that somehow reanimates the dead. Such isn't the case with REC, a Spanish found footage horror movie that took the world by storm in 2007. The movie follows a reporter and several others trapped inside a building under quarantine after a zombie-like infection breaks out.
Only, the zombies in REC aren't the typical movie zombies but are rather the result of demonic possession. The demonic angle alone would be enough to make the monsters in REC terrifying, but also adding to it is the fact that the virus works in much the same way that rabies works. Because of this, the demonic virus can also be transmitted to other species, creating the rare but always intriguing zombie animals. REC was eventually remade into the American movie Quarantine, though without the demonic possession, making the zombies much less unique or interesting.
4 The Cabin in the Woods
The 2012 horror-comedy The Cabin in the Woods sought to satirize essentially every element of the horror genre, and with that include every horror antagonist imaginable. Of course, this included zombies, but not just any zombies; a zombie redneck torture family. Though the addition of "redneck torture family" is mostly played for laughs, it still adds some disturbing implications not found in normal zombies.
Unlike virtually every other zombie, these zombies from The Cabin in the Woods can actually wield and use weapons. And not just any weapons, but terrifying contraptions ranging from a saw to a bear trap. This also makes the zombies far more intelligent and difficult to kill. As if that wasn't enough, the backstory for the family is that they worshiped a religion centered around pain, meaning that they don't just kill their victims but torture them as well. As a bonus, they also appear in the movie far greater than most of the other horror monsters that are revealed later on.
3 28 Days Later
Sure, director Danny Boyle doesn't exactly consider his post-apocalyptic horror film 28 Days Later to be a zombie movie, most people conclude that it falls comfortably within the undead genre. And of course, it helps that it features some terrifying zombies that still manage to scare audiences today. Up until the early 2000s, most zombie movies portrayed the creatures as slow brain-eating monsters, making it almost laughable that anyone would think of them as difficult to defeat.
28 Days Later solved this problem by giving them one key feature: now they can run. Being infected with the fictional "rage virus", filling them with rage and aggression. The zombies of 28 Days Later and its sequel 28 Weeks Later can run at incredible speeds and are highly attuned to their surroundings, making them a far scarier enemy than any typical movie zombie.
2 World War Z
Like 28 Days Later, World War Z features some incredibly fast zombies that often move in giant hordes, looking for any healthy person to infect. What adds to the terror of these zombies is their ability to climb over each other. Like ants, the zombies in World War Z come in such huge crowds that they're able to clamor over each other, eventually making their way past even the tallest of walls.
Unlike in many zombie movies, the infection in World War Z takes almost no time at all to take hold of its victim, with them turning in as little as 12 seconds. The zombies essentially ignore any injured or sick, people, however, ironically making healthy people the most likely to be killed or turned.
1 Train to Busan
Both figuratively and literally, Train to Busan took the idea of fast zombies developed years prior and ran with it, creating some of the scariest zombies to date. The zombies in Train to Busan are incredibly fast, but more importantly, they seem to do anything in order to catch their victims, their relentlessness resulting in giant, unstoppable hordes of zombies.
The zombies in Train to Busan aren't just fast, but they're also difficult to kill. While they can be dismembered, only a headshot will permanently kill these undead. On top of that, the zombie transformation in victims happens far faster in Train to Busan than in typical zombie movies, which only adds to the fear factor that these monsters undoubtedly produce. With a third installment in the franchise on its way, we'll likely see and learn more about these creatures in the future.