This list contains spoilers for Dead Set, Shaun of the Dead, and The Walking Dead Series.As perhaps the strongest subset of horror, the “Zombie Horror” has shuffled along cinema screens since the 1930s with White Zombie, to then be capitalized on and established by George Romero’s Dead trilogy. As commentaries on contemporary America, Romero’s films were not only bloody and violent, but also scathing in their politics and meaning.

In noticing how the movies listed below have only evolved since Romero’s heyday, it’s especially intriguing to see the fictional undead mirror their non-fiction counterparts. As time continues, the feverish and bloodied palms seen so often clawing for flesh have also clutched at what has come before stealing and pilfering the best parts from their predecessors.

Jumps in the formula will be met with an outcry from fans (they can run!?), but ultimately only add to the long-standing lore of our coffin-escaping cousins, which now find themselves having stumbled and shuffled into the world of high-end drama with the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us.

Below, we rank our top members of the horde, individual zombie characters who managed to stand out from the brainless but brain-eating masses.

11Davina McCall – Dead Set (2008)

Endemol Shine UK

Dead Set is a very heavy-handed take on the media-saturated public and television viewing habits from Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker, and follows the Big Brother house after it has been overrun with zombies while the housemates are also trapped inside.

In the brilliant first attack scene, set to the high-pitched ultra pop stylings of Mika, Big Brother‘s host Davina (playing herself) is one of the earliest to go. And props to the personality, as her performance as a zombie is so chilling and menacing, with those dead eyes and snarling teeth, that it really frames the rest of the pitch black series going forward.

10Ed – Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Universal Pictures

In the final twist of Shaun of the Dead, as we see Ed (Nick Frost) bitten and bleeding out, we can only assume him quite rightfully dead. And he is… but Shaun (Simon Pegg) now has his former best bud locked up in the shed as a Player 2 for whenever he’s in the mood for a round of Timesplitters.

As Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend” closes out the credits, it shows that Shaun of the Dead is just as much a love story between Shaun and Liz as it is about Shaun and Ed. On the DVD extras, Shaun’s exact movements in luring Ed back to the shed are detailed.

9Lew Hayward – Scrooged (1988)

Paramount Pictures

As one of the best modern takes on Dickens (Muppets aside, of course), Scrooged had everything: Richard Donner, cracking effects, Bill Murray, Karen Allen, and Christmas. As a stand-in for Marley here, Lew (John Forsythe) is technically a ghost, but his corpse persona is enough for us to count him on this list because we want to.

As a warning for what Frank Cross (Murray) could and will become if he doesn’t change his ways, Lew, his former boss, appears as an undead specter filled with holes and a live mouse now residing in his head. “Fresh” off the golf course, his colorful attire and sunglasses are caked in dust and his flesh is rotted away as the first of many to be visiting Frank tonight… So stunning throughout, makeup artistes Tom and Bari Burman were nominated for their effects work at the following Oscars. On the Lew character, Tom said to Fangoria:

So, we decided to make him look more like a corpse, complete with all that dust and covered in spider webs. We thought something that would really play up the comedy was if he was dressed like he just came off the golf course, and I think it works great in the film. The gag in his head where the mouse comes out was just something that came to me. I hadn’t seen anything like that before, and I thought it would make for a really fun moment.

8Penny -The Walking Dead (2010-2023)

AMC

As far as skeletons in the closet go, season three of The Walking Dead‘s was the Governors’ daughter Penny. For as excellent as The Governor was as a character in the show, all parts faux kind in one moment then terrifying the next, having his undead daughter in the backroom was such a nasty touch that it made the character feel all the more like a creep. There was even an incestuous element to this relationship, which was thankfully cut short when she would be killed by Michonne before the end of the series.

7Michael Jackson – Thriller (1983)

Sony Music / Epic Records

Directed by none other than Mr. John Landau of An American Werewolf in London and featuring Vincent Price himself, Thriller showcases some of the wildest and, frankly, the best visuals ever seen in a music video. Double that up with the music and moves of the King of Pop, and the full length 13-minute long video is a coherent start to end short film.

After the werewolf fake out, it takes a whole four minutes to even get to the actual song itself as Michael and his date leave the scary movie theater and out by a graveyard full to the brim with undead. What’s that? Before her eyes, Michael Jackson has turned too, and leads the horde in highly choreographed and funky dance moves from beyond the grave. Come for the song, stay for the spectacle and that red leather suit. The disgusting look of the zombies was achieved by effects legend Rick Baker (also of American Werewolf fame).

6Big Daddy – Land of the Dead (2005)

Universal Pictures

Eugene Clark’s whole role as Big Daddy is to move slowly, smash things, and groan, but credit where it’s due — he can make this would-be leader of the undead feel genuine and often sympathetic. While Land of the Dead may be Romero’s weakest outing, it is yet another example of him doing what he does best and critiquing his home country. Big Daddy is a black, blue collar worker, who rallies and rises up against the fascist hierarchy.

It’s not subtle, and the final takeaway of this film when Big Daddy is in the crosshairs comes off as muddled, but it’s a fun and bloody romp with an A list cast of supporting players that makes an entertaining (if not vital) addition to Romero’s catalog. Keep an eye out for zombified cameos galore in Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, and Tom Savini.

5Fido – Fido (2006)

TVA Films

In a quasi 1950s America, with twee houses and nuclear families, zombies roam the Earth — now as menial servants controlled by shock collars. A housewife gifts her son a new pet zombie, Fido (Billy Connelly), as a present and naturally things go awry as the dog replacement eats a neighbor… Not enough people know about Fido, but it’s a treat and seeing Scottish comedian Billy Connelly in such an out there role is fantastic stuff.

4Herzog – Dead Snow (2009)

Euforia Film

In this Swedish schlock-fest, zombies have sprouted from the ground and, bad news, they’re also intolerant of other’s peoples’ race and culture. Jumping on the wave of popularity discovered by the Call of Duty video games, Nazi Zombies were trending at the time, and here they were led by SS commander, Herzog. Everything about Dead Snow is superb, but the zombies look really special and watching them get chopped to pieces hits even harder because of that in this Evil Dead adjacent horror/comedy.

3Don – 28 Weeks Later (2007)

20th Century Fox

Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting) excels as Don, the protective father turned rabid cannibal in the follow up to 28 Days Later. Reuniting with his presumed-to-be-dead wife, Don apologizes for leaving her behind when attacked (in just one of the most ferocious openings to a horror movie, perhaps ever) unaware that she is now a carrier.

Kissing the woman, and immediately turning, the rage virus consumes the man and he beats her to death to go on to stalk their children for the rest of the film through a discarded London. 28 Weeks Later is overshadowed by its predecessor’s now iconic status, but this sequel ups the ante in almost every way while keeping it grounded in the same very real, and very scary world.

2The Tar Man – Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Orion Pictures

In this unofficial sequel to Romero’s own works, a group of no-good punks F around and find out. Standing out from the pack at the time, Return of the Living Dead has a super fun punk energy coursing through its run time, and its playfully deadly zombies reflect that. With some absolutely whopping practical effects here, The Tar Man is the stand-out as a fully realized, icky sticky monster that would coin the cliché of zombies craving BRAINS. The Tar Man would return in the sequel as well. Really disgusting, and obviously brilliant.

1Bub – Day of the Dead (1985)

United Film Distribution Company

While George Romero’s Night of and Dawn of the Living Dead may be better remembered, neither film had a go-to zombie mascot like Bub. With an honest and never over the top performance by Sherman Howard, Bub is a sympathetic creature being used as a lab rat inside the bubble that is this supposedly safe (but absolutely not) underground base.

While Romero’s previous films touched on it (with his zombies returning to malls because it’s what they can remember), Bub was the first real zombie to feel distinctly animal but with traits fit for the ghost of the human he used to be. He’s a melancholic, pitiful creature, whose terrifying nature doesn’t prevent viewers from actually rooting for the zombie to get revenge against the humans. Day of the Dead remains the black horse of Romero’s trilogy, but it’s so, so good.