Ever since the release of Zack Snyder’s directorial debut film ‘Dawn of the Dead’ in the year 2004, which gave the sub-genre a fresh lease of life, it was soon followed by a sudden wave of zombie films.
Prior to that, in the year 2002, Danny Boyle gave us the immensely popular and highly-rated film ‘28 Days Later’ (featuring Cillian Murphy).
Out of the slew of zombie flicks that were released after ‘Dawn of the Dead’, which came out in 2004, some of them made a lasting impression amongst fans of the genre.
Three years after its release, one of the most prominent films in that league was Francis Lawrence’s ‘I Am Legend’, which featured eminent actor Will Smith as the lone human survivor roaming around in post-apocalyptic desolated streets of New York with his dog.
‘I Am Legend’ went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of 2007, and Will Smith’s performance was unanimously praised by critics and viewers alike.
The year 2007 also saw the release of ‘28 Weeks Later’, which was the sequel to Danny Boyle’s ‘28 Days Later’. The atmospheric film, featuring Jeremy Renner and Idris Alba, mostly received positive reviews from the critics and was liked by the audiences for its execution.
Then around two years later, a light-hearted take on the zombie genre was helmed by Ruben Fleischer (Director, ‘Venom’). It was the popular film ‘Zombieland’, which starred Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg in the lead roles.
Thereafter, in the year 2013, the big-budget blockbuster action-horror film ‘World War Z’ released. The film revolved around a former UN investigator (played by Brad Pitt), who travels the world in his attempt to put an end to a global zombie pandemic. The film was helmed by Marc Foster (Director, ‘Quantum of Solace’).
With reference to its lead performance, realistic setting, top-grade production values, and entertainment quotient, ‘World War Z’ was at par with Will Smith’s ‘I Am Legend’, and both these films were widely regarded as one of the best zombie movies of the 21st Century.
Around two years later, ‘Terminator’ star Arnold Schwarzenegger was cast in a dramatic reinvention of the zombie genre in the 2015 slow-burner film ‘Maggie’. Arnold’s intense act as a distressed father amazed the critics and audience alike, although the film had received mixed reviews.
The succeeding year witnessed yet another revival of the hackneyed zombie premise in the thought-provoking science fiction horror film ‘The Girl with All the Gifts’. The profound film followed the journey of a scientist, a teacher, and a special girl in a post-apocalyptic world, devastated by a fungal infection.
Besides Hollywood, Korean filmmakers had concurrently produced some adeptly executed zombie films such as the 2016 record-breaking film ‘Train to Busan’ and the more recent 2020 zombie apocalypse movie ‘Alive’ (currently streaming on Netflix).
Moreover, the Indian director duo Raj & DK had helmed the 2013 entertaining zombie comedy film ‘Go Goa Gone’ starring Saif Ali Khan and Kunal Khemu in the lead roles.
Furthermore, acclaimed Indian filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee’s segment in the 2020 horror anthology ‘Ghost Stories’ delivered perhaps the first spellbinding and serious zombie horror experience for Indian viewers.
Another mention-worthy Indian zombie movie is the underrated and relatively unknown 2013 film ‘Rise of the Zombie’ starring Luke Kenny.
This was a rundown of some of the prominent zombie films that were released between the arrival of Zack Snyder’s directorial debut ‘Dawn of the Dead’ and his upcoming zombie heist flick ‘Army of the Dead’.
Thus, Zack Snyder and Danny Boyle can be considered to be credited with revitalizing the zombie genre in the 21st century, with their respective zombie films. And Snyder has taken a step forward with this upcoming zombie actioner ‘Army of the Dead’ starring Dave Bautista in the lead role.
‘Army of the Dead’ is slated to release on the Netflix streaming platform on May 21, 2021, besides getting a select theatrical release in the US.
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