Top 10 Dumbest Movie Decisions That Caused A Zombie Outbreak

Top 10 dumbest decisions that caused a zombie outbreak.

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 dumbest decisions that caused a zombie outbreak.

For this list, we’ll be looking at the stupidest decisions made by characters that resulted in a zombie outbreak.

Which of these do you think is the dumbest? Let us know in the comments below!

#10: Kissing Your Infected Wife

“28 Weeks Later” (2007)

This is a great zombie film, but it’s filled with some really stupid people. Just as London is returning to normal, officials find an asymptomatic carrier of the virus. The woman’s husband arrives in her isolation cell and gives her a kiss. This of course results in his infection, which in turn spirals into yet another zombie outbreak. The fact that this occurred is just mindbogglingly dumb. Surely Don was smart enough not to kiss his infected wife? Surely a guard or twenty should have been posted outside her room to prevent just this sort of thing? Surely they should have isolated her somewhere else and not in the heart of London? They really didn’t think this one through.

#9: Chemical Leak

“Train to Busan” (2016)

This beloved Korean zombie film begins in a chemical plant. Unfortunately, not much is known about the accident itself. All audiences are privy to is that there was “a small leak” at the biotech plant. We don’t know much about the leak, but we do know that accidents happen. We can also safely assume that at least some people working at the plant knew that there were potentially dangerous chemicals being used and worked on, so proper precautions could have, and should have been, taken to prevent potential accidents. The company was more likely than not being careless or negligent here, so if they were better prepared, they could certainly have minimized the severity of the zombie apocalypse; or perhaps even avoided it entirely.

#8: Searching a Catacomb

“Cockneys vs Zombies” (2012)

This hilarious zombie film begins in the East End of London with a construction crew working on a building site. The construction unearths a sealed catacomb dating back to the 17th century that is filled with skulls and old, skeletal corpses. Rather than informing the proper channels and immediately sealing off the area, two builders decide to enter the catacomb and investigate themselves. It goes about as well as you’d expect. The catacomb was sealed for a reason, and breaking the seal was just asking for trouble. Even if it didn’t contain zombies, you don’t just enter ancient catacombs all willy nilly!

#7: Smuggling a Rat Monkey

“Braindead” [aka “Dead Alive”] (1992)

Before Peter Jackson directed one of the greatest trilogies of all time in “The Lord of the Rings,” he directed campy B-movies like “Braindead.” This cheesy and ridiculously bloody zombie film begins on the fictional Skull Island - Jackson’s loving tribute to “King Kong.” While there, an explorer finds a hybrid creature called the Sumatran rat monkey that was co-created by diseased rats. Not only is the animal smuggled out of Skull Island, but it’s sent to the Wellington Zoo after it clearly infects the explorer with a bite. The animal bites and infects a local, and the zombie virus spreads through New Zealand. And this is why you don’t take animals out of their natural habitats.

#6: Returning to the Village

“Rampant” (2018)

South Korea produced another interesting zombie film in “Rampant.” It’s a period piece that concerns two warring factions - the Joseon dynasty of Korea and the Qing dynasty of China. The Crown Prince of Korea meets with a group of Europeans to purchase weapons, and they have a host of zombies in their possession. Everything goes haywire, and a Korean soldier is bitten and infected by one of the zombies. Rather than isolating himself or giving some time to see how the infection turns out, the soldier returns to his small village. Unsurprisingly, he turns and infects the locals, giving rise to a horrible zombie outbreak. This Patient Zero was none too careful.

#5: Keeping a Possessed Person In an Apartment

“Rec” (2007)

Here’s an idea - if you work for the Vatican and are tasked with containing a demonically possessed individual, maybe don’t keep her inside your apartment! “Rec” is a fantastic Spanish film that concerns a zombie outbreak in an apartment complex. In the climax of the film, news reporter Ángela and her cameraman Pablo discover the horrifying truth regarding the outbreak’s origins. The penthouse owner works for the Vatican, and he was asked to experiment on a demonically possessed girl named Tristana. During the experiments, the enzyme inside her body somehow mutated. The Vatican worker sealed Tristana inside his penthouse, but the mutated enzyme spread through the apartment complex and infected its inhabitants. Was there really nowhere else he could have put her?

#4: Hitting a Sealed Barrel

“The Return of the Living Dead” (1985)

This beloved cult classic introduced a lot of firsts to the zombie genre, including speaking zombies, running zombies, and their hunger for human brains. And the outbreak starts in an absolutely hilarious fashion. The story begins at a medical supply warehouse, with a foreman impressing his new employee by showing him some military barrels. Hoping to prove the sturdiness of the barrels, the foreman stupidly gives it a firm smack. Of course, this releases a toxic gas that reanimates a nearby cadaver. To their credit, the reanimated cadaver is sent to the mortuary and burned. Unfortunately, this only makes the situation worse, as the toxic gas is released through the exhaust and proceeds to rain down onto the town below.

#3: Shooting a Container Filled with Toxic Gas

“Planet Terror” (2007)

This comedy zombie film served as Robert Rodriguez’s half of the double feature “Grindhouse,” opposite Quentin Tarantino’s “Death Proof.” The story concerns a small town in rural Texas that is overrun by ghastly ghouls - the result of one person’s malicious decision. Said person is a chemical engineer named Abby, who strikes a deal with the military. He is providing them with a fatal chemical agent known as DC2, which turns people into mutated zombies. The meeting goes awry, and Abby is held hostage. Rather than giving in to the lieutenant, Abby shoots the canister, releasing the toxic gas into the air and infecting the local populace. While leaving, he seems surprised at the outcome. How?

#2: Ignoring a Scientist

“28 Days Later” (2003)

Really, the whole plot of the “28” series is the result of stupid decisions. The animal rights activists at the beginning of “28 Days Later” mean well, as they wish to release test chimpanzees from their enclosure. But before they can, they are interrupted by a scientist who tells them in no uncertain terms not to release them, as they have been infected with a highly contagious “rage” virus. As the name suggests, said virus turns the chimps violently aggressive. They don’t listen and release a chimp anyway. It proceeds to batter one of the activists, she quickly turns into a crazy zombie and infects the room, and they escape and infect the rest of England. Maybe they should have listened to the expert.

#1: Intentionally Releasing a Virus & Reopening the Hive

“Resident Evil” (2002)

It doesn’t get much dumber than intentionally releasing a deadly zombie virus. The first “Resident Evil” film begins with Spence stealing and breaking the vial of a genetically engineered virus, releasing it throughout the facility. In return, the facility’s artificial intelligence seals the exits and literally kills everyone inside to prevent outside contamination. This actually works...until Umbrella reopens the facility to “investigate.” This obviously releases the virus to the outside world, and Alice wakes up to a deserted Raccoon City. Here’s an idea - if the company-installed A.I. sealed the facility to prevent a highly contagious virus from taking over the world, maybe don’t open it back up.