Top 20 Smartest Decisions in Zombie Movies

“Army of the Dead” (2021)
During this dangerous journey into zombified Las Vegas, a team of robbers end up fighting a massive horde. These aren’t just ordinary walkers either. A Queen zombie controls and manipulates her underlings to attack. At one point, it’s revealed that whoever controls her head could make an army of undead soldiers. After a mercenary named Lilly gets her hand on the queen’s dome, she threatens to destroy it to keep her friends safe from zombie king Zeus. The plan works perfectly and her allies escape. To make matters better, Lilly destroys the head once her friends are clear. Using the head as leverage before obliterating it was a doubly smart move that prevented this source of power from falling into the wrong hands.

“Life After Beth” (2014)
What would you do if your partner became a zombie? “Life After Beth” asks this question with a mixture of comedy and drama. When hero Zach learns that his partner might actually be undead, he tries to rekindle their relationship. Needless to say, this proves to be a serious problem for his own personal growth and overall health. Although Beth still retains some humanity as she decays, Zach decides that they need to “break up”. It might seem like a no-brainer to put down an undead person you care about. But since Beth still had some traces of her true self, he could’ve waited longer. It was both a wise and tough decision for Zach to end things when he did.

“World War Z” (2013)
In this action-horror film “World War Z,” Brad Pitt’s Gerry Lane uses magazines to shield his limbs from zombie bites. This improvisational armor proves to be a helpful safeguard just in case any enemies get too close. During the climax, Lane and other survivors attempt to make their way through a medical facility full of the undead. The hero decides to utilize the same method with various office supplies. Given the history of the zombie genre, it’s nice to know that people have finally woken up to the potential of this simple and ingenious method.

“Maggie” (2015)
After his daughter is bitten, Wade Vogel must come to grips with what will eventually happen to her. He decides to take care of Maggie before she transforms into a zombie. Coming to grips with his daughter’s mortality, the father struggles to make an impossible choice. The titular character begins to degrade until she’s on the cusp of being completely undead. In her final moments, she has enough consciousness left to take her life into her own hands. She ends up sparing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s hero from having to do the unthinkable. Even though it’s a sad ending, it does prove that Maggie realized her father’s predicament. She loved him enough to make the decision herself.

“The Dead Don’t Die” (2019)
The people of Centerville are slow to realize the extent of the zombie apocalypse. While the police and citizens fend off the undead, Hermit Bob watches from afar as the horde takes over. His antisocial behavior separates him from the groups of helpless people in town. Along with his woodland dwelling, Bob’s camouflage and quiet tone keeps him out of harm’s way. He serves as a kind of narrator since he found a safe place where he could watch everything happen. Tom Waits’ character shows that sometimes it really does pay off to be an introvert.

“One Cut of the Dead” (2017)
If a real outbreak happens during the shooting of your zombie movie, you may or may not want to do what this crew does. This original idea focuses on the complicated process of film production. Not only does everybody butt heads, they have to deal with real zombies. Their improvisational skills allow them to keep filming and roll with the punches despite real threats. You could call them crazy or just really dedicated to getting the job done. The result is a story like no other that features some exciting and surprising moves from the actors themselves.

“Overlord” (2018)
Behind enemy lines in World War II, the Allied heroes in “Overlord” discover several horrors in Nazi-occupied territory. One of these includes black tar that grants people a second chance at life. Rather than saving it, the squad leader decides to bury it all instead. Considering the power of the concoction, entire armies could be resurrected into super-charged zombies. There’s an extended battle for control and a few close calls. However, an explosion ends up finishing off the regenerative substance for good. This selfless act ensures that both sides of the global conflict will be without the tar’s power.

“Braindead” [AKA “Dead Alive” (1992)]
Zombie films love to come up with new and inventive ways to take down the undead. For his movie “Dead Alive” aka “Braindead, Peter Jackson puts forth a truly outrageous method. The character Lionel finds himself with a lawnmower that tears through anything in its path. Not only is this device extremely effective, it produces one of the goriest scenes in film history. While we can’t show much here, trust us that this sequence is worth experiencing on your own. It’s the perfect blend of dark comedy and rampant destruction. When you need to clear out a house of walkers, consider looking in the garage for a trusty piece of lawn equipment.

“Dawn of the Dead” (1978)
For the 1978 follow-up to “Night of the Living Dead,” a new cast of survivors hop in a helicopter and look for a safe place to land. They come upon a shopping mall that turns out to be an oasis. While there are zombies, the location also has tons of much-needed supplies and food. It also helps that the survivors here are one of the smarter ensembles in the entire genre. Throughout “Dawn of the Dead”, characters such as Roger and Peter clear out the undead, block the doors, and make themselves at home. Unfortunately, a biker gang later ruins their hiding place. But these heroes have it made for a majority of the runtime.

“Night of the Living Dead” (1968)
Considered a groundbreaking piece of zombie cinema, George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” practically created the template for everything after it. The film features Barbra evading a zombie and fleeing to a seemingly abandoned house where she meets Ben. With quick thinking from the latter, the home instantly gets boarded up and secured. They end up nailing the doors and windows shut in order to keep the undead at bay. This proves to be their best chance at surviving through the night. While not every strategy works in this movie, Ben’s decision keeps the others alive for at least a few hours.

“Shaun of the Dead” (2004)
After the British army contains the zombie outbreak, the country is left with a surplus of shambling creatures. Instead of dispatching them, the government decides to use the remaining members of the horde to benefit the economy. A bunch of zombies are placed into blue-collar positions. Another group of the moaning creatures is featured on reality TV and game shows. The title character Shaun even plays video games with his zombified former roommate. Since the creatures don't need money, a lot of business owners are likely saving a fortune by hiring the horde. This plan should go off without a hitch...unless the zombies get together and unionize.

“Dawn of the Dead” (2004)
The heroes of this zombie film spend most of the runtime safe from the hungry horde by hunkering down in a mall. Before they decide to make their way to a getaway boat on the docks, they spend some valuable time reinforcing two buses. They make the exteriors virtually indestructible by adding steel, barbed wire, and big plows to the fronts. Then they load up the interiors with a good selection of weapons and some explosive propane tanks. The buses are able to take a lot of punishment while cutting a path through the horde. Honestly, the survivors might have been better off staying inside their tricked out buses instead of hopping on a boat to the unknown.

“28 Days Later” (2002)
Surviving the hellish world of “28 Days Later” is a near-impossible task. However, Jim, Selena, and Hannah managed to overcome rage-infected humans, corrupt soldiers, and the harsh elements to find a safe haven. When Hannah hears a plane approaching their cottage, the group executes a rescue plan. They quickly unfurl a huge S.O.S. made out of curtains that spells out the word hello. It was already pretty smart of them to have a pre-prepared message ready to go. But the incredibly efficient way that they laid it out suggests that they spent some time practicing it. Let's just hope they had the pilot at hello and he swung around to pick them up.

“REC” (2007)
Some smart decisions come at a high cost. The protagonists of 2007’s “Rec” had to learn this lesson in the worst way. After firefighters get a call about someone trapped in an apartment building, they try to assist. Unfortunately, the old woman they try to save is infected with a rabies-like virus and attacks them. When everyone tries to leave the woman behind in this building, they learn officials have locked them in. This cruel decision contains the virus in one place. While this choice wisely helps prevent a potential outbreak, the people left inside the apartment building are trapped with monsters they can't escape.

“Warm Bodies” (2013)
Although R is a zombie, his heart still seems to be working just fine. When he first laid eyes on Julie, he stopped trying to munch on humans just so he can see her face. And after he snacks on the brains of Julie's boyfriend, he decides to protect her from the rest of the horde. He transfers some of his own blood to her face to cover up her human smell. This allows Julie to camouflage among the zombies until R can take her to a safe place. It's pretty impressive thinking for a creature whose brains technically shouldn't work. Not only does R’s camouflage plan save Julie's life, but it helps prove that zombies can show humanity.

“Zombieland” franchise (2009-19)
One of the best running gags in this comedy-horror franchise is the slowly growing list of rules for survival. The cautious Columbus creates and closely follows a set of guidelines to keep him safe in this dangerous world. He recommends that survivors should check that bathrooms are safe, to always wear seatbelts, get some cardio in and so much more. His vital survival tips help save lives on numerous occasions. And although Columbus seems uptight, he's willing to modify his rules as he gains more experience in the world. Admittedly, he's not the only survivor to come up with a set of guidelines. But seeing as Columbus is still alive at the end of the sequel, we’d bet our money on his rules.

“Train to Busan” (2016)
In “Train to Busan,” the zombies only attack what they can hear or see. The survivors take advantage of the horde’s poor senses in a bunch of clever ways. They cover up the windows between train cars with newspapers so that the zombies don’t see them and try to break through. A few heroes also wait for tunnels to cover the train in darkness before moving. And when survivors are out of sight, they distract the reanimated goons with sound. Unfortunately, most of the passengers never make it off the train. But there would have been no survivors at all if the humans didn’t come up with so many smart ways to get around the zombies’ dull senses.

“Little Monsters” (2019)
A slacker musician named Dave and a brilliant teacher named Caroline are chaperoning a children’s field trip when a small zombie outbreak starts. After a performer prevents them from seeking shelter in a gift shop, Dave wisely breaks into the building from the top to let the kids in. But it's Miss Caroline that has the movie’s smartest idea. When zombies first surround the class, she tells her students it's all just a game. This clever strategy allows her to keep the kids calm while telling them exactly what they need to do to survive each phase of the outbreak. Miss Caroline's strategic white lie ensures every one of her students sees their parents again.

“#Alive” (2020)
If protagonist Oh Joon-woo invested his money in a PlayStation 4 instead of a drone he wouldn’t have survived this movie. After he gets trapped in his apartment during a zombie apocalypse, the small aircraft becomes his best resource. Joon-woo uses the drone to get his phone high enough to get reception. When he’s on the brink of starvation, he establishes a direct food line to his ally Kim’s apartment by flying a string into her apartment. Joon-woo even uses it to distract a zombie from munching on an unconscious Kim. Even though the drone is wrecked before the climax, Joon-Woo’s still rescued at the film’s conclusion. Why? Because he was also smart enough to post his address and an S.O.S. on social media.

“World War Z” (2013)
Gerry Lane’s insane observation skills might make him the most intelligent person to ever appear in a zombie film. After observing how long it takes for people to turn, he removes a lieutenant’s bitten hand before she becomes zombified. (***xref) But that isn’t Gerry’s best observation. He notices that zombies avoid people with terminal illnesses. After injecting himself with a deadly disease, he becomes virtually invisible to the hordes of the walking, or in this case, running dead. Gerry’s discovery is spread across the world. While some people just camouflage and avoid fights, other people use their “invisibility” to strike back against the zombies. Gerry's brilliant idea may have given humanity the edge it needed to win world war Z.