These movies range from the sort of campy goodness that makes you laugh as much as you jump, to the kind of creepy that has you checking under your bed before you sleep, each one a unique blend of 80s flair and undead thrills.
They're like a time capsule of a decade when filmmakers threw caution to the wind, blending outrageous effects, over-the-top storylines, and a dash of good old-fashioned scare tactics to create something truly memorable.
25. "Oasis of the Zombies" (1982)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 5%
A group of treasure hunters searches for Nazi gold in an African desert, only to encounter a legion of zombies – the remnants of a German Afrika Korps unit – protecting the treasure.
24. "Zombi 3" (1988)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 24%
After a deadly virus is stolen from a military base and accidentally released, it turns the inhabitants of a nearby island into flesh-eating zombies, leading to a desperate struggle for survival by the uninfected.
23. "Zombie Lake" (1981)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 29%
In a small village, a lake is haunted by the undead members of a Nazi regiment, leading to terror and death for the local residents. The zombies emerge from the water to prey on the living.
22. "Zombie Holocaust" (1980)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 38%
After a series of cannibalistic murders in New York City, a team of investigators heads to a remote island where they encounter a tribe of cannibals and a mad scientist conducting gruesome experiments, leading to a battle for survival.
21. "Hell of the Living Dead" (also known as "Night of the Zombies", 1980)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 39%
A chemical leak at a top-secret research facility turns the staff into ravenous zombies. A SWAT team sent to investigate battles the undead, uncovering a global conspiracy in the process.
20. "City of the Living Dead" (1980)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 40%
A reporter and a psychic race against time to close the gates of hell after a priest's suicide in a small town triggers a series of supernatural events, including gruesome deaths and the rise of the undead.
19. "The Children" (1980)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 40%
A school bus full of children drives through a cloud of nuclear waste and the children transform into murderous zombies with black fingernails, leading to a terrifying ordeal for the local townspeople.
18. "Redneck Zombies" (1989)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 43%
Toxic waste transforms a group of rednecks into flesh-eating zombies, leading to a gory and comedic battle for survival among a group of unsuspecting vacationers who encounter them.
17. "The Living Dead Girl" (1982)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 44%
A young woman, Catherine, is resurrected after a toxic spill and becomes a living dead girl with a thirst for blood, leading to a tragic struggle as her humanity and monstrous nature conflict.
16. "House by the Cemetery" (1981)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 45%
A family moves into an old house next to a graveyard in New England, only to discover it's inhabited by a homicidal undead being, leading to a series of supernatural occurrences and gruesome discoveries.
15. "The Dead Next Door" (1989)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 47%
An elite team of soldiers, known as the "Zombie Squad," is formed to combat the rising zombie epidemic. They face a cult that worships the undead and a conspiracy that could lead to the downfall of humanity.
14. "Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror" (1981)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 51%
A professor's discovery of an ancient crypt unleashes a horde of ravenous zombies, trapping him and a group of visitors in a gruesome siege at a remote mansion.
13. "Pet Sematary" (1989)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 55%
After the tragic death of his young son, a doctor discovers an ancient burial ground with the power to resurrect the dead. The consequences of meddling with the natural order of life and death unfold with horrific results.
12. "The Serpent and the Rainbow" (1988)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 62%
An anthropologist ventures to Haiti to investigate a drug used in voodoo rituals to create zombies. His skepticism turns to terror as he uncovers a sinister world of black magic and a conspiracy involving the local government.
11. "Dead & Buried" (1981)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 68%
In the small coastal town of Potter's Bluff, visitors and locals are mysteriously murdered and then reanimated to live as the undead, leading the local sheriff to uncover a horrifying secret about his own townspeople.
10. "The Beyond" (1981)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 68%
A young woman inherits an old hotel in Louisiana, only to discover that it is built over one of the entrances to Hell. Strange, terrifying events unfold as she learns the dark history of the hotel and battles the undead.
9. "Demons" (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 69%
Patrons trapped inside a movie theater transform into demonic creatures after being exposed to a cursed film, leading to a night of horror and survival as a small group of uninfected patrons fight to escape.
8. "Night of the Creeps" (1986)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 73%
College students unleash a frozen alien experiment that turns people into zombie-like creatures through slug-like parasites. A hard-boiled detective and a college nerd team up to stop the outbreak before it spreads.
7. "The Fog" (1980)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 75%
The residents of Antonio Bay, California, are terrorized by vengeful spirits concealed within a mysterious, creeping fog, coinciding with the town's centennial celebration and revealing dark secrets from its past.
6. "Night of the Comet" (1984)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%
After a comet wipes out most of the population, two sisters navigate a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, battling zombie-like creatures and a group of sinister scientists who are capturing survivors for experiments.
5. "The Evil Dead" (1981)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%
Five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in the woods unwittingly release demonic forces after playing a tape of incantations, leading to a nightmare of possession and horror as they fight for survival.
4. "Day of the Dead" (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%
In a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, a group of military personnel and scientists residing in an underground bunker struggle with the challenges of research, strained relationships, and the increasing threat of the undead, leading to a catastrophic breakdown in discipline and order.
3. "Braindead" (also known as "Dead Alive", 1989)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%
Lionel, a young man, has to deal with his overbearing mother who becomes a zombie after being bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey. He tries to keep her condition a secret, leading to an out-of-control zombie outbreak and a bloody, comedic battle for survival.
2. "The Return of the Living Dead" (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%
When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas, it reanimates the dead, leading to chaos and comedy as a group of punk rockers and others try to survive the onslaught of the brain-eating undead.
1. "Re-Animator" (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
Medical student Herbert West develops a serum that can reanimate dead bodies. His experiments lead to grotesque and deadly results, as he becomes obsessed with reviving human corpses, leading to horrific consequences.