Zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

s are fictional creatures usually portrayed as reanimated corpses or virally infected human beings. They are commonly portrayed as

anthropophagous An anthropophage or ''anthropophagus'' (from el, ανθρωποφάγος , translit=anthrōpophagos, "human-eater", plural el, ανθρωποφάγοι , translit=anthropophagi) was a member of a mythical race of cannibals described first by ...

in nature—labelling them as

cannibals Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...

would imply zombies are still members of the human species, and expert opinions quoted in some of the films below, e.g. Dawn of the Dead, specifically state this is not the case. While zombie films generally fall into the horror genre, some cross over into other genres, such as

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

, thriller, or

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

. Distinct subgenres have evolved, such as the "

zombie comedy The zombie comedy, often called zom com or zomedy, is a film genre that aims to blend zombie horror motifs with slapstick comedy as well as morbid humor. History The earliest roots of the genre can be found in Jean Yarbrough's ''King of the ...

" or the "

zombie apocalypse Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack hum ...

". Zombies are distinct from

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

ghoul A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a cert ...

mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furth ...

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compares ...

s or

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

s, so this list does not include films devoted to these types of undead.

Victor Halperin Victor Hugo Halperin (August 24, 1895 in Chicago, Illinois – May 17, 1983 in Bentonville, Arkansas) was an American stage actor, stage director, film director, film producer, producer, and writer. The majority of his works involved romance film ...

's '' White Zombie'', released in 1932, is often cited as the first zombie film.

Films

See also

References

Bibliography

External links