7 Zombie Watches That Are More Soul Than Scare

Back in the day, zombie stories were pretty one-dimensional – just mindless shamblers, buckets of gore, and cheap jump scares.

Nobody really cared why the dead were walking, but only how gross their next kill would be. Then, something changed. Storytellers began exploring the human condition through both the transformed undead and the traumatized survivors, finding deeper meaning in how people cling to their humanity when everything familiar has been stripped away. This evolution gave us some truly incredible screen experiences. With The Last of Us Season 2 upon us, it feels like the perfect time to look back at the films and series that proved the walking dead have more on their minds than just brains.

The Last of Us (HBO)

What made the Last of Us game special wasn’t the infected; it was Joel and Ellie’s relationship – and the show absolutely nails that dynamic. Pedro Pascal brings a perfect mix of gruff weariness and reluctant tenderness that makes Joel work, while Bella Ramsey’s Ellie balances vulnerability with a fierce determination that catches viewers off guard. And then there’s “Long, Long Time” – the episode featuring Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett that broke everyone’s hearts. Their beautiful, decades-spanning love story amid an apocalypse might be one of the finest hours of television ever created. The infected are terrifying, sure (that clicker scene in episode 2 still haunts many of us), but they’re almost like the weather – a deadly environmental factor pushing characters into impossible situations. It’s in those human moments that the show becomes something special.

The Walking Dead (AMC+)

When The Walking Dead premiered in 2010, it ushered in a new era of zombie storytelling and changed the landscape of what was possible in horror TV. The genius was how it made you invest in characters, then brutally ripped them away – sometimes literally. The zombies (“walkers” if you’re being technical) eventually became background noise to the real drama: human beings figuring out if civilization was worth saving or if we should just embrace our worst impulses. Shane’s arc in the first two seasons remains one of the best character developments ever seen on TV. Sure, it got messy later on, but at its peak, The Walking Dead wasn’t afraid to ask: in a world without rules, who would you become?

In the Flesh (BBC Three)

This BBC Three series only ran for nine episodes before getting axed, which is criminal because its premise was brilliant. Instead of focusing on the zombie outbreak, it picks up after a medical treatment has been developed. “Partially Deceased Syndrome” sufferers are medicated, rehabilitated, and sent back to communities that, well, aren’t exactly thrilled to see them. Through teenager Kieren Walker’s eyes, we get this perfect allegory for everything from mental illness stigma to LGBTQ+ discrimination without it ever feeling heavy-handed. It’s intimate, set in a small northern English town where everyone knows everyone’s business, and the zombies aren’t monsters – they’re just people trying to be accepted for who they are now. The show’s cancellation still stings for those who appreciated its nuanced approach.

Warm Bodies (2013)

“Zombie rom-com” might sound like an eye-rolling premise, but Nicholas Hoult makes it work beautifully in this 2013 film. R is a zombie who retains bits of his humanity, falls for a human girl named Julie after eating her boyfriend’s brain (awkward), and somehow their connection begins to change him physically. It sounds ridiculous on paper, but there’s something weirdly sweet about it. Director Jonathan Levine finds this perfect balance between comedy, romance, and horror without letting any single element overwhelm the others. The concept that genuine human connection might be the cure for zombification makes for a surprisingly moving metaphor about isolation in modern society. Plus, it’s genuinely funny without undermining the emotional stakes. Not an easy balance to strike.

iZombie (The CW)

This one flew under the radar for too many people, which is a shame because Rose McIver deserves an Emmy for essentially playing a different character every episode. The premise is bonkers in the best way: medical resident Liv Moore (see what they did there) becomes a functioning zombie who absorbs personality traits and memories from the brains she eats, which she then uses to solve murders. It starts as this quirky procedural but evolves into something much more complex as Seattle becomes ground zero for zombie-human conflict. There’s this great throughline about identity – how much of ourselves remains when everything else changes? It’s a perfect blend of witty dialogue and surprisingly thoughtful commentary on what makes us who we are.

Cargo (2017)

This film-turned-limited-series makes zombieism personal. Martin Freeman plays a father infected with a virus, giving him 48 hours before he turns, desperately searching for someone to care for his infant daughter. No big action sequences or hordes of the undead here. Just a man racing against time through the stark beauty of the Australian outback, intersecting with Aboriginal communities who have their own understanding of what this “sickness” really is. The show builds on the film’s meditation about parenthood and what we owe the next generation when everything seems lost.

The Girl with All the Gifts (2016)

This 2016 adaptation of Mike Carey’s novel introduces us to Melanie, a second-generation “hungry” who maintains her intelligence despite the fungal infection that makes her crave human flesh. Young Sennia Nanua’s performance is astonishing – she makes you root for her even as she represents the potential extinction of our species.  The film poses uncomfortable questions: What if humanity’s time is simply over? What if our replacement is already here? Few zombie narratives have managed to be simultaneously this disturbing and this philosophically rich. When Melanie makes her final decision, it’s both horrifying and oddly hopeful – showing just how deep zombie stories can be when handled with intelligence.