What do you want to watch tonight?
Each title says who it's good for, and who it isn't. Tap what you want tonight, or say no to one and why.
Closest to 28 Days Later first
World War Z 2013
Film
Life for former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane and his family seems content. Suddenly, the world is plagued by a mysterious infection turning whole human populations into rampaging mindless zombies. After barely escaping the chaos, Lane is persuaded to go on a mission to investigate this disease. What follows is a perilous trek around the world where Lane must brave horrific dangers and long odds to find answers before human civilization falls.
The sides of World War Z
- A father racing across the world
- Zombies that run in swarms
- A walk through a lab
Good for you if
- you like a pandemic told as a race against time.
- you like zombies piling up against a wall.
- you want disaster on a world scale.
Bad for you if
- you want gory zombies. This one keeps the bites off screen.
- you want a zombie story that builds slowly. Philadelphia falls in the first ten minutes.
About: survival · family · pandemic
Bird Box 2018
Film
Five years after an ominous unseen presence drives most of society to suicide, a survivor and her two children make a desperate bid to reach safety.
The sides of Bird Box
- A mother and two children blindfolded
- Something that makes you want to die if you see it
- A river trip
Good for you if
- you like survival with a strict rule.
- you like a threat you never see.
Bad for you if
- you want answers. What the creatures are and why they kill is never explained.
- mass suicide shown on screen is too much for you.
About: motherhood · survival · fear
Train to Busan 2016
Film
When a zombie virus pushes Korea into a state of emergency, those trapped on an express train to Busan must fight for their own survival.
The sides of Train to Busan
- A father and daughter on a train
- Zombies on board
- Carriage after carriage
Good for you if
- you like being trapped on a moving train with zombies.
- you like a zombie film that makes you cry.
- you like fights in narrow carriages.
Bad for you if
- you won't read subtitles. It's in Korean (a dub exists).
- zombie attacks ruin it for you.
About: sacrifice · selfishness · fatherhood
All of Us Are Dead 2022
Series
A high school becomes ground zero for a zombie virus outbreak. Trapped students must fight their way out — or turn into one of the rabid infected.
The sides of All of Us Are Dead
- A Korean high school overrun by zombies
- Students barricaded in classrooms
- A science teacher behind the virus
Good for you if
- you like students cornered in a classroom with the infected at the door.
- you like teenagers working out how to stay alive with what a school has.
- you want zombies fast enough to scare you.
Bad for you if
- you won't read subtitles for a Korean series.
- you can't watch bites and blood in a school full of kids.
About: survival · friendship · bullying
I Am Legend 2007
Film
Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone.
The sides of I Am Legend
- The last man in New York
- A dog as his only friend
- Creatures that come out at night
Good for you if
- you like dark buildings you have to go into.
- you like a lonely hero and the dog who keeps him going.
- you like daily routines of survival in an empty city.
Bad for you if
- you can't take loneliness and grief on screen. Neville talks to mannequins to stay sane.
- you like a big cast. Will Smith is nearly alone on screen for an hour.
About: loneliness · hope · survival
The Last of Us 2023
Series
Twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed, Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the United States and depend on each other for survival.
The sides of The Last of Us
- A smuggler crossing a ruined America
- A 14-year-old girl immune to the infection
- A fungus that turned people into monsters
Good for you if
- you like a gruff man slowly becoming a father to Ellie.
- you want a road trip through a world where every town can kill you.
- you like a story about what you would do to protect one person.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand infected attacks and people killing people up close.
- you need some hope, and this one keeps taking people away.
About: grief · fatherhood · survival · loyalty
Fear the Walking Dead 2015
Series
What did the world look like as it was transforming into the horrifying apocalypse depicted in "The Walking Dead"? This spin-off set in Los Angeles, following new characters as they face the beginning of the end of the world, will answer that question.
The sides of Fear the Walking Dead
- A family in Los Angeles as the outbreak starts
- The first days of the zombie apocalypse
- Strangers who become a group
Good for you if
- you like seeing how a normal city falls apart.
- you like a blended family trying to stay together when the dead walk.
- you want a horror story that starts before the world is gone.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand zombie bites and bodies torn apart.
- eight seasons is too much for you.
- you need some hope, and people keep dying.
About: survival · family · loss · community
The Strain 2014
Series
A high concept thriller that tells the story of Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, the head of the Center for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City. He and his team are called upon to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak with hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. As the strain spreads, Eph, his team, and an assembly of everyday New Yorkers, wage war for the fate of humanity itself.
The sides of The Strain
- A plane landing in New York full of dead passengers
- A CDC doctor chasing an outbreak
- An old pawnbroker who hunts vampires
Good for you if
- you like vampires that are parasites, not seducers.
- you like ordinary New Yorkers fighting to stay alive as the city falls.
- you like an outbreak spreading faster than anyone can stop it.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand worms, bites and gore.
- you need an epidemic to follow real science.
About: contagion · the end of the world · sacrifice
Cloverfield 2008
Film
Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives.
The sides of Cloverfield
- A goodbye party in Manhattan
- A monster attacks the city
- Everything filmed on a camcorder
Good for you if
- you like an attack seen only from the ground.
- you like a monster you barely see.
- you like the Statue of Liberty's head in the street.
Bad for you if
- you want steady, framed images. Everything is shot on a shaking camcorder.
- you need answers. Nobody learns what the monster is or where it came from.
About: survival · love · chaos
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials 2015
Film
Thomas and his fellow Gladers face their greatest challenge yet: searching for clues about the mysterious and powerful organization known as WCKD. Their journey takes them to the Scorch, a desolate landscape filled with unimaginable obstacles. Teaming up with resistance fighters, the Gladers take on WCKD’s vastly superior forces and uncover its shocking plans for them all.
The sides of Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
- Out of the maze, into a desert
- An organisation that lied
- Infected people in the dark
Good for you if
- you like nonstop running and escapes.
- you like zombie-like threats in ruined cities.
Bad for you if
- you'd rather slow down with the characters. The Gladers barely stop running across the Scorch.
- jump scares in the dark are too much for you.
About: trust · survival · rebellion
Aliens 1986
Film
Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met with skepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.
The sides of Aliens
- Ripley goes back with the marines
- A colony gone silent
- A queen and a mother
Good for you if
- you like the scary original turned into a war film.
- you like marines counting their ammo in a corridor.
- you like creatures coming from the walls.
Bad for you if
- films from 1986 feel dated to you.
- you can't take gore. Marines are torn apart and acid blood eats through armour.
About: motherhood · survival · courage
Don't Breathe 2016
Film
A group of teens break into a blind man's home thinking they'll get away with the perfect crime. They're wrong.
The sides of Don't Breathe
- Three thieves break into a blind man's house
- He isn't helpless
- A basement they shouldn't find
Good for you if
- you like holding your breath in a dark house.
- you like a villain who hunts by sound.
- you like a reveal halfway that changes everything.
Bad for you if
- brutal violence ruins it for you.
- one disturbing scene with a captive is too much for you.
About: survival · guilt · desperation
Children of Men 2006
Film
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.
The sides of Children of Men
- A world where no child has been born in 18 years
- A pregnant woman to protect
- A battle filmed in one take
Good for you if
- you like long single shots in the middle of chaos.
- you like a grim future that feels close.
- you like a grey, ruined England.
Bad for you if
- war violence and executions ruin it for you.
- you can't take grief on screen. Theo lost his son, and suicide kits are sold on TV.
About: hope · refugees · faith
Life 2017
Film
The six-member crew of the International Space Station is tasked with studying a sample from Mars that may be the first proof of extra-terrestrial life, which proves more intelligent than ever expected.
The sides of Life
- A cell from Mars on a space station
- It grows
- A crew that can't let it reach Earth
Good for you if
- you like a creature loose in a tight space.
- you like a smart, fast alien.
Bad for you if
- crushing, gruesome deaths ruin it for you.
- you need some hope. Life on the station turns darker by the hour.
About: survival · curiosity · sacrifice
The Walking Dead 2010
Series
Sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other survivors along the way.
The sides of The Walking Dead
- Waking up in a world of the dead
- Survivors who become a family
- The living as dangerous as the dead
Good for you if
- you like asking what you'd do to stay alive.
- you like never feeling safe, even at camp.
- you like watching ordinary people harden over years.
Bad for you if
- gore and zombie bites ruin a show for you.
- eleven seasons is far more than you want to start.
About: survival · morality · community
A Quiet Place Part II 2021
Film
Following the events at home, the Abbott family now face the terrors of the outside world. Forced to venture into the unknown, they realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.
The sides of A Quiet Place Part II
- The family leaves home
- A deaf girl with a plan
- A survivor in an old factory
Good for you if
- you like silence that makes every sound terrifying.
- you like creatures that hunt by noise.
Bad for you if
- you like a slow build. Part II throws the family into danger from the first scene.
- you want a story that wraps up. This one ends with more to come.
About: family · courage · survival
The Thing 1982
Film
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
The sides of The Thing
- A research station in Antarctica
- Something that copies anyone
- A blood test
Good for you if
- you like paranoia where anyone could be the monster.
- you like practical creature effects that still shock.
- you like an ending that leaves you unsure.
Bad for you if
- grotesque body horror ruins it for you.
- films from 1982 feel dated to you.
About: paranoia · trust · isolation
The Platform 2019
Film
A slab of food descends down a vertical facility. The residents above eat heartily, leaving those below starving and desperate. A rebellion is imminent.
The sides of The Platform
- A tower prison with one platform of food
- Levels from top to bottom
- Who eats and who doesn't
Good for you if
- you like strange, allegorical stories.
- you like a cruel, unflinching idea.
- you like not knowing which level you'll wake up on.
Bad for you if
- gore and cannibalism ruin it for you.
- you won't read subtitles. It's in Spanish (a dub exists).
About: inequality · solidarity · greed
The Terminator 1984
Film
In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?
The sides of The Terminator
- A killing machine sent from the future
- A waitress who doesn't know she matters
- A soldier sent to protect her
Good for you if
- you like being hunted by something that never stops.
- you like a lean, fast 80s thriller.
- you like a waitress who learns to fight back to stay alive.
Bad for you if
- effects from 1984 look dated to you.
- shootouts in a police station ruin it for you.
About: fate · survival · machines
Maze Runner: The Death Cure 2018
Film
Thomas leads his group of escaped Gladers on their final and most dangerous mission yet. To save their friends, they must break into the legendary Last City, a WCKD-controlled labyrinth that may turn out to be the deadliest maze of all. Anyone who makes it out alive will get answers to the questions the Gladers have been asking since they first arrived in the maze.
The sides of Maze Runner: The Death Cure
- A rescue from a walled city
- A cure that costs lives
- A train heist
Good for you if
- you like a train heist to start.
- you like a group that never leaves anyone behind.
Bad for you if
- two hours and twenty minutes is a lot for your evening.
- you lose track easily. Thomas, Newt, Minho, Teresa, Gally and Brenda each have their own path.
About: friendship · sacrifice · trust