04/26/2026
After the rise and fall of ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐ (2010), I was fairly confident that we wouldnโt see a zombie movie in theaters again for a very long time. It felt like, after more than a decade of not-so-clever ups and downsโand an undead armyโs worth of fake-outsโfor Rick Grimes and company, the public had simply grown tired of the genre. Now, though, Iโm starting to think audiences werenโt tired of the genre at all but rather the lifeless, shambling writing of ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐.
If thereโs one thing I admire about the ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐จ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง film series, itโs the boldness of its storytelling. There are obvious directions to go when making a zombie movieโand then there are the not-so-obvious ones. This series almost always chooses the riskier pathโthe road less travelled, so to speakโand itโs a joy to watch.
This is especially true of the latest installment, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง: ๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ก๐ (2026), which picks up right where its predecessor left off and plunges viewers into what amounts to a fever dream of gore, nudity, bloodthirsty cultists, and a hypnoticโalbeit disturbingโmusical number set to Iron Maidenโs โThe Number of the Beast.โ And what a blast it is. I really enjoyed this film. Itโs bold, itโs stylish, and it has just enough surprises to keep you guessing until the very end. I canโt help but think that the filmmakers were inspired by George Romeroโs criminally underrated ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐ (1985), especially when it comes to one surprising plot twist (hereโs looking at you, Bub). I hope they continue in this direction with the inevitable follow-up, something Romero himself never truly got the opportunity to do. It was also nice seeing a certain character from a previous installment make an appearance at the end, another hint of things to come. So far, ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง: ๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ก๐ might be the best horror film of 2026.
-- ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ --
