The Definitive Zombie Movie of the 2000s Officially Finds a New Streaming Home

The horror genre simply wouldn’t be the same without zombies. Released on July 28, 1932, and starring the original horror icon Bela Lugosi, White Zombie is credited as the first-ever feature-length zombie movie. Almost 100 years later, and though the brain-eating monsters might’ve evolved, they’re still just as relevant in theaters. This is seen most recently in Zach Cregger‘s Resident Evil, a video game reboot that follows his hugely successful, Oscar-winning 2025 horror effort Weapons.

“When Resident Evil works, it really works,” wrote Collider’s Carly Lane in one of many glowing reviews for Resident Evil, which proved once again that Cregger is one of the modern horror masters. Against a reported $75 million production budget, the movie has flown past the impressive box office haul of Weapons, earning $384 million to date and still maintaining a theatrical presence. A true gem in the modern zombie genre, Resident Evil deserves all the love it gets. But not all zombie movies need to be terrifying. In fact, one of the very best of this century puts its emphasis on horror-inspired comedy.

Of course, we’re talking about 2004’s Shaun of the Dead, the first of the acclaimed Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, which also includes Hot Fuzz and The World’s End. Created by Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, and Edgar Wright, the trilogy begins on perhaps the highest note with this genius homage to zombie movies, packed with comedic flair and one of the best horror movie bromances of all time between Frost and Pegg. 22 years later, you can watch Shaun of the Dead on Starz, starting November 1, where it will join the aforementioned Hot Fuzz.

Four franchises, four completely different ways of getting underneath
your skin. This is the one built out of your particular fear, why it works so well on you, and what
it would leave behind.

Your nightmare does not wait outside the door. It waits for you
to close your eyes, which you are going to have to do eventually, because nobody has ever
won that particular argument.

• Freddy is horror’s cruellest idea: a threat that lives in the one place you cannot
  guard, cannot lock, and cannot avoid forever.
• You are the one who is fine during the film and wide awake at two in the morning. Your
  own head is where this does its damage.
• These films understood exhaustion as a horror engine. The kids on Elm Street do not lose
  because they are weak. They lose because they are tired.
• You can lock every door in the house. You still have to sleep.

Your nightmare is not really the doll. It is the face of the
person you tell, and the way they decide, very kindly, that you have imagined all of it.

• Chucky works precisely because he is absurd. That is the trap: the more accurately you
  describe him, the less anybody is going to believe you.
• You are the one shouting at the screen because the characters are not listening. You
  know that feeling from real life too.
• The franchise is at its best when the adults in the room are the real obstacle, and you
  have met those adults.
• By the time somebody finally believes you, you will have handled most of it on your own.

Your nightmare has your number, knows your name, and has almost
certainly been inside your house before. The worst part is that you already know them.

• Scream is the only one of these where the killer takes the mask off and turns out to be
  somebody who was at the party.
• You are the person who calls the twist out loud before it lands. You watch people the
  same way you watch films.
• The franchise made the rules of horror part of the plot, which means the survivors are
  the ones paying attention. You would be paying attention.
• Everybody is a suspect, including the person who just offered to walk you home.

Your nightmare is not really about you. It is about the people
asleep down the hall, and the feeling that whatever is here is not interested in leaving.

• The Conjuring films are domestic horror. The house, the family, the perfectly ordinary
  room that quietly stops feeling ordinary.
• Your instinct is to get everybody into one room. Your fear is protective rather than
  personal, which is rarer than it sounds.
• This is the one franchise where belief is the weapon. The people who come through it are
  the ones who are not alone and refuse to be.
• Whatever is here did not come for you. It came for the household, and you are the one
  standing in the hallway.

How Much Did ‘Shaun of the Dead’ Make at the Box Office?

• Image via Rogue Pictures

• Image via Rogue Pictures

• Image via Rogue Pictures

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Image via Rogue Pictures

Image via Rogue Pictures

Image via Rogue Pictures

Love for Shaun of the Dead has grown to enormous heights since its 2004 debut. That being said, it was still a hit in theaters, turning a reported $5 million budget into a $30 million global haul. But its post-theatrical appeal saw the film earn a further $14.5 million from DVD and Blu-ray sales. The movie was re-released on the big screen for its 20th anniversary in 2024, adding another $1.5 million to its haul.

Shaun of the Deadis streaming on Starz next month. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for the latest streaming stories.

Shaun of the Dead