Editorials
8 Video Game Zombies That Break the Traditional Mold
Zombies aren’t always the slow, droning, brain-hungry creatures that we know from the likes of Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead. Throughout the years, zombies have taken on different forms across all of horror media, whether clawing their way up from six-feet under, or manifesting from top-secret government experiments gone wrong. Modern horror has had a heavy fixation on zombies, and for good reason—the zombie trope is very versatile.
Given the many iterations of zombies that have appeared in video games over the past couple of decades, there are certain types that stand out from the rest in how they’ve innovated what exactly the creatures are and their capabilities. These iterations still retain the staple aspects of what we know as zombies (humanoid in figure, animalistic in nature with an intent to kill), yet elevate past the traditional mold of simply being dull-witted and physically impaired. Zombies like this are typically the most memorable, and have become the most iconic in gaming.
Left 4 Dead: Witches
Witches in the Left 4 Dead series are among the most infamous enemies that players can encounter in each campaign. Appearance-wise, they’re quite simple. It’s the behavior of Witches that make them so iconic as zombies. Unlike their bloodthirsty counterparts, Witches do not wish to be disturbed, and only attack when approached or startled. When they do attack, they’re abnormally fast. Instead of a classic low moan, they let out a shriek as they rush toward players. The concept behind them isn’t over the top by any means, yet they instill dread into the hearts of every Left 4 Dead player every time they hear the crying of a Witch from the darkness.
Half-Life: Head Crab Zombies
The concept behind the Head Crab zombies in the Half-Life series is genuinely chilling. Starting from the head of their hosts, the Head Crabs clamp down and take control of the hosts, slowly mutating the rest of the body. The end result is a human body with giant claws and a gaping mouth on the abdomen, ready to pounce on its prey. Their design is humanoid enough to still be called zombie-like while being mutated enough to give them a very distinctive look.
House of the Dead: Axe-Wielding Zombies
The House of the Dead series boasts a wide cast of mutated creatures ready to kill, from frogs that leap up to take chomps out of you, to chainsaw-wielding giants that sprint towards you. The typical zombies that players encounter in the series look the part of traditional zombies: fleshy, rotting, and sometimes missing limbs—however, they also tend to proficiently use actual weapons. They’ll throw axes, barrels, and anything they can to make the player go down. However, in cutscenes, they’re shown to do what zombies are usually trademarked to do: feast upon the corpses of their victims.
Skyrim: Draugr
Draugr are powerful, undead Nordic warriors that players encounter frequently in dungeons and crypts across Skyrim. Though they are rotting, reanimated corpses, they do seem to possess some cognitive function—enough to still be able to use bow and arrows when attacking. They are also hinted at still being able to understand human language. Despite this, their empty, glowing eyes, hostile behavior, and tendency to rise out of the ground or out of coffins definitely still calls for the zombie label.
Resident Evil: Plaga
Similar to the Head Crabs of Half-Life, the Plaga is an infectious parasite that slowly takes control of its victims. The Plaga takes many forms as it sprouts from where the head of its victim should be, sometimes violently causing it to explode. Even if there isn’t a human head left to eat its victims, the Plaga can get the job done and chomp the head off of its prey in one swift swoop.
The Last of Us: Clickers
The Infected appear in many shapes and sizes throughout the series of The Last of Us. Before mutating into forms that no longer resemble humans, The Infected appear as Clickers—a state in which cognitive function has completely ceased and animal instinct has taken its place. Similar to bats, Clickers use echolocation to determine where their next victims are, substituting the traditional low moaning of zombies with an eerie, cacophony of loud gurgles, groans, and “clicking” noises.
Dying Light: Volatile
The Volatile in Dying Light seem to take every traditional aspect of zombies and completely flip them upside down. They are extremely strong, take many hits to take down, and are agile enough to climb to the top of buildings and leap across one from the other. Their glowing, beady eyes, and razor-sharp teeth read like a traditional zombie, but they aren’t nearly as simple to escape from or take down as running away or shooting them in the head.
Bioshock: Splicers
Splicers are unique to this list in that for the most part, they have still retained a level of humanity. However, their minds and bodies have become so warped due to the use of the drug ADAM that their genetic makeup has been deformed beyond repair. As a result, their behavior is so centered around addiction to the drug that it completely clouds their judgment, causing them to be hostile to anyone that may appear to be between them and their fix. The side effects of ADAM cause the users to strongly resemble zombies as well, with skin lesions, bleeding, and other deformities.
A new month means a new guide as titles are added (and dropped) from streaming services. Let’s unpack the most exciting titles that are available to watch on Tubi in July 2026.
New to Tubi July Horror Films
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
- Premise: Searching for a cure to Alzheimer’s disease, a group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the prey as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back.
- Why Watch It? Let’s be frank: Director Renny Harlin has made some absolute dogs in the last few years (the less said about The Strangers trilogy the better, though this year’s Deep Water was actually ok). Deep Blue Sea remains one of the Finnish director’s best contemporary efforts, though. Between the great cast (Samuel L. Jackson, Saffron Burrows, Stellan Skarsgård, Michael Rapaport, LL Cool J, Thomas Jane, and Jane’s sleeveless wetsuit), the ridiculous premise, and that damn/dumb song (“My hat is like a shark’s fin”), you basically can’t go wrong with Deep Blue Sea. It’s one of two great shark films gliding onto Tubi this month, so why not stay out of the water and watch this instead?
- Streaming: July 1
Exorcist II: Heretic (1977)
- Premise: Reagan (Linda Blair), a girl once possessed by a demon, finds that it still lurks within her. Meanwhile, Father Lamont (Richard Burton) investigates the death of the priest who performed her exorcism.
- Why Watch It? August sees the release of documentary Boorman and the Devil, which is about the troubled production of this sequel. The notoriety surrounding Heretic has undoubtedly kept plenty of horror fans away from the sequel, but this truly is a “seeing is believing” kind of film. Real talk: it’s undeniably a disaster, but the John Boorman film has also become a minor cult film. Don’t you want to see it to make up your own mind?
- Streaming: July 1
Hostel: Part III (2011)
- Premise: Four men attending a bachelor party in Las Vegas fall prey to the Elite Hunting Club, who are hosting a gruesome game show of torture.
- Why Watch It? What does Hostel look like without Eli Roth? Part III kinda answers the question. Technically Roth is still a writer, but he hands over the directorial reins to Scott Spiegel (best known for acting in Evil Dead films). The result is a film with a terrible pedigree; it’s also the first (and last) entry to skip theatres before the franchise was permanently shelved (until that TV show with Paul Giamatti shows up?). For some horror fans, however, there’s something exciting about a bad low-budget sequel. Just bear in mind that the Hostel: Part III‘s biggest star is Kip Pardue…so adjust your expectations accordingly before hitting play.
- Streaming: July 1
Insidious 1-3 (2010/2013/2015)
- Premise: A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.
- Why Watch It? It’s hard to believe that the sixth (!) Insidious movie is coming out in a month and a half, but James Wan and Leigh Whannell‘s other horror franchise has been steadily chugging along for sixteen years. It’s a shame that Tubi doesn’t have all five films available to watch, but in terms of quality, you can do far worse than the original trio. The first film is iconic, and the second is basically an extended coda (with some admittedly problematic stuff going on). I’ll go to bat for Whannell’s 2015 directorial debut, though: there’s a few banger sequences in that film that people slept on.
- Streaming: July 1
Man Finds Tape (2025)
- Premise: After finding mysterious video clips, siblings investigate the strange recordings and uncover a disturbing secret spreading through their Texas town.
- Why Watch It? Writer/directors Paul Gandersman and Peter S. Hall‘s well-received found footage film did an extensive tour of the festival circuit, so now is a great time to check out one of the most contemporary titles debuting on Tubi this month. Surely a title that hails from producers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Spring and The Endless) is worth a free look?
- Streaming: July 2
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
- Premise: A depressed musician Adam (Tom Hiddleston) reunites with his lover Eve (Tilda Swinton). However, their romance, which has already endured several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska).
- Why Watch It? This beautiful, melancholy vampire film is courtesy of writer/director Jim Jarmusch, who doesn’t often dabble in genre fare. As always, some will quibble if this artsy drama qualifies as horror, but the existential ennui of an eternal life certainly qualifies (bonus: there’s also something inherently sexy about watching Hiddleston and Swinton just lay about). Plus: if Leviticus has you hankering for more Wasikowska, this is an under the radar pick.
- Streaming: July 1
The Shallows (2016)
- Premise:A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy (Blake Lively) is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.
- Why Watch It? What better time to watch a shark movie than July? The temperatures are soaring and the idea of escaping into the water is so tantalizing. This tight, contained thriller features a great performance by Lively (and that damn seagull!), but it’s the direction from genre fave Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan; the House of Wax remake) that keeps the movie clicking along like clockwork. At 86 minutes, this is a perfect summer flick.
- Streaming: July 1
Vacancy (2007)
- Premise: Stranded in an isolated motel, a couple (Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) become the unsuspecting subjects of a snuff film.
- Why Watch It? I’m not going to pretend that this Nimród Antal-directed home invasion film is high art, but it is a good time. You’ll likely wish there were deeper characterizations for Wilson and Beckinsale’s David and Amy in Mark L. Smith‘s screenplay, but this mid-aughts thriller is tense, exciting, and just the right amount of grimy. Plus: another short runtime, clocking in at an expeditious 85 minutes!
- Streaming: July 1
July Tubi Originals
The One Next Door (2026)
- Premise: When a mysterious stranger moves in next door to Robert and Tabitha, boundaries are tested, loyalty is questioned, and danger comes for all.
- Streaming: July 10
I Know Where You Live (2026)
- Premise: Sarah thinks she’s found “the one” until his flaws emerge. When she pulls away, chilling threats suggest he’s watching her from inside her own home.
- Streaming: July 24
What’s your favorite from the list above? Will you check out the new Original? Sound off in the comments below
You must be logged in to post a comment.