Video Games

The Minecraft movie’s Zombie and Skeleton are like my sleep paralysis demons come to life

Warner Bros. released two rather frightening Minecraft movie images, one showing the film’s take on Zombies and the other on Skeletons, and I wish they hadn’t

Josh Broadwell

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. released two rather frightening Minecraft movie images, one showing the film’s take on Zombies and the other on Skeletons, and I wish they hadn’t. I get it. Zombies and skeletons are supposed to be scary, but not like this.

The biggest thing, I think, is the mouths. Minecraft Zombies don’t have ‘em, and it should probably have stayed that way. A horde of creepy green zombies chasing you across the plains at night just for the sport of it – no mouths mean they can’t eat you – is a frightening enough concept. The mouth on the Minecraft movie’s zombie is uncanny in a way like those bizarre dreams that start off like a scene out of real life and transform into something that’ll haunt you for days.

It sits in a gray zone where it’s not completely stylized and just real-ish looking enough – far more unsettling than some gore-covered corpse shambling around.

The skeleton is unnerving for a similar reason. Minecraft’s skeletons look completely neutral. Just an animated, humanoid bone pile approaching you with no expression. Your death means nothing. It really isn’t personal! The Minecraft movie skeleton looks like they’re gonna enjoy hurting you. It’s very personal, and you’re going to suffer for it. 

Still, it’s nice to see a bit of personality. The Minecraft movie’s first trailer was completely lacking in identity. Aside from a rather odd sheep, it was basically just a group of people acting in front of a green screen. Which, okay, that’s what most movies are, but the point is to convince viewers that isn’t what’s happening.

The Minecraft movie is set to release on April 4, 2025, assuming Warner Bros. doesn’t delay it again.

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Josh Broadwell
JOSH BROADWELL

Josh is a freelance writer and reporter who specializes in guides, reviews, and whatever else he can convince someone to commission. You may have seen him on NPR, IGN, Polygon, or Rolling Stone shouting about RPGs. When he isn’t working, you’ll likely find him outside with his Belgian Malinois and Australian Shepherd or leveling yet another job in FFXIV.

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