Zombie movies have long been interpreted as encoding contemporary social and cultural anxieties. The first modern zombie movie, Night of the Living Dead (1968), reflected key tensions regarding the escalating Vietnam War and the civil unrest that surrounded a society in transition. Since then, zombie cinema has continued to serve as a sandbox for filmmakers and audiences to process US military interventions abroad: especially Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the Iraq War from 2003–2011, and the War in Afghanistan from 2001–2014. Many higher profile zombie movies articulate progressive values and are critical of many aspects of US imperialism. However, just as many movies—including many of the more grassroots efforts—valorize US military power unreflectively, rationalizing violence and reinforcing a frontier ethos of social Darwinism and justice through force. The ambivalent zombie film template lends itself equally to the expression of both liberal and libertarian values.