World War Z | What to Watch

Ex-United Nations agent Brad Pitt and his family run for their lives as killer zombies overrun Philadelphia - and the world

Ex-United Nations agent Brad Pitt and his family run for their lives as killer zombies overrun Philadelphia - and the world.

Breaking from horror tradition, the zombies in this apocalyptic action film move at breakneck speed rather than the familiar living-dead shuffle.

Pitt and his family are stuck in traffic when the zombie epidemic strikes with stomach-lurching suddenness. But Pitt is no slouch, either, and he's soon looking for answers to the plague, a frantic mission that takes him to South Korea, Jerusalem and - brace yourselves - Wales (look out for ex-Doctor Who Peter Capaldi, who coincidentally plays a World Health Organisation or WHO doctor).

In terrifying scenes of chaos, the zombies surge through gridlocked city streets and a tide of them overwhelms Jerusalem. The relentless pace means there’s little time for subtext and hard-core horror fans may bemoan the lack of gore and the departures from Max Brooks' source novel, but as an end-of-the-world movie, this delivers pulse-pounding, heart-pumping excitement.