What happens when a microbudget British zombie film from Brentwood takes on the most commercially successful zombie movie ever made?
On one side, we have World War Z, complete with Brad Pitt, helicopters, government agencies and a production budget estimated at $190 million.
On the other, we have Welcome to Essex, featuring real Essex locations, dark British humour, practical gore and hundreds of local people willing to spend their Sunday pretending to eat one another.
It may not sound like an even contest, but never underestimate Essex.
The zombie tale of the tape
| Category | Welcome to Essex | World War Z |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | Brentwood, Basildon and Southend-on-Sea | A globe-spanning outbreak |
| Hero | Ryley Dunn and a mismatched band of survivors | Brad Pitt as UN investigator Gerry Lane |
| Zombies | Human extras and practical effects | Enormous computer-generated swarms |
| Style | British horror, gore and dark humour | Hollywood action spectacle |
| Objective | Reach a possible rescue point on the Essex coast | Find a way to stop a global pandemic |
| Budget | Independent microbudget production | An estimated $190 million |
According to IMDb’s Welcome to Essex listing, the film follows a mismatched group of survivors trying to reach a rumoured rescue point on the Essex coast.
World War Z takes a slightly broader approach. Brad Pitt’s Gerry Lane travels around the world attempting to discover how the zombie pandemic can be stopped.
One film crosses continents. The other attempts to get from Brentwood to Southend after the collapse of civilisation.
Frankly, both journeys sound challenging.
Round one: Hollywood millions versus Essex determination
Released in 2013, World War Z was designed as an enormous international blockbuster. Its reported $190 million budget paid for major stars, international locations, elaborate action sequences and huge visual-effects teams.
The gamble paid off. IMDb reports a worldwide gross of more than $540 million, making it generally recognised as the highest-grossing zombie film ever made.
Welcome to Essex was created in a completely different filmmaking world. It did not have Hollywood millions, but it did have recognisable locations, practical effects and a large group of people determined to create an ambitious independent British zombie movie.
A contemporary review described it as a microbudget production that managed to make Essex appear much larger through carefully chosen locations and scenes of deserted town centres.
Winner: World War Z on money. Welcome to Essex on getting every possible drop of blood from its budget.
Round two: digital zombies versus the people of Brentwood
One of the most famous scenes in World War Z shows thousands of infected people piling on top of one another as they attempt to scale a huge wall.
It is an unforgettable image, but those zombies were largely digital. Wired reported that some shots contained around 8,500 computer-generated zombies.
Welcome to Essex took a more hands-on approach.
When zombies took over Brentwood High Street during filming, Phoenix FM reported that the production involved a cast of more than 500 people. Horror author David Moody later recalled that director Ryan J. Fleming had persuaded around 1,000 people to play dead during the production.
These were not anonymous figures created inside a computer. They were real people wearing makeup, fake blood and increasingly uncomfortable contact lenses.
The result was a genuinely impressive horde charging through Brentwood, created with community participation, organisation and presumably a heroic quantity of theatrical blood.
Winner: World War Z for the biggest digital swarm. Welcome to Essex for convincing hundreds of Essex residents to become the living dead before lunchtime.
Round three: saving the world versus escaping Essex
In World War Z, Gerry Lane is a former United Nations investigator with contacts, military transport and access to governments around the world.
In Welcome to Essex, Ryley Dunn and her fellow survivors have considerably fewer resources.
Following the rapid collapse of Britain, they discover that the military may be conducting rescues near coastal cities. Their best chance is to travel from Brentwood towards Southend-on-Sea, passing through an Essex landscape filled with infected people.
The smaller geographical scale makes the danger feel closer. Most viewers have never attempted to escape a zombie swarm in Jerusalem, but plenty of people know Brentwood High Street, Basildon or Southend.
Turning familiar roads, shopping areas, woodland and town centres into post-apocalyptic locations gives the film its own identity. It raises an unsettling question: what would you do if the zombie apocalypse began somewhere you recognised?
More importantly, would traffic on the A127 finally improve?
Winner: A draw. World War Z threatens the entire planet, but Welcome to Essex brings the apocalypse uncomfortably close to home.
Round four: action hero versus mismatched survivors
Brad Pitt’s Gerry Lane is intelligent, resourceful and remarkably good at surviving situations that kill almost everyone around him.
The survivors in Welcome to Essex are a much less polished collection of people. They include former Army specialist Ryley Dunn, Sergeant Jerry Ahern, student Jessica Sloane, Essex lad Muzzy Scolari, a traffic police officer and a footballer’s wife.
You can meet the cast of Welcome to Essex here.
Their different personalities create tension, humour and unpredictability. They argue, make questionable decisions and gradually learn to work together. In other words, they behave more like ordinary people and less like experienced international action heroes.
If Gerry Lane joins your survival group, you will probably be fine.
If Muzzy joins it, you may still survive, but the journey will be considerably louder.
Winner: World War Z for professional competence. Welcome to Essex for the survivors you might actually meet in the pub.
Round five: Hollywood spectacle versus British horror
World War Z delivers speed, scale and enormous action sequences. Its zombies move like a force of nature, swarming through cities and overwhelming armies.
Welcome to Essex combines horror with dark humour, character-driven scenes and practical gore. A review published by Nerdly praised its practical effects, real locations and the impressive scale of its Brentwood zombie sequence.
This difference is what makes the two films interesting to compare.
World War Z asks what governments and international organisations would do during a global zombie pandemic.
Welcome to Essex asks what a group of very different people would do when the authorities have disappeared, technology has stopped working and their best hope of rescue is somewhere near Southend.
Both are zombie films, but they attack the apocalypse from completely different directions.
So, which zombie film wins?
If success is measured entirely at the box office, World War Z wins without breaking a sweat. Its worldwide earnings make it the biggest zombie movie in cinema history.
But filmmaking is not only about the size of the budget.
Welcome to Essex demonstrates what independent filmmakers can achieve with imagination, local knowledge, practical effects and a community prepared to fill Brentwood High Street with zombies.
It gives the apocalypse a distinctively British personality. It is smaller, bloodier, more personal and much closer to home.
World War Z might save humanity, but only Welcome to Essex shows what happens when the end of the world reaches Brentwood.
Discover Welcome to Essex
If you enjoy independent British horror, zombie films, practical effects or seeing familiar Essex locations transformed by the apocalypse, it is time to discover Welcome to Essex.
Watch the Welcome to Essex trailer, learn more about the story behind the film and decide whether you would survive the journey from Brentwood to Southend.
Just remember to wear comfortable shoes. When the zombies arrive, the trains probably will not be running.
Frequently asked questions
What is Welcome to Essex about?
Welcome to Essex is an independent British zombie film following a mismatched group of survivors travelling across Essex towards a possible rescue point in Southend-on-Sea.
Where was Welcome to Essex filmed?
The film was shot at real locations around Essex, including Brentwood and other locations along the survivors’ journey towards the coast.
Who directed Welcome to Essex?
Welcome to Essex was written and directed by Ryan J. Fleming.
What is the highest-grossing zombie movie?
Using worldwide box-office takings as the measure, World War Z is generally recognised as the highest-grossing zombie film. IMDb reports worldwide earnings of approximately $540 million.
Does Welcome to Essex use real zombie extras?
Yes. Hundreds of performers took part in the production, including the large zombie sequence filmed in Brentwood High Street.