Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires draws two enemies together to save their towns. Let it be known, magic is a crucial component to the characters and the story. Yet, there are themes that parents can use to talk about following God’s way instead of the world’s beliefs––even when it feels like the odds are impossible.
Who knew a zombie and an alien could unite a town full of monsters and humans to live in peace? But Zed and Addison aren’t in Seabrook anymore. The duo just finished their freshman year at Mountain College where monsters of all kinds attend classes together.
To say the least, their freshman year was hard. Their friends, Willa (a werewolf) and Eliza (a zombie) insist that they barely see Zed and Addison anymore. Eliza and Willa want to go camping with their friends and enjoy the summer with those they love.
But Addison and Zed have worked far too hard on their respective sports to take a break. Addison is off to a world-class cheer camp. And Zed’s attending a football training program, where he will be sleeping, breathing and eating football––no brain eating for this zombie.
To compromise, the group agrees to carpool to their respective summer destinations in Zed’s car. But as they set out, an electric pulse messes with Zed’s Z-band (a bracelet designed to send electrical signals through Zed’s body to curb his zombie impulses), which causes Zed to lose control of the car and crash.
The four friends decide to split up and search for the source of the mysterious pulse. While trekking through the woods, Addison stumbles upon a town completely hidden from the sun. Here live the Vampires, a group of people with fangs, the ability to harness and ride the wind and an acute disdain for sunny days.
Zed makes a similar discovery of his own: the Daywalkers. Unlike Vampires, Daywalkers don’t mind sunshine so much. In fact, they have the ability to harness solar energy.
Both the Daywalkers and the Vampires need a special kind of food known as “blood fruit” to survive. Unfortunately, both towns’ orchards are dying.
Good news: There is another orchard between the two towns. Bad news: The orchard has three locked gates and no sign of the keys.
So, Addison and Zed suggest that the young leaders of the Daywalkers and Vampires team up to find the missing keys. Sounds easy enough, right?
Unfortunately, the Daywalkers and Vampires have hated each other since, well, forever. But if Addison and Zed can get Nova, the daughter of the Daywalkers’ leader, and Victor, the next in line to lead the Vampires, to work together, then they might be able to save both towns.
Addison, Zed, Eliza and Willa all truly care for one another. When one of their crew is hurt or in danger the rest are willing to risk their own lives to help one another.
At the movie’s start, Addison and Zed believe they need to make their friends and families proud by accomplishing great things: making cheer captain for Addison, getting named to first string on the football team for Zed. However, they learn that their loved ones are proud of them no matter what—even if they’re just sitting on the bench. And that is its own reward.
Nova and Victor both love their people and want to do what is best for everyone—even when faced with backlash from friends and pressure from family. The two burgeoning leaders encourage each other to be their own person. They believe that the other is and will be the leader their respective people need. And they teach the Daywalkers and Vampires to put aside their long-lasting distaste for each other.
Zed and Addison act as mentors to Nova and Victor, pulling from their own experiences of uniting the monsters and humans of Seabrook.
If you’ve seen the previous three Zombies movies, then you already know that magic plays an important role in this franchise. In those films, viewers learned that moonstones from space make monsters and give them their unique powers. And we see something similar here:
The Daywalkers possess a “Lightstone,” which gives them the ability to harness energy from the sun. Whereas the Vampires’ “Darkstone” gives them the power to control the wind.
These two stones also provide energy for the blood fruit orchards. (Daywalkers and Vampires do not drink blood; they eat blood fruit.) When placed together, these stones can make it rain—which becomes Nova and Victor’s goal, since that would save the last orchard. The roots of the blood fruit trees can also heal monsters when touched.
Both Nova and Victor see visions of each other in their dreams. Nova believes the visions have brought them together for a reason.
One song’s lyrics emphasize that the film’s heroes need to look to themselves, not a higher power: “I’m on the edge of where no one’s ever been/So I don’t look above ‘cause a hero lies within.”
Someone jokes about feng shui. Addison shares that a friend back home is teaching meditation. Someone calls an owl a “night demon.”
Zed and Addison share a sweet relationship. They hold hands, hug and share a kiss. It is clear the two care for each other deeply.
As Victor and Nova get to know each other, their situation reflects how Zed and Addison first met: Their people are enemies. Despite their people’s mutual hatred for one another, Victor and Nova join forces to help everyone. Over time, they become friends and develop romantic feelings for each other. They hold hands throughout the film, and at the end, they embrace after promising to hang out again soon.
Some background dancers wear crop tops.
When two groups hate each other and are both after the same thing, there is going to be conflict that follows. Every time the Vampires and Daywalkers run into each other, the Vampires bare their fangs and harness wind energy, while the Daywalkers ignite their solar powers, ready to fight. (Although most of the time, someone intervenes before any harm is done.)
The one time they do fight, Vampire Eldress (leader of the Vampires and Victor’s aunt) and Commander Bright (leader of the Daywalkers and Nova’s dad) incidentally wind up using their magical abilities to destroy half the blood fruit orchard.
At various times, both the Vampires and the Daywalkers use their powers and hand-to-hand combat to protect themselves. At one point, Nova and Victor evade solar and wind attacks as they try to climb a metal tower to place their people’s moonstones together.
When Zed and his friends initially crash, their car rolls over and continues to flip as it falls down a hill with the four friends screaming from the inside.
Later, the mysterious pulse emits again, weakening and causing pain to Zed, Eliza and Willa as their monster powers are impacted. On their way to discover the pulse’s origin, a rockslide causes the three monsters to fall down a cave, and one becomes trapped beneath a large rock.
There is no serious language to be concerned about, but there is a lot of name-calling.
None.
Daywalkers say Vampires are thieves, while Vampires claim that Daywalkers are a bunch of liars.
After Commander Bright agrees to a suggestion to work and share with the Vampires, he later tells Nova to steal all the fruit for themselves, “even if it means destroying every Vampire.” Commander Bright pressures Nova to lead his way or no way, going as far as encouraging dishonesty.
Vampire Eldress lacks faith in Victor’s ability to be the next leader of their clan. She even says, “Victor, our family bloodline overflows with vigilant, hard-working leaders. But that all got lost on the way to your veins.” She toys with the idea of having him “defanged” after she discovers he’s been working with Nova.
While sitting around a campfire, a Vampire jokes that he doesn’t drink blood “unless you’re offering.”
A character’s t-shirt evokes the symbol of Black Lives Matter.
The Zombies franchise has built up quite a following since the first movie was released in 2018. This latest addition closes Zed and Addison’s chapter, introducing a new group of monsters led by Victor and Nova. As Addison and Zed sing: “We’re passing you the torch, so don’t hesitate.”
And while Zombies 4 is the fourth installment to the series, with that chapter ending and another beginning, Disney seems to be constructing an entirely new spinoff series (similar to how Descendants: Rise of Red is a spinoff to the original Descendants trilogy, integrating characters from the original movies with a bunch of new ones).
Parents will want to remember that, like many Disney films, magic is prominent throughout the entire film. And like the rest of this franchise, monsters also (obviously) play a key role.
However, there are some positive messages families may take away: Throughout the franchise, different monster species hate and fight against one another because of their differences—sometimes differences as simple as liking or hating sunlight. But eventually, the characters learn to look beyond these superficial things and embrace one another’s unique traits.
Faced with a difficult decision, Nova listens to her heart, rather than blindly follow her father’s orders to harm the Vampires. Biblically speaking, we are called not to follow our hearts, since our own hearts can be deceiving (Jeremiah 17:9, Proverbs 28:26). However, this opens the door for conversations about listening to God and following His way rather than what the world—or even our own minds—claims is right.
Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires is a lighthearted musical that encourages us to come together instead of letting differences drive us apart. Of course, the Disney trademark of magical elements is a major factor in the film—and that shouldn’t be taken lightly. But Zombies 4 successfully closes the door on some characters while sparking a new journey with new characters for the next generation to enjoy.
And if you’re like me, you might even find yourself singing along to the catchy songs.
Natalie Dean is Plugged In’s 2025 Summer Intern. A native from South Dakota, she recently graduated from South Dakota State University with a degree in Journalism and in the fall will be pursuing a master’s at Liberty University. Growing up in the Black Hills, Natalie enjoys spending her time outside, whether that be riding bikes or kayaking with her sisters, walking the dogs or going on long hikes. Her love for movie soundtracks stems from her sister asking, “what movie is this from” and “name the movie scene.” She has a passion for writing and hopes to one day be a published author.
