As an avid watcher of The Walking Dead, I am always looking for something new to watch within that genre. Whether it be an apocalyptic world or a dystopian one, I'm always looking for something with similar themes that The Walking Dead series has provided throughout the years. And when I find a movie or television show with zombies in it, that's always a plus. A few months back I came across the movie Cold Storage that seems to fit the genre perfectly.
Cold Storage hit theaters on Feb. 13, 2026, and is now available to rent or purchase on certain streaming platforms such as Prime Video and Apple TV. This movie is about a mutating fungus that has been stored away in a cold storage vault by the government. Years later, the ground level of the storage facility has been rented out to a self-storage company. Flashforward to the present day, the fungus resurfaces and breaks out of its confined vault, spreading to humans and animals alike.
This fungal disease mutates its host and transforms it into a zombie-like creature. Unsuspecting employees of the storage facility, Travis and Naomi, are working when the fungus begins to spread around them. They must team up with militant bioterrorist operative Robert Quinn to contain the fast-spreading fungus.
Cold Storage stars actors Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell as Travis and Naomi. Joe Keery is known for his role as Steve Harrington in Stranger Things, making this movie a must-see for me. His co-star, Georgina Campbell, is most known for her role as Ashley Jones in the television series Murdered by My Boyfriend, for which she won a BAFTA TV Award for Best Leading Actress in 2015.
This movie also stars Liam Neeson as Robert Quinn. Neeson is known for his extensive number of roles on television. Some of his best-known roles include Schindler's List, Taken, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Love Actually, and Batman Begins. With this star-studded cast, it's bound to be an entertaining watch!
As a fan of The Walking Dead, I was interested to see this new addition to the undead genre. Zombies have been done many times throughout television and film, so it's always interesting to see someone else's take on them. They are one creature that can be overdone, but when someone else adds something new, it can redefine the subgenre. After watching the movie, I believe it has added something new that I haven't seen. The fungus in the movie has a main goal of spreading through whatever means necessary, and people become infected simply by touching it. This is something I haven't witnessed as much in the genre.
The zombies in this movie infect the hosts' will and control them. However, they are still partially themselves. They also have a different way of spreading the fungal disease other than by biting. Since the fungus can be spread just by touch, the zombies in this film infect people by throwing up on them. This movie is more comedy than horror, but I enjoyed how one of the main characters mentions one of the inspirations behind zombies.
In the film, Travis aka Teacake, mentions zombie folklore originating from Haiti. According to an article on zombies on History.com, there is a Voodoo religion based in Africa that practitioners are said to use certain concoctions on people. The article states that "the tetrodotoxin combination may cause zombie-like symptoms such as difficulty walking, mental confusion, and respiratory problems." The tetrodotoxin can also cause people to go into a coma or become paralyzed. Back then, people may have buried these people thinking they were dead, only to have them "reanimate" later on.
While reading this zombie article, I also found it interesting to read about how zombies may have been inspired by the Bible. So many people had been resurrected in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Since many books of the Bible speak of the end times, the article states that "This may be one reason so many zombie stories are associated with an apocalypse." This made me think of The Walking Dead and that this may be the origin behind zombie apocalypse stories.
Overall, Cold Storage really made me think about the origins of zombies and it was interesting to see a different story told within the subgenre. I believe that fans of The Walking Dead would enjoy this new take on the undead and enjoy more glimpses into the inspiration behind these creatures by watching the movie. If you are a big fan of The Walking Dead and are looking for new zombie entertainment, then this is the movie for you!