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Since the 1960s, the growing success of zombie movies shows their link with the concerns of US society, which is corroborated by Hollywood’s appropriation of this initially independent genre. This article is based on a thorough analysis of six movies directed by George Romero, who created the genre. It shows that the zombie corresponds to a new form of otherness identified by American society within itself and threatening its cohesion. As a consequence, zombie movies rely on a logic of entrenchment of their characters, who get immunity to the Other by keeping them at bay. They also convey representations of a meaningless and desocialized space, exemplifying the collapse of the rule of law as well as an existential anxiety facing increasingly meaningless spaces.