Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Ode to Dawn of the Dead -- This one and the Old One

George A. Romero discovered a universal truth: Zombies rock. What's not to love? Shambling, animated corpses with a taste for living flesh? Desperate survivors with trigger happy fingers decapitating said zombies with rusty machetes or well-aimed head shots? Zombies piling up like chords of wood? And the screaming!

It's like Christmas at the organ donor shop.

Romero's original "Dawn of the Dead" made in 1978 is a lot of things: horrifying, taboo-shattering, gory, and disturbing. It's also horror camp at its finest - skewering the mass consumer culture of the United States in our most shallow of decades: the 1970s.

Romero has a gleefully good time with his pack of survivors holed up in an indoor shopping mall. The slow-moving zombies that bang into the display cases or stumble up the escalators aren't so far removed from normal everyday mall shoppers - at least according to Romero.

Why do the zombies congregate at the mall? "Some kind of instinct. Memory, of what they used to do. This was an important place in their lives," one of the characters informs us.

Yeah, even dead we like buying stuff at the mall.

But one thing the Romero film is not? Scary.

That's one reason why we're also fans of the much maligned 2004 remake by director Zack Snyder. That's a sacrilege in many quarters, but for pure fright - Snyder tops Romero. That's the truth. Romero's low-budget wonder is a classic - no doubt. It can be uncomfortable to watch, but there is more dark humor than actual chills. Romero focused his film on his wicked wit: satire instead of terror.

Snyder isn't interested in delivering a sardonic message. He wants to scare you. And damn it if he doesn't. His zombies - like the times we live in - are fast. There's no shambling here - but straight out sprinting.

The gem of Snyder's movie is the opening 10 minutes. It may be the most frightening sequence of any horror movie made over the last 20 years. It has a disjointed, sour flavor as if the orange juice you drink every morning has been spiked with cyanide.

Sarah Polley plays a nurse named Ana. She's at the end of a difficult shift at the hospital. All she wants to do is go home. Traveling home over washed out streets in a bland suburban tract, she arrives home for "date night" with her husband. They make love in their messy, little bed in their messy, little house.

Then it all goes to hell.

The little girl next door wonders in and lo and behold the lower half of her face has been chewed off. She creeps into the bedroom and Ana's husband jumps up concerned. But before he can react, she takes a bite of flesh out of his neck.

Ana locks the little girl out of the bedroom and then has a grueling life and death struggle as her husband dies and then reanimates as a zombie. It's bone rattling violence and by the time Ana gets into her car - her neighborhood, her world is in chaos.

It's absolutely chilling.

While the overall Snyder's film doesn't quite live up to the original (and the characters make some ridiculous decisions - especially at the end), Snyder delivers a zombie movie that belongs on the list of greatest undead flicks ever made - with Romero's original and the superb "28 Days Later."

The two movies follow the same premise - but are very different movies. That's why you can enjoy them both: turn to Romero for the horrifying satire (you can often overlook the rather awkward acting) and then lean on Snyder for some in-your-face terror (and for using Johnny Cash's "Man Comes Around" as an opening number).

Either way -- it's a great two for one.

Like undead literate blather? Then plod on over to Dark Party Review! November 3, 2008

Great addition to the Dead films!!!

As a fan of the original Dawn of the dead; I feel that the director and writer did a great job in staying true to the original. The entire idea of zombies that feed on human flesh is an excellent way to stir up apocalyptic thoughts. After all it is as Romero himself says, "One generation rising up to devour the previous one." In the end we just can not escape evolution. This was modernized quite well, and I think that the new "fast zombies" bring true meaning to the word horror! I can still remember my reaction to this version the first time I watched it. I was quite shocked at some of the upgrades from the original. Anyone who loves zombie flicks will love this! October 8, 2008

Dawn of the Dead

This film was the worst piece of schlock that I have seen since 28 days/weeks later. The simple fact that a true classic was taken and ruined was a disgrace. The acting was weak the zombies were ridiculous. The direction and production sucked. The writing was weak. James Gunn is a hack and so is Zack Snyder. The fact that they had the gall to talk garbage about the original version of the movie that they were remaking show how low class they are. I will admit that the special effects were passable, but there was a bit to much CGI for my taste. I loved the original this film was a retched abortion of celluoid.Remakes show that Hollywood can't think of anything new and have to go with things that people have already proven to work. The few new horror directors who choose to go their own way and create a new idea get sent direct to DVD. That is what should have been done with this piece of garbage. If you're comming down off of a heroin bender then by all means buy and watch this film to your hearts content. If you want to watch a true classic, buy the original. October 7, 2008

Zombies zombies everywhere...

Zombies are coming? Big deal.Much faster than a zombie am I.They are slow,shuffling and mindless.No need to be afraid of....WHAT THE HELL!!! ZOMBIES CAN RUN NOW?!!! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!!!! That's right boys and girls,you won't see anymore pale,skinny,undead folks in pajama bottoms grabbing blindly for you as you dance out of their reach,laughing and taunting them with your nimbleness.(Unless you're in wal-mart at 3am...then that's all you'll see).Nope,now they will chase you down like an olympic sprinter and feast on your flesh.Zombies just got scary again.

Dawn Of The Dead is a remake of the original classic,updated for todays audience.Better effects,much more gore and in your face horror.Seeing people all around you being chased down by mobs of the undead and eaten,gives you an apocalyptic,end of the world feeling,more-so than the original did.The acting is first rate.Some characters you care about,others you can't wait to see get eaten.

This is a top notch entry in the zombie movie genre that can stand up with the best of them.So tighten them shoes,remember to stretch and get ready to run for your life. October 5, 2008

Movie: 3.5/5 Picture Quality: 4/5 Sound Quality: 4.5/5 Extras: 1.5/5

Version: U.S.A / Region Free
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
VC-1 BD-25 / Advanced Profile 3 / Advanced Profile 2 (U-Control)
Running time: 1:49:12
Movie size: 21,40 GB
Disc size: 21,96 GB
Average video bit rate: 17.10 Mbps

DTS-HD Master Audio English 4288 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 4288kbps (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 1536kbps)
DTS Audio French 768 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 768kbps
DTS Audio Spanish 768 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 768kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps
DTS English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48kHz / 192kbps

Subtitles: English SDH / French / Spanish

Number of chapters: 20

#Audio Commentary
#U-Control October 1, 2008

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