Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Are you ready to get down with the sickness? Movie logic dictates that you shouldn't remake a classic, but Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead defies that logic and comes up a winner. You could argue that George A. Romero's 1978 original was sacred ground for horror buffs, but it was a low-budget classic, and Snyder's action-packed upgrade benefits from the same manic pacing that energized Romero's continuing zombie saga. Romero's indictment of mega-mall commercialism is lost (it's arguably outmoded anyway), so Snyder and screenwriter James Gunn compensate with the same setting--in this case, a Milwaukee shopping mall under siege by cannibalistic zombies in the wake of a devastating viral outbreak--a well-chosen cast (led by Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, and Mekhi Phifer), some outrageously morbid humor, and a no-frills plot that keeps tension high and blood splattering by the bucketful. Horror buffs will catch plenty of tributes to Romero's film (including cameos by three of its cast members, including gore-makeup wizard Tom Savini), and shocking images are abundant enough to qualify this Dawn as an excellent zombie-flick double-feature with 28 Days Later, its de facto British counterpart. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

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

Mediocre

Ok, so the 2004 Zack Snyder remake of George Romero's Dawn Of The Dead is better than his own fourth Dead movie, Land Of The Dead, but it's still not nearly as good as the original 1978 Dawn Of The Dead. The basic problem is that the film violates its own universe's rules so many times that the film falls apart narratively. One can get away with things that are illogical in real life, but not according to the film's own precepts. In contrast to the Romero canon, zombies in this film can run like Olympic sprinters. Why? No reason except the financial success of the British zombie film 28 Days. Also, in the Romero canon, anyone who dies becomes a zombie, whereas in this film you are zombified only by a bite. Yet, if so, how did the first zombie, Zombie Zero, come to be?
That said, this film is not bad, merely a solid action/horror flick that follows the same general pattern as the original Dawn Of The Dead, except that instead of four survivors in a mall there are a dozen or so. Illogic rules, as in all horror and sci fi films, and the plot is propelled by the characters doing the dumbest things possible, such as the climactic scene where they make a dash from the mall to a marina to head for an island they think will be safe haven.... For fans of the Romero canons there are a few cool cameos by Tom Savini (Romero's original makeup man), and Scott Reiniger and Ken Foree, from the original Dawn Of The Dead, with Reiniger as a military man interviewed on television, and Foree as a televangelist repeating his famed declamation from the original, `When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.' This, and a bevy of other little `moments', is enough for me to recommend the film as a solid reinterpretation of the superior original, despite its reliance on the `humans are their own worst enemies' mantra, although the DVD features make this a much stronger recommendation for those zombiephiles out there.
September 10, 2008

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