Dawn of the Dead (2004)

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Dawn of the Dead (2004)

March 18th 2009 00:11

"Hell is overflowing and Satan is sending his dead to us! Why? Because you have sex out of wedlock. You kill unborn children. You have man-on-man relations. Same sex marriage. How do you think your God will judge you? Well, friends, now we know. When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth."

After Marcus Nispel’s re-imagining of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) came Zack Snyder’s re-envisioning of Dawn of the Dead (2004), and hardcore horror fans, especially zombie freakazoids, were frothing at the mouth and twitching uncontrollably. How could they possibly think of remaking George Romero's 1978 landmark gut-ripper?! I'll go out on a severed limb here and say Snyder pulled a rabid rabbit out of his hat and delivered a near masterpiece in new millennium horror.

Dawn of the Dead (2004) Jake Weber, Sarah Polley, Michael Kelly, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer, Kevin Zegers, Inna Korobkina

L-R: Jake Weber as Michael, Sarah Polley as Ana, Michael Kelly as CJ, Ving Rhames as Kenneth, Mekhi Phifer as Andre, Kevin Zegers as Terry and Inna Korobkina as Luda

Apparently George Romero wasn’t too impressed with many of the remake’s tweaked and introduced elements, but grew to appreciate and like the savagely inventive take on his seminal zombie flick. The movie should stick with the complete title of Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead, as it is very much Snyder’s vision of James (Slither) Gunn’s screenplay, based on George Romero’s screenplay (and like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre it shouldn’t be compared to the original when discussing its merits and trappings).

View from the Mall rooftop

Gunn’s screenplay has a couple of major plot differences from the original apart from different characters in the same setting; an abandoned shopping mall. In this version the zombies run like nasty bastards, instead of the slothful shuffle. This is supposedly breaking the “Romero rule”, and makes the zombies appear closer in behaviour to the enraged undead of the 28 Days Later/28 Weeks Later movies. The difference being in Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead there is no mention of a virus (forget what the DVD covers say), suggesting the plague is of mysterious supernatural source. Snyder also admitted he wanted to avoid any kind of absurdity associated with slow-moving, sluggish zombies.

Ty Burrell as deeply cynical Steve, my favourite character

It must be mentioned that the word “zombie” is never mentioned in the movie. I really dig the idea that the characters in the movie have no pre-conception of the zombie myth. Instead they question what on earth all the victims have turned into. Dead people that have come back to life as vicious cannibals is the best answer they have.

Hell hath no fury like a pregnant Russian zombie!

There are countless references to Romero’s original, and to Night of the Living Dead (1968), including cameos from three of the original Dawn’s actors all who appear in news footage; Ken Foree plays a TV evangelist, Scott H. Reiniger plays a General, and Tom Savini plays a County Sheriff. Special make-up effects guru Savini must have been impressed with David LeRoy Anderson’s extensive use of prosthetics on this version, with restrained, but very impressive additional use of CGI gore effects; exceptional work indeed by both departments. The balance between the two should be a template for all contemporary horror movies. When you can’t convincingly achieve an effect in-camera then use CGI, such as the very effective horror sequence when the truck backs up and violently mows down several zombies.

Rigor mortis?! Ain't got nuthin' on these bastards

Overall there is little to fault about this movie. The casting and acting is excellent. If I had to pick any stand-out performances, then Jake Weber as everyman Michael, Sarah Polley as nurse Ana, Michael Kelly as mall security supervisor CJ, and scene-stealer Ty Burrell as terminally sarcastic Steve, the boat owner with the key to freedom.

The dead wanna party

The use of source music within the movie is also inspired, especially the Johnny Cash song The Man Comes Around which provides an unsettling undertone. Special note must be made of the brilliant title credit sequence which comes in after the prologue sequence depicting Ana leaving work at the hospital, arriving home to her husband in their suburban her cul-de-sac, waking to find the neighbour’s little girl at their bedroom door with a nasty wound to her face and a glazed dead, but ravenous look in her eye, and Ana’s subsequent chaotic escape from the clutches of her zombified neighbourhood. I would rate Kyle Cooper’s title credit design, including its use of sound, as one of the very best ever. When I first saw it in a darkened cinema I found the overall effect (the prologue followed by the opening credits) rather disturbing.

Definitely no beer in this esky

Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead finishes with an open-ended disaster, cleverly inter-cut with the end credits (and the hard-edged song Down With the Sickness). It’s a fittingly bleak dilemma to what’s been a grim task of urban survival. When there’s no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth … what can you do? Just like George Romero’s dual masterpieces Night of the Living Dead and Day of the Dead (1985), Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead is essential viewing for all horrorphiles.

Here's the superb teaser trailer:

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

15 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by David O'Connell

March 18th 2009 03:47

20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic

Couldn't agree more Bryn, I absolutely loved this film, it's probably the best remake of all time and the film to stoke my interest in anything Zack Snyder turns his hand to in the future.

It's funny that Romero was disapproving of it at first considering how weak his own recent films have been, simply going through the motions it seems - the exact opposite of this showstopping, enervating, and masterful re-imagining of the world he created.

Comment by Damo

March 18th 2009 03:55

It looks good and jumpy.

I like the idea of stripping the zombie tale of any lame explanations and leaving it in the supernatural realm. The old movies with the Voodoo produced zombies were definitely a scarier scenario than a virus.

Comment by Cibbuano

March 18th 2009 21:39

Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak

Bryn, you've never reviewed this before? I guess you've just mentioned it often!

If you've got the DVD of this film, the commentary with Snyder is quite interesting... he chose to go with the fast zombies but he acknowledged that, because they're in motion, the longer the camera is on them, the less horrific they look.

Comment by Kleonaptra

March 19th 2009 01:14

Kalikapsychosis

Now this is one I do remember. Very clearly.

Because I completely adore this movie. Completely, utterly, ridiculously!! It has all my favourite elements - suspense sufficient enough to generate fear, real horror (in your gut) jumping out of your seat because you actually give a damn about the characters, surprise in the plotline, action, gore.......Yes, Its got it all!

Thankyou very much for providing the name of the actress who played Ana. I have been embroiled in a debate with Kmans best friend. He swears it Uma Thurman. I told him he was dreamin...Now hear the Kleo Ha haha hah HA! Of triumph.

(But he also thinks it was Alicia Silverstone in the original 'Buffy' movie. Kristy Swanson dude, and I dont even have to get up to check the DVD case....)

But this movie for me had the most unbelievably real disaster scenes in the opening. I just love scenes that accurately show society going to pieces. Its unpredictable, its horrible, its frantic.

Shooting celebs from the top of the mall? Brilliant.

Supernatural theme of Satan sending the dead back? Stunning.

The thread of Ana being a nurse and trying to work out whats going on....It was great.

Poor Andy starving on the roof....Good stuff.

I didnt agree with their decision to leave the mall. But thats what keeps you interested. I would have stayed there and made some home made napalm. Such a depressing ending. But hey. Its horror at its absolute best, so what could I have expected?

Comment by Bryn

March 19th 2009 05:00

Horrorphile

Thanks for all the props guys, great to hear others find this remake the rare beast that it is! If only other producers and directors could follow through (if they must).

Comment by Matt Shea

March 19th 2009 16:45

Hey Bryn. Nice review but I've got to say that I didn't enjoy this at all. The opening sequence is indeed awesome but, for me, there's just not enough in the way of character to keep me hooked. Also, I didn't really find it scary either - the running Zombie thing has never really done it for me. I did like it when the old guy slips with the chainsaw, however - wahey!

Comment by Bryn

March 19th 2009 23:04

Horrorphile

Matt, not enough character? You're kidding, right? Are you telling me you found the original had more character? I agree that overall the movie isn't intensely scary, but Dawn of the Dead was always a more visceral apocalyptic experience, as opposed to an atmospheric frightfest. At the end of the day I still prefer the shuffling zombies (Day of the Dead is my fave zombie movie). I'm curious, which horror movies do you rate highly?

Comment by Matt Shea

March 20th 2009 03:59

Hey Bryn. Call me crazy, but I just don't think there's enough there in terms of character... and too many characters. The original I would say had a touch more character and there were fewer of them. I loved the changing dynamic in the foursome. Having said that, the original certainly doesn't have a lot of character,but what it does have is the crapload of subtext. The new one took a lot of that out but didn't replace it with anything IMHO.

Yeah, shuffling Zombies are the way forward, so to speak. If nothing else, they just provide the opportunity for the writers to have a lot more fun with it - you know, have the characters go on missions into Zombie infested territory etc.

Horror films that I love would be The Thing(1982) (I did a retrospect of this earlier in the week if you want to check it out here), The Evil Dead, The Exorcist, Alien, Rosemary's Baby, Halloween, Carrie - all off the top of my head. A recent one that I loved was Dog Soldiers - great stuff. What would be a few of your all time favs?

Comment by Bryn

March 20th 2009 04:12

Horrorphile

Matt, yeah, too many characters does present problems, I agree.
I've been meaning to check out your Thing post. I reviewed it here. One of my very faves too, was privileged to have seen it when it was first released too.
For a list of my top twenty fave horror movies go to my Orble profile page. You'll see we have a few in common

I've actually reviewed all the movies you mentioned, cept perhaps Carrie, haven't got round to that one just yet, but I'm a huge fan of De Palma; especially Dressed to Kill and Scarface.

Comment by Matt Shea

March 20th 2009 10:10

Great list Bryn. Videodrome is definitely another of my favourites that I forgot earlier - great stuff - and good to see your a Neil Marshall fan.

Unfortunately your The Thing link seems to be broken

Comment by Bryn

March 21st 2009 03:55

Horrorphile

Ahh, try here. I changed how I wrote the url links after about six months or so, and The Thing was one of the earlier reviews.

Comment by The Film Geekette

March 22nd 2009 05:14

The Film Geekette

This remake stands out for me, mostly because it seemed more realistic (yes, I know, a "realistic" zombie movie). People going crazy and shooting each other, or that quite unfortunate chainsaw incident - I always get squeamish in a movie where a novice handles a gun/chainsaw/drill because I expect something bad to accidentally happen, and in this case it did. Really really effective, even though I couldn't get past how silly the baby looked :/

Comment by Bryn

March 24th 2009 00:15

Horrorphile

Hi Geekette,
yeah, the baby reminded me of working on Peter Jackson's Braindead with the zombie baby. Apparently the screenplay called for the baby to start attacking and devouring the mother, but the filmmakers thought that was taking things too far (!) LOL

Comment by JohnDoe

April 20th 2009 17:05

Film & TV on DVD

Just watched this one again the other night and YES it does stand as a fine reimagining of a quality original.

brillint opening and closing sequence, enticing camera choices, suspenseful orchestration and splatterings of intestinal giggles...fun ride.