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Dawn
of the Dead Movie Review: The hinted unleashing of the film’s zombies comes that when hell fills up, the dead will walk the earth. The flesh-hungry zombies move chaotically quick (like the zombies in 28 Days Later) in a raged mode and once a being is bitten, shortly they will join the zombie clan. The film’s first zombies appear in pursuit of a dedicated nurse named Ana (Sarah Polley) in her suburban Wisconsin home. After narrowly escaping her suburb and the apocalyptic chaos of the city, she teams up with a handful of human survivors. The group includes a hard-nosed cop (Ving Rhames), a salesman that continuously comes up with problem-solving ideas (Jake Weber), a street-wise soon to be dad (Mekhi Phifer), and his pregnant wife. The group make their way into an abandoned shopping mall and discover human conflicts from the mall’s security unit headed by CJ (Michael Kelly). The mall is put on lockdown as the survivors attempt to figure out what has happened and what does the future hold. The zombies themselves are huddled around the mall by the thousands and through the last minutes of emergency television broadcasting, the survivors learn that the zombies can only be killed by a shot to the head or fire. After a few more survivors arrive, the group has to fight off occasional zombies that squander into the mall as well as battle zombie transformations among themselves after being bitten. Though disagreement and continuos arguing comprises the survivors, each is driven to cherish their humanity and implement a basis of subsistence if they want to remain alive. This film is of course driven by continuos jump out moments and gallons of blood and chunky gore. The zombies themselves make roaring sounds as if they are werewolves more than are the undead. As mentioned previously, this film’s zombie movements are reminiscent of Danny Boyle’s athletic and extremely fast choices in 28 Days Later. Director Zack Snyder shows flashes of promise, but the overabuance of inconsistencies and amateurish moments stoops this film down to the depths of monstrous. The editing is really appalling and the script does not fare much better. At first it seems that five seconds after being bitten or dying, that person becomes a zombie. As the film progresses, it seems that the bitten become zombies once the film needs them to be, or if there has been over five minutes without a shot involving gore or blood. One obvious inconsistency is that though the mall is lockdowned by the security unit, Ana and the survivors entrance is never shown. Also, after a initial defeat of many zombies in the mall’s open parking garage, the humans just go back into the garage to build their artillery buses without seeing a single zombie, though thousands are banging on the mall’s outer doors. These are really just nit-picky things that stick out, besides the insipid notions in the screenplay by James Gunn. There is also no balance of being serious or “campy,” with this horror film, it seems that the script goes back and forth. Humorously, some of the dead serious notions deliver the film’s worse dialogue, such as Sarah Polley’s line of “Michael is coming to kill you,” to one of the bitten survivors. Mostly an independent film actress, Polley herself is suitable as the film’s heroine nurse Ana. Ving Rhames delivers a performance we have seen before, but is still admirable. Most of the cast as well as the characters are wooden, but for a film of this nature, acting is not the top priority. In fact, it is better to have flimsy acting in a zombie film. Though not as terrible as other recent horror films like Freddy vs. Jason or Jeepers Creepers 2, Dawn of the Dead is still nothing close to pertinent as film of this genre. It seems if the film would have had a little more balance of cheese and serious notions, and a lot more consistency, it could have been a cult classic or at least a fun guilty pleasure. Grade: C- A plague is spreading, killing millions in its wake but it doesn’t stop there. Once an infected person is dead, they return to life as flesh hungry, homicidal killers. As the world falls into hell, a group of survivors hold out in a shopping mall but it won’t be long before the hordes of undead come looking for fresh meat.
As original ideas continue to elude Hollywood, they return again to the horror archives and update a classic of the genre, George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. As the sound of zombie’s stirring in their graves greets this news, the undead can return to their eternal rest, as the movie isn’t the travesty that it so easily could have been. This is blood soaked, head splattering, flesh eating horror entertainment and has everything a good zombie flick should have. The killings are gruesome, the undead are deadly and everyone of the cast has an equal chance of dying. What more do you want from a horror flick? The cast make the movie what it is. The excellent Sarah Polly proves again that she is an actress to watch. This is a very natural performance from her which makes Ana a very believeable character. She reacts to the situation as you’d expect people to but she is never too overly dramatic or foolhardy. Ving Rhames is as good as ever with another commanding performance as no nonsense police officer Kenneth. This is a man you would want with you in a crisis. Jake Webber is one of those actors that you always recognise and can never put a name to. Hopefully this movie will push him more into the limelight. Mekhi Phifer does well with his small but important role. The support is also good but most of them are just potential food for the slaughter. A lot of the plaudits have to go to first time director Zack Snyder. He paces the movie extremely well throwing in shock after shock at a relentless rate. He hardly ever telegraphs any of his scares, with zombie and killings coming from every conceivable standpoint putting you on the edge of your seat throughout. The look of the movie is also very good with fast cuts and quick reveals making it all the more frightening. The film is not without its problems however. Firstly this isn’t a movie that needed to be remade and it will struggle to grab the attention of purists and Romero fans alike. The film also misses the main point of the original, man’s obsession with commercialism to the point that they would return to the hub of that addiction, the shopping mall, even in death. Finally the overly energetic zombies are a complete rip off from Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later but this does increase the menace of the masses of flesh-hungry undead. Dawn of the Dead is a blood soaked, late night horror flick that is extremely entertaining, even if it does steal all its ideas. It might bring nothing new to the genre but this a fright fest that is still a cut above most of the current horror flicks that Hollywood has turning out of late.
Star Rating = * * * There are staples of a genre and then there are the immortals. George A. Romero’s 1968 classic “Night of the Living Dead” is still one of the greatest horror films of all time. It still holds its own and scares the pants off you with each viewing. It is eternal.
Ten years after that classic, Romero awakened our fears once more with “Dawn of the Dead”. To some people this film is the pinnacle of zombie films and something not to be messed with. That is where my fears came from when I heard they were remaking it. Romero later completed his zombie trilogy with 1985’s “Day of the Dead”.
Those three films were some of the best horror films made in each of those decades. Less than a month after the release of “Day” the zombie genre took a horrible turn. In August of 1985, a new kind of zombie movie was born. The film was “Return of the Living Dead” which took a lot of what Romero cherished and turned it on its ear by adding a goofy soundtrack, sub-standard heroes and comedic elements. The film was a hit and spawned 2 sequels. The comedy and gore delighted audiences but nearly killed the pure horror of the zombie.
In 1990, Hollywood revisited Romero’s 1968 classic with an incredibly interesting and fear ridden remake. It was an amazing attempt at trying to recapture the fear that Romero thrived in. The film thrived from incredible performances by unknown actors like Tony Todd (who would later become “Candy Man”) and Patricia Tallman (who would later become a regular on “Babylon 5”). It wasn’t as insanely clever, horrific or bold as the original but it was an amazing achievement and seemed to honor more than dismay the Romero classic.
That brings us to 2004 and Hollywood ventures back into Romero territory as it remakes the second in the classic trilogy.
Medical nurse Ana Clark (Sarah Polley) awakens one morning to see her world turned upside down. She is forced to flee her home when her husband Luis (Justin Louis) becomes infected with an unknown contagion which he seems to have contracted from a neighbor’s young girl.
Ana is wrought with horror, shock and bewilderment as she drives away from her home. Eventually Ana reunites with survivors Kenneth (Ving Rhames), Michael (Jake Weber), Andre (Mekhi Phifer) and his pregnant wife who are also enduring the ordeal of the outbreak.
The ragtag fugitives take refuge in a fortress of glass or to others a huge suburban mall. There they learn about what has happened, who each of them are and eventually plot an escape from the mob of growing zombies.
The 2004 version of “Dawn of the Dead” opens strongly and we are quickly captivated by the wrought but strong performance of Sarah Polley. Sadly her character seems to be the only one we really get to know.
Polley’s supporting characters excluding Ving Rhames and Jake Weber range from “cannon-fodder” to “red-neck” to annoying. I just wanted them all to be gobbled up by the mob. If these are the last of humanity please let us be wiped out.
That is kind of sad to say when capable actors like Mekhi Phifer, Matt Frewer, Lindy Booth and Jayne Eastwood are among them. Phifer has his moments but he seems terminal from his introduction and Frewer doesn’t stick around long enough.
If I were to classify this version of a Romero classic I would have to say that it in-between “Return of the Living Dead” and the 1990 remake. It isn’t by far in the same territory as anything done by Romero but as apocalypse/zombie films it would be a fun matinee movie. Last year’s “28 Days Later” was a far superior horror film than this.
Here’s the Great Zombie Breakdown:
Night of the Living Dead 1968 (5 out of 5) Dawn of the Dead 1978 (4.5 out of 5) Day of the Dead 1985 (4 out of 5) Return of the Living Dead 1985 (3 out of 5) Return of the Living Dead Part 2 1988 (2 out of 5) Return of the Living Dead Part 3 (1.5 out of 5) Night of the Living Dead 1990 (4 out of 5) Dawn of the Dead 2004 (3.5 out of 5)
What’s your favorite zombie movie? So Says
the Soothsayer Not so much a remake of George A Romero's 1978 classic as a recycling of the premise, this action-packed zombie flick certainly keeps our adrenalin pumping. After a brief scene of urban normality in Milwaukee, it rockets into chaos and carries us shrieking and laughing along. The filmmakers don't waste time with explanations; the world is simply turned upside down one morning when a nurse named Ana (Polley) wakes up to find herself on the run from crowds of hungry, vicious and very tenacious undead. She takes refuge with a group of survivors in a shopping mall-- tough cop (Rhames), reluctant leader (Weber), protective father-to-be (Phifer) with hugely pregnant wife (Korobkina), womaniser (Kelly), trio of over-zealous security guards (Kelly, Zegers and Barry). A few others join them as they try to find a way out ... and news about the outside world. And these aren't standard staggering, dazed zombies--they run and leap and bite at lightning speed. There's a thrilling, off-handed style to this film that really grabs the imagination. Inventive camerawork and effects and clever editing add to witty touches at every turn, from the hilarious choice of background muzak to cynical, sardonic dialog that's never knowing or silly, but rather the things real people say in incredibly tense situations. Led by the superb Polley, the cast is excellent, each person facing the horrific reality in their own way and showing humanity in all its glory, for better or worse. The script is full of clever touches and an underlying sense of morbid humour, but it also shies away from making significant comments on the religious or social themes it tries to raise. The direction and editing only falter in their over-reliance on false starts and red herrings, as well as some severe jump cuts that skip key bits of logic and leave us momentarily furious at such lazy filmmaking. But we don't have much time to be annoyed before the next bit of mayhem takes our breath away again.
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