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Dawn of the Dead
Dawn of the Dead

A movie directed by Zack Snyder

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A surprisingly good remake of the George A. Romero Classic.

  • May 1, 2009
  • by
Rating:
+4
Dawn of the Dead is pretty good. I was very surprised when I saw this movie. I have to say that I was very impressed. The script by James Gunn and the direction was on par with the original. Ving Rhames was the man. He played his role quite well and was creditable as the tough cop. The set pieces were up to snuff and the gore effects were excellent.

A strange mutation has quickly spread across the land. It hit so fast and so hard that nobody was prepared for what was to come. Society collapsed along with the military and the government's ability to try and contain the situation. Thousands of the living dead roam the streets and what's left of the survivors are either squabbling, bickering or killing each other off. A local mall as become a magnet not only for survivors but for the hungry and ever growing horde of the living dead. A nurse, cop, a family man and a young couple seek refuge in the mall that's under the control of three security guards who are still "on duty". Can any of them make it through the "dawn" so they can survive another "day"?

Like I said before hand. A very good remake of the original. Instead of trying to do a scene for scene remake or an "inspired" by version, the film makers wisely incorporated both elements to create this release. I haven't seen the new director's cut yet but from what I have already watched I have to say that I'm very impressed. Impressed indeed!


Keep an eye out for three stars from the original film. A nice treat fro fans of the original film.

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May 01, 2009
While this is undoubtedly better than I'm willing to admit, my hostility towards remakes won't let me rate it higher than 3.5 which means I have to round down to a 3. I hate the whole concept of running zombies, although I wouldn't mind if perhaps the running were to be limited to "fresh" zombies with older and more rotten corpses being slower. It would just make more sense to me that way. But why should a horror movie make sense? I really did like the addition of the guy in the building across the parking lot and I would rather have seen a movie about him.
May 01, 2009
I was surprised as well. The whole idea of "running" zombies came from the film Demons. I'll post a review of it soon.
May 01, 2009
When was DEMONS released? I know it was in the 80s. RETURN OF THE LIVINGDEAD had running zombies too and that was also released in the 80s, but I think it came after DEMONS.
 
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More Dawn of the Dead reviews
review by . October 09, 2011
posted in Movie Hype
*** out of ****     As much as I love the original source material, Zack Snyder's 2004 remake of "Dawn of the Dead", a George Romero zombie horror classic, is actually a pretty respectable movie. Unlike most horror remakes these days, it follows its own path; and comes out its own movie, which was nice. This is the only kind of remake of Romero's film that I could have ever enjoyed. It's not as good as the 1978 film that inspired its existence, but in its own little way, it gives …
review by . April 01, 2008
Dawn of the dead
I love zombie movies, and this is the best one among them.  The characters are trapped in a mall where there are tens of thousands of zombies outside, and they have a shoot a zombie celebrity look-alike game, what's not to love about this movie!
review by . November 07, 2010
More characters, less depth
   In some ways, this film is sacrileage for me. Dawn of the Dead, the original, is one of my favourite films ever, a masterclass in scares, black humour, gore and all round entertainment. Luckily, apart from the shopping mall setting, this doesn't try to be the original. It's less about chills and black humour, and more about action and a fast pace. It's entertaining, but lightweight.      One of thing that I will credit this film with is that it has a …
review by . August 21, 2010
George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead is a classic horror movie that really didn't need to be retold...but that's exactly what director Zack Snyder has done so I guess I should review it after having seen it twice. I admit there have been far worse remakes, but I can't help but sense how unnecessary this was especially since these two films are worlds apart in many ways. They don't really remake Dawn of the Dead so much as they re-use some elements from the original script and slap the title "Dawn …
review by . February 28, 2009
In WWII, a German tank commander noted, in regards to the American Sherman tank, "You could knock out 10 of them, but there would always be an eleventh one there." That's akin to the predicament faced by the human survivors in Zack Snyder's remake of George Romero's 1979 Dawn of the Dead; you can have all the guns, ammo, and provisions you need, and shoot one zombie, two zombies, a dozen zombies, but what about the hundredth? The thousandth? The five thousandth? Snyder's audacious treatment of this …
review by . June 29, 2006
posted in Movie Hype
I had seen this movie a couple of times and it's just great. The plot is pretty straightforward, even though it relies mostly on cliché themes to move the story along. So as a rule, most films such as this tend to be predictable and quite tepid. Luckily, `Dawn of the Dead' has strong personalities to fall back on, making it thankfully every bit a character-driven drama as it is a horror-action piece.    Sarah Polley convincingly plays a waif turned survivor with just the right …
review by . March 18, 2004
posted in Movie Hype
Pros: Some nice thrills and dark humor.     Cons: Drags in the middle nothing great in the acting area.     The Bottom Line: A good update on the original.     For many people the routine of everyday life is something that is often taken for granted. Today, the demands on a persons time are at al all time high, as there is often less time to relax and enjoy the many finer things in life.      In the film Dawn of the …
see all Dawn of the Dead reviews (8)
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About this movie

Wiki

First-time director Zack Snyder remakes zombie master George A. Romero's classic 1978 gore-fest DAWN OF THE DEAD, wisely replicating only the basic elements of Romero's movie, instead sticking to his own vision of a world overrun by undead flesh-eating creatures. The action begins with nurse Ana (Sarah Polley) waking up to discover her boyfriend has become a tasty midnight snack for a formerly cute neighboring kid. To her horror, she realizes that the whole town is in a similar state of ghoulishness, until she runs into still-alive cop Kenneth (Ving Rhames); the levelheaded Michael (Jack Weber); and Andre (Mekhi Phifer), a rebel with a pregnant wife in tow. As in Romero's original, the group heads for the local mall where they barricade themselves inside. More survivors surface, while in the outside world the zombies go about their day by slowly taking over the planet. Undeterred by the odds against them, the survivors plot, scheme, and enjoy their mall paradise. As they plan their escape, some incredibl...
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Tags

Movies, Drama Movies, Action Movies, Horror, Suspense, Horror Movies, Zombies, Movie Remakes, Sarah Polley
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Details

Director: Zack Snyder
Genre: Horror
Release Date: March 19, 2004
MPAA Rating: R
Runtime: 1hr 40min
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