Director: George A. Romero
Rating: 8 out of 10
I stated in my review of Romero's original classic, Night of the Living Dead, that I prefer slow, Frankenstein-esque zombies over the new agile, wild-dog zombies. So this is, of course, a review of the original Dawn of the Dead. It's funny that they chose to remake this film over Romero's first flick, but I suppose that's been done already. This one had never been remade, probably because it's such a beloved movie. Night of the Living Dead is known as a classic because it changed horror films forever, it's historical. Dawn of the Dead is just a damn good time mixed with some pretty heavy social commentary.
The premise: it's the zombie apocalypse again and 4 people manage to shut themselves in at the one place where all their needs would be met: a big-ass shopping mall. Most of the movie is spent showing the team try to seal off any conceivable way for a zombie to get it, and of course the dangers of embarking on that mission are pretty serious. 2 of the crew are policemen, like SWAT team members, and the other 2, a man and a woman, work for a television news station. That's basically it. Oh, and there's about a thousand zombie's spread around the interior and exterior of the mall just looking to chew on their guts.
The social commentary is what this film is really known for. The issue of people's, or in this case zombie's, inability to live without the largest center of commerce we know: the shopping mall. Their just drawn to the mall on pure instinct, just the same as the 4 person crew. They originally stop there on their way elsewhere, but even they can't resist the riches the mall provides. So they decide to try and make a home in the mall. Watching this movie you're probably thinking the same thing "I could live in a mall. Look at all the stuff that's there." But, ultimately, what good is any of that stuff during a zombie uprising? So they have nice clothes all around, jewelery stores, and the bounty of an in-mall bank, what good does it do them? They're still trapped in a mall with flesh-hungry zombies chomping at the bit to eat them alive.
Eventually, a roving gang of motorcyle looters discover that the mall has been closed off by the greedy people inside, and they want their share of the booty. So, it's on. They smash their way in, letting the persistent zombies in with them, and begin pillaging the mall. You can guess what the zombies have in mind instead of material goods. A gun fight ensues in the middle of the invasion between the bikers and our team of heroes, all while dodging the ever-grasping fingers of the zombies. By the end of it all, most of the bikers are shot or eaten, we're only down to 2 of our main crew left, and the zombies keep on truckin'. So, in the end, it's the humans that were the undoing of the other humans. Both groups were living contently before they met. The reflection of our society is impossible to miss: the greed of the human race caused the downfall of more humans than the perceived threat.
I gave it a few points off for the comic-book look of the zombies and the blood. It all just looks fake to me, which takes away from any horror it might have tried induce. The musical score is a bit laughable too, especially during the last scene. It's closer to the triumphant march of a final battle, or the victorious gun-slinger returns home. I don't know, it's just not a horror movie score to me. Great film, just a couple little blips keep it from being fantastic.
Next: Onibaba
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