Dawn
of the Dead
Rating:
****/*****, or 8/10
Few
remakes ever surpass their predecessors, but this one gets remarkably
close, if it's not a definite improvement over the already great
original George A. Romero zombie classic from 1978. Zack Snyder, who
would go on to direct 300, Watchmen and unfortunately
Sucker Punch, first proved his talent for adapting – in this
case re-adapting – other people's work with this gripping, gory and
hugely entertaining horror flick. A zombie plague engulfs America
after which a band of survivors barricades itself in a shopping mall
for safety. Tensions run high in the group as its members continue to
find themselves attacked by the living dead and eventually a choice
must be made: do these people decide to stay in their safe haven
where they got everything they need except their freedom, or do they
take their chances storming out in an attempt to find out whether
there's other people still alive out there in some remote and secure
location, with the hopes of joining them.
The story remains largely
the same (except for the absence of a violent, marauding biker gang
invading the mall), but the hungry undead are more lethal than ever,
this time also adding speed to help satiate their lust for devouring
human flesh, making them much easier to take seriously than Romero's
slow, lumbering walking dead, thus only enhancing the suspense (and
the body count). Fantastic make-up efects galore in this picture,
providing a wide array of eerie zombies and disturbing scenes of
dismemberment and bloodshed. Still, Snyder doesn't let the gore rule
the film, but prefers to locate the horror in the story itself. Of
particularly great shock effect is the film's fabulous opening, which
starts off very restrained and seemingly normal with a nurse just
going home after a hard day's work, going to bed at night and waking
up the next morning finding her neighbourhood burning in utter chaos
and despair as it has suddenly fallen prey to a zombie apocalypse.
Though the movie treats us to many a memorable moment of naked,
merciless terror later on, this gruesome opening stands out as its
most horrifying scene. The TV show The Walking Dead –
though itself based on a graphic novel – would later feature
a very similar world of undead post-apocalyptics, clearly inspired by
this remake and building on its premise of a ragtag group of
survivors trapped in a hellish world ruled by hungry corpses.
Starring:
Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber
Directed
by Zack Snyder
USA:
Strike Entertainment, 2004
