Dawn of the Dead «««
R, 101m. 2004
Cast & credits: Sarah Polley (Ana), Ving Rhames (Kenneth), Jake Weber (Michael), Mekhi Phifer (Andre), Ty Burrell (Steve), Michael Kelly (CJ), Kevin Zegars (Terry), Michael Barry (Bart), Lindy Booth (Nicole), Jayne Eastwood (Norma). Directed by Zack Snyder. Screenplay by James Gunn. Directed by Zack Snyder.
Like so many other remakes of great movies Hollywood thinks it can improve upon, I cringed the moment I heard the news a couple years back that Tinseltown was planning a remake of director George Romero’s 1978 horror movie, Dawn of the Dead. You can’t remake, much less improve on what I say was a four star classic.
The original Dawn of the Dead was a sequel to Romero’s 1968 black and white cult film, Night of the Living Dead. The premise for Dawn of the Dead was almost the same as Night of the Living Dead except instead of a small group of survivors taking refuge in a small farm house from a band of flesh eating zombies, the characters hid out in a shopping mall.
This new remake of Dawn of the Dead is in some ways a completely different film, despite being based on Romero’s original 1978 screenplay. The zombies, this time, are far more agile and don’t seem to walk as slow as the ones from Romero’s films and act as though they’ve never been fed in months. The only way the characters in this update can safely do target practice is from the mall’s rooftops where they think the walking dead won’t get to them.
The difference though between the zombies in this one and the original was the dead often exhibited humorous traits in the ’78 version, for example, when they were surprised to hear mall music emanate from the building’s sound system and falling on top of each other on the moving escalators. At one point, a zombie was seen playing in a man-made lake holding a bunch of pennies. In the new Dawn of the Dead, the only human like quality we can assume they still hold is as one character puts it, the reason why they all flock to the local mall is because it’s something they did when they were alive.
At the same time, while the film may be a remake, this certainly doesn’t feel like a sequel. Unlike the original which had the characters already battling a plague that was out of control, this update opens as though things seem quite normal in the town of Everett, Washington though there are some ominous hints. The night before all chaos erupts, various radio stations open with the words, “We interrupt this broadcast to bring you a special report.” We never find out what’s happening thanks to a nurse named Ana (Sarah Polley) who after a hard day at work would rather listen to some music on the way home. She and her husband are completely oblivious to the special news bulletin on the TV while the two are making love in the shower.
Before long, frightening on-the-spot news reports air of people being attacked by the dead in various cities and countries. While news reporters ask a government official if they know how all this started only to be given the same answer every time, “We don’t know”, the emergency broadcast system comes on the air warning people to stay in their homes.
Like the original, the film focuses on a small group of survivors led by Ana and a lone police officer (Ving Rhames) who take refuge inside a shopping mall trying to figure out what their next move will be. The mall, just as shopping center did in the predecessor, once again takes center stage. Various characters make use of the many stores from trying on lingerie and watching Animal House (1978) on one of the many big screen televisions to holding candlelight dinners where each person talks about what was their worst job they ever had. While on the roof, Rhames plays chess with a local gun owner from a block away. The two of them use binoculars and write down messages to one another on menu boards as their only means of communication.
The one major difference is this new update is more fast paced and although it is an end of the world movie, it doesn’t fall into the category of today’s disaster films where the characters look as though they’ve been typecast. Somehow, watching these “zombie” movies, you can never tell who’s going to get picked off next.
The film does boast some moments of originality where you’re not saying to yourself, “I’ve seen this before.” Other than knowing that a bite from a zombie will eventually make a living person become one of them, the film never really tells us why the dead have awakened to feast upon the living to begin with. And it does pose an interesting question never seen or never been explored in any of Romero’s dead films. That is if a pregnant woman dies prior to giving birth and becomes a zombie, does the baby also become one as well? I won’t give you the answer.
Like the original, I cared about this small band of characters though I can’t say I was rooting for them. Although I still prefer the 1978 version, I still found this update just as entertaining. This is a Dawn of the Dead for a new generation of horror buffs who just want action and a fair amount of gore, though not to the point where they will zombies feasting on some poor soul’s innards.
Instead of recalling that silly mall music that took the dead by surprise in Romero’s movie which is what I remembered most, “zombie” fans will probably walk out singing some tune they heard in this new one where country legend Johnny Cash sings about death and how he came along riding in on a pale horse.
©3/22/04
R, 101m. 2004
Cast & credits: Sarah Polley (Ana), Ving Rhames (Kenneth), Jake Weber (Michael), Mekhi Phifer (Andre), Ty Burrell (Steve), Michael Kelly (CJ), Kevin Zegars (Terry), Michael Barry (Bart), Lindy Booth (Nicole), Jayne Eastwood (Norma). Directed by Zack Snyder. Screenplay by James Gunn. Directed by Zack Snyder.
The original Dawn of the Dead was a sequel to Romero’s 1968 black and white cult film, Night of the Living Dead. The premise for Dawn of the Dead was almost the same as Night of the Living Dead except instead of a small group of survivors taking refuge in a small farm house from a band of flesh eating zombies, the characters hid out in a shopping mall.
This new remake of Dawn of the Dead is in some ways a completely different film, despite being based on Romero’s original 1978 screenplay. The zombies, this time, are far more agile and don’t seem to walk as slow as the ones from Romero’s films and act as though they’ve never been fed in months. The only way the characters in this update can safely do target practice is from the mall’s rooftops where they think the walking dead won’t get to them.
The difference though between the zombies in this one and the original was the dead often exhibited humorous traits in the ’78 version, for example, when they were surprised to hear mall music emanate from the building’s sound system and falling on top of each other on the moving escalators. At one point, a zombie was seen playing in a man-made lake holding a bunch of pennies. In the new Dawn of the Dead, the only human like quality we can assume they still hold is as one character puts it, the reason why they all flock to the local mall is because it’s something they did when they were alive.
At the same time, while the film may be a remake, this certainly doesn’t feel like a sequel. Unlike the original which had the characters already battling a plague that was out of control, this update opens as though things seem quite normal in the town of Everett, Washington though there are some ominous hints. The night before all chaos erupts, various radio stations open with the words, “We interrupt this broadcast to bring you a special report.” We never find out what’s happening thanks to a nurse named Ana (Sarah Polley) who after a hard day at work would rather listen to some music on the way home. She and her husband are completely oblivious to the special news bulletin on the TV while the two are making love in the shower.
Before long, frightening on-the-spot news reports air of people being attacked by the dead in various cities and countries. While news reporters ask a government official if they know how all this started only to be given the same answer every time, “We don’t know”, the emergency broadcast system comes on the air warning people to stay in their homes.
Like the original, the film focuses on a small group of survivors led by Ana and a lone police officer (Ving Rhames) who take refuge inside a shopping mall trying to figure out what their next move will be. The mall, just as shopping center did in the predecessor, once again takes center stage. Various characters make use of the many stores from trying on lingerie and watching Animal House (1978) on one of the many big screen televisions to holding candlelight dinners where each person talks about what was their worst job they ever had. While on the roof, Rhames plays chess with a local gun owner from a block away. The two of them use binoculars and write down messages to one another on menu boards as their only means of communication.
The one major difference is this new update is more fast paced and although it is an end of the world movie, it doesn’t fall into the category of today’s disaster films where the characters look as though they’ve been typecast. Somehow, watching these “zombie” movies, you can never tell who’s going to get picked off next.
The film does boast some moments of originality where you’re not saying to yourself, “I’ve seen this before.” Other than knowing that a bite from a zombie will eventually make a living person become one of them, the film never really tells us why the dead have awakened to feast upon the living to begin with. And it does pose an interesting question never seen or never been explored in any of Romero’s dead films. That is if a pregnant woman dies prior to giving birth and becomes a zombie, does the baby also become one as well? I won’t give you the answer.
Like the original, I cared about this small band of characters though I can’t say I was rooting for them. Although I still prefer the 1978 version, I still found this update just as entertaining. This is a Dawn of the Dead for a new generation of horror buffs who just want action and a fair amount of gore, though not to the point where they will zombies feasting on some poor soul’s innards.
Instead of recalling that silly mall music that took the dead by surprise in Romero’s movie which is what I remembered most, “zombie” fans will probably walk out singing some tune they heard in this new one where country legend Johnny Cash sings about death and how he came along riding in on a pale horse.
©3/22/04
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