In 1968, George Romero directed an independent, low budget horror movie. The result was "Night of the Living Dead", one of the best and most frightening horror films ever made. But you can't leave well enough alone, and as the cult of the original movie grew, Romero could not resist making follow-ups. "Dawn of the Dead" from 1978 came first, followed by "Day of the Dead" in 1985, and a remake of "Night of the Living Dead" in 1990.
The original "Night of the Living Dead" was filmed in black and white. Although the decision was probably a budgetary necessity, it likely worked to the film's advantage. "Dawn of the Dead" is in color, making the low budget of the filming more obvious. The zombies all have pasty green-gray makeup, becoming more funny and less scary in the process. That's really the difference between "Night" and "Dawn"; while "Night" is strictly drama and horror, "Dawn" mixes horror with satire.
Although made ten years later, with the cultural changes obvious (e.g. video games), the story apparently picks up shortly after "Night". Redneck gangs are still shooting zombies, and the zombies are still hungry for human flesh. The obvious question is, where are all the zombies coming from? There seems to be an infinite supply of them. Although they are easily killed, they seem to outnumber humans a hundred to one. How many corpses can exist that can rise intact from their graves? It doesn't make sense that there's so many of them, or that the stupid, sluggish zombies would be able to defeat armed, organized humans.
But I suppose that the viewer isn't supposed to think about this, but instead sit back and enjoy watching a hundred zombies get shot, stabbed, amputated, etc. If you get lurid thrills from outrageous violence, "Dawn of the Dead" is for you. The most startling scenes come early: a zombie's head explodes; another zombie bites a chunk out of screaming woman's arm. There goes the PG rating!
Anyway, the cast of unknowns include Gaylen Ross, her helicopter pilot boyfriend David Emge, and militia fighters Ken Foree and Scott Reininger. Seeking to escape the zombies who are overrunning their city, the four take a helicopter to a shopping mall, where there are needed supplies. After many graphic (and often tense) encounters with the ever-present zombies, the mall is theirs to enjoy by themselves. That is, until a heavily armed biker gang arrives to try and take it from them.
Romero makes a connection between the shuffling, stupid zombies and consumers. When one character wonders why zombies are aimlessly walking about the mall, the reply is "Instinct, memory. This was an important place in their lives". It is the film's most famous line, but other attempts at humor mostly elicit groans.
There are many versions of "Dawn of the Living Dead". A 137 minute version has been released on DVD, but Romero himself edited the 125 minute 'theatrical' version. Other versions exist with the most violent scenes omitted. Italian horror filmmaker Dario Argento ("Suspiria") was one of the "Dawn" producers. He distributed a version of the film in Europe, removing the humorous scenes to make the film more frightening. This review is for the originally released, 125 minute version. (57/100)
Picking up where NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD left off and still offering no explanation of why the dead are walking the earth DAWN OF THE DEAD plunges he...More at Family Video
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