Dawn of the Dead

[Jonas]

Dawn of the Dead
Will your head explode over this DVD?

October 21, 2004 - Fans and critics alike have knocked Zack Snyder's remake of Dawn of the Dead for eschewing the not-so-subtle social statement in the original George Romero classic. While it's true that Romero's slap on consumerism is seriously toned down, it's not entirely lost, and Snyder makes up for it with some statements of his own.

The real shocker of Dawn of the Dead is the casting. Its main cast features two Julliard graduates - Ving Rhames and Jake Weber - and arthouse princess and Uma Thurman Mini-Me Sarah Polley. Polley in particular was a surprise casting choice given her oeuvre, but she was won over by the enthusiasm of the director and producer Eric Newman.

Like the Romero classic, Dawn of the Dead opens with a mysterious infection that turns people into maniacal, bloodthirsty undead. The word "zombie" is never uttered once in the film.

Unlike the Romero classic, these zombies don't slowly shuffle mindlessly. They run. They haul ass, actually. In that regard, the zombies are closer to the undead of 28 Days Later.

They also can change their mind very quickly, as is seen in the opening sequence. Nurse Anna (Polley) is driving away from her home and zombified husband and he's giving chase at top speed, only to suddenly veer off and attack a neighbor standing around on his lawn.

Also like the Romero film, the action settles in an abandoned shopping mall, where Anna, a police officer named Kenneth (Rhames) and a few other survivors - gun-toting Andre (Mekhi Phifer), his pregnant girlfriend Luda (Inna Korobkina) and mysterious Mike (Weber).


-Universal Home VideoThe Dawn of the Dead DVD Menu.

In the mall they are confronted by the local security, who suddenly have delusions of power. The group winds up locked in a home furnishings store before turning tables on the rent-a-cops. Setting up shop in the mall, they have a little fun, playing basketball and working out with gear from the sports store.

Most comical is Ken forming a bond with a gun store owner across the street named Andy (Bruce Bohne), with the two communicating by writing on erasable message boards. They play chess and take pot shots at the horde of zombies below them for laughs. In a true sign of a sick mind at work, there's a montage of mayhem done to a lounge band covering The Disturbed's "The Sickness." Snyder is crazy, and I love it.

The strongest character studies in the film show how people react under pressure as society collapses. We see it in the rent-a-cops trying to display power they don't really have, and in the development of Michael, who shows strength of character despite a less-than-impressive background.


-Universal Home VideoI love the smell of fresh zombie in the evening.

This version of Dawn of the Dead is more of an action movie than a horror film. There's little scare/creep/fright factor, more adrenaline. Obviously there is a difference between audiences today and 1979 when the original came out.

One change that I'm glad for is that these characters are far less stupid than in your typical horror flick. You won't sit there going "no, no, no" at an act of sheer idiocy, with maybe one exception involving a young girl. Rhames and Polley have the acting chops and actually get to use them in a few places, and Weber was actually a nice surprise.

Phifer, whom I enjoy as the cocky jerk on ER, is also good in dealing with his pregnant girlfriend and regrets over what he's done in his life. But for all the great makeup to create zombies, his supposedly pregnant girlfriend is badly miscast. Korobkina is thin as a rail, other than the big fake gut they put on her. She doesn't look two months pregnant, let alone nine months.


-Universal Home VideoI will get medieval on yo ass, too!

Dawn of the Dead is neither original nor particularly scary. But it is very well executed and thoroughly enjoyable for sheer action. It's a great movie debut for Zack Snyder.



-Universal Home VideoNo, don't! Remember Jurassic Park? It ends badly!

Presented in 2.35:1, Dawn of the Dead is slightly overlit, on purpose, I think. It adds to the scenario. This causes a little blooming and lightens the color of skin tones, especially Polley's, but it also heightens the tension. At least the annoying dropped frame trick that was all over 28 Days Later was only used at the very end of Dawn of the Dead.

In places there was some artificial grain and dirt, again designed to give it a grittier feel. These all strike me as deliberate because of their placement and the overall cleanness of the print.

Color levels overall are excellent, and the make-up job is superb. There's next to no CG, with one big exception, it's all makeup and squibs. Whites are free of noise and black levels are solid and smooth. The only real flaw was the slightest hint of blurring during horizontal pans.

Score: 8 out of 10

Languages and Audio

Dawn of the Dead offers a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack in English, French, and Spanish, with subtitles in English, French and Spanish.

Universal did a superb job with the audio here, providing a solid, strong soundtrack all around. Voices and screams are all nice and clear with no distortion. The music and sound effects are well-mixed. But there's also great silence and ambient sound during the quiet moments, too.

There's a good amount of positional audio, from zombie charges to gunfire to helicopter blades. The dynamic range is also exceptional -- wait until those propane gas tanks go up in flames. Your floor will shake. Overall, excellent stuff.

Score: 9 out of 10


-Universal Home VideoSorry, we're out of milk, you'll have to run out and get some.

Packaging and Extras

The Amaray case comes in a cardboard slip case. We reviewed the unrated director's cut, which adds some character moments as well as some great headshots, and I don't mean pictures.

The audio commentary from director Zack Snyder and producer Eric Newman was done right before the theatrical release, so they were unsure of what to expect. Both are jazzed, though, and offer up a pretty lively commentary. Snyder talks about this being his first film, and that he filmed it in chronological order (that rarely happens in films). They point out cameos from original DotD actors and homages to the original movie.


-Universal Home VideoLord of the Rings fans were furious that the store didn't order enough RotK EE sets.

The Lost Tape is a 15 minute extra shot for the DVD, Blair Witch-style, as gun shop owner Andy keeps a video diary of the events. As the days tick off on the counter (there's a date stamp) he gets thinner and more desperate as he runs out of supplies.

Special Bulletin: Zombie Invasion! is another DVD segment, running 20 minutes. It's basically a bogus news report (and not well acted, either), with unconvincing briefings from the White House and Center for Disease Control and Prevention. At 20 minutes, it's pretty long, and it's not well-acted.

There are 11 deleted and extended scenes under Undead Scenes, running around 12 minutes total, with commentary from Snyder and Newman. Most of the scenes were cut for time while others were cut for effect. One scene is a lengthy chatter scene in the mall coffee shop, with Anna reading a days-old newspaper. Another was a bonding type dinner, where Mike reveals his past. No great loss but worth a peek nonetheless.


-Universal Home VideoThe place where many zombies can usually be found.

Splitting Headache: Anatomy of Exploding Heads is a five minute feature sure to warm the hearts of horror geeks everywhere. Makeup guru David Leroy Anderson shows how the headshots were done in a realistic manner, such as the security guard who was shishkabobbed with a croquette mallet. Attack of the Living Dead is a sister featurette of sort, as it breaks down five memorable zombie kills in the movie.

Raising the Dead looks at how they transformed many, many extras into the swarms of undead. Anderson again takes the lead in discussing the three levels of undead; newly infected, fully infected, and starting to rot. The look of the zombies changed over the course of the film and this featurette shows how it was done.

For DVD-ROM users, there's a basic InterActual skin to play back the movie on your computer.

Score: 8 out of 10


-Universal Home VideoLooks like the roof of the IGN offices.

[Grimmy]

Was an ok movie. The zombies acted more like hyperactive mobs of violent protesters than living dead, in my oppinion :/

[Batgirl]

I thought it was all right. Don't know if you guys have seen Shaun of the Dead, but it's a great piss-take of Dawn of the Dead. Really funny...lol

[0311Marine]

It was one of the best horror movies Ive seen in awhile, seems like all the new ones out nowadays just suck, and the dvd has some nice features on it, that are pretty interesting, the deleted scenes are good to. Oh and Shaun of The Dead was funny as hell.

[Jonas]

This movie was excellent! One of the best Zombie flicks yet!!! The first 5 minutes of little girl bites guy, guy tries to bite his wife- is just brutal. This movie starts out as a fast wild ride. The directors cut is intense! This is just a kick ass flick!

It gets 5 beers man!!! :pumpkinne :pumpkinne :pumpkinne :pumpkinne :pumpkinne

-Unless you've seen the majority of Zombie movies you really don't know how good this one is! Too many are corny and not scary and not even realistic!!! This is a scary, realistic, crazy flick! -And that's what makes it so good!

[Ram0528]

I liked it...saw it in the theatres & bought it the other day. I like how it has a story thats more than just about the zombies. Great Flick!