Review of Dawn of the Dead (2004) by Kyle R — 08 Apr 2014

I never saw the original Dawn of the Dead, but it was said to he one of the way better remakes of a popular film from the past, so it sounded worthy of a shot.

Dawn of the Dead doesn't mess around. Director Zack Snyder knows what it requires and jumps right into it by kicking the story off into immediate horror with plenty of blood, gore and drama. It kicks off into the thrills immediately and doesn't go into depth about its story. The thing is that Dawn of the Dead doesn't attempt to reinvent the zombie genre, it makes the effort to simply update it. And while it features many of the same flaws that usual zombie films have such as a fairly slow pace and certain predictable elements, Dawn of the Dead succeeds at paying tribute to the original George A. Romero film while also succeeding on its own terms as a zombie feature of its own right and success.

Packed with plenty of excellent blood and gore, Zack Snyder ensures that Dawn of the Dead is an excellently visually appealing film. It is thoroughly colourful as well as being shot with stylish horror-defining cinematography and a lot of timely editing, as well as some intense sound effects and an atmospheric musical score. Essentially, Dawn of the Dead does everything necessary to succeed as a strong horror film, and very few remakes ever succeed at that due to betraying their source material. Dawn of the Dead simply follows the basic zombie source material of the original film and manages to work some entertainment into its story while updating certain aspects so that it appeals to the contemporary crowd. And while it has some of the same basic issues that come with a Zombie film with a simple story such as the fact that it doesn't really attempt to break new ground and is fairly predictable at times, it still works as sufficient horror entertainment. And from a dramatic standpoint, Dawn of the Dead is a success as well due to how it emphasises certain character elements to give the film a sense of humanity as well as a large scale zombie horror feeling. The dramatisation of Frank's death scene was done excellently. It really capitalises on the essence of the horror situation while not degrading the dramatic mood of the situation through overuse of gore visuals. Dawn of the Dead remembers to capitalise on the dramatic elements of its story and the character drama instead of putting sole focus on the blood and gore which is what too many films these days do. So Zack Snyder ensures that the focus in Dawn of the Dead is on thrills, drama and blood all together while letting the other elements unfold naturally, and this shows promise for him as a film director.

The script in Dawn of the Dead follows a very B-movie style which seems intentionally cliche, and I gives a slight humourous edge to the film. Dawn of the Dead has the feel of a serious zombie horror film with a touch of dark comedy, and I found I was able to take everything seriously while admiring some of the B-movie qualities of the film for a little comedic fun amidst all the horror thrills.

And well enough, the cast of Dawn of the Dead do their part.

Sarah Polley makes a fairly effective lead by conveying a sense of dramatic realism as she faces all the weird situations that come with a Zombie apocalypse. While she doesn't get too involved in the story after the intro and isn't perfectly consistent with the effect of her line delivery, she does manage to deliver a performance good enough to pass.

But nobody in the film can hold a candle to Ving Rhames. Ving Rhames is the perfect casting choice for Dawn of the Dead. Because he is a serious badass without being a very commercial actor, he is an ideal lead because he has the credibility of a hero without having a name for the filmmakers to flaunt around as a massive superstar. But he has the appeal of being the badass Marsellus Wallas from Pulp Fiction and many other roles to his fans. So he is a great cast member, and his ferocity and intimidating stature give him the awesome look of a hero. He is the best cast member in Dawn of the Dead and has more than enough intimidation as an appeal, and his skilful performance of his lines have a B-movie feel and a genuine sense of heroism both at the same time. Ving Rhames is a flawless casting decision for Dawn of the Dead.

Kevin Zegers manages to give an effective supporting effort as well where he puts a lot of realism into his performance and lets himself develop naturally over the course of the film.

Frankly, every cast member gives a necessary effort to succeed, even though most of them are little known actors. But considering the later international success of Ty Burrell for his role as Phil Dunphy in the hilarious comedy series Modern Family, it is great to see him acting early on in a role that is earlier on above many other cast members. His character has the same sort of neuroticism as Phil Dunphy, but his arrogance makes him a convincing addition to the cast as a real asshole.

So Dawn of the Dead is a thoroughly convincing; thrilling zombie movie which has plenty of thrills and appeal from a visual perspective and is acted well too, so it works as both a strong horror film of its own right and a better remake than half the available remakes available today.