Review of Dawn of the Dead (2004) by Apostolos M — 11 Jan 2013

This film revisits the zombie-horror genre by making zombies far more menacing, dangerous and agile. The movie takes place most of the time inside a shopping Mall where a number of survivors find refuge. Contrary to the original 'Dawn of the Dead, 1978' the survivors are more numerous since after a while new people arrive to take shelter. Communication with a lone survivor across the street through signals also makes the film less claustrophobic and the monotony of fear is occasionally interrupted by a number of funny moments.

The film has a strong post-apocalyptic feel in it since we get the impression that the zombie condition is not supernatural (or at least not totally unexplained) but may have to do with an epidemic spread from some unknown to us virus agent. It is no coincidence that the main protagonist (Sarah Polley) works as a nurse in a hospital and witnesses first-hand some curious symptoms. In some respects the film has some similarities with the beginning of Stephen King's 'The Stand' where survivors also have to avoid the initial epidemic onslaught and the 'Omega Man' based on the excellent novel 'I am Legend' of Richard Matheson. In contrast to these two latter books made-into films the present film depicts events occurring in a far shorter time frame: a few days.

I thought the movie was quite good and added a number of new elements to the zombie filmography, paying homage to the original Romero's films but covering also new ground. It is clearly superior to a lot of zombie films of the past 30 years including the recent TV series 'The walking dead, 2010'. There was a lot of tension and realism, and the survivors were not just there to provide cheap scares; they were three-dimensional characters discussing the situation, contemplating their plans and trying to grasp the severity of what was happening. A good effort from Zack Snyder who later went on to direct '300' and the 'Watchmen'.