Review of Dawn of the Dead (2004) by Spangle — 16 Dec 2016

The first Zack Snyder film I have enjoyed and it is largely because it is not his typical brand of childish filmmaking. Not just a film where he smashes toys together and laughs maniacally like a seven year old, Snyder is largely restrained here. Instead, it just plays like a typical zombie movie and, in that regard, it is a pretty good film. Tense, thrilling, and truly entertaining, Dawn of the Dead gets a little dead in the middle, but its beginning and conclusion are both terrific and laced with moments that pushed me right to the edge of my seat.

From the beginning, we are introduced to Ana Clark (Sarah Polley). Set to experience the zombie apocalypse first hand, Ana somehow manages to escape the clutches of the zombies in her home and find other survivors. Together, they migrate to the Crossroads Mall, where they find shelter with other survivors. Once there, they bring in more survivors and discover cliche things about zombies, such as being bitten turns you into one and to kill them, you must shoot them in the head. Hardly revolutionary in this, Dawn of the Dead does hit the brakes once they get to the mall and instead opts to show these "revelations" and show the people passing time. Yet, what is exhilarating is whenever they encounter zombies. Heart racing and action-packed in these moments, Dawn of the Dead shows that Snyder knows how direct thrilling scenes and create a great atmosphere that leaves on edge. Whether it is early or late in the film, moments with the zombies are always great.

Yet, the film does do some very interesting things. Not only is there a zombie baby, which just has to be unique to this film, and an inventive way of escaping, Dawn of the Dead features incredibly smart characters. Knowing their situation is hopeless, the characters cut the weak links down and do what they can to survive. There are very few stupid actions (other than Natalie going for Chips), but these are hardly prevalent and do actually get worked into the film pretty nicely. The inventive solution to get away, though silly on the surface, is a very good addition to this film and makes it feel somewhat unique. Instead of taking a final stand or having some cure occur, Dawn of the Dead let's its characters figure out an escape route themselves.

The film, as an action film, is incredibly entertaining. With great tension and good action set pieces, Snyder's typically strong visual style is somewhat here as watching zombies get their brains shot out has never really looked so nice. The zombie design is very good and the film's inventive plot solution comes through in nice action set pieces and an interesting design on the escape vehicle that really give the film a unique edge that make it compelling. However, the film does have some problems. Its wide range of characters are pretty awful. None of them really grab you and pull you in, rather it is just a collection of white people and a couple black guys fighting some zombies. The characters are never differentiated from one another in a significant fashion and, as such, they sort of just blend together. The film's plot also loses steam in the middle when Snyder just shows a montage of the characters engaging in sex, talk about gay relationships, and playing golf. Now, I did see the director's cut, so this may not apply to the theatrical cut. These moments just exist to pass time and do not advance the plot at all (and not just because I could tell which girl had sex since the white blonde girls look similar here at times, though I think the guy was Ty Burrell maybe). Just excessive and doing really nothing the momentum of the plot, these moments are an unfortunate addition to an otherwise tight film. It also feels odd due to the inclusion of a pastor speaking about why this is happening and blaming it on various sins. By including them, it feels as though Snyder is being a bit of his childish self as the pastor is just there to be mocked and have that same sin rubbed back in his face. Whether you agree with it or not, this moment does feel kind of awkward and useless for the rest of the film.

Fortunately, Dawn of the Dead is an action-packed and thrilling experience. With good special effects and thrilling moments a plenty, Dawn of the Dead defines the hopelessness of the genre (especially with the ending), but also shows the power of teamwork. I just wish that people in zombie movies had seen at least one zombie movie in their life so we can skip past the "you have to shoot them in the head" and "if you get bitten you turn into a zombie" moments that are in each of these films.