DAWN OF THE DEAD

"When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth"

A plague is spreading, killing millions in its wake but it doesn't stop there. Once an infected person is dead, they return to life as flesh hungry, homicidal killers. As the world falls into hell, a group of survivors hold out in a shopping mall but it won't be long before the hordes of undead come looking for fresh meat.

As original ideas continue to elude Hollywood, they return again to the horror archives and update a classic of the genre, George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead.

As the sound of zombie's stirring in their graves greets this news, the undead can return to their eternal rest, as the movie isn't the travesty that it so easily could have been. This is blood soaked, head splattering, flesh eating horror entertainment and has everything a good zombie flick should have. The killings are gruesome, the undead are deadly and everyone of the cast has an equal chance of dying. What more do you want from a horror flick?

The cast make the movie what it is. The excellent Sarah Polly proves again that she is an actress to watch. This is a very natural performance from her which makes Ana a very believeable character. She reacts to the situation as you'd expect people to but she is never too overly dramatic or foolhardy. Ving Rhames is as good as ever with another commanding performance as no nonsense police officer Kenneth. This is a man you would want with you in a crisis. Jake Webber is one of those actors that you always recognise and can never put a name to. Hopefully this movie will push him more into the limelight. Mekhi Phifer does well with his small but important role. The support is also good but most of them are just potential food for the slaughter.

A lot of the plaudits have to go to first time director Zack Snyder. He paces the movie extremely well throwing in shock after shock at a relentless rate. He hardly ever telegraphs any of his scares, with zombies and killings coming from every conceivable standpoint putting you on the edge of your seat throughout. The look of the movie is also very good with fast cuts and quick reveals making it all the more frightening.

The film is not without its problems however. Firstly this isn't a movie that needed to be remade and it will struggle to grab the attention of purists and Romero fans alike. The film also misses the main point of the original, man's obsession with commercialism to the point that they would return to the hub of that addiction, the shopping mall, even in death. Finally the overly energetic zombies are a complete rip off from Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later but this does increase the menace of the masses of flesh-hungry undead.

Dawn of the Dead is a blood soaked, late night horror flick that is extremely entertaining, even if it does steal all its ideas. It might bring nothing new to the genre but this a fright fest that is still a cut above most of the current horror flicks that Hollywood has been turning out of late.

Audio commentary
Deleted scenes with audio commentary from director Zack Snyder
'The Lost Tape': Andy's terrifying last days revealed
'Special Bulletin' featurette
'Surviving The Dead' featurette

The Night of the Living Dead

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

The Day of the Dead

28 Days Later

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2004