| Plot: With a world being overruned by the undead, four survivors flee via helicopter to a deserted mall. Once there they must battle zombies, bikers, and human nature. Review: In my humble opinion, I consider Dawn of the Dead to be the best in the trilogy and quite possibly the best zombie movie ever made. Some might argue that the best is Night of the Living Dead, but to be honest it just hasn't aged well and Day of the Dead doesn't even come close. Let's start off with what we all like...gore! This movie has lots of it, and for a guy like me who's sick of cop-outs in R-rated movies, the sissies at the MPAA, and as a gorehound in general, that means a very good thing. We have healthy doses of decapitations, gut-munching, body parts, brains being blown out, and blood splurting everywhere. The gory effects hold up surprisingly well thanks to splatter king Tom Savini (who also has a cameo as badass biker leader Blade) and it's a damn shame that amazing effects like these are being dumped for crappy CGI effects. But don't think it's all about gore, there's plenty else. The characters are strikingly believable, despite them being unknown actors. Fran is the voice of reason throughout the whole film and conveys a subtle sadness about the whole incident throughout the movie. Stephen is the helicopter pilot that sucks at shooting and is constantly looked down upon by the rest of the team. Peter is the level-headed one with a plan. Lastly Roger is the guy that goes gung-ho and psychotic. Each is a well-established stereotype, but why are they so great? Because THEY invented the stereotypes, they are truly the archetypes for any zombie movies after Dawn of the Dead. None of them are one-dimensional either. We're hit full force with each of their problems. Stephen has to deal with Fran's pregnancy and the question of whether or not they want to bring a child into a world on the verge of an apocalypse, though, the subject of abortion isn't tapped into as much as it could've been. Then there's S.W.A.T team members Peter and Roger bonding as a team and finally Roger succumbing to insanity. The actors hit all the emotional notes perfectly. Then there's the heavy messages the movie conveys, the main message being that of materialism. The group tries to forget their problems by relying on more and more material possessions to keep themselves happy. Risking their lives to have the entire mall all to themselves. In the last part of the movie, a gang of bikers storm into the mall and tear the place up in search of valuables. They even go as far as robbing the zombies of their jewelry and wallets! At this point you have to ask what good will all this junk do if the world's going to end? We also have male territorial instincts kicking in when a fight breaks out between the survivors and the bikers for control of the mall. Lastly we see the breakdown of communication between the survivors as they go about dinner as if nothing's wrong and as Fran so aptly states it, "God, what have we become?" Such heavy subtexts are missing from zombie movies, so it's amazing that these messages were crammed into the movie so skillfully. The movie is perfectly blended together by director George Romero. There's horror and suspense, action, drama, and even humor put in this film. Never again will you see such a horror movie where in the middle of all the gore and despair a cream pie being thrown at a zombie's face. My only complaint is the soundtrack can just completely ruin a moment. At the climax of the movie, the thought going through my mind shouldn't be how cheesy the soundtrack is. This is the most influential zombie movie ever made and is a horror masterpiece. If you are even remotely a zombie fan, Dawn of the Dead is a must for you to see. |
| Rating: **** |
| Review by Jim |
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