In the 1970s, director George Romero capitalized on his horror franchise with a small film about zombies and shopping malls. More than two decades later, first-time director Zach Snyder brings “Dawn of the Dead” back to the big screen.
In this film, a nurse wakes up one morning to find that the entire city has been taken over by a zombie plague. She escapes with a few other surviving stragglers into a shopping mall, the last defense against the growing horde of zombies. Gradually, they realize that seemingly overnight the entire country is infected by this plague. More survivors arrive at the mall, increasing the small band of humans but also bringing no news of hope.
Confined to the mall, the humans, a ragtag bunch of mall security guards, cops, drifters, truckers and pregnant women, plot to break out in a fantastic escape plan that, while a bit ridiculous in its execution, leads to massive amounts of zombie-slashing, firebombs and chainsaws.
At the very minimum, the film is exactly what to expect from any horror film, especially in the modern era of horror films. There’s plenty of style, humor and blood for anyone to enjoy. Granted, this is a remake, and thus has numerous references to previous films, especially to Romero’s legacy. But Snyder has included enough personal style and significant plot changes to merit a personal restatement over the original film.
The last great zombie flick was “28 Days Later,” a film inspired by the original “Dawn” film but with faster zombies and set in Britain. Oddly enough, the new “Dawn of the Dead” seems inspired by its own protegé. Gone are Romero’s lumbering, walking undead. In the new “Dawn,” all the zombies have a bit of “rage” in them, making them more agile and aggressive than ever captured on film.
And there are a lot of zombies. At one point, thousands of zombies mill outside of the mall. With this number, there are numerous opportunities for creative gore. During the survivors’ getaway, their modified armored bus becomes one great zombie killer, using chainsaws, propane tanks, shotguns and the bus itself to stomp, roast, slash and maim. The end result is a triumphant sequence of gory action and violence that is as satisfying as it is disgusting.
As a horror film, the pace of the film is remarkably suited for suspense and tension. Zach Snyder knows how to scare or at least to suspend the scene enough to create terror.
While horror films recently have become too concerned with homage to worry about actual horror, there are enough nail-biting moments and gory turn-your-head-and-vomit zombie attacks to make up for the lull in good horror flicks. A word to the wise, however: this is not for those with a weak stomach.
While the original “Dawn of the Dead” was a low-budget cult film, this remake is (thankfully) a well-financed Hollywood gore fest.
The zombies are no longer cheesy actors with blue faces but bloody messes ready to create more bloody messes. Be prepared for a full-fledged attack.
Jason Bolte can be reached at [email protected].
