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Directed By
George A. Romero
Written By:
George A. Romero
Cast:
Ken Foree, Tom Savini, George A. Romero, David Emge, Gaylen Ross, Scott H. Reiniger, David Crawford, David Early, Daniel Dietrich, Richard France, Howard K. Smith
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Dawn of the Dead (1979)
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Movie Review by Jarrod
May 29th, 2008
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Perhaps I simply cannot appreciate a good zombie flick when I see one, but George A Romero's 'Dawn of the Dead' does not impress me that much, even though I believe Night of the Living Dead is a horror masterpiece, and enjoyed Day of the Dead, which finished off his original zombie trilogy in 1985. 'Dawn of the Dead' is well-known because of its 2004 remake by Zack Snyder (which was much more intense), and because it served as the inspiration for Capcom's hit Xbox 360 game Dead Rising. In 'Dawn of the Dead', as in Night of the Living Dead, no explanation is offered for why the cannibalistic cadavers are walking around. They are simply there; if they bite someone, that person will eventually turn into one of them. They are slow and not very smart, driven purely by instinct, can only be killed by destroying their brains. They are threatening by their sheer numbers; they congregate in groups of hundreds or thousands. The survivors this time take refuge in a mall, which stands as a testament to American capitalism and consumerism. The zombies are drawn to it, as well. There are only four survivors; two of them are well-trained, well-armed SWAT team members, Roger (Scott H Reiniger) and Peter (Ken Foree), who, in the opening scenes, are sent into an apartment complex to evacuate it, and eliminate those tenants who have turned into mindless, flesh-hungry creatures.
There is a certain momentum that starts building right from the start, and these early scenes provide narrative set-up, and are also extremely gory, though it will be later before Romero pulls out his grossest gag, that of a man having his intestines pulled out, which is also in Day of the Dead. The blood always appears artificial, which is most likely the point, and the design of the zombies themselves is t that impressive; make-up artist Tom Savini has done better work. Only a few of the zombies really stick out; that Hare Krishna zombie, the nun zombie, those zombies with part of their faces missing, or eyes hanging out of their sockets, or those disfigured in some other ghastly way. Along with Roger and Peter, there is Fran (Gaylen Ross) and her boyfriend Stephen David Emge). Fran is pregnant, which has practically no relevance at all, but is nonetheless revealed. Stephen can fly a helicopter, which is parked on the roof. A mall would be a good place to be holed up in the midst of an apocalyptic event; one has access to dozens of stores, with ample amounts of food and weapons, along with clothing and other luxury items to indulge one's tastes. All of these things are finite, but one could survive indefinitely under these circumstances. The zombies in the mall are pacified, and their bodies stashed in a freezer, out of sight.
The way Romero chooses to re-introduce them into the mall is disappointing. He has a biker gang (Tom Savini plays one of the members) raiding the mall, and the zombies following them in, as they recklessly zip around on their motorcycles. These bikers are armed with guns and machetes, which they use to fight off the zombies, but they also play around with them, throwing pies at them, and they wear out their welcome, but then they should not have been there in the first place. This accompanies several slow-paced scenes where Roger, Peter, Stephen, and Fran, do some shopping, try to entertain themselves to stave off boredom. The Snyder remake handled this a little more interestingly. The tension declines significantly (until those dumb raiders show up), and then ratchets up again, but never reaches a particularly high level. Is it scary? There are a few "jumpy" moments, certainly a number of scenes that will make most viewers squirm with disgust and revulsion, and plenty of off-beat humor. That is one thing the remake lacked, the typical brand of Romero humor, and characteristic social commentary, which is pervasive and obvious.
The whole film represents, I suppose, the collapse of American consumer culture, and how people, even when dead, are still somehow compelled to visit a shopping center, to satisfy perhaps some lingering urge to buy stuff. The film is longer than it should be, but there may be shorter, more efficiently edited cuts out there. Of the performances, I like Ken Foree the best, an imposing and intimidating presence, and David Emge is also appealing. I know this film is one of the great icons of the horror genre, but it is inferior, I think, to both its predecessor and successor, but it is better than Land of the Dead and Diary of the Dead, and I will state that Romero is likely the undisputed king of the zombie movie; thanks to him, I will now watch just about anything with a zombie in it, no matter how awful.
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