 Movie
Reviews
with Evelyn Gough
Dawn of the Dead
Directed by Zack Snyder
 Who says zombies are slow?
Zombies are slow, lumbering and easy to out run right? Wrong!! Not in this update of George Romero's 1979 classic horror flick Dawn of the Dead, they're not.
In fact they're fast, deadly, icky looking and best of all, extremely scary. I'm not a huge fan of remakes, the results are often poor imitations of the originals, but first time director Zack Snyder has done a superb job. He certainly had me creeped out and not just during the movie either. (Yep, there's nothing like tip toeing around the house at one in the morning imagining zombies around every corner.) But what a blast. There's nothing I like better than a really scary horror movie and Dawn of the Dead is by far the best example of this genre that I've seen for a long time.
The previews have barely stopped rolling and we're into the nail biting action. In a matter of minutes we're catapulted with ER nurse Ana Clark (Sarah Polley) into a nightmarish hell on earth as her ordinary suburban neighbourhood disintegrates into a zombie killing zone.
After this harrowing beginning, (and attempting not to reveal too much of the plot!), Ana and a few remaining survivors, including police officer Kenneth (Ving Rhames), electronics salesman Michael (Jake Webber) and husband and very pregnant wife, Andre and Luda (Mekhi Phifer and Inna Korobkina) make for the local shopping mall.
Good thinking guys. At least there's plenty of food and a decent security system. Unfortunately the zombies have the same idea - "It's some kind of instinct" as the classic line goes. (That mall mentality runs deep).
This causes a dilemma for the besieged humans. Should they just wait to die surrounded by white goods and sporting equipment or should they make a break for it? And if they do get lucky and make it through the zombie throng waiting outside to rip their throats out, where do they go? Is there anywhere left not crawling with the undead?
28 Days Later was one of my favourite films from last year and there are similarities between it and this chiller. The major difference is the level of horror. 2004's Dawn of the Dead is way scarier. But it's not just a schlock horror fest. This is a quality production, thanks in no small part to screen writer James Gunn's terrific script, which is full of action and black humour. And yes, there is a dog and yes, I spent the whole movie worrying about it.
For me this is the ultimate in terror. Forget Gothic settings, vampires, werewolves and ghosts. It's watching your every day, completely normal suburban world crumble into utter chaos that has my heart palpitating. It's witnessing the end of the world as we know it. It sure would't be fun to experience for real but being scared silly watching it up on the big screen - that's a blast! An instant classic!
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