DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978)
4/5 stars
REVIEW BY JOHN ULMER (Copyright, 2004)
"When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth."
Sometimes movies attain cult classic stature for puzzling reasons.
I've never understood the success of "Dawn of the Dead" (1978). At
least not as far as to call it one of the best horror films ever made.
It's a good movie, with some fine moments, but it's poorly written and
poorly directed and poorly acted. It's not masterfully crafted in any
way.
Sure, it has a high level of sly social commentary, but it's about as
subtle as a blow to the head. The end credits, although amusing, are a
sign that the director - George A. Romero - is really pushing these
ideas onto us way too heavily. We got it the first time. Enough is
enough.
I've never thought very highly of Romero. "Night of the Living Dead"
(1968) is truly one of the best horror films of all time, but it is
quite adequately directed - the movie succeeds on its own, not because
of its director. And Romero's "Season of the Witch" (1973) was proof
of this - a film so bad that it defied all words. Anyone who calls him
a great director needs to see that atrocious piece of cinema.
Still, he has to be somewhat credited for starting the zombie craze.
"Dawn of the Dead" was the first of these modern-day zombie movies -
more brutal and graphic than its predecessor, and arguably a bit
smarter. Some people call it a sequel, but essentially the film is an
updated remake, filmed ten years after the first movie with a larger
budget, colorized prints, Tom Savini's sometimes laughable creature
effects, and so on and so forth.
It picks up right after the first film, despite an unexplained
ten-year gap of technology. The zombies are still attacking
Pennsylvania, so a pilot, his girlfriend and two SWAT members take
refuge in a local mall that is overrun by the slow-moving creatures.
"Why do they come here?" Francine (Gaylen Ross) asks. "Some kind of
instinct. Memory, of something they used to do. This was an important
place in their lives," David Emge tells her.
I hate to break the news, but not all Americans revolve around malls -
at least not anyone I know (and my relatives all live in
Pennsylvania). But it's symbolism for commercialism in America, and it
works, even if the theme is strongly overused.
The film was criticized upon its release in 1978 for being
ultra-violent and too gory. It's not. If anything, it's what Romero
himself described as "comic book violence" - lots of (obviously) fake
and over-the-top blood and gore mixed with quite silly looking
zombies. The makeup is often uneven - when one of the main characters
reanimates after being killed by a zombie, his face is shriveled and
pale and horrifying. All the other zombies can't have such close
attention paid towards them by Savini, so they often appear as if
they've wandered out of a pool of gray paint.
Many people consider "Dawn of the Dead" to be one of the finest horror
films of all time. As much as I appreciate it as a whole, and as fun
as it is, it's also a bit too long for a film of its genre - I gave it
a chance but found myself counting many scenes that could have been
cut, or at least shortened. I respect the movie, but I have a feeling
that the newly-released remake may be more in the vein of my own
personal tastes. Plus, the new film has fast zombies. You just can't
beat fast zombies.
Note: "Dawn of the Dead" is now available to purchase on a single disc
"Special Edition" DVD, with commentary by Romero and special effects
artist Tom Savini, radio spots, commercials, theatrical trailers, a
Romero biography, a new 2004 state-of-the-art digital transfer, and
more. I bought the DVD but am not overwhelmed by its features - if
you're a huge fan of the movie, I suggest waiting until later this
year, when the 3-disc DVD is released (presumably around the same time
as the 2004 remake's DVD release date).
- John Ulmer
http://www.wiredonmovies.com
e-mail: johnulmer2003@msn.com
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