Things that have always bothered me

Rating: Null/10 (15 November 2004)

First, let me state that while not as scary as the original, this film still gave me few chills. The unrated directors cut extras were almost better than the movie itself. However....some things still bother me.
Faster zombies. Somehow this makes them less menacing. There was something about the lack of speed that made them more chilling. Just when you thought someone was safe, the zombie would make that sudden lunge with just the right amount of speed and BANG, you're dinner. Pure terror.
More selective zombies. Sorry, I can't buy hanging a dog from a rope and the zombies NOT playing meat pinata with it when it came within reach. Dead zombies eat anything that is living or at least, recently alive.
The virus itself. I didn't have a problem with this until towards the end of the film when a comment is made about some recently departed characters. It is mentioned that "they weren't bitten so when they died they won't come back" was what was basically said. If you have to be bitten for this to spread, how did it spread so quickly and so far reaching? In the originals (and the 1st remake) ANYONE that dies recently came back to life, not just those that were bitten. That's part of the overwhelming hopelessness of the situation. No matter how many you kill there are ALWAYS more coming from somewhere, anywhere, everywhere.
The people. I will give credit to this film. These characters were a bit more fleshed out (so to speak) than in the original. Michael was a much more sympathetic figure this time, for example. I still don't understand how people still haven't gotten the thought through their heads that if zombies bite you, wear something they can't bite through. I'm thinking, hey, isn't there one biker type around who wears thick leather who could say ..Gee, this works, let's try it. I enjoyed the idea that after the first rush of mistrust, the people did try to work together. The interplay between the mall characters and the gunshop owner in the distance was solid and moving, especially at the end.
All in all, I would give this film a solid 8 out of 10 but that score is only because I have grown up with the originals. If I had to rate it by itself, I would give it a 9 out 10. The extras on the DVD would have to get a 10 for filling in the blanks on a lot of missing information. Special effects are not as gory as the original but they are more realistic this time around. Music was good, especially in the extras section which reminded me very much of Resident Evil every time they updated the plague map. Guess what I am saying is...even though I have seen the film I will be going out to buy a copy to see what I may have missed.