I'm super squeamish and hate scary movies, but I'd recommend this flick.

Rating: 6/10 (1 April 2005)

My husband rented this and I was, annoyed- to say the least.He'd seen it before and I loathe slasher movies. I hide behind my hands during violent scenes in regular movies. (Although I must brag that I waited for hours to see "The Blair Witch Project.") How could I be expected to watch a high budget zombie movie?
The first 20 minutes were difficult. I kept asking if I should hide my eyes. The music and weird vibe of the opening scenes made me uncomfortable. I kept wondering how they were going to introduce the inevitable. I was edgy and creeped out by the, well- by the "dawn of the dead." I couldn't tell if Anna was the main character or one of those people they kill off at the beginning just to mess with you, like Drew Barrymore in "Scream."
After the main characters were all introduced, my grip on the hide-my-face-pillow was loosened. I was thankful for the comic relief and the minimal gore within the confines of the shopping mall sanctuary. The special effects/make up were more than expected. Usually everyone looks like they're covered in beefaroni, but (as the special features on the DVD point out)these dead guys were modeled from forensic photographs. Sometimes the zombies are amusing, like the bloated woman who's so fat she's dragged in by wheelbarrow or the bumbling Burt Reynolds look alike killed off in a twisted version of Hollywood Squares. Other times the images are haunting, like the first zombie, a small girl with her lips ripped off or the woman accidentally killed in the get-away bus.
"Dawn of the Dead" was believable as what would happen if, dare I say it...zombies took over the earth. But what's with this?: The mall refugees' rooftop friend across the street is starving so they send a dog over with food. As expected, this plan goes awry. For crying out loud! They live in a mall. Why not go to the toy store and get an r.c. airplane and send IT over with a sandwich? "Duh" moments aside, my only complaint is the ending.The constant flipping between camcorder and credits was nauseating. All in all, I'd suggest this to a guy friend.