A good movie, but not worthy of the title.

Rating: Null/10 (19 March 2004)

Let's get something straight here... the only thing this movie has in common with the original Romero classic, besides the title, is "mall" and "zombies". Everything else is different. The characters are different, the situations are different, even the zombies are different. I'm not saying this is a bad movie in any respect, I'm just saying that it deserved a different title. It's already a mostly-original movie, so why spoil a classic by naming it the same? Just because of the mall and zombies? If that were true, then shouldn't "Star Wars" be called "Star Trek" instead? They both have spaceships and aliens...
It's the zombie difference that strikes me the most... speedy zombies like the ones in this film seem to be today's "thing" in movies, but I think it just alters the kind of horror we're expecting from a zombie movie. Fast zombies give a SHOCK and SURPRISE kind of horror, while the original slow zombies bring a lot more tension and cold fear. Gone are things such as being injured and backed into a corner, and watching the zombies slowly converging on your position, knowing that the inevitable will happen. If the same situation happened in this movie, it'd be over in a second or two; the zombies would run up to you, and it's done. Where's the creepiness there? It's replaced by suddenness. Maybe it's me, but I'm more creeped out by a zombie slowly coming into view from the end of a hall and shuffling towards me slowly, rather than the same zombie suddenly charging out of the darkness at full speed. It's all about atmosphere and scaring people through actual terror rather than through 'make you jump out of your seat' action.
I still think it was a good movie. I just would have been happier if they hadn't tried to make it something it isn't: a remake of Dawn of the Dead.