OK zombie action film

Rating: 7/10 (5 June 2005)

A pack of humans barricade themselves in a mall, when it becomes apparent that the dead are now zombies, walking the earth, and in need of flesh to eat.
When the first 'Dawn' came out in the 70's, it was a pretty original zombie film. It depicted a social satire, comparing us with the zombies. We are, after all, a world run by advertisements, by TV, and by everyone else in the media. Why not wind up in the mall with everyone else? Zombies are shown in all their glory, moaning and groaning about. They are as much part of the movies as the humans are, and there's even a bit of humor about them.
But not in the new version. The social message is thrown away, for the most part. Zombies in here are secondary. There's nothing funny about them. But there's plenty of action, and that's what this movie boils down to, an action packed-zombie fest.
So we are really looking at 2 different films here, with the only relationship being is that the humans shut themselves in a mall for safety. The earlier version is more violent & scarier, if a bit more preachy. I also liked the ending of the first one far better then this one. I won't reveal, but it's a distinctive flavor between possible hope and utter despair.
But those looking for a violent zombie action movie can't go wrong with this. It's better then Resident Evil, IMHO.
If you get the DVD, don't miss some of the extras "The Lost Tape: Over 15 Minutes of Terrifying Footage Revealed", where poor Andy shows us in a video his last few days of life.
Now, If your looking for a better 'zombie' type of movie, take a look at '28 days Later'