one of the few horror remakes that may actually exceed the original!

Rating: 9/10 (3 December 2014)

Dawn of the Dead is directed by Zack Snyder, the director/writer of such films as 300, 300: Rise of an Empire, Man of Steel, etc. It is a remake of George Romero's second movie of the same name. There is A LOT to love about Dawn of the Dead. Firstly, it gets into the action right away. The original film spent a decent amount of time developing the characters and the idea of a zombie apocalypse, while this one wastes no time before the terror and suspense begins! It is the same premise as the original movie but rather than making a shot-for-shot remake, this movie actually goes in another direction and works on it's own terms. There are several differences, the main one being that the zombies run and do not follow Romero's rule. While it may not have as much of the human drama that made the original great, it is still a VERY fun time; it is scary, suspenseful, gory, has great action scenes, and a great survival/apocalypse element to it. Another thing I liked is the feeling of isolation. The original film had an element in which there were biker gangs hanging out outside the mall. This evoked a feeling that it is not truly the apocalypse and everybody is surviving in their own ways. That element is not present in this movie, and it has a feeling of isolation and dread that is present in many other great survival/horror movies like the Mist or the Descent. When watching Dawn of the Dead, it is important to view it for what it is worth, zombies, gore, suspense, action, and scares. There is no deeper meaning. There is no political metaphor like in 28 Days Later. If you view it as a straight-up zombie-thriller that you can have a good time with, I guarantee you will enjoy it.