"OK, I have an idea. We draw straws and the loser runs across the lot with a ham sandwich."

Rating: 6/10 (13 May 2006)

I actually enjoyed Dawn of the Dead more than I thought I would. Not being the biggest fan in the world of the original, I found very little appealing about the thought of watching a remake. While my rating certainly doesn't indicate I thought it was a masterpiece, as a mindless action film, there's plenty to enjoy. Mindless? Shooting zombie after zombie in the head isn't what I would call thought provoking. But the scenes like the one in the sewers where our heroes are being chased by zombies sure is a lot of fun. However, as a horror movie, Dawn of the Dead is a failure. There appears to have been no attempt to create any atmosphere. Other than the scene in the parking garage, I never go that uneasy feeling horror usually produces. The horror that is there is too obvious and lacks subtlety that I find necessary for it to be really effective. Also, as there isn't really much of an attempt to flesh out the characters, it's difficult to care about the predicament they find themselves in.
I've read any number of internet posts on what seems to be an endless debate about fast zombies vs. slow zombies. I actually see advantages and disadvantages to both. I find a slow moving zombie lurking in the shadows to be a far more frightening visage than the Carl Lewis style zombie. On the other hand, the fast moving zombies seem to present more of threat and work better in action sequences. Push come to shove, I suppose I would come down on the side of the slow zombies. The undead in Romero's Night of the Living Dead or Fulci's Zombi 2 work better for me because of their inherent creepiness.