When there's no more room in hell...the zombie fun moves to earth!

Rating: 8/10 (5 July 2004)

Now, THIS is a remake worth watching! Director Zack Snyder proves here that nowadays remakes don't necessarily have to be uninspired, overbudgetted productions meant only to make money at the expense of the original films. George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead was awfully close to being perfectAnd Snyder seems to realize this too! He didn't try to add (or change) anything to the substance of the film, but merely focuses on disgusting and amusing the audience. Respectively with filthy prosthetic make-up effects and some of the blackest humor you'll ever see. Without any explanation or logical cause, the dead are raised overnight. The reanimated corpses attack the living and once you're infectedyou become a zombie as well (notice that this word isn't used once in the movie, though). A group of survivors gather in the local mall and watch the place getting surrounded by an endless army of the bloodthirsty undead. At first, the remaining hillbillies keep themselves entertained by playing wicked games (shoot that Jay Leno look-alike!!) but soon the situation becomes more and more cul-de-sac and the growing internal intrigues result in dramatic, needless bloodshed.
The atmosphere in Dawn of the Dead is light-headed, but Zack Snyder never really loses that brilliant apocalyptic touch. The feeling of hopelessness is upheld constantly and even wonderfully stressed by Johnny Cash' great song 'When the man comes around'. The film is filled with great references towards Romero's original, with the appearances of the original cast members as an absolute highlight. Initial zombie warriors Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger and Tom Savini all star briefly in this new version of Dawn. The main actors are worth praising as well. Ving Rhames was a great casting choice and the beautiful Sarah Polley impresses as the female lead. Snyder's style of film-making is loud and volatile, but it never becomes too irritant or boisterous. You can see his roots lie in shooting ads and commercials but he's obviously talented and capable of doing more. A comment I've heard a few times already is that this remake outshines the original. Of course it does NOT! Frankly, if you share this opinion you haven't got the slightest idea what the original stands for as a horror film. But it is terrific entertainment, for sure. I saw Dawn twice in the cinema already and I can't wait to buy it on DVD. Highly recommended horror fun!