As compared to the original

Rating: 9/10 (5 April 2004)

From the first 15 minutes of the film, I quickly decided the newly revamped Dawn of the Dead was my new favorite horror film. This feeling carried me to the very last moment of the credit reel. The directorial style and cinematography brilliantly blended new aspects of thriller genre camera work, basic narrative portrayal, and the same kind of old school shots found in the original version of the film. This adaptation picked up the horror where the original version left it more as subplot for the in-your-face down-your-throat satirical attempt at political statement and assult to capitalism and the blossoming consumer market. Don't get me wrong, the political aspects weren't entirely unfounded and were well thought out in some aspects. It was saturated with symbolism and hit on some major discussions of the time. My problem with it was it wasn't about the zombies! If I want political rhetoric, I'll watch an Oliver Stone flick. If I'm watching a movie entitled "Dawn of the Dead" I want zombies. I want ripping and eating and blood and gore and let's not forget fear for lives and too-close-for-comfort escapes.
The new version was full of all the aspects I crave in a good horror film. Suspense, gore, character connection, and those nice little moments where you actually pop up from your seat a bit. Honestly, I must admit I don't know what makes the original a classic but I am surely glad they decided to do the remake. Granted there were a few holes in the plot, moments that you say to yourself, "Why the hell didn't they just do that a couple weeks ago if that was an option?" However, I suppose that's just a constant in the horror genre. If everyone was logical not nearly as many people would be killed, situations could be better averted, and we would have no plot to unfold.