One of the best action/horror films in recent memory

Rating: 8/10 (16 November 2004)

When I first learned that they were doing a remake of George A. Romero's classic film "Dawn of the Dead", I admit I was more than a little skeptical. To many horror aficionados (myself included), DOTD is the holy grail of horror films. I can't help but think of some of the other remakes (or re-imaginings, rather) that fell flat on their face in my opinion, such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Shining (TV). For fear that they would turn the greatest zombie movie of all time into a cross between Dawson's Creek and Valentine, I shied away from watching it until it came out to video. To be honest, the film blew me away.
It begins with a nurse named Ana returning home from work late one evening and she goes to sleep with her husband, which illustrates the stereotypical marriage and suburban lifestyle we have all come to enjoy. The next morning, however their perfect little world gets turned upside down when a little girl who just so happens to be missing half her upper lip viciously attacks her husband. As we all know from zombie flicks of the past, once bitten you become one of the undead as well. The husband soon turns into a zombie and attacks his wife. She flees and finds the entire city in chaos. Shortly thereafter she encounters Kenneth (Ving Rhames) who seems to be the only authority figure left alive. Together they end up in a mall to fend for themselves while awaiting on impending help. There they encounter several other individuals who are just as shocked by what's going on as they are. Little do they know that there is no help on the way.
The plot of the film is pretty rudimentary; living vs. non-living and survival of the fittest. The characters manage to bond inside the mall and entertain themselves with all the goodies that the mall has to offer. In this film there is no underlying social commentary as in its predecessor, but it still has its moments. Of course, a film like this doesn't have much character development and each player is basically a cliché' in themselves, but who watched flicks like this for that anyhow?
One big question on everybody's mind: Is the film scary? In my opinion, yes. There are some very tense moments and the movie is filled with blood and gore. Not quite as harrowing a watch as the original, but with the MPAA there are certain things you just can't do anymore and expect a theatrical release. I won't give away the ending, but it was just a little lame I thought. But that's just me :)
I'll give this movie an 8/10. Excellent horror/action movie. A definite watch if you're a fan of this genre, but not a good decision if you're looking for a movie to romance anybody with :P.