An impressive debut film.

Rating: Null/10 (19 October 2004)

Hm, where do I begin. I guess I'll have to start from the beginning, eh?
***MILD SPOILERS AHEAD***
I remember reading something on IMDb on a Dawn Of The Dead remake somewhere last year I think. I clicked it, but no info was available yet, only the trailer. It didn't surprise me that I was thinking that this was going to be another flash-bang Hollywood stinker. (This movie may contain some Hollywood trademarks, but it's separate from the majority of crap).
Boy, was I wrong. There was something about that trailer, especially the shot where Ana runs towards her car and sees the undead running across the street. That particularly shot sent shivers down my spine. The sound in that shot is slightly different in the actual movie, but that doesn't rob it from it's shock value.
From that moment on, that movie was going to make me a Snyder fan.
The week before the movie was going to be released, I was on a mission to find theaters where they would actually play this movie. Because I was concerned that it would play for only a week or so. And I was right pretty much, it disappeared out of theaters in less than a month. So I had to be quickly and race down to a theatre to see it day first.
And I even didn't give a f**k that I had to see it without any company. I had to see this.
The movie pretty much punches you in the back of your head from the first minutes, and doesn't stop until the very last seconds of the ending credits (the credits are VERY important, so don't flip it off when the story ends). You know, when the story immediately kicks in (no bullshit, just the story), that you are seeing a young and motivated director's film and tries to develop his own style (the amount of top shots for example).
What really got me convinced that I had made the right choice seeing this movie is, were the opening credits. An incredible job in editing stock footage with actual shot footage and Johnny Cash's 'The Man Comes Around'. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and wouldn't go down.
From that moment on, you're in for a ride...
Just enough character development to care about some of 'em and the amazing direction by Snyder. The decision to make the undead (I use the word 'undead' as the word 'zombie' isn't mentioned at ALL in the entire movie) run as fast as hell has proved to be a major plus. OK, slow zombies may be scary as s**t, but when they come after you like lightning, you're not even given the moment to p**s your pants. Because when you finally have, they are already chomping on your guts. How's that for a change, huh?
The amount of gore they put into this pic, is not for the faint of heart. A lot of blood here, a whole lot! But hey, it's a fast and dynamic film, why not give the audience something they are craving for in an 'undead' flick: guts 'n' gore.
I don't know if the 'light' moments in the film are suitable, but it gives the people some laughs before they get dragged in to the horror and action again (Andy is a great side character, whose ending is pretty graphic).
I can't think of much that I disliked about this movie. It wasn't a masterpiece, but it was a great breath of fresh air after the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, who lost all of it's shock value.
Oh yeah, the extras on the DVD are top notch. This is what I call extra's, more story development (Andy's last days and 'We interrupt this program') and just enough 'making of' stuff to keep you interested. You should definitely listen to the director's comment by director Zack Snyder and a producer (his name I just forgot, there were eight producers or something like that).
One of the best remakes to grace the silver screen. Good job!