This dawn is no yawn

Rating: 8/10 (27 March 2004)

DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004) is one of the best remakes or re-envisioning of a classic film. Actually this is not a remake at all, everything is different expect for the title and the whole mall idea. While I am a huge fan of the original and I believe that it is stupid and a waste of time to revisit an old idea, I found this film to be better then the original concept. I can't imagine what it would be like if something like this were to happen in `real' life. I'm happy that this hasn't happened yet, but it is quite an experience watching it happen to a group of characters. When I first heard that there was going to be another film called Dawn of the Dead, I was hoping that it was not going to be in any way connected to the one that I have seen a million times. I mean if you saw the remake of the original Night of the Living Dead, then you may know what I'm talking abouttalk about a waste of time, that was one of the worst films I have ever seen. But back to the new Dead, I saw the first ten minutes of the film air on the USA network a couple of days ago and from then on I was hooked. It stopped right after the main character Ana crashes her car into a tree. Sitting in the theater I couldn't wait for that to finish so I could see the rest of the film. Believe me I was not let down, I think that this is an awesome movie filled with some great scares and a few laughs. So many times horror films lose steam half way through the film, but Dawn only built up steam. From the first ten minutes one can get a sense that this is going to be a fast paced film, and see that there is not going to be much time to breath. I also found all of the characters to be very interesting, although I thought there were a few too many characters. In the original there are four people who must survive, but in the remake there are a lot more people that we have to watch out for. Many of them were just there to stand in the back, and were cause for a great death scene.
After a hard day's work the only thing that Ana wanted was some r and r, but what she got was a whole different story. The film takes us on a wild ride in the lives of a group of strangers who come together to fight for their lives. After awaking to a horrifying sight, Ana must escape from the man that she has come to know and love. Soon Ana finds herself with of group of other desperate strangers who take refugee in a near by shopping mall. Inside the mall the meet three security guards and take in a rig full of helpless outsiders looking for a safe base. Inside the mall they keep out the living dead and try to go on with their lives while waiting for help. As everyone one knows that all good things must come to an end, so the group which has been downsized, decide to escape the mall and travel to an island where they can rebuild their broken lives. Now with a plan in hand a small group of the living must outsmart a large group of the dead.

Usually in most horror films there are up and coming actors (who can't act scared if a zombie bit them in the ass) who are living in their fifteen minutes of fame. Rarely do we get the treat of watching a group of talented actors scream their way through a film, well in this fright fest we are exposed to a group of very talented actors. Playing Ana, Sarah Polley delivers a strong performance playing an even stronger character. Her mix of rage and beauty helps her to take charge of the screen. Ving Rhames, whom I believe to be one of the most underrated actors, take charge in this film. He is an amazing actor and turns in another solid performance. Jake Weber and Mekhi Phifer play too very different characters and are very believable in their roles. Kevin Zegers and Lindy Booth, who are reuniting a second time on screen after their small roles in another excellent horror film WRONG TURN, play their characters in unique ways. For Zegers, who has few lines, he is very demanding when he is one screen and Booth, plays the helpless girl to a tee. While all of the other actors deserve to be mentioned I think that by saying they all do an excellent job is fair enough, because many times audiences are not paying attention to the performances the actors are giving anyway.
Dawn of the Dead truly is a film worth seeing. There are good performances, a solid recreation of a classic, an awesome score, many scares, and even a few laughs. If you haven't seen it go see it right now stop reading get in your car and goif not for anything else go to at least check out the ending. Dawn has one of the best endings to a horror movie that I have seen in a long time it is scary and original. I am going to give Dawn of the Dead 3.7 stars out of 4 and an A-!