Unexpectedly Great

Rating: 10/10 (21 March 2006)

Since seeing the original Dawn Of The Dead as a teen back in 1992, I was definitely pumped about seeing the new DOTD as soon as it came out. Of course, "remake" is basically the kiss of death when it comes to getting fair and unbiased reviews before the movie comes out, especially when such a genre-defining film such as DOTD is remade. So I hoped against hope that my dreams of seeing a modernized DOTD that was worth seeing would materialize. Did it ever!! I entered the theater on March 21, 2004 (by myself as my girlfriend would have nothing to do with it) with great anticipation. Strangely enough, I was one of maybe a dozen or so people in the theater (which makes sense as I went about 2:30pm on a weekday) and got comfortable. The first ten minutes was among the scariest and best openings of a movie that I have ever seen. It was simply a rush to see the world go completely insane so quickly. The opening theme song ("The Man Comes Around" by the late, great Johnny Cash) was perfect in setting the mood of hopelessness. For me, the tension and the action did not let up until the end credits (and if you've seen this movie, there is still plenty going on during the credits as well). The fast-moving zombies and the sheer numbers of them, especially during the end "escape" really was great, too. I was also pleased that this film did not resort to the now Hollywood-cliché of computer-generated every thing. There are some (not many) spots where CG was used (most notably during the escape where there appears to be about 100,000 zombies in the mall parking lot attacking the shuttle buses. About my only complaint is that I wish there was more of a lead-in (as well as action) of getting into the mall as there was in the 1978 original. However, I came away very satisfied and hoping for a sequel to this fine horror film.