A genuinely scary movie, and a lot of fun. Run, zombies, run!

Rating: 9/10 (29 December 2004)

Having missed this film in theaters, I have only the Director's Cut DVD to go by, but I must say "WOW!" Snyder and Gunn's adaptation of George Romero's 1978 zombie thriller is a nonstop roller coaster of suspense, despair and horrific thrills. This film gives the audience a scant five minutes or so to get comfortable in their seats, and then sends them rocketing through a story in which you must ask yourself, "What would I do if the end of the human race seemed to be upon me?" You will see so many basic human emotions in the face of such an unimaginable tragedy: shock, denial, acceptance, sorrow and anger. You will constantly put yourself in the characters' places and ask what you would have done differently. You will marvel at their instinct for survival, applaud them when they succeed and feel the frustration when they fail. One of the more controversial topics of discussion in regards to this movie is the swift physical capabilities of the zombies. This is a stroke of genius in the making of this film, however. When you've seen zombie movies in the past, you've often watched as the zombies s-l-o-w-l-y stagger towards their prey, often dragging a leg behind and reaching them only because the character ran away screaming, yet continuously turns to look back, and finally trips on...nothing? I for one was never impressed. That was never scary, it was disappointing. When the zombies are constantly running towards everyone they see with only the maniacal urge to kill, however, it becomes a seriously frightening concept. How do you defend yourself against groups of dead people who feel no pain, have no fear, experience no fatigue and move as fast as you can? I highly recommend this film for it's action, it's shock value and it's ability to portray the basic instinct of human preservation. It may not win an Academy Award, but this is one fantastic thriller for the 21st Century.