31 Days of Horror- Day 17: Dawn of the the Dead (2004)

(dir. Zack Snyder)

Universal Pictures

During a zombie outbreak agroup of survivors take refuge in a mall.

Remaking George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead was no small feat. The original 1978 film ushered in a seminal moment in horror, and still stands as the most impactful film within the subgenre that’s second only to Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968.) There have been a surplus of great pieces about Romero and the impact of his zombie films since his passing in July. I debated devoting a space here to one of his entries, but with so much written on him this year I thought the best way to honor him within this space was to look at how his impact inspired the next generation of filmmakers and ushered in a rebirth of the zombie film. Now, it’s easy to take the zombie film for granted, what with the glut of films ranging from good to awful, and The Walking Dead devouring the minds of the binge-watching generation. But in 2004, the space for modern zombie movies was pretty open. 28 Days Later came out in 2002 (despite Danny Boyle’s claim that it isn’t a zombie movie, it most definitely is a zombie movie) and 2004 saw the realease of both Shaun of the Dead and Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead. While Snyder’s film, is well-regarded it isn’t talked about in the same terms as Wright’s or Boyle’s films. Yes, Wright and Boyle's films are more original in their use of the zombies, but I think Snyder’s film really harkens back to the original appeal of these creatures Romero created.

What’s interesting about Dawn of the Dead, is that it shares the voices of both screenwriter, James Gunn, and Zack Snyder. There’s a distinct and sincere humor in the film that obviously paves the way for the tone of James Gunn’s Slither (2006), but there’s also a thematic undercurrent dealing with faith and punishment that feels very much tied to the themes Snyder would later tackle. Dawn of the Dead does enough to separate itself from the original by creating distinct (though ocassioanlly annoying) characters within a diverse cast of characters. Sarah Polley and Jake Weber both make for really strong, and likable leads and I wish we saw them in more horror films. And Ving Rhames, brings fierce passion and heart to his role. One of my favorite running bits throughout the movie is his character communicating with a white board to a gunshop owner the building across from the mall and the friendship that develops between them. While Dawn of the Dead doesn’t handle its consumerism aspect as well as the original, and it doesn’t feel like characters use the mall to its full capacity, the film certainly delivers on the zombie horror. Dawn of the Dead actually makes zombies scary, something we seem to have moved away from, and a birth scene near the end of the second act is perfectly orchestrated in its building tension. The last act, in which our characters try to escape the mall in two buses, is one of the best final acts in a zombie film and it really delivers on the shameless gore these films manage so well.

Scare Factor: 2/5 Dawn of the Dead is an absolutely thrilling experience that still stands as one of the best zombie films of the 21^st century. Snyder and Gunn manage to pay homage to Romero’s original while creating their own beast. There’s a lot that the modern zombie explosion owes to this film, and while we’ve seen better character moments, and greater moments of tragedy, the pure joy found in the viewer experience here has yet to be topped.