Dawn of the Dead

Year: 2004 Rating: NR Overall Evaluation: 7.0 Significance Suppositions Story Style 8.0 / 10 8.0 / 10 8.0 / 10 5.0 / 10 Click HERE for evaluation criteria.

Style

Please note first off that the version of this film that I evaluated was the unrated director's cut. The theater version was rated R for pervasive strong horror, violence, gore, language, and sexuality. Other than "extra gore and character development" I have not found many explicit statements as to what exactly made up the extra 9 minutes of footage. While I would not normally rate a movie very low for gore, you have to expect such from a zombie genre film and this one really does not have as much as I expected. Your average 80's slasher films are worse. There were some flashes of nudity, one brief sex scene, and a completely gratuitous (and useless story-wise) chainsaw scene that was rather disturbing. Thus the lower score.

Story

The movie concerns the unexplained outbreak of a virus that first kills its victims, then reanimates them as flesh eating zombies (the virus spreads through their bites). A small group of survivors end up hiding out in a local shopping mall - living in the stores and off of the restaurant's food stock. They eventually band together despite their differences to figure out a means of escape.

Suppositions

Well, other than the zombies it's pretty realistic! The characters are very believable, as well as their interactions which is the prime focus of the film.

Significance

This is a remake of the 1978 Romero film that had more of a political feel to it, but this version succeeds in showing the necessity of working together as humans and the difficulties involved as selfish desires are put above the common good. Overcoming evil and sticking together is the positive message of the film and it is portrayed very well. There is even a bit of a Christian message to it - a rather blatant one in fact as one of the main characters sits in front of a TV listening to a preacher explain (calmly and rationally believe it or not) that because America has chosen to kill babies and defile marriage with homosexuality God's judgment is here. The character watching is visibly stunned by this news and it may have been the catalyst for his role reversal from chief bad guy to reluctant hero. Despite the ridiculous theology ("When there's no more room in hell the dead will walk the earth" - Gimme a break.), this is a welcome and refreshing message from those normally accused for promoting such sin.