Hey folks, Harry here... below you'll find a review of the DAWN OF THE DEAD remake. That being said, the reviewer is someone with great knowledge concerning Zombies and the Zombie world. That being said... I had a wonderful conversation with the director of SHAUN OF THE DEAD today, and ya know - I wish I had a tape recorder - because the hour or so we spent going through zombie films would have made for great transcribing.... though - that vacation through Spaghetti Westerns, history of British Comedies and Mel Brooks was awfully fun too. Personally, that's the film I'm looking forward to. SPACED is brilliant... besides, his Zombies lumber and lumbering zombies rock! Here ya go...
This contains spoliers so…sorry!
Ok, so…after sitting in the theater for the LA premiere of DAWN OF THE DEAD, I allowed my mind to travel back to my first viewing of DAWN at the Gateway Theater in Pittsburgh…home of George Romero.
The two things that struck me IMMEDIATELY upon viewing the original were the groundbreaking make-up effects by Tom Savini, and the finesse of Romero’s vision of an apocalyptic end of the world. As one character puts it so succinctly, “They (the zombies) are us!” It was Romero’s intent to portray the zombie society as a vision of today’s culture and depict how we are “lambs” led to slaughter by the Malls significant “temple of consumerism”. George himself will tell you that many people have read into this, but it was the social commentary that catapulted the original film to such a respected position in movie history.
Now let’s talk about the remake…slick…yes, scary…not really, does it deliver as a zombie movie…sure…BUT IT’S NOT DAWN OF THE DEAD. The saturated look (that changes from scene to scene), sped up camera work and fast moving zombies convey none of what the zombie mythos has established. Now, I’m all for re-imaging these characters…but so much was lost (or discarded haphazardly) that the idea that these are our neighbors and friends turning to consume us is completely gone. It feels like the film-makers got a copy of 28 DAYS LATER and said…”that’s what we should do…that’s what kids today will get!”. Gone are the characters of the zombies themselves established 25 years ago…hare-krishna zombie, nurse zombie, business suit zombie…these guys just look like extras with some fake blood and off the rack clothes thrown on them. Gone are any interaction between humans and zombies aside from 1 or 2 instances…most of them are shot and that’s it…no “screw-driver in the ear” zombie…no “machete zombie”…95% of the time they are shot and fall down. Because they move so fast you never really get what they are…there is no personality in these creatures and we never know why they want to eat you when they could just swarm over you and crush you under their weight.
My biggest complaint is that I felt individually the characters were ok…the quiet, cool cop; the vulnerable yet efficient nurse…but as an ensemble…I never really felt any connection between any of them…and having Sarah Polley shoot the zombie Steve and get satisfaction out of it…that drew as much emotion as the completely wasted Matt Frewer who shows up and dies in the space of 10 minutes…and we’re supposed to feeling something?
It struck me that not once did anyone question what was happening…they just all stand around watching tv without barely even discussing a plan. In the original, you really felt that Roger and Peter were friends…you had seen them in combat together and when Roger dies, you feel it with Peter…this film misses that mark so far that it is more about guessing who is going to die next and how…but not really caring where or when. A blonde character (whose name is never even spoken…but according to IMDB it’s Monica), shows up, fucks Steve (Ty Burrell), and then dies in the planned escape (the best make-up effect in the film) but I really didn’t care cause I didn’t invest in her whatsoever. It also struck me that not once did anyone question what was happening…they just all stand around watching tv without barely even discussing a plan. Voice-overs don’t cut it to explain off the end of the world.
The zombie baby sequence was inevitable… but the one credit I will give this film is that it was handled well (via an effective digital shot).
On the effects note…the zombies (for what we see of them) look great…but lack any personality…or threat for that matter. I also found it interesting that the 2 best received effects (a zombie getting his head blown off and a high wide shot of an exploding propane tank taking out zombies) were accomplished digitally.
In a forced attempt to appease the legion of fans unsure about this remake, the filmmakers threw in cameos by Tom Savini, Scott Reiniger and Ken Foree…but to me they felt like they were there just to get the fans into the theater. It speaks volumes that they even are credited before the main cast. Hearing Ken recite the famous tag line “When there’s no more room in hell…” almost got a laugh. Missing was the moment of our 4 survivors looking over the balcony at what they had fought for and Ken’s voodoo interpretation…now it’s just something to get the audience to cheer (or boo). There was no soul to it at all. And the in jokes…a store called GAYLEN ROSS…come on…is that the best you could do?
I am always up for a good horror film, and the anticipation of the movie-going experience…and this definitely blows RESIDENT EVIL out of the water, but doesn’t hold a candle to 28 DAYS LATER…which in my opinion is a true “re-imagining”. Maybe this should just be called ANOTHER 28 DAYS LATER.
Call me S. Andrews, GON traffic
