Horror Movie Reviews: Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Director: George A. Romero
Starring: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, Gaylen Ross
IMDB: 8.1
RT: 95
Box Office: $55 Million (Worldwide)

Summary-

Four people take refuge in a mall during a zombie apocalypse. They clean it out of zombies but eventually must defend it from armed people as well.





REVIEW (SPOILERS!)-

I have always heard that this is the greatest zombie film of all time. Since I have been in the mood for zombie films I decided to finally give it a watch last night. While I did enjoy the film, I do think it has been a bit over-hyped.    

The film opens in a news studio as reports are coming in about the zombies. They are trying to provide information to their viewers but people are starting to take off. We are introduced to Stephen and Francine as they plan to get out by using the traffic helicopter. Then we are introduced to Roger and Peter who are police officers and are trying to clean out people in a housing project. This is when you get your first glimpse of the zombies as the police have to battle some of them. It's hard to go from watching modern zombie films to this because the production quality is so different. The zombies have a blue skin tone and just look really fake overall. Initially I did not like it but eventually  I was won over by how campy it was. There are some pretty cheesy/over the top actors and some funny special effects right away. Roger and Pete decide they are going to get out before the zombie outbreak gets worse and they go to meet Stephen and Francine at the helicopter. They take off in the helicopter and just keep moving without any real plan until they find the mall.

Don't point a gun at me!

Once they get to the mall the film really starts to get interesting. This is also the portion of the film that has the most social commentary (all about consumerism). They find a way into the mall and hide in a storage area at first. They soon decide they want to go down into the mall and check out what is in the stores. This is probably the most fun part of the film as Roger and Peter have a blast go through the department store and get the things they want. They are able to avoid the zombies and get the supplies, they are also able to form a plan about how to survive here. The zombies seem fairly easy to manage if you keep them in small enough numbers. Things change when they attempt to put trucks in front of the entrances to the mall. Roger is bitten and you see the slow process of him turning into a zombie. Before he dies they are able to finish killing all of the zombies in the mall and secure it.

   
Up until Roger turns into a zombie, things seem like they can be okay. It seems like they can make a life in this mall but it quickly changes. Another group of survivors (led by horror legend Tom Savini) finds the mall and storms into it with guns blazing. They let all of the zombies back into the mall and pretty much everything goes to hell.

Final Thoughts-

I see why people like this as it is a poignant social commentary, a cool story, has some memorable moments and is pretty campy. That being said I did not find it to be all that scary. I think its an important film to watch for fans of the genre but it definitely isn't one of my favorites.

MY RATING-

3.5 out of 5

-Chris "Da Franchize" Hart