Dawn of the Dead (1978)


Synopsis: The story begins with a joint police and National Guard task force laying siege to an apartment building in the projects. Inside the tenants are refusing to give up their reanimated friends and family. It is here we are introduced to two of the four main characters Peter and Roger. They are members of the police SWAT team that is participating on the assault. Peter and Roger meet up in the basement of the building in what is the first of many disturbing scenes. Roger offers Peter a seat on the helicopter that his friend Stephen is going to use to flee the city. They meet up with Stephen and his girlfriend Fran and together they flee the city in the helicopter. Eventually they have to land, and choose to do so on the roof of a mall. Quickly it is decided that they will take the mall and hold up there. They settle into the good life in their new home, until that is a roving band of bikers show up to loot the place.

The Good: Where to start? Well to begin with you have characters that are well defined and well portrayed by a very talented group of actors. I am especially impressed by the job the Ken Foree does in the role of Peter. The result of this is that you begin to really care about the characters and what their fates are. This gives the film an added depth that many of the knock off zombie films lack. In addition to that are the special effects that Tom Savini provides for the film. You have to remember that this movie was shot nearly 30 years ago and that the effects are all done on set. There was no CGI available to them and that caused them to be creative. The fact that they hold up well as they do is a testament to the artistry involved here. Finally the last thing that I would like to comment on is the social commentary that Romero inserted into Dawn of the Dead. It is subtle and doesn’t distract from the film, but in fact actually adds depth to the movie.

The Bad: The only negative that I can think of involves the makeup on the zombies. The makeup effects on many of the lead zombies are amazing, and some of the specific effect shots are great as well. But the fact that the majority of the zombies are basically actors in costume wearing blue makeup can be distracting to some. This of course was the result of time and money constraints, not due to a lack of effort or talent.

The Score: 4 out of 4

This is an absolute classic of the genre. If you want to be picky about the blue-faced zombies then in my opinion you just don’t get it. If you haven’t seen this film then you don’t have a clue about zombie films, or what a horror film can be. Go purchase this film now! I suppose I should also admit that I’m a huge George Romero nerd. ☺

Feel free to contact me at horrorfanreview@aol.com