00s Movie Review - Dawn of the Dead

Director: Zack Snyder
Genre: Action/ Drama/ Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 2004
Starring: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer, Jake Weber, Ty Burrell, Michael Kelly, Kevin Zegers, Michael Barry, Lindy Booth, Jayne Eastwood, Boyd Banks, Inna Korobkina, R.D. Reid, Kim Poirier, Matt Frewer, Tom Savini, Ken Foree

Description: A group of survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.

Review: In 1978, George A. Romero created a classic in the horror genre with “Dawn of the Dead”. While American society is collapsing due to the large-scale appearance and multiplication of zombies, four people get stuck in a large shopping mall, surrounded by a large number of living dead. For a while they manage to survive there by using the facilities there, while the building is surrounded by an increasing number of zombies. “Dawn of the Dead” distinguished itself from the bulk of the horror genre by its unique blend of suspense, action, humor, horror, satire and humanity. In that sense, the film remains unsurpassed to this day, and absolutely does not need a remake. The remake, then, is not really a remake, but rather a revision of the original that goes its own way. The question then, of course, is: does it remain a good film?
The film begins with a mini-portrait of the life of nurse Ana, which can be called somewhat monotone and routine. Soon, however, her quiet little life is disrupted by the fact that Ana’s blood-stained neighbor girl sinks her teeth into Ana’s husband, causing him to turn into a zombie as well and then attack Ana. She just barely manages to escape. When she’s outside, she sees that the entire city is in chaos. Buildings are on fire, people are fleeing or being eaten by zombies. The entire country and possible the entire world is in turmoil and dead creatures are roaming everywhere.
The opening titles underscore the chaos in which humans find themselves. Ana meets other survivors and together they decided to hide in a huge shopping mall, trying to survive there.
The zombies in “Dawn of the Dead” are fast and strong and have developed a slight hunting instinct. Partly because of this, the pace of the film is fast too. Other features include the obligatory, clichéd scare moments, which fortunately do no dominate the film and are limited to a modest number. Debuting director Zack Snyder does a great job with the suspense and scare and even added footage during the credits, which give a different spin to the story.
“Dawn of the Dead” manages to keep the tension, which is not hindered by the humor and action that also appears in the film. What is most preserved from the original film, is the humanity. While the zombies surround the mall, all sorts of things are happening inside the mall that barely have anything to do with the threat outside: power games, betrayal, selfishness, cynicism, bravery, compassion, love, you name it. The credibility of the characters allows the viewers to identify with them and experience their fears.
Fear and suspense is therefore what “Dawn of the Dead” delivers, the film is very effective and in that sense a successful horror film. It’s actually one of the best horror film of its decade.

Rating: 4/ 5

Netflix Friday - Volume 35

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: The Equalizer (2014)
A man (Denzel Washington) believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and has dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life, before he meets a young girl (Chlöe Grace Moretz) under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters and can’t stand idly by.
 

Drama: Revolutionary Road (2008)
A young couple (Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet) living in a Connecticut suburb suring the mid- 1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children.
 

Comedy: Office Christmas Party (2016)
When Clay’s (T.J. Miller) uptight CEO sister (Jennifer Aniston) threatens to shut down his branch, the branch manager (Jason Bateman) throws an epic Christmas party in order to land a big client and save the day, but the party gets way out of hand…
 

Animation: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
When the evil spirit Pitch (Jude Law) launches an assault on Earth, the Immortal Guardians team up to protect the innocence of children all around the world.
 

Romance: The Holiday (2006)
Two women (Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet) troubled with guy-problems swap homes in each other’s countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love.
 

Horror: Dawn of the Dead (2006)
Survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.
 

Science Fiction: Inception (2010)
A thief (Leonardo DiCaprio) who steals corporate secrets through the use of dram-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O.
 

Crime: Black Mass (2015)
The true story of Whitey Bulger (Johnny Depp), the brother of a state senator (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.
 

Thriller: Zodiac (2007)
In the late 1960s/ early 1970s, a San Francisco cartoonist (Jake Gyllenhaal) becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
 

Documentary: Evil Genius (2018)
The extraordinary story of the “pizza bomber heist” and the FBI’s investigation into a bizarre collection of suspects.
 

Family: The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
The story of sister and brother, Kate and Teddy Pierce, whose Christmas Eve plans to catch Santa Claus on camera turns into an unexpected journey that most kids could only dream about.

Top 5 Thursday: Movies I Watched for My Challenge (October 2015)

Well, October is the month of Halloween, so I watched lots of horror movies for my challenge. And since I don’t do well with watching them alone, I’m very proud of myself that I managed to stay alive, haha! Here are my five favorite movies I watched for my challenge for the month of October.

5. Dawn of the Dead

I had only seen the remake, that I thought was really good. This one, also very good. I always like zombie movies and I understand why this is a classic.

 

4. Crimson Peak

I read mixed reviews for “Crimson Peak”, but I highly enjoyed the Guillermo del Toro film. Yes, it wasn’t as scary as the trailers led us to believe, but it was beautifully made and had fantastic acting in it. Especially the ladies, with Jessica Chastain as the shining star.

 

 

3. Animal Kingdom

An Australian film that I didn’t hear of until I saw it. It’s an overlooked movie, more people should watch it. It’s a strong film, with good acting. Liked it.

 

 

2. The Evil Dead

What, I never saw “The Evil Dead”. Well, now I did and I loved it. Now I understand why this movie is such a cult hit. It was terrifying and gross, yet funny and very well made. Can’t wait to see the second one, because I haven’t seen that either.

 

 

1. Sicario

I was very excited to see this movie, because I loved director Denis Villeneuve’s movies “Prisoners” and “Enemy”. “Sicario” wasn’t as good, but it was still an amazing film! Emily Blunt is sublime in this movie and the film was captivating from beginning ‘till end.

 

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: Hotel Transylvania, Mastes of Horror – Family

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 134: Dawn of the Dead

Director: George A. Romero

Genre: Action/ Horror

Runtime: 137 minutes

Year: 1978

Starring: Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, David Emge, Gaylen Ross, David Crawford, Tom Savini, George A. Romero, Christine Forrest

Description: Following an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead, two Philadelphia S.W.A.T. team members, a traffic reporter, and his television executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.

Review: After the classic from 1968, “Night of the Living Dead”, where the threatening atmosphere was clearly present, this film is more a combination ofaction and horror. You can already see that in the opening scene. There is not as much threat, but a lot of excitement and nail biting moments.

The story revolves around four people. Their characters don’t really go through a development, but their state of mind changes throughout the movie. Peter and Roger are the cops that are able to take over the mall and lock the zombies out. Peter is the calm and balanced one, Roger is the hot shot. Stephen is the pilot of the helicopter, that makes the trip to the mall possible and all three men see possibilities in making the mall their home. The only one seeing the danger in it is Stephen’s girlfriend Fran (‘You don’t see that it’s a prison too. Let’s just take what we need and keep going’). Her objections aren’t taken seriously though, because of the dangers on the road.

Every zombie movie has a different kind of zombie. “Dawn of the Dead” has zombies without any intelligence, they act on instinct. They don’t look scary, but the amount of zombies is very scary. The cause of all this is never explained, probably because “Night of the Living Dead” already did this.

The movie is a worthy sequel to “Night of the Living Dead”. The combination of horror and action is successful and it will probably entertain the non-horror fans as well. For fans of the zombie genre, it’s a highlight.

Rating: 4/ 5