*** Official DAWN OF THE DEAD Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[John Geelan]

One thing that struck me is at one point our Survivors are out on the roof of the Mall and see a large Heli fly by obviously Military.

Wierd that that Chopper deosn't even acknowledge them and just flies off never to be seen again. In fact everytime they go on the Roof which is often, there is no sign of any Rescue or Military.

You wonder if this incident is local or National? The movie doesn't make that clear.

Also the Survivors just take the absence of TV News without much worry. I would have been searching thru the channels for CNN/BBC or looking for a shortwave Radio somewhere in that Mall. I would have been interested if there were other Survivors hold up somewhere else.

They kind of leave the Mall too soon (they was no reason to evacuate that fast) and go blindly looking for Paradise on some Island.

btw....does the ending mean that there was no hope at all. They don't seem to find that elusive Island at all. In fact it looked like they were turning on each other. Very creepy ending.

 

[Robert Anthony]

John--

the question is if they got back on the boat. We can't really tell--because the camera was dropped the instant the first few shotgun blasts went off.

It's bleak as hell, but it's not TOTALLY hopeless.

 

[Patrick Soucy]

If they return to the boat, they will die anyway. Eating worms is not very good and not very nutritive

 

[Robin Warren]

You wonder if this incident is local or National? The movie doesn't make that clear.


I thought it was national, as it appeared that the President got jumped at one point. I think the military had bigger things on their plate than 8 - 12 survivors holed up in a mall.

 

[Robert Anthony]

Patrick:

they could fish. Yeah, chances are, they're going to die--but so were Foree and Ross, especially taking into consideration how Day of the Dead starts, with humans outnumbered 400,000 to 1

 

[chris winters]

my turn to chime in. I really liked this movie. The fast moving zombies were actually scary. There ferocious. They are not a comment on society, they are not used to show that we as humans are actually our own worst enemy, they are actually threatening and scary. They hiss and nash their teeth and Personally thats how I prefer my zombies, actually scary, and when I want my political commentary Ill switch over to the Daily Show. The main complaints poeple have with this movie seem to be style choices, and I'll defend every one of those. This is not and underground/indy picture. Its glossy and has money behind it. That alone is a deal breaker for some, but not me. The choppy editing, of which there really wasnt much, was used to great effect and was very artistic. Some of the most creative opening and ending titles and credits ive seen in quite awhile. Not overly flashy just perfect for the movie they are enhancing. It reminded me of the trailer awhile back that broke the 4th wall and had the zombies coming through the screen. Its a bit darring and well done. These graphics are in that vein and I was impressed. Some will hate this outright on concept alone, but that isnt fair. It felt eirie, and desolate and frantic, just what you want the graphics to convey. Much of the story is told without the jump cut editing, Its simply professional done without flash. Its hard for me to believe that anyone would complain about the camera work here as compared to the origional. The origional dawn has many great qualities that make it a classic, but i wouldnt put camera work as one of them. This story was professional told, with camera moves and compisitions that were for the most part effective. Nothing extraordinary, but far from anthing objectionable. The script was also strong. One of my pet peeves is of course the characters acting in an obviously stupid manner to advance the plot, and create unnessisary action. Was there any of that in this, yes, but nothing that ruined it for me. a couple instances were.

when they drive the modified buses too fast, almost begging to crash. take it slow guys. the zombies can't get in, and drive carefully. youll get there. maybe like 25mph, no need to invite disaster by going 50 mph


or

when the new survivors join them and the one lady is clearly a zombie waiting to happen. She already looks dead, and the main nurse character wants to treat her as if she just has the flu. Maybe she is in denial and doesnt fully understand the situation just yet, but it seemed a bit dense to me.


The movie ultimately worked bacuase it was just fun, and scary, and grim, and for the most part serious. It was not hip, it wasnt ironic, it wasnt full of the left over cast from the O.C. and you truly didnt know who would live and die. In fact we might still not know even after seeing the movie. Another complaint is the character shift of the main security guard. I loved this guy. He felt real, and sympathetic, and written with some nuance. I have known many a guy like that when I worked in a low end jobs in highschool. Guys like him are white trash, theres no denying it. But only becuase of circumstance, and not becuase of any innate character flaw. He grew up with white lower class culture, but is actually a pretty stand up, tough, you can count on him kinda guy. Within his own universe hes recognised for these qualities and hes an alpha male, but when the situation forces his universe to get tangled up with people he would never have socialized with in normal life, he feels out of his league. hes gets deffensive, and a bit scared. he's undereducated, and somtimes a dufus. he probaly likes country rock, or AC/DC and maybe fishing and NASCAR. he probably drives some sort of modifed pick-up or muscle car. Is he somtimes an asshole, yes, is he somtimes stubborn and full of macho bluster, yes, but he also makes good decisions, and acts bravely and intelligently when the immediate situation calls for it. he is not a racsist, or a sexist, but maybe seems so somtimes when he postures, and he maybe picked on you a bit when you both had gym class together in middle school. When he evetually comes around he is not changing his character, and shows no traits he didnt have from day one. hes just loosening up and getting comfortable with the new people around him. It does show weeks go by after all. Its not like this happened overnight. Hes loyal to his buds, and these new folks are now his buds. hes a survivor. I felt equally affectionate for the ving rhames character, he commands the screen. He doesnt have to say anything, and represents visually on screen with no make-up or dialogue what the movie the hulk should have conveyed with its over 100million dollars of budget and CGI flash. Hes just plain formadable, and you know he could kick your ass whether you spent a year trainig to take him or not. The father to be guy, and the other main white hero were effective as well. They were all fairly nicely drawn and nuanced for the movie they were in. The 2 lesser boyfriend/girlfriend character may be less so, but thats a small quibble. This movie will make a ton of money and we will most likely be treated to a sequal. this idea will give some here nightmares, but I welcome it, and If its any consolation it will probably help Romero finally get financing for his next dead movie. The audience I saw it with was so into it, it felt almost staged. they were gasping and laughing and hooting. At the end they applauded, and everyone was totally keyed up. And the theater was packed. The movie was genuinly decent. the opening scenes with the neiborhood are also really effective. Anyway Ive written enough for now, But I would give the movie 3.25 out of 4 stars.

 

[John Geelan]

another thing....that boat ride at the end....wouldn't that be Lake Michigan that they escape on?

for maggots to end up in your food would take a month....how long were they stuck on that boat?

you'd think they would find a place to re-supply somehwere along the Lake.

this all does lead up to a killer Day Of The Dead sequel though....very thought provoking.

and yes, that did look like the White House in one of the TV clips in the Mall.

 

[Marvin Richardson]

What exactly would have been the point of making it like the original? Why not just watch the original?
Great movie, much better than the terrible 28 Days Later. That was one of the most overhyped pathetic excuses for a movie I've seen. I wasn't expecting much out of this, but it was certainly enjoyable. Funny, scary and exciting. It wasn't better or worse than the original, just different.

 

[Ray_Gootz]

I'm not saying to exactly re-make the orginal. I just want the same feel that Dawn had. The quick cutting and the breif news clips didn't give me a sense of everything ending. It felt like a Rob Zomibe video. The only scene where I felt the world was ending was the overhead shot of the nurse driving through town. I want the apolcolse in my face and laid out for all to see. The quick news clips and fast editing take it out of relaity and make it feel like a fancy music video. It santizes the carnage which is boring! You know why for the last 14 years Horror has been in a decline? It's because all throughout the 70's and the 80's horror films would shove the gore and th violence in your face, it's have people ripped apart on films. It'd go for the jugualr. The great thing about the orginal Dawn is that it goes for the jugular and maintains an adventure comic-book feel that no Horrro Movie has ever duplicated. But my point since the early 90's horror has been less about substance and more about style. Movies like blair Witch, Scream, they try to santize the violence, they try camera tricks and more to hide the horror and guess what? In thel ong-run it dosen't work. Someone said Romero's camerawork sucked in the orginal. No it's better in the orginal because it stays on the action. It stays with the shot. It shows the head getting cut off. it dosen't jump all over the place. Horror films need to grow their balls back. No more camera tricks. No more zombie films with fake zombies. No more santized Van Hesling bullshit. you get Romero the mnoey he needs and let him loose on a zombie film. Then you'll see what Horrror has been missing.

 

[Terry Flink]

I, too, was not pleased with the idea only those bitten by zombies become zombies. Then I thought back to the original DotD and don't recall anyone but those bitten coming back. Peter shoots the renegade SWAT guy in the back through the chest and no effort is made to follow through with a head shot. Even in Day of the Dead when the "Dr. Frankenstein" is killed, he is shot several times in the chest (no head shot that I can see) and left in the cooler never to return as a zombie. I wonder if I have assumed all these years incorrectly that ALL of the dead return?

 

[Romier S]

They never did as far as I can remember. I just watched the original two days ago and the same rules seem to apply in the first film. You must be bitten to turn, not just die. Afterall the zombies have to eat something The already dead seems like good food to me. If I'm wrong on this point feel free to correct me....

 

[Ray_Gootz]

Romier-
No it's not my memory playing tricks on me.I watch 70's and 80's horror films all the time and still love them.

Terry-
Not so. If you watch The orginal Night the little girl who dies naturly comes back as a zombie, Barbra's Brother dies from a headshot and comes back as a zombie. Even the mother who's stabbed to death comes back as a zombie. It just makes for better drama. The villan shoots one of the heroes thinking he won't come back and two minutes later the zombie is chowing down on some bad guy ass. it's much more fun. And for your Dawn and Day examples I've always assumed they became zombies off-screen. Both of those murders were done irationally so maybe that's why no one aimed for the head.

 

[John Geelan]

the tag line "When Hell becomes Full, the Dead will walk the Earth" seems to have always indicated that all the Dead would rise from their graves but thats really not true in the Dawn Of The Dead movies.

Both "Return Of The Living Dead" and "Zombie" do have bodies rising from the grave.

Hence the confusion!

So Dawn Of The Dead movies are closer in relationship to Romero's "The Crazies" than other Zombie flicks.
Some kind of entity whether it be Radiation or a Blood Disease is causing people to die then reanimate.

**one thing I wonder, what happens after all the humans are gone and only "zombies" exist? How long can "zombies" live without human nourishment?

 

[Romier S]

You totally missed my point but thats ok. I know you still love them but my curiosity lies in finding exactly how felt the remake was less visceral than those movies you loved? The news edited footage was a very very small part of the remake and was sprinkled here and there while the majority of the film was right in your face the whole time with the violence.

Your other point about the film not feeling as "epic" as the original I disagree on but its ok to agree to disagree on that one.

 

[Adam Tyner]

This is answered in Day of the Dead, though its logic may not apply to other zombie flicks.

 

[Gavin_L]

good movie, it was very nice and entertaining....

one thing about the end
Thought I remember one of the characters saying that the island did have a few people on it, so anyways I would think they would be expecting possible zombies when they pulled up to the dock at the end. The ending was left open, but who knows. Guess we will find out more on the future dvd release

 

[Patrick Sun]

There's a decent video game to be found in this film (if there's not a video game out for it already) in the way the human were shooting the hell out of the zombies.

 

[Ryan Wishton]

Well, looks like more horror remakes will be put into production...

I wonder what the next one will be???

Halloween maybe???

I mean the series is so screwed up already I wouldnt think it would be possible to make it any worse...

 

[Romier S]

Already in the planning stages supposedly. By John Carpeneter's own hand too (that was the last rumor I had read on the issue. News has been quiet on that front for a good while though).

 

[Robert Anthony]

Yunno--that's true--but ONLY in Night of the Living Dead. And I think Romero actually tried to come up with a reason for WHY that was happening in that town.

Thing is, in both Dawn and Day, people just normally killed did NOT rise back up.

I think location is the key. In Romero's Zombieverse, ground zero is that little farm community in Pennsylvania. The radiation-satellite whatevermathingy is what CAUSED The dead to come back to life in that area. But it only affected THAT area. It wasn't a worldwide thing at that point, not at all--it only affected that small town. Thing is, these undead are now communicable. And by the time we get to Dawn of the Dead--they HAVE spread. We are left to infer that they took over that town, and the town next to it, and the town next to it, and made their way across america, and fast.

Because of the evidence in both Dawn and Day that the regular dead (i.e. not bitten) do NOT rise back up--this is the only scenario that seems to make sense to me. And this new movie seems to fit very seamlessly into that as well.