Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Director: Zack Snyder

Starring: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer

A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.

‘Dawn of the Dead’ is a remake of George A. Romero’s 1978 ‘Dawn of the Dead’. With Zack Snyder’s touch, it became the highest grossing zombie film of all time at the time of release, and the first zombie film ever to gross $100 million.

The film is most memorable for the handful of survivors being trapped inside a shopping mall, with hordes of zombies around them. The film revolves around these victims’ survival instinct amidst conflict among them. The performances are very good. The make-up is incredible. And the jump scares aplenty. ‘Dawn of the Dead’ is scary right from the beginning, and continues its trend throughout, until the final moment.

By now we all now how zombie films work. When you’re bitten by a zombie, you become one. I enjoyed the characters being ignorant to this fact. They had no idea what caused people to turn, and having infected survivors among them significantly elevated the suspense. The pregnant woman being bitten shortly before giving birth also added to the suspense.

I enjoyed the characters – even the ‘bad’ ones. Ana (Sarah Polley) and Michael (Jake Weber) were the strongest characters, and the film’s main protagonists. Michael Kelly was the (human) antagonist, CJ, but even he turned out a likable character towards the end.

‘Dawn of the Dead’ is a well made film with a great survival element. This is a top-notch production in every aspect, with an exciting final act. This is by far one of my favourite zombie films.

‘Dawn of the Dead’ earned $102.3 million on a $26 million budget, and received 18 award nominations including Best Horror Film.

Would I watch it again? Yes, definitely.