Molly Grattan Presents: Bring Me the Head of Scott Baio!

3.23.2004
Movie Review: Dawn of the Dead

I was actually pleasantly surprised to find that the remake of Dawn of the Dead fulfilled all of my flesh eating zombie needs. It has everything a good zombie movie should have: main characters that get killed off just as they redeem themselves, Tom Savini as a wise-cracking sheriff's deputy, and a downer of an ending. Oh, and most of all, zombies. Lots and lots of zombies.

Points to quibble about:
1. What's up with that guy who I thought was gay through the whole movie, then they find his camcorder on the boat and he's cavorting with naked women? Oh, I get it, he's a "Metrosexual". The filmmakers are trying to cash in on a fad that was over about 3 months ago. Bad, bad filmmakers. Thirty years from now Steve is going to look as ridiculous as David Emge's giant gull-winged collars in the original do to us today.

2. It's set in Milwaukee and filmed in Toronto? What the hell? If 35 years of zombie movies have taught us anything, it's that when the zombies strike, they will strike in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. End of story.

3. Zombies that run really fast. Eh. I'm willing to not complain too much about this.I'll just pretend that the filmmakers reached back to 1962's Carnival of Souls for their inspiration, rather than that they chose to pander to the MTV-Extreme Sports-Energy Drink crowd.

This review doesn't really fulfill my usual quotient of crankiness, since I actually liked it. So, I will fill up space comparing it to the movie 28 Days Later.

(28 Days Later) Virus unleashed by PETA: Boring.
(Dawn of the Dead, the remake) Loved ones spontaneously turning into zombies for no reason: Scary.

(28DL) Middle section spent taking a leisurely trip through the English countryside: Boring
(DOTD,TR) Middle section spent fighting shopping mall zombies: Scary.

(28DL)Fascist army guys: Lame.
(DOTD,TR) Fascist adolescent mall security guards: Cool.

(28DL) Protagonists escape into the countryside to be rescued by the military: Lame.
(DOTD,TR) Protagonists escape onto island in Lake Huron, only to be eaten by zombies anyway: as it should be.