 Copyright 1978 MPAA Rating: Varies depending on version. The version reviewed is the Unrated Director's Cut. STARRING: David Emge .... Stephen Andrews Ken Foree .... Peter Washington Scott H. Reiniger .... Roger DeMarco Gaylen Ross .... Francine Parker Tom Savini .... Motorcycle Raider (blades) DIRECTED BY: George A. Romero REVIEW Once when I was fairly young and basically uninitiated in the ways of horror, I walked from my house to the local video store with the intention of bringing back a video that would give me nightmares. This would be no small feat as I was already well on my way towards becoming the fearless, jaded horror veteran I am today. I browsed the horror section for a good long time, and finally narrowed my choices down to two films, unfortunately I only had the cash for one, and so I had to choose. Those two films were Neil Jordan's In the Company of Wolves and George Romero's Dawn of the Dead. I left the video store that day, confident that I had made the right decision. I hadn't. I left Dawn of the Dead sitting on the shelf. What a fool I was in my youth. It would be a few years yet before I would see Dawn of the Dead, I actually bought a copy of it before I saw it, but it wound up being money well spent. From the very beginning of the film I knew I had found across something special. The sequel to 1969's groundbreaking Night of the Living Dead picks up in a television studio broadcasting the catastrophic news; the dead are returning to 'life' and attacking the living. The film's protagonists Steven, Fran, Roger and Peter steal a helicopter and attempt to escape the madness. They take up refuge in an abandoned shopping mall, [in one of the films many delicious social comments Fran asks Steven what brought all the zombies to the mall to which he replies, "memory. This was an important place in their lives."] In fact the entire film is splattered with almost as much social commentary as it is gore. The zombies wandering aimlessly through a mall, fiddling with things like jewelry, electronics and even firearms always with a blank, unknowing expression painted on their faces is a clear satire of the consumer-driven mentality that has been prevalent since the time of this film's release. Anyway, back to the plot. It seems that our hero's have found a post-apocalyptic Utopia in the Munroeville mall until unrest begins to settle in. This film does a magnificent job of mixing its horror elements with dramatic, realistic character interaction. The zombies are incredibly effective; they are horrific, comic and even forgotten for a time only to re-emerge more a threat than ever before. With make-up effects by the now legendary Tom Savini they are masterfully realized. The plain blue make-up that serves for the majority of the zombies is comical at first, but when there are dozens of zombies on screen, all with the same blue pallor and that great vacant stare, the effect can be fairly chilling. As always Savini really shines with the gore. There is any number of memorable gore scenes from this film and while none of them are hyper-realistic, the almost comic-book style in which they are done fits perfectly with the tone of the film. What I see as one of the film's strongest points is its character development. The acting will never win any awards, but it is done in a way that while not realistic, is very effective. There is no over or under acting in the cases of the main characters, the actors have genuine talent, it appears that it just hasn't developed fully, as such, it's a real shame that none of the actors had anything major after this film [with the possible exception of Ken (Peter) Foree who landed a series of minor roles in a fairly large number of films and television shows.] Writer/director George Romero cares about the characters, and through his careful direction he makes the viewer care about them as well. We are privy to all the little details in their lives; we see the gradual changes in their personalities and the toll their situation takes on their psychological well-being. We are made to empathize with the characters and their challenges and losses become our own. As I sit here re-reading this review, I can't help but feel as though everything that I have said has been said many times before, but that is to be expected with a film such as this. This is not only one of my favorite horror films of all time, but one of my favorite films period. As a final note, I have seen only two versions of Dawn of the Dead, the normal North American release and the Director's Cut, a two-tape version which I amazingly found for $10 at a local pawn shop. The normal North American release is phenomenal but the Director's Cut is even better. It restores a couple of scenes that help progress the story, further the character development and provide us horror fans with more gore! If at all possible, find the Director's Cut. You will not be disappointed. PIG RATINGS! [each rating is on a scale of 1 through 10.] GORE - 9.6 SENSELESS VIOLENCE - 9.6 HUMAN CRUSHING FACTOR - 9.8 FUN - 9.0 OVERALL [not an average] - 9.3 |