Well, I just got back from seein’ the film in question.
It’s not bad.
In fact, it’s actually pretty good.
It is not, however, quite as good as the original.
It’s actually better, in some ways – the original, while a classic, looks more’n a bit dated, as I mentioned above. The new one is as new as yesterday’s paper, complete with latte, cell phones, and up-to-the-minute cable news. The makeup is quite good, as are the special effects.
My main concern was that we would just be in for a rapid-fire zombie shoot, lotsa guns ablazin’, lotsa zombies jiggin’, rock-rock-rock nonstop! and no time for characterization, plot, or people. I was very much afraid our live protagonists were around largely so we could marvel at the creative ways they got ripped apart.
Instead of your archtypical “spam in a cabin” movie, I figured we might well be in for “spam in a mall.” But, no, it’s not that bad. The actors are very good, and there are some surprisingly subtle scenes. We get time to wonder. We get time to think. We get time to fear. This movie does its damndest to live up to the original, I will give it that.
It doesn’t quite make it… but it’s a heroic effort, and it is not a bad movie.
The original *Dawn Of The Dead * is a classic film that satirizes consumerism and society and operates on a variety of levels including that of horror monster movie, and even black comedy, in some parts.
The remake of *Dawn Of The Dead * is a pretty good horror monster movie, and makes a stab, here and there, at being something more.
I get the impression maybe it could have been more, too. The original ran more than two hours. This version runs ninety-six minutes. In fact, I found myself wondering if the director’s cut was longer, but the studios said, “No, cut it down to an hour and a half; we wanna maximize the number of showings we get out of it.” If it had had a little more time to work with – preferably time in which to get to know our characters – it could have been REALLY good. The actors are up to it, and I think the writers and director were, too. They certainly did a lot with what they had.
…but it happens a bit quick. The original gave the impression that months came and went while our four heroes are holed up in that mall. This version feels like maybe a couple, three weeks, at most. It feels rushed. And I agree that we don’t get enough time to get to know some of our characters. I really find myself wondering if there’s a directors-cut DVD in the works, because some of these characters really feel like they got the short end of the stick… like the actors really got to develop them in other scenes which, for some reason, are not in the theatrical cut of the film… and that’s a shame.
But I liked it, and I’m a Romero zombie fan from way back. It’s not bad, and it’s a halfway worthy addition to the pantheon. It’s way better than nearly all of the Italian zombie movies. It’s well worth your time, if you’re lookin’ for a good horror monster movie, or you’re a zombie fan. It is more’n a little gory, though, so think twice before bringing a date.
There were a few things that bugged me, and I’m gonna box 'em. Read at your own risk.
[spoiler]*Zombies eat NOTHING except fresh human meat. In the other versions, they’d eat mice, bugs, and anything else they could catch. In this version, they ignore EVERYTHING except living humans. WTF is up with that?
*The only way to become a zombie is to be bitten by one. A gunshot to the chest of a living human will put him down, permanently. A minor bite from a zombie will poison a living human. He will eventually die, and within seconds of death, reactivate as a ravening monster. Which begs the question of where the first one came from, and what about isolated communities? Man, this is a WHOLE can of worms, here… sequels, maybe?
*A hallmark of the Romero zombie films involved the broadcasts. Our isolated groups of survivors are hungry for news, news which grows steadily more disjointed, confusing and surreal before finally ceasing totally. This heightens the sense of horror… of APOCALYPSE. This movie, at first, appears to be doing just that… and then, without warning, all broadcasts from everywhere totally cease, within 48 hours of the beginning of the situation. WTF? This, I think, was a badly wasted opportunity for the filmmakers…sigh
*I really don’t like the fact that within fifteen seconds of your heartbeat ceasing, you go feral. Man, you don’t even have time to get totally brain dead before you become a zombie…
*Most of the time, zombies wander around aimlessly, exactly as in the Romero films. Only when they spot a living human do they go into Velociraptor mode. They can run quite fast, and apparently do not get tired, as we see them give chase for miles, literally.[/spoiler]
Oh, yeah: It’s true that the movie ain’t completely over until the credits are finished. DO NOT make the mistake of leaving the theatre too soon… [insert grinning undead motie here]
