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Dawn of the Dead 2004
A Review by Mel Campos
Dawn of the Dead 2004 is a great film by novice feature director Zack Snyder that combines the gore and horror elements of typical zombie movies with diverse characters and intense action. A great cast and aggressive zombies bind together to create a thrilling fast-paced experience that is sure to satisfy.
After a woman is forced to flee her home following a zombie attack, she encounters a small group of the still-living seeking refuge in a local shopping mall. There they find territorial security guards who wish to defend their safe haven against all intruders, whether dead or alive. This unlikely assemblage must learn to cooperate if they are going to survive the invasion of re-animated consumers just dying to get inside.
The plot evolves as would be expected of any zombie movie. There is a female lead who becomes distressed and in her panic happens upon a calm sure-headed male. Together with a small group they explore a sanctuary that soon becomes a prison when living antagonists force them into submission. They quickly realize two very important things: first, the only way to kill the zombies is to shoot (or otherwise destroy) the head; second, anyone who is bitten will succumb. However, this group also learns a valuable lesson about the key ingredient to any relationship (and their own survival): trust. This film takes a turn here in that the standoffish antagonists eventually assimilate into the group and soon join in the efforts to protect everyone, not just themselves.
Overall this is a movie that has the potential to appeal to a large and diverse audience. There is the obligatory saturation of blood and gore which zombie fans crave as much as zombies crave flesh. The makeup crew, led capably by David LeRoy Anderson, did a phenomenal job creating gore that isn’t gross (remember the custard scene in Dead Alive? Think of the opposite of that). For those viewers with more of an appetite for action, the fast paced and explosive nature is exceptionally fulfilling. There are even a few scenes to appease the sad sap in all of us, subtle enough to only make the characters more human.
The characters are an excellent mix of unlikely companions and work well together to provide an adequate array of personalities with which the viewer can empathize and relate. The female characters include strong-willed activist Ana (played magnificently by Sarah Polley); mostly-silent and very pregnant foreigner Luda (Inna Korobkina); naïve but lovable Nicole (Lindy Booth); obnoxious sex-driven Monica (Kim Poirier); and been-there-done-that older Norma (Jayne Eastwood). The male characters are also well-represented, including Kenneth (Ving Rhames), a cop who wants only to find his brother; Michael (Jake Weber), an electronics salesman who manages to be both soft-spoken and brilliantly convincing at the same time; Andre (Mekhi Phifer), a rough streetwise youth trying to come clean for his wife and unborn child; CJ, Bart and Terry (Michael Kelly, Michael Barry and Kevin Zegers, respectively), mall security guards obsessed with keeping their refuge safe from intruders; Steve (Ty Burrell), an arrogant and cleverly sarcastic yuppie; and Andy (Bruce Bohne), a survivalist gun store owner who can only communicate from his rooftop with the aid of binoculars and a dry-erase board. The brilliant way the characters play off one another produces a perfect balance of tension, horror and humor.
What sets this film apart from those preceding it in the genre is its intensity of action. Zombies are no longer slothful and non-threatening creatures as they have previously been portrayed. They are agile, angry, strong and fast. The terrifying ferocity with which they can attack and sneak up on the living add an element of horror that cannot be conveyed through lethargic, sluggish undead. Consequently, a sense of urgency is introduced to the viewer, a need for the characters to be quick both of mind and body. In this regard, the viewer will not be disappointed. With quick-witted dialogue and athleticism, the living take charge of their environment and fight all the way to the end.