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Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Completely Different...Still Amazing
Directed By: George A. Romero
Starring: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, & Gaylen Ross
MPAA Rating: “Not Rated”
With Night of the Living Dead (1968), George A. Romero showed that he was a talented writer/director with a knack for horror. With Dawn of the Dead (1978), he shows his versatility. Yes, he is still working with the living dead, but this film is nothing like the grainy, black-and-white film we all know and love. Whereas the first film was steeped in horrific visuals and dark suspense, Dawn of the Dead revels in bloody violence and humor. It is filmed on a much grander scale, in a large shopping mall rather than in a confined farmhouse, and features bigger stunts and larger action. This is the quintessential sequel, one that expands upon the original without ever being overshadowed by it and yet never lacks what made the original so great.
Picking up where Night of the Living Dead left off, the world is consumed with the ghastly creatures that had tortured the farmhouse, and there is no sign of the epidemic stopping. Four survivors--Stephen (Emge), Peter (Foree), Roger (Reiniger), and a pregnant Francine (Ross)--take a helicopter in hopes of escaping the infestation. After being attacked while refueling, they decide to take refuge at a nearby shopping mall. They stay there for months, starting new lives and using supplies gathered from the mall to survive. Tensions begin to mount when the infection tears through the group and they are forced to decide whether or not they should kill the infected person or let the infection play out in his body. It soon becomes clear that survival will become more challenging than ever when a group of violent bikers attack the mall.
Night of the Living Dead featured some of the most gruesome scenes in cinematic history with images of a daughter devouring her father and more, but Dawn of the Dead takes this gruesomeness to a new level. Made ten years after the original film, it is filmed entirely in a vivid color that makes the still gory death sequences even more horrifying. Blood that closely resembles red latex paint runs coats the entire film and Romero never turns away from images of snarling jaws sinking into raw flesh and ripping it from an arm or a leg or a neck followed by a spray of this blood. It is strange that so many years later, it is rare to see violence and gore used this effectively. I suppose it is because we have become fascinated with computer-generated effects and have forgotten the masterful simplicity of a good ole’ prosthetic.
Dawn of the Dead is a rare occurrence; it is a sequel that is as good as and perhaps even better than its predecessor. It takes the original material, expands upon it, and yet still retains the terror and brutality. There is a usual problem with sequels that Romero manages to avoid. After you have revealed the monster in the first film and shown it in its entirety, how do you again make it scary in a sequel? By the time the new film rolls around, we should know all about the ghastly creature or, in this case, creatures. Romero avoids this pitfall by showing a mental evolution within the creatures. Unlike what was presented in the first film, the ghouls here remember their past lives and use it to their advantage. They remember hallways, doorways, and hiding places; this makes them far more than just bumbling carnivores. With Dawn of the Dead, Romero makes his zombie-infested universe even more terrifying.
Picking up where Night of the Living Dead left off, the world is consumed with the ghastly creatures that had tortured the farmhouse, and there is no sign of the epidemic stopping. Four survivors--Stephen (Emge), Peter (Foree), Roger (Reiniger), and a pregnant Francine (Ross)--take a helicopter in hopes of escaping the infestation. After being attacked while refueling, they decide to take refuge at a nearby shopping mall. They stay there for months, starting new lives and using supplies gathered from the mall to survive. Tensions begin to mount when the infection tears through the group and they are forced to decide whether or not they should kill the infected person or let the infection play out in his body. It soon becomes clear that survival will become more challenging than ever when a group of violent bikers attack the mall.
Night of the Living Dead featured some of the most gruesome scenes in cinematic history with images of a daughter devouring her father and more, but Dawn of the Dead takes this gruesomeness to a new level. Made ten years after the original film, it is filmed entirely in a vivid color that makes the still gory death sequences even more horrifying. Blood that closely resembles red latex paint runs coats the entire film and Romero never turns away from images of snarling jaws sinking into raw flesh and ripping it from an arm or a leg or a neck followed by a spray of this blood. It is strange that so many years later, it is rare to see violence and gore used this effectively. I suppose it is because we have become fascinated with computer-generated effects and have forgotten the masterful simplicity of a good ole’ prosthetic.
Dawn of the Dead is a rare occurrence; it is a sequel that is as good as and perhaps even better than its predecessor. It takes the original material, expands upon it, and yet still retains the terror and brutality. There is a usual problem with sequels that Romero manages to avoid. After you have revealed the monster in the first film and shown it in its entirety, how do you again make it scary in a sequel? By the time the new film rolls around, we should know all about the ghastly creature or, in this case, creatures. Romero avoids this pitfall by showing a mental evolution within the creatures. Unlike what was presented in the first film, the ghouls here remember their past lives and use it to their advantage. They remember hallways, doorways, and hiding places; this makes them far more than just bumbling carnivores. With Dawn of the Dead, Romero makes his zombie-infested universe even more terrifying.
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