Jake Weber, Kim Poirier, Mekhi Phifer

A re-envisioning of George Romero's apocalyptic horror classic, "Dawn of the Dead": An unexplained plague has decimated the world's population--and yet, the dead aren't dying. They've become zombies, ...( read more  read more... )stalking endlessly in a quest to feed on the flesh and blood of the few remaining living. A ragtag group of desperate survivors in a Wisconsin town seek refuge in a large indoor mall, where they must learn not only to protect themselves from the ever-increasing zombie horde, but also to co-exist with each other as a last bastion of humanity. Sealed off from the rest of what used to be the world, the group uses every available resource, in their against-all-odds fight, to remain alive and human.

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75% liked it

370,578 ratings

Critics

76% liked it

168 critics

R, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Zack Snyder

Release Date: March 19, 2004

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DVD Release Date: December 28, 2004

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Stats: 20,938 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (20,938)


  • November 11, 2009
    A brilliant modern day zombie film. Not seen the original yet, but this has the same appeal as 28 days later. A great cast, modern take on the genre with good gory effects. Well worth checking out.
  • September 7, 2009
    I was a little horrified when I heard they were remaking this film. firstly, what gives you the audacity and secondly, how can you improve on the best? The simple answer is you can't. That said, Snyder made it quite clear that this is a loving homage to the genres that is based o...( read more)n the original film but is not really a remake. He did a good job too, he might not be the most original director in the world but he is a faithful fan done (and doing) good.
  • August 25, 2009
    Returning from a busy day in the hospital, Ana spends time with her husband when a neighbours daughter comes into the house and attacks her husband. He dies before returning to life and attacking Ana. She runs and escapes in her car, driving through a neighbourhood rife with viol...( read more)ence and fires. After crashing her car, she hooks up with a group of armed survivors who take refuge in a mall. The group settle in and fortify their position as an army of the undead gather outside.

    Before I start my review, let me just say that this will be biased as I am always easily won over by zombie movies. The fact that they just keep coming (fast or slow), lack character and only want to kill really just freaks me out. So I tend to get easily scared by the genre (even if `enjoy' is perhaps not the right word) and be easily more negligent towards their faults. Despite telling myself that I wouldn't bother with this film as it would scare me, I went for it anyway in a fit of `confront your fears' type of stupidity! The film starts with a creepy opening and pretty much manages to keep the pace up for the whole film. It, like the zombies, moves fast and brutally throughout and is very, very tense.

    Others have complained about the lack of gore - however I found the graphic exploding heads to do that more than enough for my tastes! Better than gore is the atmosphere. The use of news footage is not original but it succeeds (along with the aerial view of the town) in creating the impression of a world turning to sh*t. I don't know about you but this scares me and the film did it well. The speed of the zombie attacks makes for a thrilling ride and it did make me very tense - Snyder managed to make the whole film a threat (especially for a first time director) and I honestly have a very stiff neck a day after seeing this simply because my body was tensed up for the whole film!

    The pace of the film also serves to cover the real problems in content and plot. Unlike the original there is no satirical swipe on consumerism - the fact that the zombies are just wandering aimlessly around the mall like they used to in life is pretty much ignored here - but times are very different now I guess. The plot itself also has quite a few stupid moments where the characters act in a way you know they wouldn't in real life. For example people go on suicide missions for little real reasons and you can tell that the script is just doing it to create more action. However, when you are into it, these things don't really seem to matter. The film may be a little silly when you think about it but it does have a good ending - downbeat and realistic (or at least as realistic as it can be!) and left me with no hope of a happy ending - in this regard it is everything that `28 Days Later..' is not.

    The cast is good even if the script places their characters secondary to the action. Polley is used to slightly more substantial roles but still does well here. Rhames is lumbered with a religious background that is never explained, but he is a great presence throughout. Weber is the standout role however. His character is a slightly less cartoon version of Evil Dead's Ash. He is the unwilling hero but yet he seems to accept all the obstacles he comes across. He also manages to be one of the group that the audience cares about - most of them are fodder and we know it! Phifer is a good actor but seemed too `gangster' to really be driven to this degree by his family. The rest of the support cast are mostly just there to get eaten but they do OK.

    Overall this is not a great film - but it is an effective one. As a film it lacks subtext, comment and plot logic. However as a thriller it is fast paced, gripping and tense with a satisfyingly bleak conclusion. Snyder does a good job as a first timer and creates an atmosphere that is gripping even if it lacks originality. Like I said, I don't deal with zombie movies very well and am easily scared but I reckon that this should satisfy many a Saturday night thrill-seeking crowd even if it does nothing for your brain apart from it's risk getting eaten.
  • October 28, 2008
    "When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth."

    The feature-film debut of director Zack Snyder, Dawn of the Dead is a modern retelling of George Romero's 1978 horror classic, which was actually the second film in a trilogy that began with Night of the...( read more) Living Dead and concluded with Day of the Dead. Sarah Polley and Ving Rhames star as two of the last remaining people on an earth that has been ravaged by flesh-eating zombies. After escaping to a shopping mall with a handful of other survivors, they decide that they only way to truly elude the approaching throng of undead is to somehow make their way to an island that is supposedly zombie-free. Jake Weber and Mekhi Phifer also star.

    Review
    This is an absolutely amazing movie! I can't really think of any other way to state it. Zack Snyder has done an absolutely amazing job, and for his first movie, it's really not bad at all...

    The action alone is amazing, but in the unrated director's cut, the look we get at the characters up close and personal really adds a lot to the storyline. Even if you're not a fan of horror movies, this is definitely a must-see, because when you look past the "blood and guts", all you see is an amazing piece of work.

    This film comes highly recommended... not only for excellent acting and casting, but also directing and presentation of an awesome story.

    Probably the best remake in my book so far.
  • August 23, 2008
    Super creepy! The scariest part was probably in the very beginning with the married couple and the little girl.
  • November 18, 2009
    Just crap. A completely lesser being, devoid of anything human. The characters spend the entire movie trying to look bad ass. The film making is pretentious, the acting is horrible and they deface the original. It is no different than any other bland horror movie that comes out.
  • November 18, 2009
    Ya kiero ver la de George Romero
  • November 18, 2009
    This movie had the right amount of scary and comic relief. Two things I enjoy in movies.
  • November 14, 2009
    Dawn of the Dead was gory and disturbing but the classic was better with scares. B: Good.
  • November 13, 2009
    A great zombie horror film. I love it! :)

Critic Reviews


May 3, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Nicely amplifies George A. Romero's 1978 zombies-at-the-mall horror classic. full review

March 19, 2004
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

It's silly, witty and good-natured, not scary so much as icky, and not horrifying or horrible but consistently amusing. full review

March 19, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Dawn of the Dead works and it delivers just about what you expect when you buy your ticket. full review

March 18, 2004
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

A shallow but potent gore-gasm that will make audiences scream, whoop, cringe, laugh and yell at the screen. full review

View more Dawn of the Dead reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • rosht
    May 4, 2009
    I find so difficul to find a good horror movie, and this turned out to be amazingly good ! They took the basics of the old dawn and they ended up doing one of the best remakes ever!
  • agent2009
    July 2, 2008
    Well, I hate to say this, but this one really blows the original away! I mean 26 years really looks a whole lot of different. I almost felt asleep on the 1978 made film wishing I would have read a book instead. This one lives up what movie goers would expect from a horror film nowadays.
  • njdshkd
    November 16, 2007
    waaaay better than the original...it's worth watching:)
  • fb197811041
    June 5, 2007
    Lunatci: uh it has a sequel :) called land of the dead. Nowhere near as good :)
  • lovecyn4ever
    May 5, 2007
    Even the critics that are hard to please thought the remake was good.The original at times gets boring but not a good job in the make-up dept much better job with the sequel Day of the dead in 1984 the gore effects were more realistic & better make-up effects with the zombies not saying Dawn of the dead is a bad film not better than the remake.

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    Although he had strong reservations about some elements, George A. Romero professed to be surprisingly impressed with the film.
  • SpaceLunatic
    May 5, 2007
    Back in the 70's maybe the original was the best zombie film that came out but looking at the movie now is not the same feeling for some.I thought it was ok but boring dialogue.This new Dawn is one of the best zombie flicks i seen it delivers.Awesome effects!It needs a sequel.

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  • ThaSoulSurvivor
    May 2, 2007
    I get tired of people saying this is better than the original, due to the special effects and so on. True, it was good, especially in the era of the remake. But it lacked the messages that most people failed to catch in the original(i.e. consumerism, which was the purpose for the mall in the first place, etc.). Plus, the original had a killer music score, composed by the legendary Goblins. All in all though, this was a great movie!!!
  • caribearkiss
    May 2, 2007
    This movie actually had me feeling what it would be to be stuck in an end of the world situation... I love this movie better than most horror because I forgot that it wasn't real... and I can watch it over and over...
  • SuperRT13
    April 11, 2007
    I've Seen the Original Over and Over...and Over. Its Just such a great Movie.
    And now i can watch the new one ...well not THAT many times but it gave me what i was lookin for, an "All-OUT Action Zombie Movie.
    Most remakes Fail, this one didnt.
    but one movie cannot Top the Other.
    Whoever watches the new one 1st is gonna think the original is too tame.
    and whoever saw the original 1st, will think the new one is not character or story driven.
    Nonetheless u will all see a Twilight.
  • chicahotbori
    March 29, 2007
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    Way Better than the original

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Dawn of the Dead Trivia


  • What film is this tagline from: When theres no more room in hell the dead will walk the Earth.  Answer »
  • In What Movie Did The Character, Ana Clark, Seek Refuge In A Shopping Mall From Flesh Eating Zombies?  Answer »
  • Tom Savini had a cameo role in George Romero's LAND OF THE DEAD as a zombie. Which of Romero's "Dead" flicks did this character originally appear in?   Answer »
  • Which of the following had most of its action take place at a mall?  Answer »

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