Dawn of the Dead (2004)

A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman, and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.

Director:

Zack Snyder

Writers:

George A. Romero, James Gunn (screenplay)

Stars:

Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer

1 win & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sarah Polley	...	Ana
Ving Rhames	...	Kenneth
Jake Weber	...	Michael
Mekhi Phifer	...	Andre
Ty Burrell	...	Steve
Michael Kelly	...	CJ
Kevin Zegers	...	Terry
Michael Barry	...	Bart
Lindy Booth	...	Nicole
Jayne Eastwood	...	Norma
Boyd Banks	...	Tucker
Inna Korobkina	...	Luda
R.D. Reid	...	Glen
Kim Poirier	...	Monica
Matt Frewer	...	Frank

Storyline

Ana goes home to her peaceful suburban residence, but she is unpleasantly surprised the morning that follows when her husband is brutally attacked by her zombified neighbor. In the chaos of her once picturesque neighborhood, Ana flees and stumbles upon a police officer named Kenneth, along with more survivors who decide that their best chances of survival would be found in the deserted Crossroads Shopping Mall. When supplies begin running low and other trapped survivors need help, the group comes to the realization that they cannot stay put forever at the Shopping Mall, and devise a plan to escape.

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Plot Keywords:

mall | nurse | survival horror | mayhem | hideout | 

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Taglines:

When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong horror violence and gore, language and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Universal [United States]

Country:

USA Canada Japan France

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 March 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead

Filming Locations:

Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$26,722,575, 21 March 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$59,020,957

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$43,335,424

Company Credits

Production Co:

Strike Entertainment, New Amsterdam Entertainment, Metropolitan Filmexport

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 110 min (unrated director's cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ving Rhames was always first choice for the part of Kenneth.

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Goofs

When C.J. pops the roof exit hatch to throw the propane tank, it comes all the way off, instead of swinging up and away as it's designed to do. In the overhead shot after the explosion, the hatch door isn't visible on the roof, but a few shots later (driving through the streets), it's back in place.

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Quotes

Televangelist: Hell is overflowing. And Satan is sending his dead to us. Why? Because you have sex out of wedlock. You kill unborn children. You have man-on-man relations. Same-sex marriage. How do you think your god will judge you? Well, friends, now we know. When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits, intercut with the closeup clips of zombies, there is a very brief clip similar to the infamous Paris Hilton tape, with its telltale green "nightvison" effect.

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Alternate Versions

On the Region-1 unrated DVD the naked woman in the beginning is "hidden" from added digital blood on the car windshield. However, on international releases of the director's cut, there is no blood and the woman is fully visible. It is still uncertain as to whether or not this was a choice by director Zach Snyder or by Universal. The BluRay versions throughout the world only contain the US censored version of the director's cut. However, the Nordik unrated director's cut BluRay release does not censor the naked woman and she can be seen in full. (It is English audio and subtitles can be switched off via the pop-menu during playback).

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Connections

References The Exorcist (1973)

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Soundtracks

Don't Worry, Be Happy
Written by Bobby McFerrin
Performed by Tree Adams

User Reviews

A Zombie Flick to Remember!!!

Dawn of the Dead

I'm not sure I can recall witnessing an opening sequence quite like the one I saw in Zack Snyder's remake of the classic horror film 'Dawn of the Dead.' Besides being rather lengthy (it's over ten minutes before we see the opening credits), it has a bizarre creepiness about it. There's something about the cinematography employed to show us 'the beginning of the end' that I really liked: that extra long image of the little girl skating away, the skyview of Sarah Polly's car as she rides home from her shift as a nurse, the picture of perfect serenity, and those intimate scenes we see of her and her husband 'the day before.' It all makes it more tragic, when, quite unexpectedly, morning comes, and with it, the end of all that is sane. The pure chaos of the scenario, an outbreak of a dangerous break of a virus that turns those infected into ghouls, comes so suddenly that it grips us by the throat.

This is one hell of a horror movie. Even for someone as jaded as myself, who has become totally jaded to any real horror thrills, I was taken aback by how uncomfortable the movie made me feel. Our heroes, holed up at the now abandoned local mall, join small groups of survivors and find themselves fighting each other as well as the zombies when the plague starts creeping ever close to bringing them all to the brink of annihilation. The zombies have an easy-to-spot weakness: one shot to the head takes them out, but they're extremely fast, and a single bite from them leads to hopeless infection and mindlessness. Although some of the story makes little sense (for instance, if the zombies can only transmit the virus by bite and the heroes are in a mall, couldn't they don the heaviest attire imaginable rather than skimpy t-shirts?), there are lots of great twists and snappy dialogue along with the required creep-outs, gore, and slaughter.

And there's some surprisingly great humor. Easily the most memorable of the light-hearted, break-the-nerves moments is when our heroes are situated atop a roof and challenge a local gun shop owner to take out look-alike zombie celebrities, which he does with ease. It's a much needed laugh to relieve the audience of a lot of built-up jitters.

Overall, this is a remake that actually works. The characters, for all their strength and weaknesses, are decently fleshed out for a horror movie. There a few unexpected surprises that even the most attentive viewer will take pleasure in. And the action moves along at a clean, fast pace. The few holes that exist in the plot and the somewhat unsatisfying conclusion are the only real problem areas, but these are to be expected in the genre. Overall, I definitely recommend it, even to the squeamish. It's messy fun for everyone. And make sure you stay until AFTER the credits roll. You'll be glad you did.

Grade: A-