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IMDbPro

Dawn of the Dead

  • 2004
  • R
  • 1h 41m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
263K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
756
170
Sarah Polley in Dawn of the Dead (2004)
From 'Dawn of the Dead' and '300' to 'Zack Snyder's Justice League' and 'Army of the Dead,' we break down the stunning visual trademarks of director Zack Snyder.
Play clip1:31
Watch A Guide to the Films of Zack Snyder
4 Videos
62 Photos
ActionHorror

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 shoppi... Read allA 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.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
  • Stars
    • Sarah Polley
    • Ving Rhames
    • Mekhi Phifer
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.3/10
    263K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    756
    170
    • Director
      • Zack Snyder
    • Writers
      • George A. Romero
      • James Gunn
    • Stars
      • Sarah Polley
      • Ving Rhames
      • Mekhi Phifer
    • 1.2KUser reviews
    • 301Critic reviews
    • 59Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 17 nominations

    Videos4

    A Guide to the Films of Zack Snyder
    Clip 1:31
    Watch A Guide to the Films of Zack Snyder
    Upside Down the Rabbit Holes of "Stranger Things"
    Clip 3:45
    Watch Upside Down the Rabbit Holes of "Stranger Things"
    Dawn Of The Dead: Call An Ambulance
    Clip 2:15
    Watch Dawn Of The Dead: Call An Ambulance
    Dawn Of The Dead: James Gunn On Fan Reactions' To His Involvement On The Film
    Featurette 1:26
    Watch Dawn Of The Dead: James Gunn On Fan Reactions' To His Involvement On The Film

    Photos62

    Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer, Sarah Polley, Michael Kelly, Inna Korobkina, Jake Weber, and Kevin Zegers in Dawn of the Dead (2004)
    Michael Kelly in Dawn of the Dead (2004)
    Ving Rhames and Sarah Polley in Dawn of the Dead (2004)
    Sarah Polley in Dawn of the Dead (2004)
    Dawn of the Dead (2004)
    Dawn of the Dead (2004)
    Ving Rhames, Boyd Banks, Michael Kelly, Jake Weber, and Kevin Zegers in Dawn of the Dead (2004)
    Sarah Polley in Dawn of the Dead (2004)
    Ving Rhames, Sarah Polley, and Kevin Zegers in Dawn of the Dead (2004)
    Dawn of the Dead (2004)
    Boyd Banks, Michael Kelly, and Kevin Zegers in Dawn of the Dead (2004)
    Michael Kelly in Dawn of the Dead (2004)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Sarah Polley
    Sarah Polley
    • Ana
    Ving Rhames
    Ving Rhames
    • Kenneth
    Mekhi Phifer
    Mekhi Phifer
    • Andre
    Jake Weber
    Jake Weber
    • Michael
    Ty Burrell
    Ty Burrell
    • Steve
    Michael Kelly
    Michael Kelly
    • CJ
    Kevin Zegers
    Kevin Zegers
    • Terry
    Michael Barry
    • Bart
    Lindy Booth
    Lindy Booth
    • Nicole
    Jayne Eastwood
    Jayne Eastwood
    • Norma
    Boyd Banks
    Boyd Banks
    • Tucker
    Inna Korobkina
    Inna Korobkina
    • Luda
    R.D. Reid
    • Glen
    Kim Poirier
    Kim Poirier
    • Monica
    Matt Frewer
    Matt Frewer
    • Frank
    Louis Ferreira
    Louis Ferreira
    • Luis
    • (as Justin Louis)
    Hannah Lochner
    Hannah Lochner
    • Vivian
    Bruce Bohne
    Bruce Bohne
    • Andy
    • Director
      • Zack Snyder
    • Writers
      • George A. Romero(1978 screenplay)
      • James Gunn
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When Ving Rhames heard of a remake of Dawn of the Dead (1978) was in production, he tracked down producers to be in the film.
    • Goofs
      When the group goes into the parking garage to turn on the generators they never make it. They are instead confronted by zombies who they douse with gasoline from a pump and set on fire. If there was no electricity in the garage then the gasoline pump wouldn't work.
    • Quotes

      Ana: The bleeding's not gonna stop on its own. I need to stich his arm.

      CJ: What are you, a fucking doctor?

      Ana: No, I'm a fucking nurse.

    • Crazy credits
      During the closing credits we see a series of shots filmed by the survivors using a camcorder they find on Steve's boat. There are a couple of scenes of Steve and his girlfriend (still left on the camera), then the survivors finding a small boat with a still-animated zombie head in an icebox, and finally them running out of gas and landing on an island where they are attacked by zombies. There are then a series of brief almost-subliminal flashes of zombies "attacking" the camera.
    • Alternate versions
      The theatrical R-rated cut of the film is 100 minutes long. However, an unrated "Director's Cut" has been released on home video alongside the R-rated theatrical print timed at 110 min and contains more character development and gore. Some releases added digital blood to cover up a naked lady stepping out of a bus.
    • Connections
      Edited into Cent une tueries de zombies (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      Have A Nice Day
      Written by Kelly Jones, Richard Jones & Stuart Cable

      Performed by Stereophonics

      Courtesy of V2 Records, Inc.

    User reviews1.2K

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    "Attention Shoppers! The mall is now closing forever.."
    How will mankind behave in the end times? Will we turn into raving lunatics and attack one another? Will we try to slavishly hold onto some fabric of our society? Will we kick back and accept what is happening?

    `Dawn of the Dead' in some ways tries to answer that question. The movie, a remake of George Romero's classic 1978 sequel to `Night of the Living Dead,' throws a group of people together while society crumbles around them and allows the viewer to watch as humans seek to survive an onslaught of the undead.

    The movie opens with the unimaginable happening. Hordes of zombies have overtaken Milwaukee and numerous survivors are both fighting off the monsters and trying to escape the city. One such group includes Ana (Sarah Polley), a nurse who is running scared after losing her husband, Kenneth (Ving Rhames), a tough-as-nails cop, Michael (Jake Weber), who tries to be two-steps ahead of any dangerous situation, and Andre (Mekhi Phifer), whose trying to care of his pregnant wife.

    Seeking shelter from the waves of zombie attacks, the group decides to head toward a local mall and hole up there until help arrives. Once inside they join with security guards and use the shopping center as a refuge from the undead while trying to piece together what's left of their lives.

    The plot is pretty straightforward, and relies mostly on cliché themes to move the story along. So as a rule, most films such as this tend to be predictable and quite tepid. Luckily, `Dawn of the Dead' has strong personalities to fall back on, making it thankfully every bit a character-driven drama as it is a horror-action piece.

    As Ana, Polley convincingly plays a waif turned survivor with just the right amount of emoting. She is strong and vulnerable at the same moment, trying to remain reasonable in unreasonable times. Weber also fits this bill as Michael, a man with a shady past full of regret who tries to fill others with hope while remaining a stark realistic.

    Rhames' performance clearly commands the most attention. As Kenneth, he becomes the group's de facto leader and top man of action. He keeps the clearest head when trouble is afoot and leads the group out of one scrape after another. Rhames gives the character a silent strength that provides the film with a much needed human edge.

    First time director Zack Snyder moves the film along briskly and effectively, keeping the action scenes tight and the dramatic scenes quiet. There is no heavy-handed sermonizing here that tends to infiltrate most big-budget horror movies -- Snyder wisely lets the images speak for themselves.

    The horror itself is shocking and grabs your attention, which is a plus considering most of the recent crop of thrillers. The fact that it is happening to sympathetic characters that we care about is another feather in the movie's cap.

    All to often most horror movies are just excuses for numerous poorly developed characters to be killed in awful ways for the enjoyment of the audience. As far as recent zombie movies go, `Dawn of the Dead' thankfully remains closer to `28 Days Later' than `House of the Dead.'

    However, despite all the movie's strengths, it still pales in comparison to the original. Romero's `Dawn of the Dead' took the premise of people trapped in mall and used it to make some pointed social commentary about consumerism. The first '`Dawn' had human characters selfishly hoarding material goods for themselves, using the mall not only as a refuge from zombies but also as their own personal palace that provides them with more items than they could ever need.

    It's to the detriment of the new film that it never takes the concept to this level. Here, the story seems to take place in a mall because it's a cool place for a horror movie, not because it can draw out anything interesting in the characters themselves. Also, in the original the zombies wanted inside not only to eat the humans but also because they are drawn to the shopping center since is was an important place to them when they were alive.

    It's a shame that this time around viewers won't get the chance to see zombies wandering around JC Penney or stumbling up and down escalators, the joke being humans amble about aimlessly themselves like the undead at the mall.

    `Dawn of the Dead' is a very bloody and terrifying film but it lacks the superior gory effects from the 1978 movie. That should not stop the squeamish from twitching in their seats due to the horrific content onscreen.

    Good acting and smart thinking elevates the proceedings among most other horror offerings, but compared to Romero's original it lacks the observations necessary to make it a classic. The first film remains an intelligent critique on human actions during the apocalypse, while this is just a suspense drama that is dressed to kill.

    8 out of 10 stars. Not as good as Romero's original, but still one heck of a shot in the arm to cure the memory from most modern horror misfires.
    helpful•125
    50
    • filmbuff-36
    • Mar 29, 2004

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    FAQ22

    • Why did the Zombies hesitate when finding the survivors on the stairs? They chased them only to stop and stare when catching up.
    • What is the time frame of the story? How long do the characters stay in the mall?
    • Even though this is a remake of Dawn of The Dead, does this still follow the original "Night of the Living Dead" story?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 19, 2004 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Canada
      • Japan
      • France
    • Official site
      • Official Facebook
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead
    • Filming locations
      • Thornhill Square Mall, Thornhill, Ontario, Canada(demolished shortly after film came out)
    • Production companies
      • Strike Entertainment
      • New Amsterdam Entertainment
      • Metropolitan Filmexport
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $26,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $59,020,957
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $26,722,575
      • Mar 21, 2004
    • Gross worldwide
      • $102,278,712
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 41 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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