JayKeeley
Be still, O wand'rer!
I just got back from seeing Dawn of the Dead.
Somebody once said that this was a "zombie driven action thriller", and along with the clips I had seen in the trailers, this was the expectation I had going in. I knew this wasn't going to be an ode to Romero so I kept an open mind. I have to say, this film turned out better than expected...
Good points: The storyline was obviously 'familiar' with it being a reimagined Romero script, there was enough black humour to keep the film from taking itself too seriously, the gore was fantastic - e.g. zombies getting run over by trucks, Savini trademark head shots, a wooden stake through the head, chainsaw through the legs, and lots of weapons a la Resident Evil (the game - oh, and if you know Res Evil part 1, you'll see some familiarity in one scene in particular...
).
Weak Points: Some of the characters were just stupid & annoying (you actually wanted them to die), the editing was a little shaky using some of those tiresome 28 Days Later hand-held camera techniques, a few plot points were irritating, but above all, the zombies made a screaming/screeching sound similar to that of a wailing cat. I wish I had my ear plugs half the time.
Yes, the zombies run everywhere, there are no signs of rigor mortis, you never see the undead rise from their cemetary graves, so essentially they've lifted the whole virus idea from 28 Days Later, except these are real zombies in that they have to die before they become resurrected meat eating machines.
One last thing - the movie ends on a scene (a final shot of desolation that should have been stretched out further) that will probably please fans of Lucio Fulci's Zombie (Zombi 2 / Flesh Eaters etc). I just wish to goat they had ended it there because unfortunately the storyline actually continues through into the rolling end credits. In my opinion, those ensuing 'Blair Witch' movie clips used in the end credits do more harm than good - if I ever watch this again, I will remember to hit 'stop' and simply AVOID them.
Overall, not bad. Considering the lack of choice these days, zombie fans should like this one for the most part (in a 'beggars can't be choosers' kind of way). You can tell the people who made it were zombie/gore fans, and they did an ok job IMO.
Somebody once said that this was a "zombie driven action thriller", and along with the clips I had seen in the trailers, this was the expectation I had going in. I knew this wasn't going to be an ode to Romero so I kept an open mind. I have to say, this film turned out better than expected...
Good points: The storyline was obviously 'familiar' with it being a reimagined Romero script, there was enough black humour to keep the film from taking itself too seriously, the gore was fantastic - e.g. zombies getting run over by trucks, Savini trademark head shots, a wooden stake through the head, chainsaw through the legs, and lots of weapons a la Resident Evil (the game - oh, and if you know Res Evil part 1, you'll see some familiarity in one scene in particular...
).Weak Points: Some of the characters were just stupid & annoying (you actually wanted them to die), the editing was a little shaky using some of those tiresome 28 Days Later hand-held camera techniques, a few plot points were irritating, but above all, the zombies made a screaming/screeching sound similar to that of a wailing cat. I wish I had my ear plugs half the time.
Yes, the zombies run everywhere, there are no signs of rigor mortis, you never see the undead rise from their cemetary graves, so essentially they've lifted the whole virus idea from 28 Days Later, except these are real zombies in that they have to die before they become resurrected meat eating machines.
One last thing - the movie ends on a scene (a final shot of desolation that should have been stretched out further) that will probably please fans of Lucio Fulci's Zombie (Zombi 2 / Flesh Eaters etc). I just wish to goat they had ended it there because unfortunately the storyline actually continues through into the rolling end credits. In my opinion, those ensuing 'Blair Witch' movie clips used in the end credits do more harm than good - if I ever watch this again, I will remember to hit 'stop' and simply AVOID them.
Overall, not bad. Considering the lack of choice these days, zombie fans should like this one for the most part (in a 'beggars can't be choosers' kind of way). You can tell the people who made it were zombie/gore fans, and they did an ok job IMO.
