Dawn of the Dead remake (attn Jay)

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... :heh: ).

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.
 
Ayeka said:
Heh. My mate's got Zombie Flesh Eaters I - III for his birthday. I will be borrowing them :cool:
Part 1 is classic. Hopefully it's uncut so you get the splinter in the eye segment, and the final scene of the undead walking across the Brooklyn Bridge is just stunning. It's a glorius moment of complete nihilism which is the whole point of the Romero/Fulci living dead movies.

By the way, Dawn of the Dead in Italy was called Zombi.

Zombie Flesh Eaters was therefore called Zombi 2.

Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 & 3 are therefore the equivalent of Zombi 3 & 4. If so, they are redundant pieces of crap which you really don't need to see. Spend that time watching other Romero or Fulci instead.
 
JayKeeley said:
By the way, Dawn of the Dead in Italy was called Zombi.

Zombie Flesh Eaters was therefore called Zombi 2.

Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 & 3 are therefore the equivalent of Zombi 3 & 4.
Ehhhhh...run through this bit again please? I don't know if you can actually put it in more simple terms, but for some reason it ain't computing...

Zombie Flesh Eaters II I really enjoyed. It was quite funny in places. Like when you see a guy creep around the corner of a building to set off a smoke machine :lol:

"I'm so thirsty :yell: .... FOR YOUR BLOOD!!!! :heh:"
 
Ayeka said:
Ehhhhh...run through this bit again please? I don't know if you can actually put it in more simple terms, but for some reason it ain't computing...
Not sure if I can, but I'll try...this should be interesting, heh:

OK, well first of all, films are sometimes retitled for differing countries. The UK and USA got George Romero's Dawn of the Dead as we all know it. However, in Italy, it was retitled Zombi by co-filmmaker, Dario Argento. Both versions turned out to be a worldwide success.

So, Dawn of the Dead [UK/USA] = Zombi [Italy]

The following year, an Italian director, Lucio Fulci, directed a completely separate movie entitled Zombie Flesh Eaters (as it was called in the UK, whereas the US market released it as Zombie). Anyway, in seeing the global success of Dawn of the Dead (aka Zombi), the Italian production company decided to cash in on that success and release it as Zombi 2.

So, Zombie Flesh Eaters [UK] = Zombie [USA] = Zombi 2 [Italy]

As life continues in the world of living dead movie cash-in's, the Italians ended up making Zombi 3 and Zombi 4. Of course, to keep things consistent, the UK had to release them as Zombie Flesh Eaters parts 2 & 3.

So, Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 [UK] = Zombi 3 [Italy]
and, Zombie Flesh Eaters 3 [UK] = Zombi 4 [Italy]

Luckilly, the Americans gave up in trying to keep up with this madness, so Zombi 3 and Zombi 4 were released simply as...Zombi 3 and Zombi 4. :) If you've managed to keep up until this point, you'll notice that the American market never actually got a 'part 2'. For the US market, it progressed as follows:

Dawn of the Dead -> Zombie -> Zombi 3 -> Zombi 4

Oh, and just to sum it up, none of these films are official sequels. The only official sequel to Dawn of the Dead was Romero's follow up, and probably the greatest living dead movie of all time, Day of the Dead.

And here endeth the lesson. :)
 
So yea ive seen dawn of the Dead twice now, and i have to say its alot better than i expected. Some parts did kinda annoy me, like the constant use of those shaky camera shots, but overall i thought it was probably the best recent zombie/infection movie, or movie in general ive seen in a little while.
 
JayKeeley said:
Not sure if I can, but I'll try...this should be interesting, heh...
Heh, nicely done mate. I understand now. I'll just have to get round to borrowing those films pronto. Cheers!