Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Just to make this clear, this a review of the original Dawn of the Dead, not the terrible 2004 remake with Ving Rhames. In truth, George Romero's original, anti-consumerism vision is just a much better movie and is a much better conveyor for his message than the dried-up remake. Dawn of the Dead is a zombie film. Of course you know that or figured it out by now, but it's not just a zombie film. Romero's film is an allegory about how consumerism is destroying the modern world and that all who succumb to it become "zombies" despite that word never being used once in this film. The film takes place in, ironically, a mall. Each of the characters represent certain standout traits in society. Scenes are shown where characters are looting the abandoned stores and using this apocalypse to help themselves more than others. Ken Foree's character does act as the voice of reason throughout the film. On the topic of acting, usually the acting is less than golden, but at a few key points in the film the actors display a stunning amount of realism. For its era, the "special effects" are actually quite good and would've been considered good throughout even the 1980's. These effects actually helped the film earn an NC-17 rating and Romero was adamant about maintaining the gore. The haunting, electronic score (typical for horror films of this era) greatly adds to the atmosphere of pure doom and paranoia. The cinematography is actually passable: this is where most horror films fall flat. Many different angles are used, especially establishing or wide shots that provide a good view of the setting. To this day, the original Dawn of the Dead is considered a cult classic and films such as Shaun of the Dead draw a lot of inspiration from this 70's horror hidden gem. Largely overlooked, this film is a horror film I would actually be proud to show my peers and friends. The gore and language are certainly more than present so I would highly recommend discretion to those younger viewers.

Bottom Line: Buy It/Rent It (mostly due to its length, watching it repeatedly can get tiresome)

Score: 8/10

Year: 1978
Director: George Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Day of the Dead, The Crazies)
Cast: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, Gaylen Ross
Rating: NC-17