Rating of
3.5/4
"Dawn Of The Dead" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 01/28/12
A disparate group of survivors from a zombie holocaust hole up in an abandoned shopping mall that becomes beseiged by an ever-increasing horde of the dead. The performances may not be of the highest calibre and dated as some of the effects may be, Dawn Of The Dead is still THE zombie movie. Romero's zombies are of the "true" kind in that their mindless shuffling gait reminds us of own own mortality and the inevitability of our own demise and eventual decay as well as the animal instinct within we try so hard to mask with a civilisation that so quickly crumbles into chaos. It may not have the visceral impact of Night Of The Living Dead, but the sly social commentary on consumerism and greed combined with humour and observations on the human condition makes for one of the most influential horror films ever made. It's no small irony that our heroes soon despair at their "paradise" that seems to offer everything they've ever wanted at the expense of any real human contact or purpose, and their downfall is caused not by the walking corpses themselves but rather very human selfishness and greed. The rather cheap looking photography detracts a little (I still think Night is the best looking of the series) but the sheer weight of the concept and brilliant writing more than make up for the technical weaknesses. One of the true classics.
