Blu-ray Review: Dawn of the Dead (2004)

(aka Down With the Sickness.)
Release Date: March 19th, 2004.
Country: USA/Canada.
Rating: NR.
Written by: James Gunn.
Directed by: Zack Snyder.
Starring: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Webber, Mekhi Phifer, Ty Burrell, and Michael Kelly.

Zack Snyder tends to get a bad rap as a director. The man has given us some great movies like 300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch, and Man of Steel, all of which we enjoyed the hell out of, and none of them fared all that well with critics. Even Fanboys (and girls) seem to be split on whether the guy is a genre visionary, or a complete hack.

We can see how some people would say that Zack Snyder makes movies that look gorgeous, but are on the hollow side of things when it comes to plot. We don't necessarily agree, but we can see it.

As lukewarm as most critics and fans seem to be about his movies, we can't help but love that it's his Dawn of the Dead remake that's been the most universally loved.

After a long day at work, sexy nurse Ana goes home for a nice evening of drinking wine and making love with her husband, only to be woken up in the middle of the night by a zombie kid who eats his neck, which turns him into a zombie, which makes him try to eat her neck. Barely escaping with her life, Ana is shocked to find a word gone mad with the chaos that only Zombie Apocalypse could bring!

IT HASN'T BEEN THE BEST MORNING FOR HER SO FAR.

While fleeing for her life, Ana speeds off in her car but quickly crashes, because, woman driver. Lucky for her she's found by a group of survivors instead of the undead, and they decide to hole up in the local mall, and maybe begin to rebuild society together. They have like 4 women with them, so it's plausible; it won't be easy, but it's plausible.

IT'S EQUALLY AS PLAUSIBLE THAT THEY'LL GET EATEN TO DEATH.

The mall thing works out alright for a while, but eventually things start to fall apart and get dire for our brave band of survivors. Will the mall be the safe haven that they were hoping it would be? If not, is there a place that they could go that would be any safer? And if so, how in the hell are they supposed to get there? Far be it from me to spoil anything for you here, but suffice it to say that you actually have to watch through the end credits to see if they survive or not, and even then, it's not really made all that clear.

STICK WITH HIM, DARLIN', HE'LL GET YOU WHERE YOU NEED TO GO.

Say what you will about remakes, but James Gunn and Zack Snyder knocked it out of the park with this one. Sure, it may not offer the biting social commentary that the 1978 Romero classic did, but this is a lean, mean zombie flick in every other way. If you aren't a fan of the whole "fast-moving zombie" thing though, then you probably won't like this one.

We're usually fans of the Romero style of zombies (slow moving) above all others, but we loved how the undead in this one were quick and aggressive, as it made for some pretty intense moments throughout the movie. If you're going to remake a classic movie like Dawn of the Dead, and forgo the satire and subtext that helped make it so great, then at least make sure that your movie is entertaining as hell. Lucky for us, that is exactly what Zack Snyder excels at.

ONE OF THE CREEPIEST KIDS EVER!

Sarah Polley makes for a solid final girl in this one, although at times her "tough girl" shtick felt forced, and wore a bit thin on us. She's a great actress who has been making her bones in Indie flicks for years now, and it's nice to see her in a bigger, more mainstream role for a change. Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, and Mekhi Phifer were all likable in their roles as well, which is nice, because in a movie like this, we have to like the characters or else it just becomes about the blood & gore. We also got a kick out of seeing Modern Family's good-guy dad, Ty Burrell, playing a sleazy POS asshole; for a guy who is usually so funny and lovable, he played against type perfectly in this one.

NOT ONLY IS TY BURRELL AWESOME IN THIS, BUT HOUSE OF CARDS STAR MICHAEL KELLY PLAYS A KICK-ASS ROLE TOO.

I know that both Zack Snyder and James Gunn moved on to bigger and arguably better things, both of which involved massive Superhero franchises, but couldn't they have found a way to give us a sequel? One was originally planned, and subsequently scrapped, but we still need to know what happened on that island! I mean, we pretty much know what happened, but it would have been cool to see it play out. 

APPARENTLY THE ASPCA DOESN'T EXIST IN A POST-APOCALYPTIC WORLD.

The bit with the zombie baby was a cheesy, and probably could have been left out. The idea of a pregnant woman dying and coming back to life is disturbing enough without adding in an undead baby mewling for flesh... especially when it comes off as funny instead of horrifying. 

AS IF BABIES WEREN'T ALREADY CREEPY ENOUGH...

There is an abundance of blood and gore in this one, as is par for the course with any good zombie flick.

MAYBE SHE JUST WANTS A HUG?

One sex scene that lasts for about 10 seconds, and a pair of boobs during the credits. That's it.

A DELETED SCENE FROM MODERN FAMILY.

Not all remakes suck. Also, once in a while we're alright with the whole fast-moving zombies thing.

UNLESS OF COURSE WE'RE BEING CHASED BY THEM. THEN WE DON'T LIKE IT.

If we had to pick the 10 best zombie movies of all time, I can't imagine this remake of Dawn of the Dead not being on the list. It might not be perfect, but it's got just about everything you could want from a good zombie flick, and unlike most other flicks of its kind, we find it to be highly re-watchable.

A

Dawn of the Dead is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD.

Sarah Polley and Lindy Booth made our new millennium hotter.