As most people who know me are aware, I loves me a good zombie apocalype. So given that a remake of Dawn of the Dead was released today, it’s none too surprising that I immediately went to see it. (Jolayne’s out of town on a cruise with her mom and grandmother for her mom’s birthday, so she lucked out of getting dragged along by my zombie mania.) Also not very surprising is that this was not a “good movie” by the standards that one would use to label a “good movie” (i.e. The Royal Tennenbaums, lets say). However, it was very satisfying. You see, there were shotguns. Also, it was great to see zombie mobs of a more epic scale than I’d ever seen previously. I’m just not sure though if I’d say it was a good remake or not…
I definitely still prefer the original. First of all, zombies should not, under any circumstances, be able to run. Danny Boyle got cut some slack because his movie didn’t technically contain zombies. (which also brings up the point that this film borrowed way too heavily from 28 Days Later, right down to the shaky DV cam footage) I think part of the appeal of the zombie is that they’re the underdog of the horror genre. They’re slow and stupid and you wouldn’t think they would be a threat, but they’re relentless. Mark my words, they’ll kill every last one of us. We don’t need hip, edgy, athletic zombies for the new millennium. I like my zombies shuffling and sluggish thank you very much. Secondly, the original was much more relevant for its time, setting the movie in a shopping mall at a time when the indoor shopping mall was just really starting to appear everywhere in America. It made some good and not necessarily subtle zombie/mindless consumer comparisons. In 2004, you’re not really saying anything by fending off a zombie hoard from within a shopping mall, especially if you don’t even manage to take one cheap shot at Starbucks. I did however, find the standard “any similarity to persons living or dead is a coincidence, blah, blah, blah” disclaimer during the end credits to be ironically amusing given the subject matter. But look at me, sitting here and analyzing a zombie film of all things. Now that’s just ridiculous.
Comments
Comment by Carrie on 2004-03-20 12:39:24 +0000
Athletic Zombies. That’d be a great name for a band.
😀
Comment by Dan on 2004-03-21 17:51:54 +0000
A friend and I decided to keep holy the Sabbath and see a matinee showing today. As I haven’t seen too many zombie flicks, I can’t make any comparisons, but I did like some of the cinematography. For example, in the very beginning, when Ana careens into the bathroom and slams into the shower. That was incredibly violent and realistic. I also liked how there really wasn’t much cheesy “bonding” of the survivors, and most of them died anyways.
In short, not much of the happy-ending, warm feeling crap-cliche-quiche that Hollywood usually serves us.
Comment by Daniel Thill on 2004-03-27 13:12:21 +0000
This guy shares your love for the undead.
Wait. That didn’t sound quite right…..