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Psyclops eyes the new DAWN OF THE DEAD film and likes it!
SPOILER ALERT !!
Hey folks, Harry here... Like I've said before... this is going to be a good zombie movie. The script was quite solid, and from all reports I've heard over the production and behind the scenes, this was going to be good. Well, now we have the first review of the film and... it's very positive, and that review comes from a long-time contributor and not some fly-by-night type. In addition to being eager to see this one, I'm dying to see the new HELLBOY trailer that'll be put on this release. Well, here ya go... Enjoy...
Hey Harry,
I managed to catch a screening of Universal's upcoming
zombie remake DAWN OF THE DEAD. This is going to be
one of those movies that fans will initially find hard
to embrace, especially since you can't help but
compare it to the original regardless of how different
it is. The basic premise and setting are the only
things that connect this film to the first one since
this one has its own set of characters and situations
to deal with. If you accept this going into the movie
then you might actually find yourself enjoying this
're-imagining' of a horror classic.
SPOILERS... BEWARE!!
The story begins with our lead characer Anne (Sarah
Polley) who works as a nurse at a local hospital.
She's coming home from a long day at work where we get
a subtle hint of the horror in its early stages (a
patient's brain activity seems to be mysteriously
degenerating). She comes home, shares a few intimate
moments with her loving husband and peacefully falls
asleep. This is when the nightmare begins.
Anne wakes up to find her husband being attacked by
one of the undead, a small zombie child who has
wandered into thier home. She barely manages to get
out of her house alive only to run outside and see
that her once quiet neighborhood has become a scene of
total chaos. Houses are on fire, people are being
attacked, everyone seems to be turning on each other.
This all happens before the opening credits.
The rest of the film follows Anne as she meets up with
a group of survivors including a hardened police
officer named Kenneth (Ving Rhames), the level headed
Mike (Jake Weber), a troubled young man named Andre
(Mekhi Phifer) and his very pregnant wife. They take
refuge inside of a shopping mall where they encounter
more survivors and try to deal with the zombie threat
as well the realization that there may be no help
coming for them.
The only real problem that I had with this film was
that there seemed to be more characters on screen than
the movie could handle. It gets to the point where
only a handful of them get any real character
development while the rest are left for zombie food.
It becomes less personal which is one of the major
differences between this film and the original. Still,
there are some very strong moments that do stand out,
scenes that elevate this movie to a level above the
usual genre fare. One that sticks out in my mind is a
dialogue exchange between Mekhi Phifer's character and
Ving Rhames. It's a small moment in the movie that has
to do with one character's decision to make a future
for his family and it works incredibly well, adding
more depth to these characters in three or four
minutes than RESIDENT EVIL did in 2 hours.
Also, the zombies in this film might take some getting
used to. They run... really fucking fast. They hiss,
scream, and bite like wild animals and are very
different than what we've seen in previous zombie
movies. There's also lots of bloody carnage for the
gorehounds out there. Blood, guts and brains get
splattered all over the place. It makes me wonder just
how much of what was seen tonight will remain in the
final cut (each death was met with applause from the
audience so I'm hopeful that it will get released with
minimal edits). The film also ends on a much darker
tone than the original, something that seems to
actually work for this movie. If this version is
similar to one being released next month you might
want to stay during the ending credits to see what I
mean.
Anyway, I had fun. I thought it was a good movie, not
exactly a classic but definitely better than I
expected. The audience seemed to dig it. Judging by
the positive response it received tonight I'm guessing
this one will be another genre hit. If it is, maybe
we'll finally get to see George Romero direct another
zombie epic.
Psyclops
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+ Expand All
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OK, we can all get on with the regular talkback now.
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The best aprt is the opening. It's fantastic. Polley is this intelligent but somehow isolated woman in suburbia and bam! all hell breaks loose. The reviewer is right the zombies are really fast. I also liked that they used Johnny Cash's Man Comes Around over the title sequence (however, the screening woman noted that a lot of the soundtrack was in fact temp so perhaps the final version won't have it.)
So, yes the opening and a few scenes dealing with a man stuck on a nearby roof are quite good but that sadly, it.
Seriously, Resident Evil was much more entertaning. Somehow, the remake of DoD can't find much to do in the mall. They even resort to including jerkwad gun-toting security gaurds that no one in the audience likes. I would agree that there are way too many characters. At one point, I didn't realize that two of the characters were dating?!
The last act is more like a bad Aliens rip-off than anything in DoD. It's all crazy-fast zombies getting shot in the head left and right. And speaking of, I never thought I'd say ths but I got kinda tired of the headshots. I mean, it's certianly not scary and it gets kinda repetative.
It's not a terrible film but it makes the huge mistake of not making the zombies interesting, not giving the humans anything genuine or original (save for Andy the guy on the roof) and worst of all, about half way thru I realized the film wasn't really a zombie movie but a slasher flick complete with characters taking lone trips to deserted hallways to get eaten. That's just lame.
But, sadly, I bet most folks will liek it way more than the original (Romero's version is a masterpiece in my opinion) so I guess I should get ready for a remake of Day of the Dead.
Lastly, is there anyone out there that finds the whole tough guy military dudes interesting? Ever? It ruined the last act of 28 Days Later and almost ruis Dod 2004 since it's pretty much the middle part of the film.
Overall: C
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the preggo character gives birth to a zombie baby...how trite.pre-dict-able,to say the least
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Beautiful tune. Hope they use it. So it's more Aliens than Dawn. I'm still open minded and looking forward. What are Mike/Ana/Kenneth/Andy like as characters? Good/Bad?
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It seems it doesn't take much to make a decent zombie film, check this out and download: http://plan9.art.pl/e/download.html
Other films on this site are not too bad, either! -
...but I'll check this out. I have no problem with some remakes. In small doses.
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I think that if a filmaker have an ounce of talent or subtlety a PG13 movie can be scary -- The Others was. Just not gory. And there's a difference between the two -- gore can be scary (though it rarely works for me when it's for it's own sake -- look blood! OOOOOO, scary!) and a scary moment can have gore but they aren't always both, nor do they need to be. That said, a freakin' zombie flick should be R - that's just my thought.
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Notice that everything in this so-called review COULD have been taken from the trailer released late last year? There is nothing I have gained from this that I didn't get from the trailer - Where are the "Spoilers" we were so warned about? Was that put in to make us think we were getting an inside scoop? I smell something foul over here.
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Universal has been doing geurrialla marketing' by trying to create faux 'buzz.' Among other things, they have been spamming USENET groups.
Click here for proof.
It seems as Univesral they are using an organization called 'Fanpimp' as their drummers. I think that speaks volume as to the esteem they hold us in. -
Well, here are their headquarters of the marketing gang. Isn't that nice the way they insulted our intelligence?
http://universal.fanpimp.com/zombiearmy/index.html?sid=212b16e45c22a0f880e01fe74ba16454 -
Only one thing...let there be a Dead survivor.....and show it in the movie..."YOU...YOU ARE THE NEXT ONE TO BE EATEN OUT OF THE SUBURB"
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This movie was made for something like $30 million? which is chump change in Hollywood because they know that more teens who are just out on Friday night are going to see this on a whim rather than the supposed "fans" who are at home clutching their crusty Romero movies. I'm going to at least see the damn movie and then bitch about it but heaven forbid anything not Romero's be any good. By the way, the original sucked. His movies aren't scary at all and they weren't supposed to be. They were more social bullshit movies than anything, with zombies as setpieces. Let me see, the black guy is good, the white people are bad, the zombies win in the end. No explanations or resolutions. That discribes the skinny of all of Romero's zombie movies. As far as the running? It's not the first time it's been done. The official sequel to Night of the Living dead was Return of the Living dead. And who's to say they can't run? Has anyone ever seen a real zombie? I sure as hell would be more worried about people runing after me than walking around in packs. I liked the Romero movies but if they are supposed to be the gold standard of zombie films then that is sad. If he ever gets the money to make a forth which I doubt, I will not see it because he will make the same damn movie the forth time over. Why make sequels if not continuing with a story or following the same characters? I for one want to see other zombie/horror/scifi movies in the theater perferably without the borrowed titles to avoid all this nonsense.
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No-one who has ever seen the original Romero masterpiece will have anything good to say about this one: Its basically a dumbed-down kiddie version. And what's more, while the original "Dawn" was subtly critical of the consumer culture... this 'Dawn' is nothing but supportive of it... In fact, we have here a "Dawn Of The Dead" that is made to PLAY in the mall!
Its odd to think that in 70s and 80s, we had these film-school filmmakers coming along and doing these more sophisticated versions of pictures like "The Fly," "The Thing," and "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers"... They made more interesting movies for a more interesting era, and no-one would deny that the remakes of those films are (in many way) superior to the original. BUT NOW we've cycled back around to a more conservative era again, and we're getting LESS interesting versions of 70's and 80's horror movies ("Texas Chainsaw" and "Dawn Of The Dead")... I told you this culture was in decline... -
All i've got to say is "28 Days Later". Okay, so they weren't technically 'zombies' but it aint far off. I am Mr Monkey!
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The original ended with a pregnant woman left a widow and suicidal cop flying off in a helicopter with little fuel flying over an undead infested wasteland. The entire cast being wiped-out wouldn't have been darker.
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Who says zombies can't run or move fast? Didn't anyone ever watch the Thriller video??? I mean, my God...
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Not even a T.V. credit.
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I don't want to spoil too much (and I have a feeling the ending - which actually runs under the credits - may not make the release cut) - All I can say is that while Romero's films were waaaaay darker and more serious-minded than this totally unnecessary remake, at least Romero had the decency to leave his hero characters on a gorgeous deserted island at the end of "Day". What happens in this "Dawn" remake is, frankly, just nihilism for nihilism's sake.
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Nobody actually uses the phrase 're-imagining' without voicing their disgust at the term.
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I hate what people are accepting as Zombies. Someone who is infected with a virus or drug is not a zombie, they are still alive, they are just animalistic cannibals with really bad rabies. A Zombie is a walking corpse. It is typically decayed to the point it can't move fast because of rigormortis. However it is relentless killer. -
I don't think there's anyone in the world - let alone any true horror fans - that are expecting this to be even half as good as the original DotD. It seems unfair to even call this a remake. Does this movie have large bands of rednecks picking off zombies as they laugh and drink beer? No? Then this isn't DAWN OF THE DEAD!!!
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I just found out about the whole 'Zombie Street Team' this morning. Funny that I hadn't heard a single thing about it until after last night's screening. I'm sure Universal knew that there would be some reviews popping up all over the internet today and decided this was the perfect time to bust out their campaign for maximum exposure. Simple and effective business move... I just have nothing to do with it. Also, I wrote this review in a bit of a rush late last night so I forgot to include my thoughts on the characters. First, the acting is top notch all the way around, no one really hams it up, it's all played serious. That said, I thought the lead character of Anne was rather dull. She seemed to go from a frightened young lady to a wannabe female Terminator awfully quick and aside from a few moments where she tries to take charge (she refuses to let one character kill another who has been bitten) she just doesn't feel like she's strong enough to handle the situation she's in. Ving Rhames is also given little to do except for kicking ass when needed. He plays a mean action hero and the filmmakers do attempt to give him a bit of depth but it isn't enough to really make him a stand out character. There is a subplot involving his friendship with another survivor trapped in a nearby building. The two of them find a way to communicate with each other and develop a bond even though they are seperated by a sea of the undead below them (reminded me of the friendship between Al and John McClane in DIE HARD). Anyway, I think Jake Weber is the real stand out in this movie. His character comes across as a genuinely good person who is more concerned about the safety of everyone else in the mall than himself. Also, there is an asshole security guard named CJ who I absolutely hated at the start of the film. A character who starts out as a real prick but who ultimately redeems himself as the film progresses. Matt Frewer is also really good in the movie as the father of one of the characters. I never thought of him as a dramatic actor but he pulls it off perfectly, very believable. Everyone else isn't given enough screen time. There are also some odd musical choices in this movie. Someone here mentioned the Johnny Cash song which worked perfectly over the opening credits but what the hell was up with that Pat Boone-esque version of Disturbed's "Down With The Sickness". Bizarre.
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Feb 12, 2004 4:33:20 PM CST
Come'on I could have written that "review" from seeing the trail
by glen quagmire
That didn't tell me anything I didn't already know from viewing the trailer!!! I need MORE! MORE! heh,heh. And also, was there any nudity from Sarah Polley? Ohhhhh Riiiiight.
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I for one also enjoy the military angle. I don't know if I really want to see it in another zombie flick right away - but I enjoyed it in 28 Days Later and other films. It's overdone, probably, but still effective. But I think more than anything, we need more rednecks like from the beginning of Dawn of the Dead.
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Is there any in the film???
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walk faster.
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Where is Tom Savini in all this madness?
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Go to the imdb forums and read the posts by mike0476. He sounds pretty legit. Also a poster called odina on the same thread. http://imdb.com/title/tt0363547/board/thread/5500570
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I wrote this pretty quickly last night so I did miss a few things that I added in the talkbacks. Also, I wanted to make it as spoiler-free as possible which is why I didn't go in to too many details concerning the film's outcome. Once everyone gets cozy inside the mall it's all about character interaction with a few nasty zombie encounters sprinkled throughout the last hour until the final trek to freedom. The reason it reads like everything was gleaned from the trailer is probably because the trailer sets up the basic premise of the film pretty well. I'll go ahead and mention a few things not found in the trailer (nothing huge, don't worry). Let's see... there's a particularly nasty accidental chainsaw death, propane tanks hurled at a crowd of zombies to clear the streets, a chase through the sewer system under the mall complex where one wounded character is being dragged while firing his pistols at the zombie horde and last but not least, a Blair Witch style epilogue that's spliced into the end credits. I hope this will help some of you spoiler whores make it through the day :)
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I am always amazed how much logic some people try to bring into a zombie movie. So many people whine and bitch about zombies that can run. Why?!? They have no problem with the idea that a corpse can become reanimated and eat the living, often time by clawing their way out of a coffin buried under six feet of earth, yet feel its illogical that said creature can run or think. Why not go with the extra step of fantasy? Romero's zombies (and from what I understand, the DOTD remake) are not buried. They are from funeral homes, hospitals, and so forth and multiple by attacking other people. They are not completely decomposed and rigor mortis can be worked out over time, so why not run? Just because Romero decided to make them slow doesn
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I haven't seen the original movie in quite some time so bear with me. If a person isn't bitten or infected by the undead do they become a zombie or do they stay dead if they are killed naturally? Thanks.
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If you get bit or even scratched I think you're fucked. Also if you die by any means you're recruited in the zombie nation as long as your brain is in tact.
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Cheers Psyclops. Nice review.
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Run Zombie Run
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