User reviews

Thoughtful if unsubtle epic follow-up to Night of the Living Dead was one of THE influential movies of the late 70's; pity, then, that the people it influenced paid more attention to the amped-up gore than to the sense of contained hysteria that makes what should be tough going (there are basically three scenes in this movie: zombies attack people, people attack zombies, people stand around talking) a uniquely involving and provocative self-analysis of the zombie film.

The symbolism is, well, not delicate. Just in case we missed it the first time, the trope that the mall attracts the zombies "because it was an important place to them" is repeated for our rumination. But the overall sustained atmosphere, inside and outside of the banal environment of the shopping mall, is by far the film's salient contribution; even when there is no obvious action onscreen, there is the threat of an attack to come, and the clock is clearly ticking on the four protagonists during their idyll. Moreover, it takes the conspicuously familiar and catapults it into an apocalyptic situation, creating a powerful sense of displacement.

The violence, which is primarily what draws people to or repels them from this movie, comes on strong, but quickly becomes monotonous (as it is, the vast majority of the violence in the movie is inflicted against the zombies rather than by them, though is none the less repulsive for that); the scariest part of the movie is how plausible it makes the concept of total disintegration of what we perceive as civilization. The soundtrack, highlighting pulsing, insistent synthesizer chords, contributes much to the onscreen tension, which the action choreography is exemplary. An unlikely masterpiece.

'Dawn of the dead' may lack the pulverising immediacy of 'Night of the Living Dead', but it gains in exhilirating, epic scope. It is one of the best films of the 1970s, a reckless, hubristic, over-ambitious masterpiece whose excess is reined in by its Langian formal precision. The claustrophobia of the first film is replaced by a wider frame of reference, including the media, the military and suburbia; although, typically, the move is once again towards the indoors.

The film starts explosively, inside a panicking TV station trying to report on the inexplicable emergence from the earth of the undead. An assorted quartet - two media, two army; three white, one black; three men, one woman - escape in a helicopter used for rush-hour traffic reports. There is a sense of relief in this, a sense of breaking free from the circle of undead enclosing America's major cities.

But not for long - it seems that modern American man, unlike his pioneering ancestors, cannot stand open spaces, and holes up in a building, a shopping

mall, which is crawling with zombies, and recognised by the woman as a prison. Not content with this level of confinement, our heroes draw plans, erect barriers, shut down grids. Romero pinpoints this national insularity by framing his modern horror movie as a transposed Western, with the foursome as latterday frontiersmen wiping out the natives, and erecting a new civilisation.

Some might say that Romero's irony is a little heavy here - the mock-triumphal Western music on the soundtrack; the composition of the four at the height of the crisis standing in front of a sign with just the letters 'U' and 'S' visible; the glee in the gun culture, including an ersatz Western gun store in the mall the 'Red River' like beseiging of the mall by the 'Indian' Hells' Angels on their motorbike/horses complete with tomahawks. But such irony is never stable - Romero keeps pulling the ground from under the viewers' feet, both in terms of character identification, and the shifting meanings embodied by the zombies.

Romero's terrifying vision is of an America turned in on itself, eating itself through cannibalistic greed, the very system of capitalism based on a cycle of power and repression in which the repressed will never quite go away. 'Night' pulsated with a late 1960s urgency reflecting contemporary social and political upheaval, white capitalist America beseiged by the peoples it had oppressed for centuries. By 1978, that political anger is gone, and America has reverted to being a race of consumer zombies, congregating around massive shopping malls like they're the religious temples of the Incas, trapped there not by the freedom of choice of capitalist propaganda, but mindless instinct.

the zombies are supposed to be the enemy, the Other in conventional horror terms, but the first thing the so-called heroes do on landing at the mall is substitute urgent survival for gleeful consumerism (compare with the very similar silent fantasy, 'Paris Qui Dort'). There's no way to deal with any outside threat because we are numbed and bloated by products. Reality ceases to exist; there are some beautifully surreal scenes, as our heroes make homes in showrooms.

The mall sequence as a whole has a Bunuellian savagery about it, and the film builds up an aggression like the characters until all is chaos - tones, modes, genres all colliding, the 'reality' or 'integrity' or, even, 'seriousness' of the film as much in question as the modern world the protagonists live in, where even time seems to stand still, the weeks of the action compressed into the framework of a day, with the night of the living dead giving onto the dawn. It is probably allegorically significant which characters survive, but by the end we're not sure whether we're watching a horror, a comedy, a thriller, a Western, or a very bitter joke. Certainly scarier than 'The Stepford Wives'

Dawn of the Dead is a brilliant film. You gotta love those zombies. I loved the bit where one of the bikers arm got stuck in the blood pressure machine and the zombies ate him alive. If you're going to see it, make sure it is the Director's Cut.

By turns horrific, hilarious, disgusting and absurd Dawn of the Dead is the work of a director truly on top of his game. Given almost total control (something which was to be denied Romero in later years) George Romero gives us his unique and vivid view of a world in absolute turmoil.

Not just a mockery of the hedonistic and empty America of the late 70's Dawn is also a parable or warning if you like of the brittle structure of society and how easily it can be disintegrated. Many have criticised the film for being too over the top and questioned the quality of the acting. This for me is one of the joys of the film, Romero uses gaudy sets and effects and combines this with comic book hero dialogue to lull us into a false sense of security. Then masterfully Romero pulls the rug out from under us and brings the reality of the situation crashing in on our heads.

Dawn stands alone well but really comes into its own as part of the trilogy to which it belongs. One theory of mine is that the Alien trilogy (forgetting the miserable fourth installment) takes a lot from the dead trilogy namely the pace and claustrophobia of the two which book-end the mass hysteria and over the top horror and violence of the middle film.

Undoubtedly one of the great Horror films of modern time. Or perhaps there is something about being the only people left alive and living in a shopping mall that appeals to the kid in all of us. 10/10

When you want brutal, look no further, but when you also want to see perhaps the greatest of all comic-book movies not based on a comic-book, it's in George Romero's original take on his continuing mythology. It's not just one of the towering horror films, or horror comedies (what will a poor dead fellow do when the escalator starts?!) but one of the great sequels, more ambitious and ass-kicking than its predecessor, with a filmmaker more confident and technically proficient with his abilities.

Romero didn't originally want to do *any* sequel to his original 'Night', but after a visit by some friends to a soon-to-open mall nearby his hometown of Pittsburgh, it struck a chord as to who would be coming here – and what so much consumerism in one place would mean. "Why do they come here?" one of the four survivors that happens upon this mall swarming with these flesh-eaters asks another. "This meant something to them. Instinct, maybe. This was an important part of their lives," he responds.

I don't think necessarily Romero meant to show the film as any sort of 'This is what will happen!" type of social horror thing. It's more about, this is where we are at NOW, and in that sense, though broader and a whole LOT bloodier, it holds a place right next to a film like Network as one of the magnificent satires of its time and place, and as much about what the public is like. Romero acts as both pessimist and optimist in this world though; past all the chopped limbs, exploding heads (oh yeah!), Tom Savini stunt and make-up and intestines ripped apart, what holds up the film for me is seeing these four characters come to grip with the horror they've made for themselves, holding up in this "paradise" of a mall.

Balls-to-the-wall horror, social horror, and some genuine paranoid horror stuff (note to self, never try and fire a gun at a single zombie when in a dark room full of electrical wiring and pipes), and plenty of rock and roll attitude, this is a personal favorite and the most entertaining horror film of its time. And the Goblin music soundtrack… yummy.

This movie has always been a big favorite of mine. I went through a zombie phase in high school and this is, hands down, the best zombie film ever made. With all the crap coming out today, it still stands out.

Dawn is a great satire of materialistic modern society. All of the performances are spot on, George Romero's writing and direction is flawless as usual, and the gore is brilliant. What could be better than a bunch of zombies taking over a shopping mall? That's right, nothing.

If you call yourself a horror fan and you haven't seen the original Dawn of the Dead, you need to get with the program immediately! No one messes with Romero, no one!

Dawn of the Dead is George A. Romero's masterpiece - one of the best zombie apocalyptic movies of all time. It is 1978 classic this movie really started the zombie genre. It is been almost 40 years anniversary now since this movie come out. Night of the Living Dead was George A. Romero's first film that really introduced the zombie genre, but this to me really started the zombie praise. This in my opinion is one of the best zombie movies of all time.

It is my number 1 favorite zombie movie I love this movie to death and it is one of my personal favorite horror films of all time. This movie is based on a Zombie apocalypse this group find's them self's with this pilot who takes them with the helicopter in the air and they find a shopping mall. There is a perfect place to go in to a "Zombie Apocalypse." So they go in to shopping mall and they have every single item in that shopping mall after disposal to use on the zombies.

As you can tell it is a very fun movie but more important this movie inspires zombies. Without this movie there wouldn't have been The Walking Dead there wouldn't be 28 Days Later there wouldn't have been any of that. This movie is very important this days it was remade in 2004. It is a fun, fun ride I enjoy this film it is entertaining horror flick. Back in the 1978 that come out it was more scary than it is today. This is where I give this movie the most credit, just like... you have a great time watching people murdering zombies. This movie has a great action, great story, plot, great effects the real zombies. It has gore, blood, you se heads been blowing off. George A. Romero's wrote and direct brilliantly this movie. Tom Savini creates a great special effects for the zombies. Great make up, great blood squibs. The film is fast paced it is excellent brilliant. You see all those SWAT team sieging the building shooting the zombies and gunning the down violent gang. You see whole world comes to an end and people shooting zombies even kids are zombies in this movie.

The group in the shopping mall has to deal not only with zombies and the disposing them, they also have to deal with poachers who break in to their home and start stealing items and letting zombies in the mall. Tom Savini was one of the motorcycle poachers who was stealing items in the mall. Gaylen Ross was a fantastic babe as Francine news reporter. David Emge as Stephen the pilot was excellent. Ken Foree as Peter a SWAT team member was the best in this movie. Scott H. Reiniger as Roger another SWAT team member was good in his role. They don't make movies like this today anymore. It's a R-rated movie and it is a perfect 10. Dawn of the Dead is one of the best zombie apocalyptic movies of all time, I highly recommend this film to any horror fan.

This review refers to the theatrical cut of the film.

When George A. Romero's no-budget horror movie Night of the Living Dead hit screens in 1968, the same year that had already given audiences the all time genre classic Rosemary's Baby, no one could have predicted the indelible effect it would have on the history of cinema. The film introduced audiences to a degree of graphic violence never before witnessed on American screens. However, it was the film's intense, omnipotent terror that forever scarred a generation of viewers.

Although the film enjoyed unprecedented mainstream success for an independent production, the filmmakers saw little of the movie's earnings. Romero's string of box office disappointments in the years to follow would diminish his clout in Hollywood, and as such he found it was an uphill battle to fund his ambitious sequel to the film. Then along came Italian horror maestro Dario Argento, hot off the heels of such international blockbusters as Deep Red and Suspiria. Argento helped secure funding for the film, in exchange for the rights to personally oversee the international cut of the film.

The collaboration would be a match made in horror movie heaven, for the end product would be Dawn of the Dead, one of the most acclaimed and enduringly popular horror movies of all time.

Dawn of the Dead's plot is so effectively simple, and now thoroughly familiar, that it almost goes without description. While the world approaches a still unexplained and ever growing zombie apocalypse, four individuals-two millitary men, a helicopter pilot, and his TV reporter girlfriend-barricade themselves in an abandoned suburban shopping mall. The mall provides fodder not only for the film's well known social commentary, but also for some truly thrilling-if not terrifying-setpieces.

With its graphic depictions of human evisceration, exploding heads, and gruesome flesh eating, Dawn of the Dead may well be the goriest American film of all time. The film is actually so violent and gruesome that it was released unrated in the United States for fear of being slapped with an X Rating. That didn't stop the film from being a huge hit at home and abroad. The film earned rave reviews from critics (most famously, from Roger Ebert, who called it `one of the best horror movies of all time'). It instantly became recognized not only as a genre classic, but also as one of the sharpest social satires of the decade, with its often hilarious commentary on an ever growing consumer culture embodied by the film's mall location.

Internationally, the film was even bigger. The movie was released in a special 117 minute cut overseas (the US theatrical version was 120 minutes) which was edited by Dario Argento and featured a more prominent presentation of the soundtrack by rock band Goblin as well as a much faster overall pace. Released in most countries as `Zombie: Dawn of the Dead' or `Zombies', it was so big in Italy that the following year Lucio Fulci, previously a director of `giallo' thrillers, helmed a gory semi-sequel. His `Zombie 2', released in the US as `Zombie', would become one of the most popular drive in hits of the 1970s, a massive international success that solidified the zombie/cannibal craze of the early 1980s and sparked Lucio Fulci's own reign as a horror movie icon.

Dawn of the Dead is a truly stunning example of the horror genre's ability to produce works that are as socially relevant as they are terrifying, films which break free of the constraints of conventional horror movie elements and in doing so establish themselves as being truly timeless. While I would still give Night of the Living Dead the slight edge between the two, Dawn of the Dead is still an extraordinary film in its own right as well as an almost superior sequel to another of the scariest movies ever made.

Sequel to "Night of the Living Dead". In this one it seems the dead are taking over the country. Four people (three men, one woman) escape to a shopping mall and try to fight off the living dead and figure out what to do.

It starts off great with a confusing and VERY gory sequence and then sort of slows down when they get to the mall. There are still the occasional bouts of gore but it quickly turns into a satire on consumerism! There's nothing wrong with that but it makes that point...and keeps rubbing it in the audiences face. It slowly starts to get dull...until a gory rampage kicks in to end the movie.

In 1978 this was considered a strong movie in terms of gore and satire. The gore still works (there's a lot and it's graphic) but the satire seems very dated now. Still this is a classic--in its way. It was released unrated but no one under 17 was allowed in the theatre. Despite that it was a big hit and a rare horror film that critics actually liked. I remember finding this great back in 1979--but it seems kind of weak and dated over 20 years later. However the gore still holds up and it does have a few moments guaranteed to make you jump. Great music score too. I do agree it's a classic but I can truthfully only give the movie a 7. The satire really weighs this down.

If this review is lacking then apologies but I find it a difficult film to review mainly down to the fact I`ve seen it umpteen times since the early 1980s . Unfortunately I first saw it on video which meant DAWN OF THE DEAD gets lumped into the rest of the video nasties that came out at the same time . In fact all my peers believed it to be a sequel to ZOMBI FLESH EATERS when it`s a sequel to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD . Incidentally most of those same peers liked ZOMBI FLESH EATERS but postively hated NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

It`s certainly flawed as is everything Romero has done . The acting is amatuerish and it`s no surprise that the cast didn`t go onto bigger things . The technical aspects suffer badly from the lack of budget like the sound where it`s sometimes difficult to hear the dialogue while the editing is all over the place in some scenes and as for the make up it`s sometimes laughable or sometimes non existant . All this is a great pity since there is a truly great story in here somewhere . If truth be told DAWN suffers from the fact that like 28 DAYS LATER the zombi element overwhelms the main story which is trying to be a gritty and realistic survivalist drama along the same lines as Romero`s earlier bleak and depressing THE CRAZIES . Despite the flaws this an intelligent film which concentrates on human interaction and relationships

By the way the BBC showed the director`s cut last night and I can see what the problem was with it . I really enjoyed the exploding head but there`s far too many scenes where the camera lovingly lingers on the gore . The gore isn`t distressing in anyway but as I said it`s unintenionally laughable as zombies tear open stomachs and stuff that looks like cooked macaroni pops out of victims bodies

Dawn of the Dead- ****/****

George A. Romero's masterful classic is least of anything a film about zombies. "Dawn of the Dead" is thinly disguised as a zombie gore flick, but it is really three things. 1. A cultural statement portraying racism, angst, counter-culture and degradation. 2. An account of human bonding and human reaction to different environments, harsh and eclectic. 3. Least of this trio, it is a black comedy. Rather, it contains dark comedic elements.

Somewhere early along in the film, I looked past the initial plot of four strangers hiding in a mall from hordes of zombies swarming the world, as the government attempts to find a solution to the chaotic massacres. Peter Washington (Ken Foree) is the strong, black, courageous SWAT team member who rises above the other three protagonists to become their leader. Steven Andrews (David Emge) is the somewhat timid and hesitant traffic reporter, lover of the pregnant Francine (Gaylen Ross). Ostensibly hapless and useless, Francine is actually a valuable aide to the quartet. Last, is the resourceful and daring Roger (Scott H. Reiniger).

From where I left off, I overlooked the premise of the quartet defending themselves from hordes of flesh-eating monsters and instead saw thoroughly fleshed out character personalities, bonds, and interactions. Throughout the movie's length, we learn to genuinely love these guys; Roger is so smooth and fun, easily likeable, Peter is quiet, warm-spirited, and reliable, Steven and Francine are charming. We knows them like our friends and heroes, so when they are attacked by the ferocious zombies, the suspense is so nerve-wracking and our hearts beat so rapidly because we really care about the four protagonists and could not bear to watch them die. They started off as strangers and parted as companions. Also, it is very interesting to watch how they monopolized the mall, how, in the beginning, they slept on cold hallway floors, constantly keeping watch. Later, they eliminated the threat, dined in the mall's fancy restaurant, ice skated on the mall's link, visited the gun shop for weapons, slept in rooms with beds, dressers, televisions, and other luxuries. This is an accurate representation of how it is human nature to manipulate and survive through alien atmospheres. I found that vision ingenious.

Another brilliant message the film brings attention to regards the 1970-decade. I found that like "Pulp Fiction," "Dawn of the Dead" captures the spirit of its era. The racism, tumult, riots, counter-culture, degradation are all well represented here. The film shows SWAT teams, complete with racist officers, who kill for fun, raiding an unruly group of Hispanics and Blacks, hillbillies heading out in troops to battle zombies for sport, mercenaries and vigilantes running wild, all events indistinguishable from incidents in the 70's. Perhaps the most disturbing and ironic "70's incident" in the movie involves raiding gangs of bikers who explode into the mall, mirthfully slaughtering zombies (not that that is an offense) and vandalizing stores, stealing jewelry, guns, clothes, and everything they can find; whereas our heroes took only their necessities. What happens next is very scathingly satirical and ironic. In between the battle for the survival of the human species, the bikers find it necessary to start their own little civil war amongst the not-so-numerous survivors. They hunt down both zombies and our good guys; a perfectly timed paradoxical and cynical scene. Just like the battles between non-conformists and conventionalists during the 1970's and 1960's, when America was on the brink of disaster, this cinematic revolution is hard-hitting, gut wrenching, and very real. One fascinating facet of the movie is how the audience learns to disregard the now "minor" threat of the slow-moving zombies (a bullet or incision to the head will do the job). At this point, one would not even notice that this film had the slightest relevance to the horror genre. Instead, we fear the vicious bikers, a bigger threat, villains with swords and guns. This time, the suspense and uneasiness detonates, for there is a much greater chance of death for the heroes. I found the scariest part of the movie was the deterioration of the planet during the zombie apocalypse; how the human species' decline is morbidly presented effectively and expertly by George A. Romano.

However, a refreshing sense of black humor is tossed in towards the middle of the film. Zombies attempt to walk up escalators, ice skate, and explore their surroundings, with chuckles as the result of their clumsiness. One biting laugh comes when Steven explains to Francine why all these creatures have returned to the mall. "Instinct, memory. This was an important place in their lives," he points out.

And of course, there are many, many thrills and chills. This film isn't very "jump-out-from-the dark-with-a-chainsaw" scary, but more disturbing and extremely tense, because we actually care about our characters and don't want them to die. The movie is unpredictable in this aspect, unlike slashers where you are guessing who the one survivor is and how the others die. As the zombies close in, we plead, "Don't die, don't die!"

I have two minor complaints with this film. My biggest one is that the movie seems to carry on forever, the way "Goodfellas" did. Despite the brilliance I felt enraptured with, I kept asking myself, "When will this movie end?!?" However, I realize that Romano could not have trimmed any more scenes without damaging the potency of his work. Also, the gore was at times just too much. For instance, the exploding head scene was revolting, and most of all, the intestinal feeding scene when a biker is torn apart was repulsive; I couldn't watch as his guts were graphically shown ripping apart.

Aside from those two unfortunate aspects, I strongly encourage you, rather you HAVE to, watch "Dawn of the Dead." Thrilling and suspenseful thanks to extremely distinct characters, whose fate you hope a happy one, and grippingly socially relevant, this is a unique horror, or really of all genres, treasure.

I don't know what's wrong with me and George A.Romero's Zombie filmmaking. I am aware that back then it was groundbreaking and gory for the time thanks to its first entry "Night of the Living Dead". But for the love of me, I can't see any other reasons aside from its own legacy to receive such an undying praise.

I am aware of its social commentary, particularly in this one with themes of consumerism and abortion. I praise and enjoy very much the make-up (although not as much in this movie with its "blue zombies") and practical effects most of the time. But between the odd choices of music, the inconsistent scene cuts that don't match up, the awful acting of both characters and zombies (most of them fall before you can hear the shot) and the lingering over actors reactions; I can't help but feel this movie looks like a low-budget film that should have come out even earlier than when it did.

I enjoy and love many early 80s and late 70s horror movies like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers(1978)", "The Omen(1976)", "Alien(1979)" and "The Fog(1980)" to give some that came out around the same time. While these might not feature zombies particularly, they feature an infestation or horde attack of some supernatural nature where ordinary characters have to survive it.

I understand it is an independent film without a big budget for the time, but from there to be considered one of the greatest OF ALL TIME. I feel it is a bit overrated for its own good. Perhaps it was trying to pay homage or recapture the same feel or experience of its groundbreaking predecessor, but in a time where horror movies were peaking and were going to peak even more in the 1980s; it felt like a regression to B-Horror formula that clashes in contrast with the new wave of horror of John Carpenter, Sam Raimi and Wes Craven amongst many others.

I honestly believe should this movie be edited out some of its scenes and added a better soundtrack, it could end up being a very entertaining short movie. And this taking into account its relevance to the zombie genre, the overall horror movie genre and the independent films out there.

IN CONCLUSION, overall it has a good entertainment value and things to say that back then may have been groundbreaking. There are a lot of great sequences and dialogue but they are needles in a haystack of elongated scenes that if shortened would improve its general pacing. I understand how a movie could have been groundbreaking at the time of release considering others that came before it, but I can't help to feel like with the case of George A. Romero's entries, after NOTLD, they don't bring many new additions to the genre. Perhaps it's because his movies have shaped the genre and served as main inspiration for future zombie movies that came after it, but that doesn't exempts them from not having to try harder in all the aspects of a movie.

I get why somebody would like it, and I think it has it's good qualities, but the undying allegiance to this film is baffling. To me it felt like a really long and redundant action movie, as opposed to horror movie (let alone a horror classic/masterpiece). Don't get me wrong, George is an amazing director, and NOTLD is a brilliant horror movie, but I just can't see how DOTD can be considered a masterpiece. I get that it was insanely violent and visceral at the time, (which is one of the main reasons why I'm not hating on it) but I just don't think these zombies are 'horror' enough for this to be considered a horror situation. It has more in common with a western.

I'm not gonna pick it apart, I just wanted to add a little bit of an opinion to my rating.

I've seen this three times now, I'm 40 years old, I'm probably never going to see it again, let alone own it.

Enjoy.

If only every horror movie was made with such determination as this one. A zombie classic, Dawn of the Dead succeeds in every aspect. It has enough violence and gore to gratify any horror fan, and then some! The weird thing is that the gore in this movie isn't unnecessary, it suits the purpose. In this sequel to the classic Night of the Living Dead, the zombies have taken over the land and have spread to immense numbers. A group of people escape the carnage in a helicopter, and take refuge in a huge mall where they can live off the supplies inside for years. They have to fend off the zombies trying to get in, as well as a sadistic group of bikers who want to loot the place. Great film, lots of gory action and flesh-munching. Make sure to check out the newly remastered director's cut for terrific picture and sound, and extra footage.

Some people believe that "Dawn of the Dead" is the greatest zombie film ever made. I respectfully disagree. While it is certainly "one of the best", I am a firm believer that its predecessor, "Night of the Living Dead", deserves that honor. Be that as it may, this movie essentially takes up where "Night of the Living Dead" left off. The zombies have multiplied to an extent that society has broken down and chaos has emerged. In this environment, four humans (3 men and 1 woman) have escaped by helicopter to an abandoned shopping mall. Realizing that this is a good place to hide out, they decide to make it their temporary home. It has food, liquor, guns and ammunition. It even has an arcade for entertainment. Their main task then, is to secure the mall to keep the zombies out. Once this is accomplished though, the zombies on the outside continue to want to get in. And they never quit trying. Unfortunately, the zombies aren't the only ones who want to get in. At any rate, rather than give away the entire storyline I'll just say that this film has plenty of blood and guts for the hard-core fans of this genre. It also has some humorous scenes interspersed throughout as well. And while some of the humor is a bit over-the-top, it just seems to fit in for some reason. The acting is decent and the director (George A. Romero) is probably the world's greatest expert when it come to this kind of film. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and I think that most zombie fans would probably say the same thing.

There's not much use denying it… George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" is one of the chosen few, absolute greatest horror films ever made and it's fairly unimaginable that a powerful movie like this will ever come out again. Even more than its 1968 predecessor, the landmark known as "Night of the Living Dead", this film contains literally everything to satisfy even the most demanding fan of horror cinema. Some films attempt to reach a maximum level of high tension throughout; some have eminent directors and/or a professional cast; some horrors will distinguish themselves from the rest by providing a lot of gore & gruesome make-up effects and others completely rely on uniquely atmospheric set pieces and filming locations. "Dawn of the Dead" consists of ALL these trademarks and yet a whole lot more! This film more or less begins where "Night" ended, with an alarming increase of zombies that feast their way through America. The opening sequences masterfully capture the growing sense of mass hysteria and disbelief in a TV-studio, where a 'scientist' warns the population not to regard these walking corpses as former family members or friends, but as mere monsters on the constant lookout for human flesh to feed on. These scenes introduce Peter and Francine, who plan to escape the big city in a helicopter. Cut to another very perplexing series of action sequences in which fellow policemen Stephen & Peter battle their way through a zombie-infested apartment building. Eventually these four characters flee together and entrench themselves in a large shopping mall complex. They can fairly easily handle the menace of the zombies here, but the biggest danger comes from typical human greed and selfishness. It's downright amazing how Romero manages to present such an implausible topic like zombie mayhem in such a realistic and incredibly disturbing way. He already did that in "Night of the Living Dead" but "Dawn" is entirely different film all together, since it contains a lot more humor and intelligently subtle society-mockery. The gore is sensational and plentiful (thank you, Tom Savini!) but the film never at one point drags in the tension or bad editing department. It's just, in one word, the perfect horror movie. There exist more than a dozen different versions of this film, which are all worth seeing at least once if only to spot the differences. Particularly recommended are Romero's original director's cut (duh!!) and Argento's European cut. This latter cuts a little on the dialogues and humor, but it features another brilliant soundtrack by Goblin! I could easily write another five page-essay about the genius of this movie, but it would just constantly re-confirm that it's absolute must-see! In case you haven't yet, make "Dawn of the Dead" a priority and also make sure you've got the horror-munchies!

After being introduced to "Halloween," I was introduced to other horror movies for which I heard my peers talked about in school and after watching this movie on the movie channel, I was introduced to something more gruesome than anything else. "Dawn of the Dead" is the sequel to the popular cult "Night of the Living Dead" in which two national guards, a reporter and a pilot have escaped Philadelphia on a chopper after finding out that the whole globe has been affected with zombies resurrecting from the dead and attacking the living. The four of them hide out in a deserted mall where they think everything is safe until they realize that the reporter is pregnant and that they're zombies invading the mall. After exterminating the zombies, the survivors make the mall their own home where they shop for food, steal the cash and turn a small room into a personal resting place. "Dawn of the Dead" is by far one of the best horror films and sequels I have ever seen. It's dark, mean and much more violent than the original black and white horror film.

OK I just got done watching this and it was great this is the first movie I have seen in the United States Of America that I had not seen in the United Kingdom I have seen "DAWN OF THE DEAD" I just never seen the Euoropean version under the tittle "ZOMBI" instead of the tittle "DAWN OF THE DEAD" this is the version done by Dario Argento and it was great I liked it a lot more than the other versions the music in this was different and the sound effects are different and there are some different scenes than the other version I first saw about a year or two ago. If you have not seen this version you should check it out it is really good and maintains all of it great and bloody gore scenes it has almost all ways has had.

This is one of the better horror films you'll ever see. The 2004 remake was an absolute bore-fest I thought. In all truth I've seen a ridiculous amount of zombie films, from the modern era all the way back to the many classic black and white films. I'm pretty sure I've nearly seen them all at this point. To me there simply is no better zombie film than this. Some Romero fans claim Night of the Living Dead is his best, but to me that was just part of his warm up to this, his true zombie masterpiece. 8/10.

The zombie apocalypse has hit Earth. Two personnel from a TV station and two policemen set off in a helicopter to find a safe place to hide out. Their search leads them to a shopping mall where they manage to find a place that, while not zombie-free, is quite secure. So far, so good.

I am generally not into zombie movies but Dawn of the Dead worked for me. Written and directed by the master of the zombie genre, George A Romero, the film is entertaining and largely avoids the pitfalls that makes the average zombie movie at best B-grade.

For one, it has a decent plot. There's a setup and development plus a great unforeseen twist. The average zombie movie just launches into the humans vs zombies confrontation without much of set up, or a token one at best. After that it's a series of clashes between the two sides until someone discovers the secret to exterminating the zombies, or kills their ringleader.

Allied to this, there's few contrivances and the plot mostly makes sense (except for the zombie bit, of course). No deus ex machinas, few discontinuities or inconsistencies. (Though not sure why the biker decided to test his blood pressure while surrounded by zombies...).

Not perfect though. Performances are generally so-so. Ken Foree, Gaylen Ross and David Emge are okay (though hardly brilliant) in their roles but Scott H Reiniger, as Roger, hams it up. Some of the supporting actors do their best to make this into a B-grade movie: the psycho cop at the beginning of the film took overacting to a whole new level.

In addition, the conclusion is a bit tame and anti-climactic. I was expecting something more powerful.

Overall: one of the best zombie dramas. Not that this really says that much, considering the genre, but it is entertaining, not matter what genre it is categorised as.

A whole lot of people like Dawn of the Dead, and that's fine. If it's your favorite movie, then good for you-- your opinion is every bit as valid as mine or anyone else's. But just to break the monotony of the almost universally positive user comments for this film, I now contribute my opinion. Dawn of the Dead is one of the most awful movies I have ever seen. It left me stunned and speechless and thoroughly convinced it was the worst film of all time; I've since seen worse movies (like George Romero's Knightriders and the Night of the Living Dead remake), but my distaste for Dawn remains unchanged. It is pointless, sloppy, unrealistic garbage that drags on and on despite numerous moments when they could easily have ended the film and shown everyone mercy. But no, they have to tack on more plot developments (like the biker gang that randomly shows up) just so we can suffer for another half hour. And the main characters are too stupid for us to relate with them-- one of them doesn't even know what a mall is, and then they steal money from the bank even though civilization has fallen apart and they can just take whatever they want from the mall anyway. The acting is equally awful, particularly the helicopter pilot and the bikers. Mix in some painfully obvious continuity mistakes (the disappearing zombies next to the exploding car, the scene where Roger gets drenched in zombie blood that vanishes in the next shot) and you've got one of the few genuinely awful movies. Films like this achieve a kind of dark grandeur-- it's not easy to make movies this bad, but somehow Romero pulls it off again and again (something must have happened to him right after he made the great original Night of the Living Dead). Odds are you'll probably like this film for whatever reason everybody else has for liking it. But if you watch it and hate every stupid, repulsive moment, take comfort-- you're not alone.

There's no much to say about this movie that wasn't said before. This is one of the hilarious, horrifying and goriest movies of all time. George A. Romero brought us a masterpiece of black humor and violence, also with a very interesting and relevant critic content. Dawn of the Dead isn't just a horror movie. Dawn... is an acid, pungent and veracious social critic about alienation, consumerism and lacks of communication. OK, there are some continuity errors and also the acting is not so good, but that's doesn't bother so much when you have such a genius screenplay and a brilliant direction like in Dawn of the Dead. A horror movie that have so much to say. Groundbreaking and unique!