Title: Dawn of the Dead

Year Released/Rating: 2004 R

Starring: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer

Directed By: Zack Snyder

Written By: George A. Romero, James Gunn

Genre: Horror

Star Rating:  4/5 stars

Where I Got It: I own it

Trivia:

• The WGON traffic copter makes an appearance. The WGON traffic copter was the main transportation for the survivor in the original Dawn of the Dead.
• The mall scenes of the film as well as the rooftop scenes were shot in the Thornhill Square Shopping Centre in Thornhill, Ontario and the rest of the scenes were shot in the Aileen-Willowbrook Neighborhood of Thornhill, and the Township of Caledon East, Ontario. The set for Ana and Louis's bedroom was constructed in a back room of the mall. The mall was defunct, which is the reason the production used it; the movie crew completely renovated the structure, and stocked it with fictitious stores after Starbucks Coffee and numerous other corporations refused to let their names be used (two exceptions to this are Roots and Panasonic). Most of the mall was demolished shortly after the film was shot.
• Shot in chronological order.
• Most of the zombie makeup was modeled after real and gruesome forensic photos.
• The two zombies with missing limbs (the jogger missing an arm and the legless zombie in the parking garage) were both played by actual amputees. The same thing was done for one of the first zombies seen in the original Dawn of the Dead.
• The production had a blood cart on set all day due to the excessive amounts of fake blood being used.
• Zack Snyder said that the reason his zombies run at full speed is because he wanted to avoid the inherent comic impression given by slow, shuffling undead.
• The group in the mall had named the two parking shuttles; the first one, holding Nicole, CJ, Michael, and Ana was named The Pinta, the one carrying Terry, Kenneth, Steve, Glen and Monica was named The Santa Maria.

Summary: 

A nurse, a policeman, a young married couple, a salesman, and other survivors of a worldwide plague that is producing aggressive, flesh-eating zombies, take refuge in a mega Midwestern shopping mall.

Review: 

This doesn't have the same slow creepiness as the original, but it does have its fair share of "gotcha" moments.  It gore filled and crude at times, but overall I really enjoy Snyder's take on the zombie apocalypse.  Plus, he added so many nods to the original trilogy that I just have to love it.  The characters are interesting.  I loved Ana and Michael.  But even the villans are sufficiently interesting to keep my attention.  My big complaint with the movie is with the colorization.  Everything is super saturated and it somehow looks off.

Best Bits: 

• Michael: Truck's not gonna make it to Fort Pastor.   Steve: No, forget the truck. That place is fucked, man. Bloodbath city.   Kenneth: How do you know?  Norma: We just came from there. Kenneth: Is everyone there dead?  Steve: Or dead-ish.  Kenneth: [more firm tone] Is everyone there dead?   Steve: Yeah, in the sense that they all, sort of, fell down, and then... got up and... started eating each other.
• CJ: [after everyone enters an elevator to escape the zombies] I like this song.
• Michael: I want you to see this.  [shows how the chainsaw goes through the truck walls]  Michael: When those things are on the side of the bus, this'll get them off. Cool, huh?  Ana: Wow. That might be the most romantic thing anyone's ever shown me. Michael: I'm trying here.
• Steve: I have an idea. While we're at it, why don't we drop by the marina, hop in my boat and take it for a pleasure cruise, you jackasses!  Ana: Wait, that's a good idea. There's islands out there. There's not many people on them.  Steve: I was kidding.
• Ana: [everyone has run to the roof to watch the BP truck racing around the mall parking lot] What are we gonna do about that truck?   CJ: We're not gonna do anything about that truck!  Ana: There's people in there!  CJ: Yeah, and how do you know they're not all fucked up like everybody else out there?  Ana: Well, for one thing, they're driving a truck. [gunshots coming from truck]  Ana: Oh, and shooting guns.
• Kenneth: You sure you wanna do this?  Michael: Yeah. I think I'll just stay here awhile. Enjoy the sunrise.
• Michael: [Everyone is sitting down to dinner] Before that I worked in a stationary store. And I drove a snowplow. Fixed copiers.  Steve: God, it's such a shame that this whole "end of the world" thing's holding you back.