George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978): A Zombie Classic

Dawn of the Dead, George Romero’s long-running 1978 sequel to his own Night of the Living Dead, was even more financially successful than its predecessor, making less than $ 1,000,000 and grossing $ 55,000,000 in theaters around the world. It marks special effects master Tom Savini’s second collaboration with Romero after the brilliant 1977 vampire movie Martin, and his early graphic work here doesn’t disappoint, even 33 years after the movie was made. Many horror fans consider it on par with the original, as reflected by the fact that both movies have the same average 8.0 rating on IMDB. Italian horror master Dario Argento, who was also a fan of Romero, helped produce the film, worked with Goblin on the soundtrack, and edited the film for its theatrical release in Italy, where it was also a huge success. The film effortlessly blends dark humor and graphic horror in a way that few horror movies have achieved so successfully.

Due to the film’s graphic violence and gore (which director Romero refused to cut for its theatrical release in the US), it failed to achieve an R rating and was released unrated and uncut in the United States. in May 1979, since it was released in 1978. in Italy. In its completely uncut German version, the movie is 156 minutes long, but the most common “uncensored” version is the 126-minute cut that originally screened in theaters, and having seen both cuts, IMO this is the version to watch. .

Dawn of the Dead begins in a frenzied television station where several people are in hiding due to the spread of the zombie epidemic that began in the original. Four people, television reporter Francine (Gaylen Ross) and her pilot boyfriend Stephen (David Emge) and SWAT members Peter (Ken Foree) and Roger (Scott Reiniger), escape to the sky in a helicopter and fly to the roof of a near emptiness. shopping center, where they are installed in a warehouse of goods. With the sprawling mall to themselves, our four friends indulge in all the joys of a late 1970s mall, including sailing, rollerblading, bowling, looting stores, etc., and our heroes they can temporarily forget their circumstances within their own private oasis safe from the dangerous zombie-filled outside world. But all good things must come to an end in a George Romero movie, and soon a destructive motorcycle gang breaks into the mall and recklessly speeds through the wide hallways, letting the hungry mass of zombies in with them. From this moment on, the movie turns into a gore party in which our heroes fight for their lives not only against an army of zombies, but also against a squad of crazy motorcyclists.

Much of the success of the film depends on the performance of our four leads, and they all do a spectacular job and make us care about the characters they fight. Gaylen Ross had the role of her life with her first film role as Francine, and it was her idea that the character never scream but always fight zombies, which she felt made Francine seem stronger and more capable of protecting herself. herself. than many other horror heroines. After appearing in creepy slasher Madman and very briefly in Romero’s Creepshow, he retired from acting and went on to write and direct, so the movie will likely remain his brief but brilliant moment in the sun, and that’s not a bad thing. , as Dawn of The Dead is a class act everywhere.

Dawn of the Dead also marks the film debut of the magnificent character actor Ken Foree, who is a pillar of strength and wit as the no-nonsense Peter, and who has made a name for himself in the film industry as a busy and talented actor. actor. David Emge more or less retired from the cinema acting as Ross after this and returned to the stage, but his performance as “Flyboy” Stephen is very good. Scott Reiniger should have been a star after Dawn of the Dead, as he effortlessly wins the sympathy of the public as Roger, who ends up getting bitten by a zombie and little by little becomes one, eventually convincing Peter to shoot him. Before he becomes one of the drooling ones. things.

As noted above, Tom Savini’s makeup effects are amazing and very innovative for their time. Savini also served as a stuntman on the film, and many of the film’s dangerous stunts are impressively handled by him. Real pig intestines were used in a graphic gutting sequence not for the squeamish, and some of the zombie actors who ate human remains in a basement at the beginning of the film were actual amputees. It’s safe to say that gorehounds will be delighted with Dawn of the Dead, which can be described as a zombie splatter movie to the thinking viewer. When it was remastered in 2004, the on-screen pink blood color was tinted a darker, more “realistic” shade of red, though Romero reportedly approved of the original blood hue because he felt it gave the film a more “lifelike” hue. “comic”. “feel.

Rarely does a horror movie sequel match the quality of its predecessor, but Dawn of the Dead is a definite exception to the rule that continues to delight horror fans 33 years after its inception. It was surprisingly well remade in 2004 by Zack Snyder and, like the original, has inspired countless knockoffs, none of which can touch his expert mix of horror and humor, blood and fantasy. I rate Dawn of the Dead a deserved 10 out of 10.