Dawn of the Dead 1978

Another Halloween is upon us so I will share with you my favorite zombie movie George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead." First thing, sorry if this got posted post-Halloween I've been busy. Second let's talk about "Night of the Living Dead" first. As you all know there would be no "Dawn of Dead" without "Night of the Living Dead." "Night of the Living Dead" is Romero's first take on what he is known for, zombie movies. "Night of the Living Dead" game out in 1968. It was brilliant and for many it was the first look at zombies in the movies. Even though "Night of the Living Dead" was not the first zombie movie made, it is one that many consider a great classic. It has a simple premise a small group of people try to barricade themselves in old house from the horde of zombies coming into their home. It was simple, but scary and unique for its time. So ten years later George A. Romero the master of the Zombie movie brings of "Dawn of the Dead." In my opinion "Dawn of the Dead" is one of the greatest zombie classics there is. Here is the trailer.


The plot is pretty basic: four humans take shelter in an abandoned shopping mall from a zombie invasion. The plot may be simple but sometimes a simple plot works better. The make-up and horror effects are done by the one of best in the horror business, Tom Savini. He has done some other zombie movies and other low-budget horror films. Also he did make-up and effects for "Friday the 13th" and "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter." He does it all practically; that is no CGI. He's really good at what he does and it shows in this movie.



Yeah I know it's weird that a lot of zombies are a blueish, but there wasn't a lot previous zombie movies before this one. I guess some are blue because they couldn't get the make-up exactly right. In addition to make-up and effects Tom Savini plays the head biker at the end of the movie.

There is no explanation for why zombies have taken over except this line which is a great line: "When there is no more room in Hell the dead will walk the Earth." In fact that is the best explanation you can have for a zombie invasion in my opinion. That line was so awesome they repeated in the 2004 remake by the same actor as a small cameo character shown as a Televangelist. Here is the scene with the line from the original movie.



Another thing I like is the music. I believe the music adds to the fun of scenes; making the scenes even much more fun. The main theme as an eerie feel to it, and it would also fit for metal band. Listen.



Speaking of music the end credit theme is one of the oddest themes to end a gory zombie flick. I just love the chimes of clock at the end though. Here listen.



George Romero's is not only the director, but he wrote the screenplay and edited the movie as well. In addition to that he plays a television camera operator. Mr. Romero made another zombie flick "Day of the Dead" in 1985. Iv'e saw it once at least 10 years ago. I don't remember much of it though.



Romero has continued writing and directing horror and zombie movies over the years and several of his movies has been remade, including three of the "Dead" movies. People really love his work, and even though I haven't seen his recent work I just love the original classic of "Dawn of the Dead." I am aware that other people have their favorite zombie movies (Romero made or not.) I also respect their opinions because everyone deserves one; whether others agree or not. I also look forward to hear what your favorite is.

Now then some people have probably seen George's later creations and prefer them. Since I have not seen them I cannot judge whether they are good or bad. All I know is out of all the zombie movies I have seen "Dawn of Dead" is my favorite for many reasons. I like the simple story. I like the zombies. I like the gore. I like the characters. I like the make-up/ effects. And I like the music. "Dawn of the Dead" is a great classic zombie movie and I recommend this movie to any fan of classic zombie/horror. "Dawn of the Dead," "When there is no more room in Hell the Dead will walk the Earth."

Retrodave's rating: 9.5