Dawn Of The Dead

Synopsis: The world is being taken over by zombies; the dead are rising and eating the flesh of the living. TV stations are in meltdown as they try to spread the horrific news. One studio worker escapes from the chaos with her pilot boyfriend and two FBI swat team members. Finding refuge in a shopping mall the survivors clear the shops of zombies and seal themselves in. Despite the wealth of riches at their fingertips they become bored with the goods they can so readily obtain. Their haven is shattered when a group of bikers breaks in and lets the zombies back into the shopping mall for a fight to the death.

"When there's no room left in hell, the dead will walk the earth". George. A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead is a rare thing in the horror genre. An intelligent, political allegory that condemns the commerciality of the American way while still giving the horror audience what they want; hoards of zombies chewing their way through rednecks, bikers, SWAT teams, basically anything with a pulse. It's a rollercoaster ride of epic proportions and broadens the scope of Romero's first foray into the zombie genre, the seminal Night of the Living Dead, the film that started it all.

The legendary Tom Savini, a Vietnam veteran, provides the films make -up effects, bright red blood sprays everywhere as the zombies rip open their hapless prey. Savini also has a role as a biker and did most of the film's stunt work. Romero went on to direct this film's sequel Day of the Dead, as well as Knightriders, The Dark Half and the wonderful comic book horrors of Creepshow with Stephen King but he never re-captured the success of this film. Of the uniformly good cast only Ken Foree went on to anything else of note, starring in Stuart Gordon's slime-filled From Beyond.

The film's score is a cacophonic mix of progressive rock by Goblin collaborating with the film's producer, Dario Argento, and lift musak that adds to the monotony of the mall-dwellers lives once the zombie threat has been cleared. The European version, re-edited by Argento, upped the rock music and violence and removed the sombre mood that Romero was trying to create.

As far as horror goes, Dawn of the Dead is rightly regarded as a masterpiece by critics and audiences alike. It is one of the quintessential horror films of the 70s and as such should be seen by any fan of the genre.

 

 

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