Dawn of the Dead (Original)

George Romero's  Dawn of the Dead is another one of those movies that, if you want to style yourself a zombie movie buff, you'll need to watch, and probably want to own.

Though not quite as influential as Night of the Living Dead, as it brought little new to Romero's zombie formula other than MORE ZOMBIES!!! and COLOUR!!!, Dawn of the Dead is actually quite critically regarded as an excellent satire and one of the better horror movies to come out of the 80's.

The film follows four people who, in the midst of a massive zombie outbreak and general worldwide apocalypse, flee to a helicopter and decide to camp out in a shopping mall.

They manage to chase the zombies out and eek out a more or less normal existence, surrounded by the trappings of a modern world that has long since ceased to function. But will their base desire for material possessions prove their downfall? Will the most dangerous thing, apart from the flesh-hungry undead disco dancers, prove to be other human beings?

All kidding aside, Romero's zombie films, the good ones anyway, have always been able to transcend the genre because they're films about something, that just happen to have zombies in them. Far too many films simply use a 'hey! we've got zombies!' outlook and then spend 60 minutes making heads explode. Not that I'm complaining, there is a time and place for everything, but Dawn of the Dead deserves it's high reputation, and rewards multiple viewings.

This is the DVD that I have currently; it's awesome if you're into this movie, Romero, or behind-the-scenes footage and film-making. It has multiple cuts of the film, multiple commentaries with the actual filmmakers and cast full of interesting tidbits and memories, and a sweet documentary about the making of the film, among other things.

Dawn of the Dead
Directed by George Romero
Written By George Romero
Starring David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, Gayleen Ross
Effects by Tom Savini