Classic Movie Review: Dawn of the Dead (1979)

Dawn of the Dead (1979)

Directed by: George A. Romero.

Written by: George A. Romero.

Starring: David Emge (Stephen "Flyboy" Andrews), Ken Foree (Peter Washington), Scott Reiniger (Roger "Trooper" DeMarco), Gaylen Ross (Francine Parker), Dave Crawford (Dr. James Foster), David Early (Mr. Sidney Berman), Richard France (Dr. Millard Rausch), Howard Smith (TV Commentator).

 

George A. Romero invented the modern zombie genre with 1968’s Night of the Living Dead – and he perfected it a decade later in Dawn of the Dead. Everyone who has made a zombie movie – or TV show – since 1979, has had to reckon in some way to Romero’s classic, and still no one has outdone him. It is one of the best horror films ever made, and the best zombie movie anyone has, or ever will, make. The movie was considered shockingly violent for 1979 audiences – reading over Roger Ebert’s review from the time now, he sounds like he’s describing an extreme Japanese (or French) horror film. Watching the film now, all that stylized violence doesn’t hit in quite the same way – the blood is clearly the too bright red of paint, and movies have consistently raised the bar on just how brutal and bloody and gruesome they are willing to become. Yet Dawn of the Dead lasts, and is still a great movie even if that shock value has faded a little bit. The reason being, of course, is that Romero has a bigger purpose in mind that just creative ways to kill zombies (though, he’s great at that as well).

 

Romero’s Night of the Living Dead is a smaller, more intimate film than Dawn of the Dead. He made that film on a shoestring budget, so having just a few characters, a field, a farmhouse and a lot of friends willing to dawn zombie makeup worked wonders. From the start of Dawn of the Dead, we know the film is going to have a larger canvas. In two wonderful sequence, Romero introduces us to a newsroom in the midst of reporting on the zombie outbreak (which has started before the movie, thank god, so he doesn’t have to explain it) – and in particular to helicopter pilot Stephen Andrews (David Emge) and his girlfriend Francine (Gaylen Ross). They are background players in the newsroom – and they’re getting out as soon as possible. He then plunges us into a 10-15 minute sequence of unrelenting violence as he follows a police SWAT team as they storm an apartment building in which the zombies have taken, as the cops try, in vain, to quell the zombie uprising there as well. Eventually, Romero settles on two of the cops – Peter (Ken Foree) and Roger (Scott Reiniger). They will, eventually, find their way into the helicopter alongside Stephen and Francine – flying above the countryside as it devolves into complete chaos. They have to keep stopping for supplies however, and eventually, they find a mall – and the hit upon an idea. A mall has everything you could ever ask for. If they could clear the mall of the undead, they’d have their pick of supplies, and be able to ride out, whatever the hell this is.

 

The setting of the mall gives Romero ample opportunities for both creative use of zombies, and his brand of social commentary. The idea that people are really zombies – rushing to the mall, buying the latest whatever, as if on autopilot – wasn’t a particularly original idea in 1979, or today – but Romero handles it effectively, and with many clever touches. Watching as the zombies get confused when the escalators come on – and some them try to walk up the down one – is brilliant physical comedy. Besides, Romero is only getting started with his commentary of the humans being consumerist zombies in the beginning – as the film goes on, he exposes humanity’s crass, cruel greed in ways that are more subtle than that. The four survivors – especially the three men – get obsessed with their stuff, their possessions, and their mall, their everything – until they lose sight of everything else. This comes into focus more in the finale – when a bike gang tries to infiltrate the mall to get their stuff. Both groups – those on the inside, and those on the outside – are more concerned with the stuff, than anything else – even survival. There’s more than enough to go around, but instead, they end up destroying everything. As with all of Romero’s films – it isn’t the zombies that are the real monsters in the film – they are, after all, only following their basic instincts, which is all they have – the humans in his films make the choice to be depraved.

 

It should also just be mentioned that Dawn of the Dead is incredibly fun to watch. The film goes over-the-top with the blood and gore, in that fun way that 1970s horror films could do. The film isn’t particularly scary in that gradually mounting suspense way, it’s more about the sick and depraved, and that it does remarkably well. Romero always finds interesting ways to kill zombies, and he does that here with great zeal.

 

There have been many fine zombie movies made in the years since Dawn of the Dead. Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later is probably the best (its sequel is great too) – and even Zack Snyder’s remake of this film is pretty damn good (it isn’t a deep film by any means, but it kills zombies real good, even if we all know that zombies are slow, not fast). Shaun of the Dead is good as well – a clever take on the genre, using the clichés for comedy, but then actually making a fine horror film. Romero himself has returned the genre four times – Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead, all of which are worthy in some ways (Survival, not so much, but the others are fine). But he hasn’t topped Dawn of the Dead yet – and no one else has either. And I don’t think they ever will.