Dawn of the Dead (1978) Film Review: The Best Zombie Film, Period.

I'm going to be watching "Zombieland: Double Tap" at some point next week and felt the need to review some zombie films beforehand. Although I was considering to just review the first film, I decided to review what is highly regarded as one of the best in its genre. The second installment of George Romero's "Dead" series is a stand-alone sequel, focusing on a different cast of characters as the zombie epidemic is sweeping across America. Two SWAT members and two TV station workers hitch a ride on a helicopter in order to find a safe haven. As resources get lower, they are forced to take shelter in a zombie-infested mall, that appears to be the best place they can have. However, not only is it a challenge to get rid of all of the undead that are in the mall, but perhaps their new way of life is just too unbearable. The best zombie films often have simple premises, usually a group of survivors in a specific location. The use of a shopping mall as the central location of the film is a very smart move. Not only is it one that can be used to its advantage for the survivors, but it symbolizes consumerism with the zombies being seen as mindless shoppers due to their desire to be around the mall from a previous primal instinct. Although this isn't really scary, the film does have horrific scenes and concepts. Moments such as the zombie children, Roger slowly dying by his wounds, or complementing suicide in a critical moment are horror in its own way, but the film likes to have fun though. It's not a goofy comedy, but the characters do manage to have fun, make jokes or toy around with the zombies if they can. I feel that the film blends both horror and comedy in a perfect way that it doesn't seem like a comedy, but not too much of a overdramatic thrill show.

The characters make this film as great as it is. A problem with many horror films is how poorly written, cliched, or disposable the cast of characters are, even the main leads get pretty generic. This is a common trap for the genre that many films fail to overcome, even the 2004 remake has a more underwritten cast than the original. Why the characters in this film work so well is that the group is just made up of four people, which makes it easier to learn or grow attached to them. Peter is basically the leader of the group with his skills in combat and planning, Roger is the guy who tries to have the most fun and enjoys killing zombies despite the circumstances, Stephan is the paranoid guy who eventually grows to take initiative when he has to, and Francine is the women who is always contemplating on how staying in the mall is a bad idea, which her complaining gets worse when she gets pregnant. Francine is viewed as the weakest link in the group by many, due to her just moaning about everything and always seems to enjoy getting herself into danger. Although her argument about staying in the mall does bring up an interesting point of view, she is clearly a bad character, though she does manage to help the group and becomes less annoying by the third act. Despite this, these characters work super well off with each other and feel like real human beings and not a typical cliche. I love details like how they enjoy playing around in the mall once they make it their new home and how the storage room they took refuge in has transformed into a nice apartment. Roger is clearly my favourite of the group, mostly due to how Ken Foree plays him so much like a grounded action hero. I can't say much else for side characters, since the four leads are the focus of the story and random background characters such as the bikers or panic-filled newscasters are just there to show the effects of the epidemic to people and society. Although Day of the Dead gets pretty close, this is the best cast of characters in a horror and/or zombie film due to their chemistry amongst each other, likeability, human-like acting, and how capable they are as survivors.

Despite creating the modern zombie, George A. Romero was very much an independent filmmaker as his films were low-budget and feeling as if it was made out of passion and not out for money. You can tell from the quality of the picture and camerawork that it's no professional Hollywood production. Romero however knew exactly how to use the resources he was given to make a great, piece of entertainment. The sequences of the survivors encountering the zombies are pretty tense to this day. It's not super scary, though the action scenes are very well-directed. The make-up by Tom Savini is of course great for their time. While the next installment will have the best effects from the artist, these were some pretty good gore effects for the time. Sure, the zombies look like they have been painted on and the blood is very bright red, but there is something charming watching a film with these effects. It works well, since we mostly just see the blood rather than actual gore, since we only have a few central characters in a tiny group. The music is also nicely tied into the tone of the film. There is plenty of upbeat or comedic music played usually when we only just see zombies onscreen shambling about, bumping into things and such. However, it is the score from the Italian rock band, Goblin, that gives out some very memorable tunes during the scenes of our characters killing zombies or escaping the undead. It's very 70's, and it's refreshing for my ears to hear compared to modern music. I also love the central location of the mall, which was a hassle for the crew to film, but gives the film a very unique identity and personality that is rarely replicated in other films or media due to this film. It's a shame that Romero had passed away, since we would never know what he would have done to add to the genre in recent years, but he has surely made a timeless classic for the genre.

What else can be said of this film? Perhaps it has aged a bit to modern times, specifically the make-up of the zombies and the weak character of Francine, but these barely impact the quality of this film, compared to many from the genre. With great characters, fun, suspense, light commentary, memorable soundtrack, and smart directing from Romero, there is no film like "Dawn of the Dead". It is easily the best of the franchise and Romero's crowning achievement. Although "Night of the Living Dead" introduced the modern zombie, this film cements on how to make any sort of medium featuring zombies both entertaining and compelling at the same time.

Verdict: 9/10. Personally, my favourite horror film of all time, despite it not being very scary. Please check out the original and not the awful remake from 2004!