Dawn of the Dead | 2004
"Dawn of the Dead" is an action-horror film directed by Zack Snyder in 2004, marking his feature directorial debut. The screenplay was written by James Gunn and is a remake of George A. Romero's 1978 film of the same name. The ensemble cast includes Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, and Mekhi Phifer, with cameos from original film actors Scott Reiniger, Tom Savini, and Ken Foree. The film is set in Milwaukee and follows the story of survivors trying to stay alive during a zombie apocalypse.
Producers Eric Newman and Mark Abraham decided to revitalize the zombie genre for modern audiences through the remake of the original "Dawn of the Dead." They purchased the rights from original co-producer Richard P. Rubinstein and hired Gunn to write the screenplay, focusing on reworking the premise to fit the action genre. Snyder aimed to make the remake purely horror, setting a goal to keep all aspects of production as realistic as possible. Filming took place from June to September 2003 in a soon-to-be-demolished mall in Toronto. Special makeup effects were created by David Leroy Anderson, and the music was composed by Tyler Bates, marking his first collaboration with Snyder.
"Dawn of the Dead" was released in theaters by Universal Pictures on March 19, 2004. While Romero expressed dissatisfaction with the film, critics praised it for its acting, production values, and horror elements, stating it improved upon the original. However, it was also criticized for lacking character development, being overly violent, and being indifferent to the consumerism that Romero emphasized. The film was commercially successful, grossing $102 million worldwide on a budget of $26.1 million. Retrospective reviews have regarded it as one of Snyder's best films. A spiritual sequel, "Army of the Dead," was released in 2021.
Ana, who has just finished a long shift as a nurse in the Milwaukee area, returns to the suburbs to meet her husband, Luis. She misses several urgent news broadcasts while on a scheduled date. The next morning, a zombified neighbor girl, Vivian, enters their bedroom, kills Luis, and he immediately resurrects to attack Ana. In the chaos, Ana crashes her car while trying to escape the disturbed neighborhood and loses consciousness.
When she wakes up, she joins police officer Kenneth Hall, electronics salesman Michael, petty criminal Andre, and his pregnant wife Luda. They break into a nearby mall and are attacked by zombified security guards. Three surviving guards, C.J., Bart, and Terry, force them to take weapons and help them escape. Together, they secure the mall. From the rooftop, they see isolated survivor Andy across a parking lot filled with zombies. The group discovers a military helicopter and tries to attract the pilot's attention but fails.
"Dawn of the Dead" is an action-horror film directed by Zack Snyder in 2004, marking his feature directorial debut. The screenplay was written by James Gunn and is a remake of George A. Romero's 1978 film of the same name. The ensemble cast includes Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, and Mekhi Phifer, with cameos from original film actors Scott Reiniger, Tom Savini, and Ken Foree. The film is set in Milwaukee and follows the story of survivors trying to stay alive during a zombie apocalypse.
Producers Eric Newman and Mark Abraham decided to revitalize the zombie genre for modern audiences through the remake of the original "Dawn of the Dead." They purchased the rights from original co-producer Richard P. Rubinstein and hired Gunn to write the screenplay, focusing on reworking the premise to fit the action genre. Snyder aimed to make the remake purely horror, setting a goal to keep all aspects of production as realistic as possible. Filming took place from June to September 2003 in a soon-to-be-demolished mall in Toronto. Special makeup effects were created by David Leroy Anderson, and the music was composed by Tyler Bates, marking his first collaboration with Snyder.
"Dawn of the Dead" was released in theaters by Universal Pictures on March 19, 2004. While Romero expressed dissatisfaction with the film, critics praised it for its acting, production values, and horror elements, stating it improved upon the original. However, it was also criticized for lacking character development, being overly violent, and being indifferent to the consumerism that Romero emphasized. The film was commercially successful, grossing $102 million worldwide on a budget of $26.1 million. Retrospective reviews have regarded it as one of Snyder's best films. A spiritual sequel, "Army of the Dead," was released in 2021.
The next day, a delivery truck carrying survivors enters the parking lot while being chased by zombies. C.J. and Bart want to turn them away but face opposition. The newcomers include Norma, Steve, Tucker, Monica, Glen, Frank, and his daughter Nicole. One woman is too sick to walk and is brought in on a wheelchair but dies and resurrects. After she is killed, the group learns that the disease is transmitted through bites. Frank, who is bitten, is decided to be quarantined, and when he dies and transforms, Kenneth shoots him. Andre goes out to check on Luda.
Kenneth and Andy communicate through messages written on a whiteboard, building a friendship, while romance blossoms between Ana and Michael, and Nicole and Terry. When the power goes out, C.J., Bart, Michael, and Kenneth go to the parking lot to activate the emergency generator. They discover Chips, which signals an intrusion. Zombies attack, killing Bart, and the others douse the zombies with gas and set them on fire. Meanwhile, Luda, tied up by Andre, dies during childbirth and resurrects, prompting Norma to go check on her. When Norma kills zombified Luda, Andre explodes in rage, and the two engage in a shootout that ends in their deaths. The remaining survivors discover a zombie baby and kill it immediately. The group plans to go to a local marina to find Steve's boat and escape to an island in Lake Michigan. They reinforce two shuttle buses for their escape.
To rescue Andy, the group ties supplies to Chips' body and lowers him into the parking lot. The zombies show no interest in him. Chips safely enters Andy's store, but a zombie follows him through the dog door. Nicole, who likes Chips, crashes the delivery truck into the gun shop, leading to zombified Andy trapping her. Kenneth, Michael, Tucker, Terry, and C.J. arrive through the sewers to kill Andy and rescue Nicole. They grab ammunition and return to the mall, but during the process, Tucker injures his leg, and C.J. mercifully kills him. Upon returning to the mall, they find they cannot lock the doors and must escape through the bus.
The survivors fight their way onto a bus heading to the marina. Glen mishandles a chainsaw, killing himself and Monica. Blood splatters on the front windshield, causing the bus to crash. Steve leaves the group and is killed by zombies. C.J., Kenneth, and Terry leave the other bus to search for survivors. Ana kills zombified Steve and retrieves his boat keys. Eventually, the survivors reach the marina, and C.J. sacrifices himself to allow the others to escape. Michael reveals his bite wound and kills himself. Ana, Kenneth, Nicole, Terry, and Chips set sail on the yacht.
The footage found on a camcorder on the boat shows Steve's life before the outbreak, ending with the group running low on supplies and being attacked by a horde of zombies as they approach the island.
The plan to remake the 1978 "Dawn of the Dead" was conceived by producer Eric Newman, a fan of zombie films, who referred to George A. Romero's horror film as one of the best in the genre. Newman and producer Mark Abraham aimed to revitalize the zombie genre for modern audiences through the remake, hoping to "please old fans and create many new ones." They purchased the rights to "Dawn of the Dead" from the original producer and rights holder Richard P. Rubinstein, who initially hesitated, fearing that "somewhere a studio would sanitize Newman's vision into a 'clean' version," but agreed due to Abraham's "long career of maintaining creative integrity." Newman hired James Gunn as the screenwriter, and the studio brought him on board without prior ideas. Gunn, a fan of the original, accepted the job, stating he had a general idea of what it could look like.
The producers envisioned the remake as a "reimagining," wanting to include several references to the original while primarily working as an independent piece. Newman cited "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1978), "The Thing" (1982), and "The Secret of Paris" (1986) as influences on the remake, praising these works as "excellent updates that add to rather than detract from the original film." To pay homage to Romero's film, the producers cast original actors Tom Savini, Scott Reiniger, and Ken Foree in cameos and included visual references to Galen Ross and James A. Bafico.
In the screenplay, Gunn took an action-oriented approach while remaining faithful to Romero's core premise. He developed the plot by devising a fictional scenario in which the characters must escape the mall, believing that leaving the origins of the zombie outbreak ambiguous would allow each audience member (scientific or not) to consider their perspective equally and provide food for thought on what they would do in a similar situation. The script was anonymously revised by Michael Tolkin and Scott Frank, with Tolkin focusing on character development and Frank providing more lighthearted action scenes. Gunn faced backlash on the internet due to his past as a screenwriter for "Scooby-Doo" (2002) and was criticized by original fans for being unqualified. However, film critic Harry Knowles initially opposed the remake but had a positive reaction after reading Gunn's script, which helped alleviate the concerns original fans had about Gunn.
