Dawn of the Dead: 20 Years Later
On the 19th of March 2004, Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead was released. It went on to become the most successful change in the zombie movie and made Zack Snyder and James Gunn massive names to pay attention in Hollywood. While people can debate which one is better, very few say either is bad.
Today, I am going to look at Dawn of the Dead 20 Years Later and look at the impact it made on the zombie horror subgenre.
The Original Zombie Movies
The first zombie theme in a movie was released in 1919, it was a French movie called ‘J’accuse’. It focuses more on the zombies from the traumas of war. Elsewhere, ‘White Zombie’ is widely considered the first pure zombie movie. A whole host of zombie movies followed until 1968 changed everything.
George A Romero released ‘Night of the Living Dead’ one of the most grounded-breaking zombie movies ever made. It is considered the one of the greatest horror movies ever made. Lucio Fulci’s ‘Zombi 2’ proved people around the world could bring their own spins on the biggest franchise around. He would continue to be one of the most influential directors in the subgenre too. Stuart Gordon gave us Re-Animator and Dan O’Bannon the cult classic ‘The Return of the Living Dead’.
Stephen King had his spins on the subgenre too, with Mary Lambert directing ‘Pet Sematary’. Peter Jackson gave us ‘Braindead’ proving some of the biggest names were involved in the subgenre. However, one major thing remained in the movies, the speed of the zombies. They were always considered slow and easy to avoid unless there were large numbers.
28 Days Later Changed the Game
In 2002, Danny Boyle released 28 Days Later, and it changed the game. The zombies are referred to as infected and run at incredible speed. This change added an all-new level of fear to the zombie subgenre. One that Zack Snyder ran with in Dawn of the Dead. What followed was a massive increase in the number of zombie movies and we never knew what we were getting from them.
The biggest thing the change did was challenge directors to bring a new original spin to their movies. We did get treated to some excellent additions to the subgenre. However, it also gave birth to the cheaper cash grabs which lacked the imaginations others gave us.
Critical Reception
Dawn of the Dead sits on 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus reading ‘A kinetic, violent and surprisingly worthy remake of George Romero’s horror classic that pays homage to the original while working on its own terms.’
Positive
Lisa Schwarzbaum for Entertainment Weekly quotes ’Snyder, making a killer feature debut, trades homemade cheesiness for knowing style, revels in the sophistication of modern special effects, and stomps off with the best remake — er, ‘re-envisioning’ — of a horror classic in memory.’
Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times quotes ‘Dawn of the Dead works and it delivers just about what you expect when you buy your ticket.’
Negative
Michael Wilmington in the Chicago Tribune quotes ‘Romero’s movie was both scary and satiric, but this reprise, directed by British TV-ad wiz Zack Snyder, is neither.’
Elvis Mitchell in the New York Times quotes ‘Mr. Snyder’s blood feast is strictly by the numbers: this second-rater could be the world’s most expensive Troma film.’
Box Office
Dawn of the Dead was produced with a budget of $28 Million and went on to make just over $100 Million worldwide. It was the second-highest horror movie in the US Box Office behind ‘The Grudge’ remake. However, worldwide it was fourth behind ‘Resident Evil Apocalypse’ and ‘Saw’.
The Rise of Zack Snyder & James Gunn
Dawn of the Dead is Zack Snyder’s feature film debut after spending his early career directing music videos. We know he has gone on to become one of the biggest names in Hollywood with his involvement in the DCU movies. Outside of them, he has always wanted to bring his own vision to the movie.
James Gunn wrote the screenplay for Dawn of the Dead. He has also gone on to become the lead creative behind the DCU as well as bringing the Guardians of the Galaxy to life. This movie proved the pair knew how to go big and make a major impact in Hollywood.
What do you think of Dawn of the Dead?