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Dawn Of The DeadDir: George Romero R 18+ 127 mins (feature only) Umbrella/AV Channel I've not seen the recent remake of 'Dawn Of The Dead' - embarrassingly, I only saw the original when this DVD landed on my desk - but I've long been aware of its hallowed position in the horror pantheon and, therefore, of some of the risks that a remake would run. Having seen the original I'm now especially curious, because 'Dawn Of The Dead''s status is unquestionably well deserved. The film was George A Romero's sixth film and second stab at the zombie genre, following his 1968 debut feature 'Night Of The Living Dead' (itself a far more well-made and interesting film than one might give it credence for) and is generally accepted as his masterpiece. As a horror film 'Dawn...' is a rollercoaster ride, while as a piece of social commentary it's blackly humorous. The pacing is particularly impressive, beginning with a Philidelphia news station frantically buzzing with the recently declaration of a state of emergency as the dead come inexplicably back to life (and - thankfully - there's never any Ed Wood-esque attempts to explain why it's happening: all we know is that the dead are returning and killing people, who then become walking dead and starting killing people, who then...). A swat team attempts to clear an apartment building of the zombies, but two of the officers - Peter Washington (Ken Foree) and Roger DeMarco (Scott H Reiniger) - realise what they're up against and decide to flee along with news producer Francine Parke (Gaylen Ross) and news helicopter pilot Stephen Andrews (David Emge). Low on fuel and slowly realising that the crisis is not limited to Philadelphia, they decide to hole up in a shopping mall, gathering supplies and clearing out the zombies who are still wandering about inside (Stephen puts it down to "Some kind of instinct, a memory of what they used to do. This was an important place in their lives"). However it all goes pear shaped when their hideout is discovered by a gang of bikers - cue the most protracted and gory biker vs zombie battle in cinema history - as the group are cut down and the relentless zombie tide discovers their hideaway... The four principals are excellent, especially Foree whose calm-yet-badass, take-no-shit demeanor is the template for every Samuel L Jackson performance ever. Romero keeps the tension up throughout but throws in odd moments of slapstick (zombie pie fight?) and the gore, by special effects genius Tom Savini (who also plays the biker Blades and does almost all of the stunts), flows freely but never strays into splatter-for-splatter's-sake. The DVD is also loaded with extras - commentary by Romero and producer Richard P Rubenstein, the entertaining and illuminating 75 minute-long 2004 documentary 'The Dead Will Walk' (with interviews with almost everyone connected with the film, including most of the actors, crew and co-producer/legendary Italian horror auteur Dario Argento), trailers and (damn near unreadable) talent biographies. Don't be mislead into thinking this is a slice of mindless violence and gore: there's plenty of both, but the film works equally well as an artful, intelligent satire on consumerism - and, of course, it's just plain entertaining. Word is that Romero is working on a fourth Dead film after his disappointment with 1985's 'Day Of The Dead' and the acclaim heaped on the recent remake (which, incidentally, features cameos from Foree, Reiniger and Savini). In the meantime, 'Dawn Of The Dead' is a perfect example of what all DVDs should be like.  |
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