DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004)

MORGAN'S RATING

As the United States is turned upside-down by a strange plague-like event in which millions of corpses walk the earth as blood-thirsty zombies, a small group of survivors of the onslaught, which include a nurse and a police officer, try to find shelter and protection within a massive shopping mall in the mid-sized city of Everett, WA. What they don't reckon on is that the zombies still have some sort of residual memory, and utlimately make their way to the mall as hundreds of people normally do on a daily basis. Realizing that their time is running out, they decide to make another attempt at flight, to presumably un-zombie-infested island, but to do so, they'll have to get past thousands of zombies in between...

Sarah Polley (Ana), Ving Rhames (Kenneth), Jake Weber (Michael), Mekhi Phifer (Andre), Ty Burrell (Steve), Michael Kelly (CJ), Kevin Zegers (Terry), Michael Barry (Bart), Lindy Booth (Nicole), Jayne Eastwood (Norma), Boyd Banks (Tucker), Inna Korobkina (Luda), R.D. Reid (Glen), Kim Poirier (Monica), Matt Frewer (Frank), Justin Louis (Luis), Hannah Lochner (Vivian), Bruce Bohne (Andy), Ermes Blarasin (Bloated Woman), Sanhay Talwar (Doctor Rosen), Kim Roberts (Cora), Tim Post (Reviving Doctor), Matt Austin, Philip De Wilde (EMS Technicians), Colm Magner (Armed Neighbor), Luigia Zucaro (Naked Woman), Geoff Williams (Metro Bus Driver), Mike Realba (Maintanance Man), David Campbell (Squished Zombie), Philip Mackenzie (Thrashing Zombie), Laura DeCarteret (Washington Politician), Georgia Craig (Anchorwoman), Tino Monte (Istanbul Reporter), Chris Gillett (Older Anchorwoman), Derek Keurvorst (Scientist), Dan Duran (Confused Reporter), Liz West (CDC Reporter), Scott H. Reiniger (The General), Tom Savini (The County Sheriff), Ken FOree (The Televangelist).

WHEN THERE'S NO MORE ROOM IN HELL, THE DEAD WILL WALK THE EARTH.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

DIRECTOR: Zack Snyder. WRITERS: James Gunn, and based on the screenplay by George A. Romero. PRODUCERS: Marc Abraham, Eric Newman and Richard P. Rubinstein. CO-PRODUCER: Michael D. Messina. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Armyan Bernstein, Thomas A. Bliss and Dennis E. Jones. ORIGINAL MUSIC: Tyler Bates and Tree Adams (mall music). DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures.

QUOTES

Kenneth: Is everyone there dead? Steve: Dead-ish. C.J.: What the fuck does that mean? Steve: Well, dead in the sense that they fell down. They they got back up. Then they started eating each other.

Michael: We need to think of a way to fortify this place. C.J.: You need to drink a tall glass of Shut The Fuck Up.

FACTS

Televangelist: When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.

RELEASE DATE: March 26th, 2004 (USA) DVD RELEASE DATE: October 26th, 2004 (USA) BOX OFFICE OPENING: $26.7 million (USA) BOX OFFICE RESULT: $58.9 million (USA) BUDGET: $26 million (USA) SHOOTING DATES: June 2003 -- September 2003 - Actors Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger and Tom Savini all appeared in the original 1978 version of this film, but playing different characters. - Members of Rue Morgue Magazine, a Canadian-based publication had cameos as zombies in the film. - The WGON Traffic Copter makes an appearance. It was the main transportation for the survivors in the original film. - When the survivors initially look at the mall, one of the large department store signs reads, "Gaylen Ross". Gaylen Ross played Fran, in the original film. - One of the invoices in "Andy's Gun Works" is made out to Nicholas Gazda who is the first assistant art director of this movie. - The same trucking company trucks were used outside the mall as in the first film. The company is B.P. Trucking. - Certain stores in the mall did not want to be featured in the movie, the same thing happened while filming the original film. - The "video" shots shown in the final credits were not shot in Toronto. This ending was added after filming was complete and was shot at Catalina Island, California. - One of the most gruesome "zombies" (the bloated woman killed with a fireplace poker), was actually played by a man. - While they are stocking up on ammunition in the gun store, the music from the gun store in the original film can be heard playing very lightly in the background.

Kenneth: Fuck Y'all

Terry: Everybody's dead. Your mom's dead. Your brother's dead. That fat chick at Dairy Queen, dead.

CRITICAL COMMENTS

"Tense, bloody, funny and smart; lacks original's conscience, but it's still a surprisingly gritty remake." -- M.E. Russell, Oregonian

"Gruesome, funny, everything a horror film should be." -- John Anderson, Newsday

"For those who enjoy tight, tense, graphic horror, this movie offers an ample helping." -- James Berardinelli, Reel Views

"The joke isn't fresh, but it holds up well in this crackling remake of George Romero's 1978 sequel to Night of the Living Dead." -- Jami Bernard, New York Daily News

"Smarter, tighter, and far scarier, start to finish (than the original)." -- Michael Booth, Denver Post

"A soulless but speedy redo of George A. Romero's two-hour-plus 1979 original about a mall and flesh-eating zombies." -- Mike Clark, USA Today

"Dawn of the Dead works and it delivers what you expect when you buy your ticket." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times