20 May 2005 17:04 pm
A twenty first century zombie fest in the true sense of the word. These days zombies are now slow and can be pushed over like in the old days – they can now run and kick your ass. Don’t get me wrong I love Resident Evil (indeed far more than this) but it is nice to have a refreshing change once in a while.
The 2004 Dawn is a remake of the 1978 film and unlike most other remakes it is not actually just good but indeed probably better than the original. That said, we can confidently say that from our biased position of being going on thirty years after the original film came out.
The film opens with Ana the nurse finishing work. There is no long intro like parody film, Shaun of the Dead here. Despite what people may say about the cheery opening there are signs from the beginning. A patient who has been bitten, a man who is positioned to look dead and the news report saying “isolated incidents” as she flicks through the stations on the car radio.
Then there are the slightly more obvious signs – a little girl who she knows comes bursting into her bedroom trying to eat her that night. As she scrambles to escape the girl and her now infected husbands she arrives outside to see a world of chaos – buildings burning, cars wrecked and zombies feasting on the flesh of the living. Holding on this shot for minutes would not have been a bad thing.
Soon after she meets up with other survivors and the head for the mall where they plan to hold up until they are rescued. Most of the film centres around their adventures in the mall as numbers of the dead outside the doors keep growing and growing.
The one thing I didn’t like about the film is that it didn’t carry the seriousness that most horror films do. While I understand that they wanted to show how bored everyone was inside with the chess games and sex antics, the music really killed the horror moment for me.
It didn’t feel scary – they seemed pretty safe inside the mall and although there were some situations where there we zombies coming at them left and right, it seemed that much of the movie was about them sitting around waiting to be rescued.
For fans of the original expect a lot of cut down gore. With this being a big budget studio release it had no chance of enjoying the freedoms the 1978 film did which I think only added to the problems.
It does have some redeeming qualities though. Shooting celebrity look-a-like zombies provides an amusing scene and the plot tries to find new and interesting ways for them to end up being attacked by zombies. It isn’t a bad film; it just doesn’t have the sparkle of the original.
The problem with the new Dawn is that it has no commentary, no satire, no subtle undertones. It’s a Hollywood flick and has what you would expect from a basic no thrills zombie action horror movie but unfortunately little else.
|
Attached Image
Options
· Printable Version
News Headlines
Resident Evil 3 to start in July
Indiana Jones 4 to reunite Ford, Connery?
Angelina wanted to be a Bond girl
Sin City 2 still chasing Angelina Jolie
X-Men 3 trailer premieres on Fox
Jessica Biel signs on for Next
Date Movie hits cinemas
Home of the Brave
Russell Mulchy to direct Resident Evil 3?
Angelina Jolie for Sin City II?
|
Movies Channel 