Movie Review for Dawn of the Dead

Summary: A re-envisioning of George Romero's apocalyptic horror classic, "Dawn of the Dead": An unexplained plague has decimated the world's population--and yet, the dead aren't dying. They've become zombies, stalking endlessly in a quest to feed on the flesh and blood of the few remaining living. A ragtag group of desperate survivors in a Wisconsin town seek refuge in a large indoor mall, where they must learn not only to protect themselves from the ever-increasing zombie horde, but also to co-exist with each other as a last bastion of humanity. Sealed off from the rest of what used to be the world, the group uses every available resource, in their against-all-odds fight, to remain alive and human.

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By Mike McGranaghan of Aisle Seat (8/0)
            Dawn of the Dead is ultra-violent, excessively bloody, and extremely gory – all in a goo...

By Phil Villarreal of Arizona Daily Star (8/0)
            Zombies chase, heroes shoot, brains explode all over the wall. Rinse and repeat.

By Lori Hoffman of Atlantic City Weekly (8/0)
            These zombies move like the Roadrunner on PCP

By Marc Savlov of Austin Chronicle (8/0)
            Snyder's film isn't likely to be considered a classic 20 years down the road like Romero’s film i...

By Emily Blunt of Blunt Review (8/0)
            Shame on all involved.

By Wesley Morris of Boston Globe (8/0)
            Few of the original movie's political and philosophical preoccupations (abortion, capitalism, pat...

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By Michael Wilmington of Chicago Tribune (8/0)
            ...it's mostly a bloody mess.

By Margaret A. McGurk of Cincinnati Enquirer (8/0)
            ...bright, sleek and sharp, as well as properly scary in all the right places.

By Mark Palermo of Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) (8/0)
            Melding video game dynamics into big screen action, it’s as much a product of its time as the ori...

By Peter Sobczynski of Critic Doctor (8/0)
            Surprisingly, 'Dawn of the Dead' is actually a pretty good film in its own right...as a gory acti...

By John J. Puccio of DVDTown.com (8/0)
            ...as hella scary as any zombie movie ever made, and its intensity never lets up for a second.

By Annette Cardwell of E! Online (8/0)
            ...while far from perfect—is a lot of fun to watch.

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By Scott Weinberg of eFilmCritic.com (8/0)
            There are dozens of zombie movies out there that AREN'T remakes, and this one's easily more enter...

By Nicolas Lacroix of EnPrimeur.ca (8/0)
            Le 2e meilleur remake d'un film d'horreur de tous les temps, après The Thing.

By Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly (7/1)
            Snyder, making a killer feature debut, trades homemade cheesiness for knowing style, revels in th...

By Eric D. Snider of EricDSnider.com (8/0)
            Scene after scene of near-misses, direct hits and incredibly tense confrontations with the undead...

By Walter Chaw of Film Freak Central (8/0)
            Heretical to even suggest it, Zack Snyder's remake of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead surpass...

By Doris Toumarkine of Film Journal International (8/0)
            The film, one-note and painfully cynical, is all about bloodletting, impalement, slashing, behead...

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By Annette Cardwell of filmcritic.com (8/0)
            indulge in the delights of Snyder's wild, new, imaginary interpretation

By Victoria Alexander of FilmsInReview.com (8/0)
            This remake does not want to annoy us with philosophical trappings. There is no sociological subt...

By MaryAnn Johanson of Flick Filosopher (8/0)
            [M]aybe the first slasher/zombie/splatter horror flick that feels like a part of the post-9/11 wo...

By Rob Vaux of Flipside Movie Emporium (8/0)
            There are scares aplenty in Dawn of the Dead; enjoy them and be well. Twenty years from now, thou...

By Eric Lurio of Greenwich Village Gazette (8/0)
            It’s BORING, and movies shouldn’t be that way, especially extreme horror films.

By Michael Rechtshaffen of Hollywood Reporter (8/0)
            It's been pumped up with steroid-enhanced direction, but this zombie horror remake's got no soul.

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By Staci Layne Wilson of Horror.com (8/0)
            Dawn of the Dead certainly won this non-zombie fan and doubter over!

By Todd Gilchrist of IGN Movies (8/0)
            Dawn of the Dead is scary as hell.

By JoBlo of JoBlo's Movie Emporium (8/0)
            ... spent too much time with the losers in the mall and not enough with the man-eating freaks out...

By Bob Bloom of Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) (7/1)
             What screenwriter James Gunn and director Zach Snyder have ignored was the subversive, satirical...

By Alex Sandell of Juicy Cerebellum (8/0)
            This is the movie edges of seats were invented for. One of those near perfect horror films that w...

By Robert Roten of Laramie Movie Scope (8/0)
            A notch above what you expect from a Zombie movie.

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By Anthony Del Valle of Las Vegas Mercury (8/0)
            The first 10 minutes make up one of the most exciting beginnings in horror film history.

By Jon Niccum of Lawrence Journal-World (8/0)
            This proves that just because a film is about zombies doesn’t mean it has to be brain dead.

By Randy Shulman of Metro Weekly (Washington, DC) (8/0)
            Zack Snyder and screenwriter James Gunn...aren’t interested in socio-political underpinnings or s...

By Duane Dudek of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (8/0)
            This remake fails to advance the original in any way, shape or form.

By Frank Ochieng of Movie Eye (8/0)
            ...a killer thriller that has an over-the-top raw presence that stimulates and takes its observer...

By Kevin A. Ranson of MovieCrypt.com (8/0)
            ... crunchy zombie guilty-pleasure goodness!

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By Cynthia Fuchs of Nitrate Online (8/0)
            Their efforts to survive make them human, but they can only confront more of the same, deadish or...

By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (8/0)
            There isn't much here that you haven't encountered in lots of other horror movies, but you'll rar...

By Tyler Hanley of Palo Alto Weekly (8/0)
            Dawn rises past 28 Days Later as the new millennium's best flesh-eating flick.

By Mike Sage of Peterborough This Week (8/0)
            With a chainsaw number that easily enters my top-five-kill-scenes-of-all-time-list, I say bring o...

By Sean Burns of Philadelphia Weekly (8/0)
            The first 10 minutes are as good as anything I've seen this year --alas, the rest is best viewed ...

By Jon Popick of Planet Sick-Boy (8/0)
            An extremely rare example of a remake being better than its original, even though it lacks the ta...

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By James Kendrick of Q Network Film Desk (8/0)
            reimagining the zombies as fast, proactive attackers makes for some truly scary horror, but it al...

By Linda Cook of Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) (8/0)
            The gory, adults-only “Dawn of the Dead” can serve as a day brightener in certain situations. At ...

By David Nusair of Reel Film Reviews (8/0)
            The so-called zombie baby, promised in the film's trailer, is emblematic of the film's refusal to...

By Kim Morgan of Reel.com (8/0)
            Funny and dark and massively entertaining.

By Laura Clifford of Reeling Reviews (7/1)
            2004's Dawn of the Dead delivers the entire package, gripping you by the throat before the openin...

By Robin Clifford of Reeling Reviews (8/0)
            “Dawn of the Dead” is a fast paced actioner that will please the fans of Romero’s work and attrac...

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By Harry Guerin of RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) (8/0)
            This is a leaner, faster-paced movie but it fails to pull the maximum tension out of the storylin...

By Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle (8/0)
            It's silly, witty and good-natured, not scary so much as icky, and not horrifying or horrible but...

By Sean Axmaker of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (8/0)
            Romero's satire is largely replaced by a sardonic gallows humor...but otherwise it's a bloody ent...

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality and Practice (8/0)
            A gross-out horror flick that reveals a total contempt for human life and ends on a predictable n...

By John Venable of Supercala.com (8/0)
            Better than the original, faster and funnier than 28 Days Later, and just plain entertaining. Thi...

By Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide's Movie Guide (5/3)
            A buzzed-up gloss on the original, it's entertaining -- if fundamentally shallow.

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By Mike Clark of USA Today (8/0)
            ...horror fans could do worse...

By Desson Thomson of Washington Post (8/0)
            Has many of the elements that made the first Dawn so darkly entertaining.

By Christian Toto of Washington Times (7/1)
            Grim, gory Dead proves a capable, if not superior, remake of the 1978 original.

By John Beifuss of Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            A non-nutritious junk food snack compared to Romero's feast of gore and metaphor.

By Elvis Mitchell of New York Times (3/6) Login Required (Login Required)
            ...strictly by the numbers...

By Bob Townsend of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (4/4) No reference
            A rotting good time -- if you like that sort of thing.

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By Michael Tunison of Boxoffice Magazine (3/5) No reference
            The good news for fans of the mindless flesh-eaters is that the reworked Dawn, while a far more g...

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (3/5) No reference
            So, yes, Dawn of the Dead works and it delivers just about what you expect when you buy your ...

By Pablo Villaca of Cinema em Cena (3/5) No reference
            Embora fique devendo o comentário social que transformou o filme original em um clássico, Madruga...

By Richard Roeper of Ebert & Roeper (3/5) No reference
            ... bloody good fun.

By Brent Simon of Entertainment Today (4/4) No reference
            A terrifying, perfectly executed piece of grade-A horror that transcends its genre roots even as ...

By Adam Nayman of eye WEEKLY (7/1) No reference
            Basically, it's a very well-photographed and edited B-movie, admirably relying less on bass-chord...

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By David Grove of Film Threat (4/4) No reference
            The kind of joyous horror-viewing experience where you yell at the screen and cheer for the victi...

By Guylaine Cadorette of Hollywood.com (4/4) No reference
            ...a masterful horror pic.

By Derek Tse of Jam! Movies (4/4) No reference
            A splendidly nasty piece of horror filmmaking.

By Louis B. Hobson of Jam! Movies (3/5) No reference
            A banquet of creepy delights.

By Loey Lockerby of Kansas City Star (3/5) No reference
            A pretty decent way to cannibalize a classic.

By Josh Bell of Las Vegas Weekly (3/5) No reference
            Snyder clearly has a good eye for horror and a respect for the history of the genre, and that mak...

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By Bob Strauss of Los Angeles Daily News (4/4) No reference
            This new version of Dawn of the Dead reflects our times about as well as George Romero's 1978 hor...

By Nell Minow of Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (7/1) No reference
            Soups up the zombies, takes the gross-factor to eleven, and has a lot of cheeky in-jokes about it...

By James Rocchi of Netflix (4/4) No reference
            Thoroughly modern remake of 1978 B-movie classic is surprisingly smart and delivers zombie-tastic...

By Gregory Weinkauf of New Times (4/4) No reference
            Apparently Armageddon resembles the mosh pit at a Korn concert.

By V.A. Musetto of New York Post (3/5) No reference
            It's mindless entertainment, so take it or leave it.

By M.E. Russell of Oregonian (3/5) No reference
            Tense, bloody, funny and smart; lacks original's conscience, but it's still a surprisingly gritty...

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By Roger Moore of Orlando Sentinel (3/5) No reference
            Save your quarters for the video game.

By Steve Schneider of Orlando Weekly (3/5) No reference
            Instead of blood-soaked social commentary, it settles for a mischievous mélange of popcorn-flick ...

By Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews (4/4) No reference
            The only enjoyment I had was in making a body count of the dead and guessing who would be the ...

By Louis-Jérôme Cloutier of Panorama (3/5) No reference
            Un film divertissant et amusant qui risque de plaire au fan de Romero en attendant un nouveau fil...

By Gary Thompson of Philadelphia Daily News (3/5) No reference
            Some of the movie is wickedly funny, some just wicked.

By Mark Robison of Reno Gazette-Journal (7/1) No reference
            Nothing fresh or interesting, and it's not scary after the opening scene.

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By Sean Means of Salt Lake Tribune (3/5) No reference
            If you are at all squeamish about screen gore, forget about it. But if you enjoy plenty of ketchu...

By Jeffrey M. Anderson of San Francisco Examiner (3/5) No reference
            This new film has a definite bite, thanks to the superior brand of character actors and the intel...

By Mark Rahner of Seattle Times (4/4) No reference
            The new Dawn won't be revered like the old one, but if there's a sequel, I'll shamble instinctive...

By Phoebe Flowers of South Florida Sun-Sentinel (3/5) No reference
            In the first eight or so minutes, Snyder firmly grips you and rarely lets go.

By Josh Larsen of Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (3/5) No reference
            ...a scarier, if simpler, version of what many consider to be the defining picture in the genre.

By Jonathan R. Perry of Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) (3/5) No reference
            A remake as soulless as the hordes of undead that attack with maddening persistence.

                         Reviews of Dawn of the Dead
By Jeffrey Chen of Window to the Movies (4/4) No reference
            Less reflective of today's version of mindless horde-driven consumerism and perhaps simply more r...

By Daniel M. Kimmel of Worcester Telegram & Gazette (4/4) No reference
            [A] nifty little thriller whose tone is somewhat surprising for a major studio release.

By Lawrence Toppman of Charlotte Observer (7/1) Not Reachable
            The new Dawn of the Dead moves along with speed and slick visual style, but it's soulless and ano...

By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (4/4) Not Reachable
            For those who enjoy tight, tense, graphic horror, this movie offers an ample helping.

By Chris Hewitt (St. Paul) of St. Paul Pioneer Press (4/4) Not Reachable
            A masterpiece of its genre.

By Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone of TheMovieChicks.com (7/1) Not Reachable
            A good script without any of that banal horror-movie dialog that makes you cringe, a cast that ca...

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