Dawn of the Dead (1979)

REVIEW
So…what is there left to say about a film that might actually be the best horror film ever made in America? The zombie classic that has not only just spawned a big-budget remake, but has influenced the undead subgenre from early-80’s Italian gorefests through to 28 Days Later, Dawn of the Dead has—more than a quarter-century after its release—aged remarkably well (only the generic blue-paint facial make-up on the background zombies seems to date Tom Savini’s occasionally primitive effects work). Just as suspenseful, witty, subversive, and—most importantly—shocking when seen today, writer/director George Romero’s masterpiece also feels remarkably contemporary in its formal attributes too: whereas many 1970’s horror films can often seem slow by comparison with today’s genre endeavors, Romero’s strength has always been his editing, and Dawn (even at its generous two hours-plus length) moves like wildfire—the montage sequences that form the opening quarter of the film have rarely been equaled in terms of sheer visceral impact. Dawn is, of course, the middle film in Romero’s “Living Dead” trilogy, following 1968’s Night of the Living Dead, and preceding 1985’s Day of the Dead (the films share only the theme of zombie apocalypse, not any characters or storylines, and each film can be viewed individually). Society has already begun to collapse as Dawn opens, and Romero’s riveting film follows four survivors—two SWAT cops, a TV news helicopter pilot, and his technician girlfriend—as they escape to the safety of an abandoned shopping mall, wherein they barricade themselves from the flesh-eating hordes and savor their consumerist cocoon—for the time being. Is Dawn fundamentally a satire on American consumer culture, with the zombies outside representing the media-brainwashed masses who live only to shop ‘til they drop? The socio-cultural critique provides Dawn with an added level of subtext, but as Romero himself always claimed, just because he’s showing someone getting disemboweled, doesn’t mean he has to get heavy with a message; no matter how one approaches the film, it remains one of the genre’s greatest works. If you’re reading this review, you probably already own Dawn of the Dead in some form or another, but it’s worth mentioning that this is the first time that the original theatrical release cut of the film has been available on DVD, and it looks better than any previous release—and it also includes a new commentary track with Romero and Savini. Essential.