Opening

72% Fast & Furious 6 May 24
21% The Hangover Part III May 23
63% Epic May 24
97% Before Midnight May 24
85% We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks May 24
83% Fill the Void May 24
17% A Green Story May 24
—— Alyce Kills May 24

Top Box Office

87% Star Trek Into Darkness $70.2M
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46% Pain & Gain $3.2M
69% The Croods $3.0M
77% 42 $2.8M
55% Oblivion $2.3M
99% Mud $2.2M
36% Peeples $2.2M
8% The Big Wedding $1.2M

Coming Soon

—— After Earth May 31
—— Now You See Me May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31
90% The East May 31

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

tomatometer

75

Average Rating: 6.7/10
Reviews Counted: 178
Fresh: 133 | Rotten: 45

A kinetic, violent and surprisingly worthy remake of George Romero's horror classic that pays homage to the original while working on its own terms.

61

Average Rating: 6.2/10
Critic Reviews: 36
Fresh: 22 | Rotten: 14

A kinetic, violent and surprisingly worthy remake of George Romero's horror classic that pays homage to the original while working on its own terms.

audience

75

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 370,578

My Rating

Movie Info

The feature-film debut of director Zack Snyder, Dawn of the Dead is a modern retelling of George Romero's 1978 horror classic, which was actually the second film in a trilogy that began with Night of the Living Dead and concluded with Day of the Dead. Sarah Polley and Ving Rhames star as two of the last remaining people on an earth that has been ravaged by flesh-eating zombies. After escaping to a shopping mall with a handful of other survivors, they decide that they only way to truly elude the

R,

Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense

James Gunn

Dec 28, 2004

$58.9M

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All Critics (178) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (141) | Rotten (45) | DVD (52)

The new version has its share of disturbing moments, but writer James Gunn and director Zack Snyder have stripped away the social satire of the original and put little in its place.

May 27, 2011 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comments (3)
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The remake, from first-time director Snyder, keeps much of the gore and loads up on the laughs, but eschews all pretence at cultural criticism in favour of high-octane, almost nonstop action.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Only gore-thirsting teens will be satisfied.

March 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Village Voice | Comments (13)
Village Voice
Top Critic IconTop Critic

... bloody good fun.

March 22, 2004 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | Comment (1)
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic IconTop Critic

For those who enjoy tight, tense, graphic horror, this movie offers an ample helping.

March 21, 2004 Full Review Source: ReelViews
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It more than surpasses the original.

March 19, 2004 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comments (5)
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Nicely respectful of the original film, this remake amps up the adrenalin-charged action while skimping on the depth to deliver a gripping but empty-headed thrill-ride.

May 27, 2011 Full Review Source: Film4
Film4

Extremely gory horror movie; not for kids.

December 22, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comments (16)
Common Sense Media

Romero did it first and he did it best...

April 29, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | Comments (2)
Cinema Crazed

Director Zack Snyder and writer James Gunn have simply traded one set of time-sensitive issues for more contemporary cliches.

December 29, 2008 Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com
TheMovieReport.com

The new version of George A Romero's 1979 zombie movie arrives with all the expected technical improvements but abandons the satire that made Romero's film a masterpiece of the genre.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile
Urban Cinefile

Snyder's style is assaultive, and there's little pleasure to the scares.

August 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review
Sacramento News & Review

The remake of Dawn of the Dead is a fun, gory ride, that makes up for its lack of depth with all out action.

June 17, 2008 Full Review Source: ESplatter | Comments (2)
ESplatter

This oddly effective 'reimagining' loses some of the satire but none of the bite of the 1978 George Romero classic.

December 27, 2007 Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound
Big Picture Big Sound

It's a pretty fun ride.

December 7, 2007 Full Review Source: Eye for Film
Eye for Film

A more preferable kind of remake than one that simply regurgitates the storyline of the original.

September 30, 2007 Full Review Source: Projection Booth | Comments (4)
Projection Booth

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for those who feared a true desecration of Romero's masterwork, this is only a moderately competent zombie flick.

July 29, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com
eFilmCritic.com

Relentlessly harrowing!

April 25, 2007 Full Review Source: Princeton Town Topics
Princeton Town Topics

Guaranteed to induce nightmares!

March 31, 2007
Bean Soup Times

A notch above what you expect from a Zombie movie.

May 5, 2006 Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | Comment (1)
Laramie Movie Scope

Truly worthy of that famous title.

April 1, 2006 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine
Empire Magazine

At last, a horror remake worth the watch.

June 20, 2005 Full Review Source: FromTheBalcony

Audience Reviews for Dawn of the Dead

Sometimes its difficult to make a good remake, especially if its a remake to George A.Romero's 'Dawn Of The Dead'. This may not be as memorable, as powerful or as funny as the original. However, it doesn't stop this film from being a faster and intense take on a zombie apocalypse .

As a Romero fan, I wasn't very fond of the idea of having running zombies. To me, this form of the undead ruins the idea of what a typical zombie is. The film tries to give intensity to individual zombies. However, this doesn't really top how terrifying a large group of slow moving zombies can be.

Overall,its nothing like the original, but introduces a new, zombie apocalypse with a faster pace. For Horror/Zombie fans, this is a must watch/buy.
February 29, 2012
Samuel Riley
Samuel Riley

Super Reviewer

Remakes generally suck. And to remake Dawn of the Dead (the penultimate zombie apocalypse movie of its time) would have to beat very high expectations. (Yes, Night of the Living Dead started it all but it moves too slow for most Gen X and Y'ers),

Borrowing from 28 Days Later "zombies-on-speed", Zach Snyder's debut is at its best in its opening sequence of suburban mayhem, including the gripping title sequence (played to Johnny Cash's "When the Man Comes Around") and in the final credits (accompanied by John Carol's "People Who Died"). Like the original, the movie meanders a bit in the middle with a few original "gore" scenes for the zombie diehards. Cameos by Tom Savini, (make-up artist) and Ken Foree (the protagonist) from the original film make it enjoyable for those of us old enough to have been scared out of our mind back in the 70's.

And to top it off, it reiterates one of the best tag-lines of all time:

"When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth."
April 20, 2012
Mark Beckford

Super Reviewer

    1. Ana: She died in a gunshot. She wasn't bitten.
    – Submitted by Baurushan J (2 months ago)
    1. Andre: It's a girl.
    – Submitted by Baurushan J (2 months ago)
    1. Frank: Hey, I was never bit.
    – Submitted by Baurushan J (2 months ago)
    1. Kenneth: You sure you want to do this?
    – Submitted by Baurushan J (2 months ago)
    1. Michael: What are you doing? He's a cop!
    – Submitted by Baurushan J (2 months ago)
    1. Kenneth: Say something!
    2. Ana: Please.
    – Submitted by Baurushan J (2 months ago)

Discussion Forum

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Latest News on Dawn of the Dead

November 3, 2008:
Romero Promises "A Lot of Action" in Next Dead
It doesn't have a title yet, but production is underway on George A. Romero's next zombie movie, and...

August 1, 2007:
Time for Another Romero Remake?
We've already seen the remakes of Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, plus there's...

July 23, 2007:
Jackie Earle Haley, More Confirmed for Watchmen Cast
Expect to see a whole lot of "Watchmen" updates over the next several months. And here's one: Jackie...

Foreign Titles

  • L'Armée des morts (FR)
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