Dawn of the Dead (2004)
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.
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.
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
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Sarah Polley
Ana -
Ving Rhames
Kenneth -
Jake Weber
Michael -
Mekhi Phifer
Andre -
Ty Burrell
Steve -
-
Kevin Zegers
Terry -
Michael Barry
Bart -
Lindy Booth
Nicole -
Boyd Banks
Tucker -
Jayne Eastwood
Norma -
Inna Korobkina
Luda -
R.D. Reid
Glen -
Kim Poirier
Monica -
Matt Frewer
Frank -
Hannah Lochner
Vivian -
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
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.
Top CriticOnly gore-thirsting teens will be satisfied.
... bloody good fun.
For those who enjoy tight, tense, graphic horror, this movie offers an ample helping.
It more than surpasses the original.
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.
Extremely gory horror movie; not for kids.
Romero did it first and he did it best...
Director Zack Snyder and writer James Gunn have simply traded one set of time-sensitive issues for more contemporary cliches.
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.
Snyder's style is assaultive, and there's little pleasure to the scares.
The remake of Dawn of the Dead is a fun, gory ride, that makes up for its lack of depth with all out action.
This oddly effective 'reimagining' loses some of the satire but none of the bite of the 1978 George Romero classic.
It's a pretty fun ride.
A more preferable kind of remake than one that simply regurgitates the storyline of the original.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for those who feared a true desecration of Romero's masterwork, this is only a moderately competent zombie flick.
Relentlessly harrowing!
Guaranteed to induce nightmares!
A notch above what you expect from a Zombie movie.
Truly worthy of that famous title.
At last, a horror remake worth the watch.
Audience Reviews for Dawn of the Dead
Super Reviewer
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."
Super Reviewer
-
- Ana: She died in a gunshot. She wasn't bitten.
-
- Andre: It's a girl.
-
- Frank: Hey, I was never bit.
-
- Kenneth: You sure you want to do this?
-
- Michael: What are you doing? He's a cop!
-
- Kenneth: Say something!
- Ana: Please.
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for Dawn of the Dead yet.
Latest News on Dawn of the Dead
November 3, 2008:
Romero Promises "A Lot of Action" in Next DeadIt 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 CastExpect to see a whole lot of "Watchmen" updates over the next several months. And here's one: Jackie...
What's Hot On RT
Bradley Cooper's Best Movies
Fast & Furious 6 is Certified Fresh
Fast & Furious cars gallery
Blockbusters ranked!
Featured on RT
- Weekly Ketchup: Fox and Marvel Both Courting Quicksilver for Comic Blockbusters 24
- Critics Consensus: Fast & Furious 6 is Certified Fresh 62
- Red Carpet Photos with Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Gina Carano and More 0
- Video: The Hangover Part III Cast Interviews 0
- Total Recall: Bradley Cooper's Best Movies 50
- Parental Guidance: Epic and Beautiful Creatures 2
- Comic Book Movies You Can Watch Online 16
Top Headlines
-
Evan Peters Joins X-Men: Days of Future Past
0
-
Toby Jones Talks Captain America: The Winter Soldier
1
-
The Poltergeist Reboot May Actually Be a Sequel
17
-
Will Forte Promises MacGruber 2
4
-
Universal Plans Timecop Reboot
2
-
Return of the Jedi Turns 30
1
-
Vin Diesel Says Fast & Furious 7 Will Take Place in L.A.
0
Fresh Links
Featured
Star Trek Movies Ranked
HitFix offers their own take on the worst-to-best of the Enterprise crew's cinematic adventures.
Top 10 Star Trek Villains
Rolling Stone unveils the Enterprise's most irksome adversaries.
Celebrity Yearkbook Flashback
We'll bet you never realized how many stars were cheerleaders and high school athletes!
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Weirdest Movie Siblings
From Twins to The Royal Tenenbaums, Moviefone explores cinema's oddest siblings.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Foreign Titles
- L'Armée des morts (FR)
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.