Romero's script is banal when not incoherent.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:37
Fresh:35
Rotten:2
Average Rating:8.4/10
Consensus: One of the most compelling and entertaining zombie films ever, Dawn of the Dead perfectly blends pure horror and gore with social commentary on bourgeois society.
Runtime: 6 hrs 25 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
US Box Office: $0
Synopsis: Picking up where NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD left off, and still offering no explanation of why the dead are walking the earth, DAWN OF THE DEAD plunges headlong into one of the most violent and... Picking up where NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD left off, and still offering no explanation of why the dead are walking the earth, DAWN OF THE DEAD plunges headlong into one of the most violent and original horror films ever made. After securing an apartment building overcome with flesh-eating zombies, two Philadelphia area SWAT team members, Peter (Ken Foree) and Roger (Scott Reiniger), flee to a television station, where they escape in the station's helicopter with Francine (Gaylen Ross) and Stephen (David Emge), two station employees. Seeking refuge from the zombies and the ensuing hysteria, they land on top of a Pittsburgh area shopping mall, despite the fact that the undead seem to be flocking there. What begins as a stop for supplies becomes a longer stay as the four become embroiled in a futile war within the mall to keep their flesh to themselves and remain alive. The film's relentlessly disturbing and innovative gore effects are one reason to see DAWN OF THE DEAD, but those who can stomach the endless barrage of blood and gnarled zombie faces will be rewarded--and possibly surprised--by what the film says about human nature and life within a consumer-based culture. Any aficionado of horror is likely to place the film high on their list of revered cinema. [More]
Starring: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, Gaylen Ross
Starring: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, Gaylen Ross, Tom Savini, David Crawford, George A. Romero, David Early, Richard France
Director: George A. Romero
Director: George A. Romero
Screenwriter: George A. Romero
Producer: Richard P. Rubinstein
Composer: Goblin
Reviews for Dawn of the Dead
This sequel to Night of the Living Dead (1968) abandoned the shadowy black-and-white creepiness of its progenitor in favor of a brightly lit color canvas that was bigger, broader, and bloodier.
Romero's framing of social ills via his rotting, walking metaphors is ingenious but it's the more subtle, unspoken statements that register with the greatest force.
This is both a fine straight-up horror and an archly sly comment on consumer society.
Romero, who was his own editor this time out, keeps the scenes clipped and purposeful.
In a rare league of ingenious horror films that are utterly timeless...
Dawn of the Dead abandons easy scare tactics in favor of a darkly satirical assault on bourgeois culture, traditional notions of masculinity, and rampant consumerism.
Romero's sensibility approaches the Swiftian in its wit, accuracy, excess, and profound misanthropy.
Grim, gruelling but beautifully shot, this is intelligent, sophisticated horror.
Dawn of the Dead is one of the best horror films ever made -- and, as an inescapable result, one of the most horrifying. It is gruesome, sickening, disgusting, violent, brutal and appalling.
Dawn of the Dead’s most unsettling aspect is in how it shows us how little we’ve changed as a culture.
Upon a second viewing, Dawn of the Dead is still just as scary and just as relevant (more so than the remake).
For my money, John Carpenter's Halloween, released the same year, is smarter, sharper, and more influential.
Latest News for Dawn of the Dead
May 19, 2008:
Romero's Dawn of the Dead Rising in 3-D ![]()
Thanks to a process called "dimensionalization," George A. Romero's Dawn for the Dead will see re-release in 3-D. More...
March 13, 2008:
Top Ten Death Proof Exploitation Films: the films that wouldn’t die.
Exploitation films are B-grade gold for those who like it rough, sleazy and thrill-packed. More...
March 07, 2008:
Guide of the Dead - An RT Romero Retrospective
As Diary of the Dead hits cinemas, we sit down with George A. Romero to talk retrospectively about what has come from his zombie opus, the Dead series, and what the future has... More...
February 15, 2008:
George A. Romero on Diary of the Dead: The RT Interview
With sequel talk already on the horizon, RT chats up horror legend George A. Romero about zombie movies and the latest addition to his Living Dead series. More...
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