Dawn of the Dead (George A. Romero, 1978)

I’ve often acknowledged it when I haven’t seen a single film before by some director, and in this case, it is again true. However, the fact is that I’ve actually never even seen a zombie film, despite my friend loving them and raving about them. I’m wandering into territory I don’t know anything about, and its scary, like that time I was walking alone around London in the middle of the night, always having the feeling I might get mugged and beaten at any moment. I thought for a moment that this maybe would be a good thing, as I would be less biased towards this genre, but then remember that I would be particularly mad at anyone who would beat me.

I always had this strange notion that zombie films were supposed to be scary, but I didn’t really know the answer to that. I now think I know the answer, the thing is, zombie films aren’t scary. Sure, this is the only zombie film I’ve seen, but it’s supposed to be the benchmark for any zombie film. It reminded me of Evil Dead 2 (Sam Raimi, 1987), it’s a comedy wrapped in the disguise of a horror. The zombies themselves are ridiculous, but like the scientific mess that The Fly (David Cronenberg, 1986) was, I don’t really mind. There’s much humour in this film, and you get the feeling the crew really had a fun time making this, one of the highlights in the film being a bunch of crazy bikers engaging in a pie fight with the zombies. There’s also some sub-text about commercialism, but it’s so out there that it hardly can be called sub-text. The set-piece though, the mall, is great, and opens for a lot of fun when the actors run around and evade zombies that can only walk really slowly. The gory effects are fun, particularly when the zombies starts to tear away at a guys chest, and all the hundreds of zombies that are shot, so fans of blood should be pleased, and while the effects may not be that impressive today, they have such joy over them that it is hard not to like them.

I’m not sure, if anything, what Romero wanted to achieve with this film, but there is a certain love for the craft, and for that he should be commended. The directing, while not stunning, is solid and playful, the camera panning across a bunch of zombies look great. Accordingly, the soundtrack is wonderful, using great 70’s synthesisers that create a perfect wall of sound for the action. The acting is alright, not as horrific as you would expect from this kind or movie. In essence, the film turned out to be something very different to what I was expecting, but then again, I was never quite sure to what I was supposed to expect. While the film never truly impressed me, it’s a neat gory little piece that I can see why it has such a following, and I can quite surely appreciate the fun of it all.

This is the kind of film you just have to be in the mood to watch and appreciate. I like these kind of slapstick horror films which make fun of it all, and Dawn of the Dead does pull it of quite neatly. Then again, I still prefer Evil Dead 2.