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The official I just saw "Dawn of the Dead" (04) remake thread!

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The official I just saw "Dawn of the Dead" (04) remake thread!

Old 03-19-04, 06:18 PM
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The not-so official I just saw "Dawn of the Dead" (04) remake thread!

and i gotta say what a great movie! from the opening Cash song, throughout...Sure it doesn't really hold a candle to the original, but it has been updated very nicely for the milennium. Those that debate the running zombies..i see the point, but they really had to to make it relevant for the next generation viewer and I think it worked well.

The movie itself really had characters that you got into and felt for, sure some were typical horror cliche, like the jerk that you wanted to bite it and the hard ass that turns to good, but all in all it works and is a much much better class of horror than the junk that has been thrown out of the Hollywood pot lately...

...and when i say that i mean at least feel for the ones you are supposed to even if it is a little, rather than have the characters be mindless zombies with no emotion that you could care less about like the host of all other horror flicks that parade the stage lately and for the past years is all....none of them were rocket scientists by any means but it was just enough so you could cheer or jeer when you were supposed to...

also, wanted to mention..please do not compare this to "28 Days Later"...after seeing "28" before the original "Dawn" I clearly see that the comparisons are the other way around. The only thing that may be a consideration is the running aspect, but even then I think it is a stretch..

I think it is safe to say that this could very well stand on its own if the first had never been made at all. Some tense parts, creepy parts, gore parts (though I thought it could have used some more) and not too much in overall cheese factor. It remained true to the original, but with a nice updated feel that just worked all the way around.

The cameos are great, though some slightly unrecognizable, but if you listen carefully you'll get it.

Anyway, being fairly new to the whole Romero craze as I just watched "Night" (68) for the first time last month and "Dawn" first time last week I must say these films and subsequent genre are really quite surprisingly engaging me. These movies are really sticking with me and getting me to enjoy movies again..something I had missed for a bit. I have the Dutch 2-disc "Dawn" on the way with both cuts of the film and eagerly await that as well.

Way to go Romero and kudos to all for bringing life back to a subject that had been dead for some time!! ....pun intended.

Enjoy the remake all!!!

Last edited by OldBoy; 03-22-04 at 03:18 PM.
Old 03-19-04, 06:52 PM
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Does a thread really need to be official?

http://dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread....hreadid=346805

four pages long and no one seems to have a problem discussing it there..
Old 03-19-04, 08:23 PM
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I just saw it today as well. I enjoyed it a lot (I can't even remember the original since I haven't seen it since it was originally released). Really only two things bothered me:

1) Lack of gore- If I remember correctly the original had over-the-top gore, it was almost comical. This one was very tame in that respect.

2) Cheap scare tactics- The first half hour seemed to have about a dozen loud bangs or noises that I supposed were meant to make you jump out of your seat, they just overdid it a bit.

Great movie though!
Old 03-19-04, 10:11 PM
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Originally posted by Jackskeleton
Does a thread really need to be official?

http://dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread....hreadid=346805

four pages long and no one seems to have a problem discussing it there..
guess the thread starter on that other one hasn't earned his stripes yet.
Old 03-19-04, 10:17 PM
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You know, it wasn't even cause I started it why I made the comment. I just assumed that everyone took the phrase "My take" to be there own take on the film. silly rabbits!
Old 03-19-04, 10:20 PM
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There, there Jack.

Speaking of silly rabbits, maybe "Brown Bunny" will cheer you up.
Old 03-19-04, 10:49 PM
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Here is my review I posted on another forum when someone asked peoples opinions on it....

Well I just got back from seeing it & was blown away. At the moment,I would rate it a ****. Since I was totally taken by surprise with this thing.

The opening & ending credit sequences(be sure to stay through the entire end credits!) are just excellent & the coolest thing in recent memory. The opening even has Johnny Cash playing,which is kick ass & fits the apocalypic mood of what is being shown.

One word can describe the tone of the film. Bleak! Bleak Bleak!

I was surprised to see such a dark themed horror film from a major studio of all places.

Yes there is some dark humor in the film,but is it nowhere nearly as 'kick ass hilarious popcorn entertainment' as I originally thought,after previewing the opening on USA earlier in the week.

The tone is pretty serious throughout,though not without some laughs...but it never becomes an all out comedy. Another plus for the film.

Add in the fact that the camera work is more docudrama & not Micheal Bayish(as those who call it an "MTV" film claim)

Also it does spend a good majority on the charecters & less on the action. Another surprise. Sure there are some spurts of action,but it was pretty restrained for the most part. Which also surprised me,since people said it was all action,little else.

No it does not have all the social political undertones of the original. Yet that did not hurt the film for myself.

In fact,it is a completely different film from the original. So don't compare the two. This is in the same league as the remakes of Invasion of the Body Snatchers,The Thing,The Fly & The Blob. ie-takes the original source material & does it's own spin on it.


Of course if you are dead set against hating the film & all remakes in general. This film is not for you,if you can't separate the two & view with a clear open mind.

So while I may have enjoyed it,you may not. So view it at your own risk


I will say this though,it is FAR better than the TCM remake. That film was desent until the last half,where it fell off the deep end in my opinion & rates a **1/2.

Meanwhile 'Dawn..',I felt was great all the way through from the begining all the way to the final credit roll!


ps-can't wait for the unrated version which should be even more gruesome!!!
Old 03-19-04, 10:55 PM
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Saw it tonight and give it a

Amazing how many people left before the credits were over.
Old 03-19-04, 11:11 PM
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Originally posted by The Cow
Saw it tonight and give it a

Amazing how many people left before the credits were over.
Here I was thinking the breats would grab everyone. I mean, really, they had to be there for that very reason.
Old 03-19-04, 11:16 PM
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Yep...the majority of the theater was leaving as well..though I heard a few guys yelling "Wa..did you see that?" "Whats that doing there?",so they started watching..then kept getting pissed at the back & forth from the credits to the footage(which I loved!).

Meanwhile about 10 other people stood in the aisles to view the entire credit sequence..& seemed glad they stayed.

But as for the rest of the impatient idiots who got up & left right when "Directed By" came onscreen + kept leaving despite seeing bits of the footage. They missed out big time,great ending


So anyone seeing this film,to get the ENTIRE film,you MUST sit through ALL of the credits. Don't worry,it's not like it's 20 minutes long. Trust me,it is worth it!
Old 03-19-04, 11:32 PM
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Big time loved this movie, engrossing and suspenseful through most of it, decent amount of gore (though not over the top), and plenty of scary moments. Definately recommended!
Old 03-20-04, 12:03 AM
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I posted this in the other thread, so for those of you not looking over there:

What a awesome movie this was! Granted it wasn't as good as the original but i had an idea it wasn't going to be anyway.
First of all, here are some things i didnt like. I feel that besides it being set at a mall and the fact that its about zombies, there really isnt anything else it had in common with the original. There were hardly any parts in the film where i had that feeling as if i wanted to say to myself, "Oh, i remember that part from the original!" Also, none of the characters resembled any of those in the original either. Like others i really wasnt to crazy about the fast moving zombies neither. They were a bit to athletic and made me feel almost hopeless for the cast of characters. I like the slow moving zombies, they add more eerie suspense and if you get caught by those slow moving mo-fos, then its all your fault man!
Now, with that said, everything else was great! Yeah the zombies were too fast, but them bad boys were ugly and vicious and everytime one of them things went down with a shot to the head i couldnt help but jump for joy, it was awesome! The cast of characters while not too well defined were pretty cool, CJ and Ving Rhames charcter were by far my favorite and all around bad-asses.
Spoiler:
Mehki Phieffer i thought died too early and his character was wasted as i thought the whole zombie baby/pregnant wife thing was kinda dumb, i dont think he shouldve went out like that. When Mehki Phieffer saw that other guy on the other roof and said, "He might as well be on the moon", i couldnt stop laughing!


Yeah, the comedy relief in the movie was great i think. The Metrosexual dude had some great one-liners and so did most of the cast,
Spoiler:
the scene where all of them are on the roof taking target pratice on celelbrity zombie look-alikes was really funny!


It was more gory than i expected, i thought it was gonna hold back alot but was pleasantly surprised with what they had.
Spoiler:
The chainsaw scene was great and i loved when that zombie got half that stick up his jaw and out his head, awesome!


Spoiler:
One question though, Why didn't the zombies want to eat the dog, its meat right? Ive seen rats get eaten in Night of the Living Dead, why an exception for the K-9.?



Overall, it was a great flick, ill be seeing it again Sunday!

Last edited by thegame370; 03-20-04 at 12:05 AM.
Old 03-20-04, 12:11 AM
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good question
Spoiler:
on why they wouldn't eat the dog??
i was wondering that myself....

ps) jackskelton...i didn't mean to dis your post at all..i just did this as sometimes it is intimidating when a thread gets so long, so just in case for the peeps who just saw the movie opening weekend, this was for them and me..no disrespect intended whatsoever!!

Last edited by OldBoy; 03-20-04 at 12:21 AM.
Old 03-20-04, 12:15 AM
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Originally posted by thegame370


Spoiler:
One question though, Why didn't the zombies want to eat the dog, its meat right? Ive seen rats get eaten in Night of the Living Dead, why an exception for the K-9.?



Because it was needed for the plot ;p
Old 03-20-04, 12:47 AM
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Regarding the dog....

Spoiler:
I read somewhere that in an earlier script there were scenes with "zombie dogs" that attacked the living dog as it went to deliver the food. The zombie dogs also didn't bother the living humans at all.
Old 03-20-04, 01:45 AM
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Originally posted by Tuan Jim
Because it was needed for the plot ;p
Oddly enough, thats the only explanation i could come up becuase everything else seems like non-sense.
Old 03-20-04, 01:52 AM
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The dog some how survived the parking structure even though there were zombies stuck in there. So it's safe to assume that the film subscribes to the theory that zombies don't attack animals.
Old 03-20-04, 02:05 AM
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Originally posted by Jackskeleton
The dog some how survived the parking structure even though there were zombies stuck in there. So it's safe to assume that the film subscribes to the theory that zombies don't attack animals.
True, i just dont see why they wouldnt want to eat him you know, oh well, lets not get all hung up on this dog factor right?
Old 03-20-04, 02:08 AM
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Zombies perfer and can tell the difference between human and animal flesh.. uh.. yeah, that's the only thing I can actually come up with.
Old 03-20-04, 02:08 AM
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i was wondering about the dog as well. really the bothered me much more then the slow vs fast zombies.

it did serve the plot but thinking about it, from the film makers eyes, if animals weren't immune, it opens up a HUGE can of worms. then of course there are super natural reasons, which are up to the viewer for pretty much all zombie films and that is, is it god's curse, alien manipulation, or a virus.


and i have a question of my own. during the Cash song they show tons of "real" (some might of been done for the film, i don't know for sure) footage. it all fit very well with the song and with the image of mankind being very violent. that is how i thought of it on my first veiwing. however seeing it again today i wondered if the footage is merely there to act as proof that zombies are everywhere in the world and are causing serious problems. i guess it is kind of up in the air but i'd like to hear others explanations for it. what service did you think that footage provided?
Old 03-20-04, 02:11 AM
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Originally posted by Venom
and i have a question of my own. during the Cash song they show tons of "real" (some might of been done for the film, i don't know for sure) footage. it all fit very well with the song and with the image of mankind being very violent. that is how i thought of it on my first veiwing. however seeing it again today i wondered if the footage is merely there to act as proof that zombies are everywhere in the world and are causing serious problems. i guess it is kind of up in the air but i'd like to hear others explanations for it. what service did you think that footage provided?
I think it was done to show the general immediate breakdown of the society, and also to show how quickly the zombies can take over.
Old 03-20-04, 02:17 AM
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Originally posted by Suprmallet
I think it was done to show the general immediate breakdown of the society, and also to show how quickly the zombies can take over.
Yeah, that was my reaction as well. I really dug the Whitehouse scene
Old 03-20-04, 02:18 AM
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Yeah, it was put in the focus that those events were happening because of the quick spread of the infection.

Thing that I would nit pick. You have to be infected in order to turn, thus those who died of natural causes don't turn? blah. I was under the belief that no matter what.. the dead rose. So once you turned you should put a round in the head just to be sure.
Old 03-20-04, 02:21 AM
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Originally posted by Jackskeleton
Thing that I would nit pick. You have to be infected in order to turn, thus those who died of natural causes don't turn? blah. I was under the belief that no matter what.. the dead rose. So once you turned you should put a round in the head just to be sure.
Yeah, I mentioned that in one of these Dawn threads. It was always more interesting when you knew any kind of death that didn't damage the brain would bring about zombification. I guess that this doesn't play in the remake because in Night they make it clear that it was radiation that made the zombies, and that's just in the air, whereas in this, they made it clear that it has to be the bite. Oh well.
Old 03-20-04, 02:32 AM
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Originally posted by Jackskeleton
Yeah, it was put in the focus that those events were happening because of the quick spread of the infection.

Thing that I would nit pick. You have to be infected in order to turn, thus those who died of natural causes don't turn? blah. I was under the belief that no matter what.. the dead rose. So once you turned you should put a round in the head just to be sure.
Yeah i like that concept more as well. Like Supermallet said, in Night of the Living Dead, radiation was made clear the cause for everyone rising from the dead and also being bitten(infected) by the dead. I was hoping for that concept to carry through here, it shoudl've imo instead of being just the bite, but oh well.

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