@@TheLastSamurai813 true hah. Ken Foree is probably my favorite character from a zombie movie. The original just had a more natural realistic feel to it.
The opening scene of dawn of the dead actually scared the absolute shit out of me. Waking up to such chaos, a little monster girl right outside your door, the same girl you spoke to just yesterday is now a savage flesh eating biohazard. The way MC had to crawl through the bathroom window into the sheer open chaos of the street outside utterly kept me in awe. This is one of the best zombie movies out there, every bit of this movie is sheer horror. That zombie baby shit freaked me out, I can’t recall when a side-plot like that was ever done. Baby literally ate that woman from the inside out. EUGH
I was thinking that but I mean, zombies don’t really care about knocking. We see them actively break in, it’s not impossible for the girl to have fallen through a window
It might actually be the best opening to a zombie movie that I've seen, or maybe best of all time. I can't think of any better ones off the top of my head, though 28 Days Later is up there for me. (As I was writing this, I remembered 28 Weeks Later's opening was jaw dropping for me, too. So 2004 Dawn of the Dead's opening is the 2nd, maybe 1st, best zombie movie opening ever for me)
@@j-rey- 28 weeks later is by far and away the best zombie and maybe even the best horror opening ever. 2004 Dawn of the dead is very well done though and seems as though it;s more grounded if that makes sense. I just can't believe it's Zack Snyders first film and 20 years old.
Nah. He does not know what to emphasize stuff and when to be subtle. That's why the over-the-top silly movies like 300 worked because there was no need for subtlety. Give him a human story and he will butcher it like he's trying to perform delicate surgery with a chainsaw.
My idea of a Remake is that it takes the Original movie and expands upon it or updates it for Modern Day. Watching the original 1978 movie will always be timeless, but its a product of its time, and its Messaging may be strong, a lot of people missed the message and instead came for the Zombie Carnage and the drama of the characters, instead of a Message. This remake kind of throws Messaging out the window and just shows us the downfall of Milwaukee, and then the new world. Its a simple as hell Zombie film, cause it goes literally like this. Something is Wrong News Is going off air Eerily Quiet First Encounter Escape through the Carnage Meet up with others Take shelter in some location Think about what's next Attempt to get help Days of nothing new Safe Location goes mildly wrong People die trying to fix Problem Escape Plan Destination Decision Escape attempt More people die Only a tiny handful remain Escape Somewhat Successful Final scene shows more people dying One or No survivors live End Credits Its as simple as simple goes, but lets not overlook the obvious. This formula works incredibly well when the writing is good, Characters are likeable, Zombies are intimidating, stakes are high, Horror is high, and Kills are glorious. This movie has it all, Faults and all. The only really dumb thing they did was leave the Mall in the first place. The OG had a biker gang barrel through the defenses and cause trouble. Zombies flooded in and the 3 remaining Survivors had no choice but to leave. It was a good reason for the survivors to leave the mall, and maybe go to a different Mall or somewhere Secluded where the threat of Zombies was very low to no threat at all. In the Remake, they decide to leave the big ass mall that is locked up tight, food for months, fresh clothes, a Water fountain that still runs, Blunt and sharp objects inside, and a Gun store that's easily accessible though the sewers, if they went to a Manhole that was not on the street where all the Zombies were, or if survivors distracted the horde away from the street so others could climb up, get in the gun store, Load up Bags or Crates full of Guns and ammo, and escape back into the mall. Also just a side option, they could use the Gun Store as a second hideout if the mall were to be breached. They could get on the roof of the Store, cause a major distraction, then send a few survivors through the sewers back into the mall to clean it out, then lock up the mall again so that it would be safe again. They had so many opportunities to stay there for maybe years, but they left because, people died there and they all didn't want to die in a Mall. Right so instead half of em die in overturned Trucks and feasted on by the swarms, and the rest die on the pier of an Unknown Island swarming with the undead.
Yes, kind of, the DVD has a Bonus Feature of an in-universe news channel covering the first few days. I wish it was all the new channels, but that would be like a movie in itself.
I haven’t finished the vid yet, but did you get to watch the DVD extra “Special Report”? Where it’s a newscast that gets increasingly unhinged as the infection spreads? It’s one of my favorite pieces of Zombie media 20 years on. I love DotD ‘04 a lot. It’s a comfort movie for me since it came out at the tail end of being in highschool. ETA; Andy also has a “found footage” extra that deals with him and the gun store. All of the extras are on YT
And the priest on TV is played by Ken Foree; who was a lead in the original Dawn of the Dead and sfx legend Tom Savini played the Sheriff they watch on TV
@@watchmehope6560 that’s pretty great. All I had was an uncle who would smash a Chucky doll up against car and house windows in the night when I was a little kid
I mean Dawn of the Dead was written by James Gunn and directed by Snyder but Army of the Dead was not written by James Gunn. Maybe that's the difference?
The TV Preacher was Peter the Philadelphia SWAT cop from the original DOTD. In the original, he mentioned that is father was a Macumba priest who told him, "When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth." The Sheriff on TV is horror legend Tom Savini, who played the leader of the motorcycle gang in the original DOTD.
For someone who reviews all of these different styles of zombie movies, I’d love to see a video from you talking about what you’d do in a zombie apocalypse scenario. For example places you would hide out vs places you’d avoid, types of weapons you’d use, if you’d be in a large group or a small group or even solo, etc
PS: The mall carpark might have been empty if the outbreak really kicked into gear in the early hours of the morning, like 3 to 4am and people mostly didn't realise until they started leaving their houses in the morning unless they were broken into.
That was such a great addition. It was like an extra short-story in the same universe. Related enough to justify its inclusion, but different enough to get a very different take on a zombie apocalypse. Rarely do you see a guy completely alone, holed up in one spot, and stretching the resources around him as long as possible without some grand plan to survive long term.
I still remember when I first saw this movie, I was like around 4 or maybe 5 years old at the time and somebody borrowed this film for a get-together movie night, I remember being too young and not understand why bloody people on TV are attacking and eating people, and then my dad say those bloddy people are "sick", and it striked me, the idea of some infectious disease making people into blood thirsty cannibals just deeply fascinated me when I was literally way too young for this kind of stuff, I became a big zombie fan ever since, and this film still is one of if not my favorite zombie film of all time.
5:41 - you’re correct this is a great moment by Snyder. But that quote is from the original Dawn of the Dead as is the preacher on TV - he’s one of the remaining survivors from the original
The problem with the island theory was shown in Land of the Dead when the zombies just walked through the lake/sea. They're dead. The don't breathe. If they don't breathe they don't have much air so they sink. They can then just walk across the sea bed.
Corpses _float._ This is a universally understood fact, the reason for the "dead walking on the ocean floor" trope is that both George Romero and Max Brooks saw _Curse of the Black Pearl_ (which, fair, it's a great movie) and didn't understand this is just artistic license for the sake of a dramatic shot.
It wasn't just made by Snyder, it was written by Gunn. Maybe that's why you liked it. I feel like no one gives credit to Gunn for this film. It's his story, not Snyder's.
They didn't go to Andy's to only get Nicole and the dog. They were supposed to get Andy on their way to the marina anyway. They had to go Andy's store regardless, because they needed to get ammo for said trip to the marina.
One could argue though without the 2004 film, Shaun of the Dead would not exist - it's clearly a parody of that version of the story more than any other zombie movie.
I found your channel yesterday. I appreciated your retrospectives on The Walking Dead. And I'll be watching for the rest of them. The bloat of these movies, I believe is at least partially due to the ease and low cost of making a them. I can't say why so many people like zombie/rabid people flicks. For me it harkens back to my youth in the 80's. The earliest memory I have of horror movies is Night of the Living Dead. So naturally I have a great deal of nostalgia every time I watch one of these movies. I'll also say this much too. I have recurring dream segments in which I find myself amongst a group of people trying to keep some dangerous horde outside (obviously these go back to Night of the Living Dead again). Though the threat isn't always zombies, sometimes they are dogs, sometimes they are bear, etc. The point is we are working to keep those things out. Inevitability it's a doomed endeavor because there is always some hapless idiot who doesn't realize the gravity of the situation we are in who lets the threat in and we are overwhelmed in the deluge. Then I wake. I don't know why I decided to talk about that here but I often wonder if anyone else has dreams like that. In anycase you got yourself a new subscriber.
A brief addendum to my comment- the special features on the dvd for Snyder's Dawn of the Dead (the mock news cast and Andy's vlog) were both entertaining and I watch them at least as often as I watched the movie itself.
I had somewhere that the downer ending in the credits was because someone kept bugging Snyder about the ambiguous ending, so he made it a downer ending just to spite them. Or at least that's what I heard.
my thoughts on zack synder . . . over time we've split, i don't care to watch his movies and like them less. Dawn was his big hit with me, I was shocked and awed with 300, and everything else went down hill.
with me james gunn always made sci-fi channel quality movies. he doesn't understand how humans speak, not to mention his toilet fetish and pedophile friends
Its just not based on other writing. Its purely based on big IPs. Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen, Batman V Superman. When its his writing, like Army of the Dead, that movie with the crazy chick, rebel moon, oh boy, its bad.
This movie kicks so much butt. It’s so exciting and fast paced. When I was a kid, this was the perfect zombie movie to own on dvd. The special features section was so much fun with Andy’s video diary and the news station broadcast
Dawan of the Dead was a great beginning for Znyder's career as a movie director, I remember watching this movie with my dad, who fell asleep on the sofa so he couldn't stop snoring, while his son was terrified seeing zombie stuff. Then, you have to imagine how scary that was for a 8-years-old kid like me.
Ahh 2004 DOTD. I grew up obsessed with this movie. I know every line, every scene and had the special features like Andy's Tape and the fake News airing of the apocalypse. For what it is, this movie rocks. One of my favorites. Nothing is worse than running zombies.
A formidable special effects designer and a great actor loved him as sex machine in Dusk Til Dawn and Blades in the original dawn of the dead which is the better version
Excellent video thrifty. I remeber watching this movie randomly as a kid and loving it for the most part, until the very end where EVERYONE died. It pissed me off cause i genuinely liked a lot of the characters that lived and wanted to see what happened next. I like the realism aspect of CJ’s death. He’s a great shot, but shit happens and making a mistake WILL cost you. Was a really engaging, fun movie. The scene where the survivor on the other building gets bit and wipes the whiteboard with the blood is an image stuck in my memory.
"The movie ends on this really depressing note..." oh cuz the original where the 2 survivors get off in the helicopter with less than half a tank of fuel & no guarantee for survival, just the words "we'll see" is super fucking sunshine & rainbows
They didn’t last a few months in the mall. They only last about a month because of Andy’s tape recording. They had to rush their plans cause shit went south for them. They wanted to wait it out and were gathering their unperishable for the get away. If the dog planned work they would have use the dog as transportation for restock their supply with Andy, however Nicole, the teen girl, forced them to rush their plans and they lost their ground. They should have pack the bus with the no perishable foods prior to the rescue. That wouldn’t have work anyway cause they crashed a bus and the one second, nobody bother grabbing anything other than their ammo bag. The point of the movie was nobody is invincible during an apocalypse. We have to set aside our difference, work as a team, and most importantly timing, resource management, planning, dictates how long you can survive during an apocalypse
I think the ending was Zach telling everyone “the island idea won’t work guys!” . Like zombies is kind of the end all be all. TWD makes it great showing that NOWHERE is safe anymore
@Richardwho-vv5bh man I remember when I was 16 I hated day of the dead. I didnt appreciatehow dark and hopeless itnwas. I love it now tho def my 2nd fave behind dawn!
i remember zach was hailed as the new romero horror director on the different horror forums. We had so high hopes for this young and upcomming director, crazy how low he has fallen now. He made 300 and fell in love with the slowmo style and just copy pasted there after.
I think going through the sewers was the plan to get him after he recovered his strength from the food. They had nothing but time, and on paper what they did minimized the risk. Then they got really unlucky.
I really liked this remake, possibly better then the original. Although these type of movies are made for entertainment, like it was mentioned, not to look to deep into things, but here's something I have never seen a zombie movie address. The biggest threat to survivors of a zombie apocalypse wouldn't be the zombies or the other survivors...the biggest threat would be mosquitoes. The mosquitoes would be feeding off the dead, what would happened if they bite a survivor...wouldn't that have the same effects as being scratched or bitten by a zombie..???
Mosquitos don't have any reason to bite a dead person; for one, their blood isn't flowing, so there are no chemicals/hormones circulating to attract them, and two, they track us by the carbon dioxide we exhale, and zombies don't breathe. The big issue is vermin gnawing on the corpses and then contaminating food sources.
Depends. Disease spreading from different species is highly unlikely so mosquitos themselves won't be infected. They could very likely act as a vector for transmission, similar to malaria. Though only a small amount would be passed, idk if it would cause infection.
An unsettling thing was then the general in the news report (played by the swat team guy from the original) was saying to come to the fort, and you see they be accepting everyone regardless of bite wounds. The fort likely was well equipped so it could of survived when they inevitably turned but idk
A really good zombie flick that doesn't get brought up enough. As I recall, Snyder himself explained in a panel that as a first time director he was still learning just how much creative control he had over his film. This led to him compromising a lot with studio execs and toning back a few things that he originally wanted in the movie. I'm sure this had a lot to do with the film having it's own style compared to his future work. But I think he knocked this one out of the park and the movie was exactly what it needed to be.
I highly encourage any fan of this film to check out a DVD with the special features. It has three awesome additions: 1.) Feature Commentary: Pretty self-explanatory, you can watch the film with commentary provided by Snyder himself alongside Eric Newman (the producer). This is incredibly entertaining and I can honestly say it's the only film I've ever bothered to watch the whole way through with commentary other than LOTR's Extended Edition. Snyder and Newman have this sort of self-deprecating introspective humor to them about the film and what it represented as a project. They actually remark on a lot of the same things Thrifty does, insofar as how improbable the headshots were or how absurd the "Gangster vs. Granny" gunfight was. They also comment on some "paths not taken" as far as ideas they had but scrapped, etc. 2.) Special Report: This is great. You know how the opening credits of the remake has that cool Johnny Cash montage with the broadcasts and whatnot? Imagine an entire short fan film dedicated to that premise. Special Report is essentially an in-universe lore addition to the film following a 24-hour news broadcast that begins shortly after the first outbreak(s). The main character is a news anchor who steadily becomes more and more haggard as the hours tick by and the situation outside becomes more bleak. In between the reports he personally delivers to the audience, clips are broadcast from affiliates across the globe showing the chaos of unfolding outbreaks, the Secretary of Defense announcing the enactment of martial law at a press conference, or one neat video where a group of tactical instructors show civilians how to defend themselves from the zombies. 3.) Andy's Last Days: They got Andy's actor from the film to reprise his role for this. The premise is simple: Andy had a video camera in the gun store with him and basically did a one-man vlog of his experience during the outbreak from his own perspective.
please do an Army of the Dead breakdown! I think it's one of those films that if you turn your brain off its a fun watch; would love to see an analysis going over some of the discrepencies.
I consider this film the gold standard for the zombie genre. I remember doing yard work for almost a week straight, including on opening day, to convince my dad to let me go and see it. I'm now 34 and have seen this movie well over 100x's. Still have the dvd with the special features, too!
This movie has always stuck with me. When I think on a zombie movie, I think about the mall roof scenes. So for good or worse, it has stuck with me. I don't think it is a very good movie, but I really like it.
It does make sense about the island. There would have been other people that had the same "escape to an island idea," like you said. In my headcannon some people were infected, and it spread.
I remeber being 14 years old in middle school . A buddy of mine came telling everyone how great a movie this was . So me and a group of friends with no money sneaked in to see this movie in the theatre that night , and since tjat day i havnt yet to see a better zombie movie ever period.
I remember seeing this on Chiller, if anyone remembers that channel on TV it was a horror-based channel based on everything horror zombies and of course lots of re airs of a lot of horror anthologies. Well at some point I guess to celebrate the new season of the Walking dead at the time they decided to celebrate the premier of the new season with a bunch of zombie movies one of which was this movie and honestly watching this as a kid some of the scenes still stick with me to this day.
I’ve been a huge fan of the genre since I saw the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead in 1990 and Snyder’s Dawn remake is the second best remake of all of them and for those who don’t know, there’s several, a couple in “3D”, but Sid Haig saved them. I saw this one several times in the theater back in 2004
I once read a review stating "The opening scene of Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead promises a much better movie (and career) than the one that followed." 😬 ouch
A few years ago, I was home from school while sick, and one of my older brothers was with me (we we're both teens, I have no idea why he was home with me XD) but we were bored and looking through our cabinet of DVD's and found Dawn of the Dead, still wrapped in plastic and brand new, so we popped it in. We watched the entire thing, but we kept getting pulled out of the movie because during the intro of the movie, with various credits flashing on screen, there had been a zombie that had popped on screen and made the most ridiculous "BWAH" noise and we were laughing our asses off at random times during the movie because of that one silly noise. That, and the baby zombie was honestly the only things I really remembered from this movie.
I would imagine that because this was Snyder's first film, he probably had A LOT of oversight from the studio. It's like Lucas made great Star Wars films when he didn't have complete control over the production of it.
I love this film. The two moments that stand out for me the most are the end credits (which I hate with a seething passion, and have decided that it was just Ana having a nightmare while still safe and sound on the boat), and the scene with Matt Frewer's death. "You want...every...single...second." His performance was perfect. Still tugs at my heart strings.
The Televangelist guy in this movie was also one of the main cast in the 1978 Dawn of the Dead movie. He's not just "passing" a message to the audience.
One of the few very good remakes of a classic. It’s not “better” but it finds its own voice, takes the premise and runs with it in a different direction
I’d love for you to make a video on Army of the Dead. I definitely enjoyed it. It’s not high art or anything, but I think it’s a fun watch. Also, it has the actor for John Dorie from FTWD in it (my favorite character in that show), so that helps
You know, I watched this film recently and had the thought that, were it set in today’s day and age, they could’ve just flew some food and water plus a walkie over to Andy with a drone.
Hey thrifty, hope you'll read this but there's a show called " the rain ", it's in danish language but English is also available, it's also set in an apocalyptic world, I think you'll really like and I'd love to see your essays on that show since I love the twd ones, it's available on Netflix.
Not saying youre wrong for thinking its cheap to have the end credits go the way they do, but for me I really enjoyed it and it contributed to part of why I've remembered this movie so fondly, its a gut punch the first time I saw it and it always stuck with me as one of the first times I realized the heroes don't always win in fiction
the island ending was written like this as a reversal of the Romero's original's "hopeful" ending where they land and find peace on an island. James Gunn is famously edgy and in that period he was especially so. That's the whole explanation really.
Man this & 28 weeks later had the best opening zombie sequence in zombie movies! The fast running zombies freaked me out the zombie baby was terrifying especially in theaters for the 1st time! Definitely one of my fav zombie movies!
When you see that a director's first movie is their best, you must take into account it MAY have been due to studio interference, since they haven't earned the right to tell the studio "no" yet
Thrifty doing a video on my favorite zombie movie ever? Poggers. I'm serious, I cannot begin to explain to you how much backrent this movie owes me for taking space in my brain. I don't know how or why it does, but it does - ever since I first watched it 20 years ago now. It's actually a running joke among my friends whenever I host a groupwatch to ask, "are we watching Dawn of the Dead again?" and ya know, sometimes, the answer is yes :3 Sorry for this sloppy comment, it's more just a jumble of ideas as I watched the video: - I love how quickly the apocalypse just... HAPPENS in this film. One day, every thing is fine (with signs that things are starting/happening in other places) and then the next day, it's all come crashing down. That is so ridiculously fast and unrealistic, but it's great. - Ty Burrell may be Phil Dunphy to everyone else, but he'll always be Steve Marcus to me
On the topic of what a zombie is: There is a great zombie movies anthology called "Book of the Dead" J. Russell (2005) which is a bit dated but still shows how the zombie developed as a figure in cinema. For example Night of the Living Dead is mentioned as the first movie with flesh eating zombies. Before Night there was no cannibalism im zombie movies. In the 1950s 'zombies' where caused by radiation while in the 1990s zombies are often either magical or a result of a viral infection. Conclusion: The zombie is a trope that changed over time and can have different attributes (slow/fast, cannibal/'just' murderous, caused by virus/ magic/radiation/ funggus aso). It nevertheless can be argued that it is still a zombie nonetheless.
Just have to point out, apparently James Gunn wrote a little bit of Dawn of the Dead but quit pretty early in so he could write the script for Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. Don't know who took over after he left, but Gunn is always accredited for Dawn's success and good writing despite him leaving it out to dry... ALLEGEDLY.
No that's not true. He wrote the script but originally people didn't want to put him in the credit for it because he was known for the Scooby Doo movies. It's literally a video on youtube from the movie extras. Where the hell are you finding that info?
from wiki: Plans to remake 1978's Dawn of the Dead were conceived by producer Eric Newman, a fan of zombie films who cited the George A. Romero horror film as the best in this genre.[8][10] With the remake, Newman and producer Marc Abraham wanted to reinvigorate the zombie genre for modern audiences as well as "make the old fans happy and make a lot of new fans".[8] Newman and Abraham bought the rights to Dawn of the Dead from its producer and rights holder Richard P. Rubinstein, who was reluctant at first as he was "concerned that somewhere along the way a studio would sanitize Newman's vision for producing a version with 'attitude'", but that it was "Marc Abraham's long track record in keeping the creative integrity of the studio distributed films he has produced intact that gave me reason to say 'yes'".[8] Newman hired James Gunn to write the script, and the studio brought Gunn in despite not wanting to deliver them a signal idea for the film beforehand. A fan of the original Dawn of the Dead since he was a young boy, Gunn explained that he took the job because he "kind of saw generally what it could be".
The producers conceptualized the remake as more of a "re-envisioning" which would work in some references to the original but would primarily work on its own terms.[8] Co-producer Eric Newman cited Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), The Thing (1982), and The Fly (1986) as influences on the remake, considering these to be "amazing updates" as well as "great movies that add to rather than diminish the original films".[8] By way of respect to Romero's film, the producers cast the original's Tom Savini, Scott Reiniger, and Ken Foree in cameos; and incorporated visual references to Gaylen Ross and James A. Baffico.[8][b] In writing the script, Gunn took an action-oriented approach while remaining faithful to the basic premise of Romero's version.[19] To develop the plot, he declined to write a treatment in favor of a discovery writing method whereby he would devise hypothetical situations which would ultimately force the characters to evacuate the mall.[10] Gunn decided to leave the origin of the zombie outbreak ambiguous, believing this would give not only equal consideration to each audience's viewpoint (scientific or otherwise) but also something to think about what they would do if they found themselves in a similar situation.[10] The script was given uncredited rewrites by Michael Tolkin and Scott Frank; co-producer Richard P. Rubinstein said Tolkin further developed the characters while Frank provided some of the bigger, upbeat action scenes.[20] Gunn revealed he received internet backlash over the film due to his past screenwriting credit on Scooby-Doo (2002), believing him to be unqualified for the job.[19] However, film critic Harry Knowles, initially an opponent of the remake, read Gunn's script and gave it a positive response on his website Ain't It Cool News, which Gunn said helped eliminate doubts cast upon him by fans of the original.[19]
All right! Got a feed that isn't three years old and can actually talk to you in relatively real time. So, if you're a zombie fanatic, do I have some shows for you. I checked your channel and you haven't made any videos about Korean zombies, so let me turn you on to them. First off, the Koreans Love Zombies. "Train to Busan" is just the tip. There's a terrific show called "All of Us are Dead" where a group of high school students are trapped in their school when a zombie virus breaks out in it and the surrounding area. It's gory as hell, but the length of the series lets you really get to know the characters, and how their strengths and weaknesses come out under pressure. There's also a unique zombie two season series called "Kingdom," set in Korea's medieval times, where a zombie plague threatens to overrun the entire country. It also had a prequel, "Ashin of the North," which revealed the zombie plague was deliberately started to get revenge on the slaughter of a village by royal soldiers. Those are three I'd tell you to check out, and just a taste of the incredible horror/fantasy output from Korea. It's a wild, wild world over there...
2 things Zak Snyder did for the zombie genre: He made it scarier with the running zombies and added realism. He also made it funner, with all the games they play and how they keep themselves entertained in an abandoned mall in an apocalypse.
I love this film. The original is obviously iconic but this is one of my favorite zombie movies ever. Shaun of the dead beinf my favorite. But thats slightly different cuz its very much a comedy horror but this film is just great.
The religious guy is Ken Foree who was the main actor in the original 1978 Dawn of the Dead. Great cameo for horror fans
Don’t forget the sheriff
@@seanmtak7573 well he’s a little more obvious to pick out ha
@@TheLastSamurai813 true hah. Ken Foree is probably my favorite character from a zombie movie. The original just had a more natural realistic feel to it.
@@seanmtak7573Tom Savini. He's awesome.
@@shauni8806 he is great. I also didn’t know he did a lot of the creature/practical effects in dusk till dawn.
This one was not only early in Zach’s career but written by James Fucking Gunn. Crazy ass combo
They were like "we need the creative voice of dawn of the dead 2004, perfect no wait actually the other one, there we go"
Not "early in his career," this was the first film he ever made.
@@AJadedLizardfirst film. But he had an extensive career in music videos by then.
@@jiopa Yeah, but that's not really the same. Does explain why he shot sequentially though.
Great director, shite writer
The opening scene of dawn of the dead actually scared the absolute shit out of me. Waking up to such chaos, a little monster girl right outside your door, the same girl you spoke to just yesterday is now a savage flesh eating biohazard. The way MC had to crawl through the bathroom window into the sheer open chaos of the street outside utterly kept me in awe. This is one of the best zombie movies out there, every bit of this movie is sheer horror.
That zombie baby shit freaked me out, I can’t recall when a side-plot like that was ever done. Baby literally ate that woman from the inside out. EUGH
I still do wonder how she got in the house, though. Do people not lock their front doors in the Midwest?
I was thinking that but I mean, zombies don’t really care about knocking. We see them actively break in, it’s not impossible for the girl to have fallen through a window
It might actually be the best opening to a zombie movie that I've seen, or maybe best of all time. I can't think of any better ones off the top of my head, though 28 Days Later is up there for me.
(As I was writing this, I remembered 28 Weeks Later's opening was jaw dropping for me, too. So 2004 Dawn of the Dead's opening is the 2nd, maybe 1st, best zombie movie opening ever for me)
@@j-rey- 28 weeks later is by far and away the best zombie and maybe even the best horror opening ever. 2004 Dawn of the dead is very well done though and seems as though it;s more grounded if that makes sense. I just can't believe it's Zack Snyders first film and 20 years old.
No only the beginning of 28 weeks is good, the rest of the film is straight up trash.compared to 28 days. But that beginning man, terrifying.
Zach Snyder, let him direct, but for God's sake, don't let him write.
Nowadays it would be for better if he stay as a producer maybe.
nonsensical writing is just a fraction of Snyder's problem nowadays
unconventional filmmaking isnt always as good or unique as he thinks
Dont let him cook the meat fr
Nah. He does not know what to emphasize stuff and when to be subtle. That's why the over-the-top silly movies like 300 worked because there was no need for subtlety. Give him a human story and he will butcher it like he's trying to perform delicate surgery with a chainsaw.
@@hieunguyenrileygekko he's just a more pretentious Michael Bay
How could u not talk about the intro montage of society falling with Johnny Cash singing when the man comes around
I forgot about how cool that was
First song I ever learned on guitar.
@@redactedc1928 that’s a kickass first one. I should’ve started on cash but my ass started on Green Day and pop punk lmaoo
@marooner-martin bro, it's cool. I was a pop punk kids as well lol
That intro influenced so many B-movie intros that followed but could never compare.
You can tell it's a Zack Snyder movie because it misses the point of what it's adapting yet still turns out to be a really cool movie.
😂😂😂
@thedevilsrockstxr2309 sarcasm?? Because missing the point is 100% a snyder move.
I'm glad it missed the "point" because the original was a horrible film
My idea of a Remake is that it takes the Original movie and expands upon it or updates it for Modern Day. Watching the original 1978 movie will always be timeless, but its a product of its time, and its Messaging may be strong, a lot of people missed the message and instead came for the Zombie Carnage and the drama of the characters, instead of a Message. This remake kind of throws Messaging out the window and just shows us the downfall of Milwaukee, and then the new world. Its a simple as hell Zombie film, cause it goes literally like this.
Something is Wrong
News Is going off air
Eerily Quiet
First Encounter
Escape through the Carnage
Meet up with others
Take shelter in some location
Think about what's next
Attempt to get help
Days of nothing new
Safe Location goes mildly wrong
People die trying to fix Problem
Escape Plan
Destination Decision
Escape attempt
More people die
Only a tiny handful remain
Escape Somewhat Successful
Final scene shows more people dying
One or No survivors live
End Credits
Its as simple as simple goes, but lets not overlook the obvious. This formula works incredibly well when the writing is good, Characters are likeable, Zombies are intimidating, stakes are high, Horror is high, and Kills are glorious. This movie has it all, Faults and all. The only really dumb thing they did was leave the Mall in the first place. The OG had a biker gang barrel through the defenses and cause trouble. Zombies flooded in and the 3 remaining Survivors had no choice but to leave. It was a good reason for the survivors to leave the mall, and maybe go to a different Mall or somewhere Secluded where the threat of Zombies was very low to no threat at all.
In the Remake, they decide to leave the big ass mall that is locked up tight, food for months, fresh clothes, a Water fountain that still runs, Blunt and sharp objects inside, and a Gun store that's easily accessible though the sewers, if they went to a Manhole that was not on the street where all the Zombies were, or if survivors distracted the horde away from the street so others could climb up, get in the gun store, Load up Bags or Crates full of Guns and ammo, and escape back into the mall.
Also just a side option, they could use the Gun Store as a second hideout if the mall were to be breached. They could get on the roof of the Store, cause a major distraction, then send a few survivors through the sewers back into the mall to clean it out, then lock up the mall again so that it would be safe again. They had so many opportunities to stay there for maybe years, but they left because, people died there and they all didn't want to die in a Mall. Right so instead half of em die in overturned Trucks and feasted on by the swarms, and the rest die on the pier of an Unknown Island swarming with the undead.
@@Richardwho-vv5bhyour joke almost went over my head
There's a full version of all the news channels for this movie, you should ABSOLUTELY give it a watch. Its so good
Yes, kind of, the DVD has a Bonus Feature of an in-universe news channel covering the first few days. I wish it was all the new channels, but that would be like a movie in itself.
The specials from the DVD versions really flesh out the world and where it's at in. Even for how fast it really went. Loved that stuff.
I haven’t finished the vid yet, but did you get to watch the DVD extra “Special Report”? Where it’s a newscast that gets increasingly unhinged as the infection spreads? It’s one of my favorite pieces of Zombie media 20 years on.
I love DotD ‘04 a lot. It’s a comfort movie for me since it came out at the tail end of being in highschool.
ETA; Andy also has a “found footage” extra that deals with him and the gun store. All of the extras are on YT
And the priest on TV is played by Ken Foree; who was a lead in the original Dawn of the Dead and sfx legend Tom Savini played the Sheriff they watch on TV
Yes dude! The news report is so good, adds to the feel completely
F that footage. My dad as a joke thought it'd be real clever to show that to little kid me and pass it off as genuine. 😂
@@watchmehope6560 that’s pretty great. All I had was an uncle who would smash a Chucky doll up against car and house windows in the night when I was a little kid
This movie and 28 Days Later changed the zombie game. For sure compare this to Army of the Dead, you can see a clear shift in his efforts.
28 Days are infected humans with Rabies on crack. Not zombies.
Dawn of the Dead is absolutely the Gold Standard of zombie media. The sequel….
DOES NOT EXIST!
I mean Dawn of the Dead was written by James Gunn and directed by Snyder but Army of the Dead was not written by James Gunn. Maybe that's the difference?
That intro with the Johnny Cash song spliced with real-world events traumatized me as a kid.
The TV Preacher was Peter the Philadelphia SWAT cop from the original DOTD. In the original, he mentioned that is father was a Macumba priest who told him, "When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth." The Sheriff on TV is horror legend Tom Savini, who played the leader of the motorcycle gang in the original DOTD.
Yeah I loved that some of the original characters were actually in the remake. It just added to the ambiance.
The captain at the military base was played by the blonde guy from the original
I love this movie just as much as the original, it’s one of those rare times a remake wasn’t ruined
This "remake" is one of those rare cases where the two films can be considered, in almost every respect, two totally different movies!!
5:49 - That’s Peter from the original 1978 Dawn of the Dead.
“When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.”
For someone who reviews all of these different styles of zombie movies, I’d love to see a video from you talking about what you’d do in a zombie apocalypse scenario. For example places you would hide out vs places you’d avoid, types of weapons you’d use, if you’d be in a large group or a small group or even solo, etc
PS: The mall carpark might have been empty if the outbreak really kicked into gear in the early hours of the morning, like 3 to 4am and people mostly didn't realise until they started leaving their houses in the morning unless they were broken into.
Not to mention we see that there are parked cars and zombies in the underground garage.
9:42 the dvd extras included video logs from Andy
That was such a great addition. It was like an extra short-story in the same universe. Related enough to justify its inclusion, but different enough to get a very different take on a zombie apocalypse. Rarely do you see a guy completely alone, holed up in one spot, and stretching the resources around him as long as possible without some grand plan to survive long term.
@@j-rey-It really felt like something you would find as a piece of environmental storytelling ina video game.
I still remember when I first saw this movie, I was like around 4 or maybe 5 years old at the time and somebody borrowed this film for a get-together movie night, I remember being too young and not understand why bloody people on TV are attacking and eating people, and then my dad say those bloddy people are "sick", and it striked me, the idea of some infectious disease making people into blood thirsty cannibals just deeply fascinated me when I was literally way too young for this kind of stuff, I became a big zombie fan ever since, and this film still is one of if not my favorite zombie film of all time.
You just explained my experience! I watch this movie at least once a month haha it’s kinda my comfort movie😅
We don’t talk about the tragedy of Andy the Gunsmith. Literally the saddest part of the film
5:41 - you’re correct this is a great moment by Snyder. But that quote is from the original Dawn of the Dead as is the preacher on TV - he’s one of the remaining survivors from the original
The problem with the island theory was shown in Land of the Dead when the zombies just walked through the lake/sea.
They're dead. The don't breathe. If they don't breathe they don't have much air so they sink. They can then just walk across the sea bed.
Well no, the idea was they would be on an empty island far enough away from the zombies to be safe
What about the pressure? They would get crushed as soon as they hit a certain depth
@@MistaChedda You're not gonna hit that pressure in a lake, though.
Corpses _float._ This is a universally understood fact, the reason for the "dead walking on the ocean floor" trope is that both George Romero and Max Brooks saw _Curse of the Black Pearl_ (which, fair, it's a great movie) and didn't understand this is just artistic license for the sake of a dramatic shot.
@@AJadedLizard they float because gasses expand as the body decomposes. Once the gasses escape, there's nothing to keep them buoyant.
I was shocked I actually like this movie when I first watched it. It was totally worth watching.
It wasn't just made by Snyder, it was written by Gunn. Maybe that's why you liked it. I feel like no one gives credit to Gunn for this film. It's his story, not Snyder's.
They didn't go to Andy's to only get Nicole and the dog. They were supposed to get Andy on their way to the marina anyway. They had to go Andy's store regardless, because they needed to get ammo for said trip to the marina.
This film is great, but nothing beats Shaun of the dead
W comment
Amen
Too bad second half becomes boring
Apples to oranges, Shaun of the Dead is a black comedy
One could argue though without the 2004 film, Shaun of the Dead would not exist - it's clearly a parody of that version of the story more than any other zombie movie.
Keep making content, you’re videos help me through the days lol. I like when you get weird and talk about throwback movies. 🔥
I found your channel yesterday. I appreciated your retrospectives on The Walking Dead. And I'll be watching for the rest of them.
The bloat of these movies, I believe is at least partially due to the ease and low cost of making a them.
I can't say why so many people like zombie/rabid people flicks. For me it harkens back to my youth in the 80's. The earliest memory I have of horror movies is Night of the Living Dead. So naturally I have a great deal of nostalgia every time I watch one of these movies.
I'll also say this much too. I have recurring dream segments in which I find myself amongst a group of people trying to keep some dangerous horde outside (obviously these go back to Night of the Living Dead again). Though the threat isn't always zombies, sometimes they are dogs, sometimes they are bear, etc. The point is we are working to keep those things out. Inevitability it's a doomed endeavor because there is always some hapless idiot who doesn't realize the gravity of the situation we are in who lets the threat in and we are overwhelmed in the deluge. Then I wake.
I don't know why I decided to talk about that here but I often wonder if anyone else has dreams like that. In anycase you got yourself a new subscriber.
A brief addendum to my comment- the special features on the dvd for Snyder's Dawn of the Dead (the mock news cast and Andy's vlog) were both entertaining and I watch them at least as often as I watched the movie itself.
I had somewhere that the downer ending in the credits was because someone kept bugging Snyder about the ambiguous ending, so he made it a downer ending just to spite them. Or at least that's what I heard.
my thoughts on zack synder . . . over time we've split, i don't care to watch his movies and like them less. Dawn was his big hit with me, I was shocked and awed with 300, and everything else went down hill.
with me james gunn always made sci-fi channel quality movies. he doesn't understand how humans speak, not to mention his toilet fetish and pedophile friends
well no Zach Snyder (with an H) didn’t make it, but Zack Snyder (with a K) did
And Gunn wrote it❤
Snyder's best work is based on other's writing
Its just not based on other writing. Its purely based on big IPs. Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen, Batman V Superman. When its his writing, like Army of the Dead, that movie with the crazy chick, rebel moon, oh boy, its bad.
@@jamesmeow3039 James Gunn didnt write guardians of the galaxy. He's not the best at it tbh
@@hugoarevalo9976 james gunn has like 8 movies certified rotten when he rights they are crap
This movie kicks so much butt. It’s so exciting and fast paced. When I was a kid, this was the perfect zombie movie to own on dvd. The special features section was so much fun with Andy’s video diary and the news station broadcast
Dawan of the Dead was a great beginning for Znyder's career as a movie director, I remember watching this movie with my dad, who fell asleep on the sofa so he couldn't stop snoring, while his son was terrified seeing zombie stuff. Then, you have to imagine how scary that was for a 8-years-old kid like me.
Maybe it's just nostalgia, but this is my fav zombie flick
I appreciate it wasn't the typical "wE ArE ThE ReAL mOnsters" I'm so sick of that in zombie genre
Ahh 2004 DOTD. I grew up obsessed with this movie. I know every line, every scene and had the special features like Andy's Tape and the fake News airing of the apocalypse. For what it is, this movie rocks. One of my favorites. Nothing is worse than running zombies.
The dvd was amazing with the extra scenes and stories.
The cop in the beginning on the TV is Tom Savini.
A formidable special effects designer and a great actor loved him as sex machine in Dusk Til Dawn and Blades in the original dawn of the dead which is the better version
I wish you would make your videos longer! Love hearing your takes!
watched this movie on a random TV channel as kid in the 2000s... freaked me out pretty good. Still one of my favorites
Excellent video thrifty. I remeber watching this movie randomly as a kid and loving it for the most part, until the very end where EVERYONE died. It pissed me off cause i genuinely liked a lot of the characters that lived and wanted to see what happened next. I like the realism aspect of CJ’s death. He’s a great shot, but shit happens and making a mistake WILL cost you. Was a really engaging, fun movie. The scene where the survivor on the other building gets bit and wipes the whiteboard with the blood is an image stuck in my memory.
"The movie ends on this really depressing note..." oh cuz the original where the 2 survivors get off in the helicopter with less than half a tank of fuel & no guarantee for survival, just the words "we'll see" is super fucking sunshine & rainbows
They didn’t last a few months in the mall. They only last about a month because of Andy’s tape recording. They had to rush their plans cause shit went south for them. They wanted to wait it out and were gathering their unperishable for the get away. If the dog planned work they would have use the dog as transportation for restock their supply with Andy, however Nicole, the teen girl, forced them to rush their plans and they lost their ground. They should have pack the bus with the no perishable foods prior to the rescue. That wouldn’t have work anyway cause they crashed a bus and the one second, nobody bother grabbing anything other than their ammo bag. The point of the movie was nobody is invincible during an apocalypse. We have to set aside our difference, work as a team, and most importantly timing, resource management, planning, dictates how long you can survive during an apocalypse
One of the rare cases where the remake is better than the original. One of the best zombie movies ever
I think the ending was Zach telling everyone “the island idea won’t work guys!” . Like zombies is kind of the end all be all. TWD makes it great showing that NOWHERE is safe anymore
Actually the "Dawn Of The Dead" remake is actually the best zombie movie to date, in my opinion. Many movies come close but none match it.
I prefer the original but the remake is freaking awesome. A 1A and 1B situation for me
@@theramplocal Leon scenario B liked that
You need to watch the original and the rest of the romero zombies. The best zombie movie is Day of the Deads.
@Richardwho-vv5bh man I remember when I was 16 I hated day of the dead. I didnt appreciatehow dark and hopeless itnwas. I love it now tho def my 2nd fave behind dawn!
@@theramplocal day, diarie, dawn and night of the living dead remakes with land of the dead are my forever top 5 best zombie movies in history.
i remember zach was hailed as the new romero horror director on the different horror forums.
We had so high hopes for this young and upcomming director, crazy how low he has fallen now. He made 300 and fell in love with the slowmo style and just copy pasted there after.
I think going through the sewers was the plan to get him after he recovered his strength from the food. They had nothing but time, and on paper what they did minimized the risk. Then they got really unlucky.
This movie and 28 days later were what got me into zombie movies..
Even though its not filmed here the movie is supposed to take place where I live.
I really liked this remake, possibly better then the original. Although these type of movies are made for entertainment, like it was mentioned, not to look to deep into things, but here's something I have never seen a zombie movie address. The biggest threat to survivors of a zombie apocalypse wouldn't be the zombies or the other survivors...the biggest threat would be mosquitoes. The mosquitoes would be feeding off the dead, what would happened if they bite a survivor...wouldn't that have the same effects as being scratched or bitten by a zombie..???
Damn, I never thought about mosquitoes. That would be terrible problem
Mosquitos don't have any reason to bite a dead person; for one, their blood isn't flowing, so there are no chemicals/hormones circulating to attract them, and two, they track us by the carbon dioxide we exhale, and zombies don't breathe. The big issue is vermin gnawing on the corpses and then contaminating food sources.
Depends. Disease spreading from different species is highly unlikely so mosquitos themselves won't be infected. They could very likely act as a vector for transmission, similar to malaria. Though only a small amount would be passed, idk if it would cause infection.
An unsettling thing was then the general in the news report (played by the swat team guy from the original) was saying to come to the fort, and you see they be accepting everyone regardless of bite wounds. The fort likely was well equipped so it could of survived when they inevitably turned but idk
A really good zombie flick that doesn't get brought up enough. As I recall, Snyder himself explained in a panel that as a first time director he was still learning just how much creative control he had over his film. This led to him compromising a lot with studio execs and toning back a few things that he originally wanted in the movie. I'm sure this had a lot to do with the film having it's own style compared to his future work. But I think he knocked this one out of the park and the movie was exactly what it needed to be.
They thought they were in a movie with a happy ending.
The ending showed me they were playing Project Zomboid.
3:46 i think thats the lego store at the bridgewater commons mall in bridgewater nj?
I highly encourage any fan of this film to check out a DVD with the special features. It has three awesome additions:
1.) Feature Commentary: Pretty self-explanatory, you can watch the film with commentary provided by Snyder himself alongside Eric Newman (the producer). This is incredibly entertaining and I can honestly say it's the only film I've ever bothered to watch the whole way through with commentary other than LOTR's Extended Edition. Snyder and Newman have this sort of self-deprecating introspective humor to them about the film and what it represented as a project. They actually remark on a lot of the same things Thrifty does, insofar as how improbable the headshots were or how absurd the "Gangster vs. Granny" gunfight was. They also comment on some "paths not taken" as far as ideas they had but scrapped, etc.
2.) Special Report: This is great. You know how the opening credits of the remake has that cool Johnny Cash montage with the broadcasts and whatnot? Imagine an entire short fan film dedicated to that premise. Special Report is essentially an in-universe lore addition to the film following a 24-hour news broadcast that begins shortly after the first outbreak(s). The main character is a news anchor who steadily becomes more and more haggard as the hours tick by and the situation outside becomes more bleak. In between the reports he personally delivers to the audience, clips are broadcast from affiliates across the globe showing the chaos of unfolding outbreaks, the Secretary of Defense announcing the enactment of martial law at a press conference, or one neat video where a group of tactical instructors show civilians how to defend themselves from the zombies.
3.) Andy's Last Days: They got Andy's actor from the film to reprise his role for this. The premise is simple: Andy had a video camera in the gun store with him and basically did a one-man vlog of his experience during the outbreak from his own perspective.
please do an Army of the Dead breakdown! I think it's one of those films that if you turn your brain off its a fun watch; would love to see an analysis going over some of the discrepencies.
Thriftyyyyy you uploaded love you man
While I'm not a fan of running zombies this is one of my all-time favorite films and a core part of my childhood!
I consider this film the gold standard for the zombie genre. I remember doing yard work for almost a week straight, including on opening day, to convince my dad to let me go and see it.
I'm now 34 and have seen this movie well over 100x's. Still have the dvd with the special features, too!
This movie has always stuck with me. When I think on a zombie movie, I think about the mall roof scenes. So for good or worse, it has stuck with me. I don't think it is a very good movie, but I really like it.
It does make sense about the island. There would have been other people that had the same "escape to an island idea," like you said. In my headcannon some people were infected, and it spread.
I remeber being 14 years old in middle school . A buddy of mine came telling everyone how great a movie this was . So me and a group of friends with no money sneaked in to see this movie in the theatre that night , and since tjat day i havnt yet to see a better zombie movie ever period.
I remember seeing this on Chiller, if anyone remembers that channel on TV it was a horror-based channel based on everything horror zombies and of course lots of re airs of a lot of horror anthologies. Well at some point I guess to celebrate the new season of the Walking dead at the time they decided to celebrate the premier of the new season with a bunch of zombie movies one of which was this movie and honestly watching this as a kid some of the scenes still stick with me to this day.
2:40 i could not stop laughing at the start of this movie. His face when he smashes through the door was just way too funny
I’ve been a huge fan of the genre since I saw the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead in 1990 and Snyder’s Dawn remake is the second best remake of all of them and for those who don’t know, there’s several, a couple in “3D”, but Sid Haig saved them. I saw this one several times in the theater back in 2004
Id love to see u do a full documentary of like how the zombie genre has evolved over time i think that would be teally cool
I once read a review stating "The opening scene of Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead promises a much better movie (and career) than the one that followed." 😬 ouch
I would love for them to make a sequel! We don’t get any zombie movies like this anymore ☹️
Why the piano theme plating while talking about Andy and the dog sounds like a certain on-developement zombie isometric game?
A few years ago, I was home from school while sick, and one of my older brothers was with me (we we're both teens, I have no idea why he was home with me XD) but we were bored and looking through our cabinet of DVD's and found Dawn of the Dead, still wrapped in plastic and brand new, so we popped it in.
We watched the entire thing, but we kept getting pulled out of the movie because during the intro of the movie, with various credits flashing on screen, there had been a zombie that had popped on screen and made the most ridiculous "BWAH" noise and we were laughing our asses off at random times during the movie because of that one silly noise.
That, and the baby zombie was honestly the only things I really remembered from this movie.
One of my favorite movies due to nostalgia, I was 8 when it came out, and it's what got me into the zombie genre😇
I would imagine that because this was Snyder's first film, he probably had A LOT of oversight from the studio. It's like Lucas made great Star Wars films when he didn't have complete control over the production of it.
Actually it starts in the evening unfortunately the couple are busy thats why its feel rush
I love this film. The two moments that stand out for me the most are the end credits (which I hate with a seething passion, and have decided that it was just Ana having a nightmare while still safe and sound on the boat), and the scene with Matt Frewer's death. "You want...every...single...second." His performance was perfect. Still tugs at my heart strings.
If you're a fan of zombie movies I'd recommend Wyrmwood: Road of the dead. Its a great Aussie take on the genre
The Televangelist guy in this movie was also one of the main cast in the 1978 Dawn of the Dead movie. He's not just "passing" a message to the audience.
I forgot Oppenheimer starred in 28 days
One of the few very good remakes of a classic. It’s not “better” but it finds its own voice, takes the premise and runs with it in a different direction
the directors cut is good. added a little extra to a fantastic movie.
I’d love for you to make a video on Army of the Dead.
I definitely enjoyed it. It’s not high art or anything, but I think it’s a fun watch.
Also, it has the actor for John Dorie from FTWD in it (my favorite character in that show), so that helps
The DVD extras are even better than the movie IMO
You know, I watched this film recently and had the thought that, were it set in today’s day and age, they could’ve just flew some food and water plus a walkie over to Andy with a drone.
Hey thrifty, hope you'll read this but there's a show called " the rain ", it's in danish language but English is also available, it's also set in an apocalyptic world, I think you'll really like and I'd love to see your essays on that show since I love the twd ones, it's available on Netflix.
Not saying youre wrong for thinking its cheap to have the end credits go the way they do, but for me I really enjoyed it and it contributed to part of why I've remembered this movie so fondly, its a gut punch the first time I saw it and it always stuck with me as one of the first times I realized the heroes don't always win in fiction
I saw this in theaters. One of the best movies I ever saw at the cinema
the island ending was written like this as a reversal of the Romero's original's "hopeful" ending where they land and find peace on an island. James Gunn is famously edgy and in that period he was especially so. That's the whole explanation really.
This movie came out for my 18th birthday. It terrified me. The fast zombies gave me nightmares for months.
Man this & 28 weeks later had the best opening zombie sequence in zombie movies! The fast running zombies freaked me out the zombie baby was terrifying especially in theaters for the 1st time! Definitely one of my fav zombie movies!
When you see that a director's first movie is their best, you must take into account it MAY have been due to studio interference, since they haven't earned the right to tell the studio "no" yet
Thrifty doing a video on my favorite zombie movie ever? Poggers.
I'm serious, I cannot begin to explain to you how much backrent this movie owes me for taking space in my brain. I don't know how or why it does, but it does - ever since I first watched it 20 years ago now. It's actually a running joke among my friends whenever I host a groupwatch to ask, "are we watching Dawn of the Dead again?" and ya know, sometimes, the answer is yes :3
Sorry for this sloppy comment, it's more just a jumble of ideas as I watched the video:
- I love how quickly the apocalypse just... HAPPENS in this film. One day, every thing is fine (with signs that things are starting/happening in other places) and then the next day, it's all come crashing down. That is so ridiculously fast and unrealistic, but it's great.
- Ty Burrell may be Phil Dunphy to everyone else, but he'll always be Steve Marcus to me
Great video!!
You should watch the movie Arcadian, you would love it.
It introduced us to the hyper aggressive running zombie. Or, the counterpunch to every single zombie survival plan that anyones ever thought up
This was my first zombie movie and It was perfect for me back then
On the topic of what a zombie is: There is a great zombie movies anthology called "Book of the Dead" J. Russell (2005) which is a bit dated but still shows how the zombie developed as a figure in cinema. For example Night of the Living Dead is mentioned as the first movie with flesh eating zombies. Before Night there was no cannibalism im zombie movies. In the 1950s 'zombies' where caused by radiation while in the 1990s zombies are often either magical or a result of a viral infection. Conclusion: The zombie is a trope that changed over time and can have different attributes (slow/fast, cannibal/'just' murderous, caused by virus/ magic/radiation/ funggus aso). It nevertheless can be argued that it is still a zombie nonetheless.
Just have to point out, apparently James Gunn wrote a little bit of Dawn of the Dead but quit pretty early in so he could write the script for Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. Don't know who took over after he left, but Gunn is always accredited for Dawn's success and good writing despite him leaving it out to dry... ALLEGEDLY.
No that's not true. He wrote the script but originally people didn't want to put him in the credit for it because he was known for the Scooby Doo movies. It's literally a video on youtube from the movie extras. Where the hell are you finding that info?
from wiki: Plans to remake 1978's Dawn of the Dead were conceived by producer Eric Newman, a fan of zombie films who cited the George A. Romero horror film as the best in this genre.[8][10] With the remake, Newman and producer Marc Abraham wanted to reinvigorate the zombie genre for modern audiences as well as "make the old fans happy and make a lot of new fans".[8] Newman and Abraham bought the rights to Dawn of the Dead from its producer and rights holder Richard P. Rubinstein, who was reluctant at first as he was "concerned that somewhere along the way a studio would sanitize Newman's vision for producing a version with 'attitude'", but that it was "Marc Abraham's long track record in keeping the creative integrity of the studio distributed films he has produced intact that gave me reason to say 'yes'".[8] Newman hired James Gunn to write the script, and the studio brought Gunn in despite not wanting to deliver them a signal idea for the film beforehand. A fan of the original Dawn of the Dead since he was a young boy, Gunn explained that he took the job because he "kind of saw generally what it could be".
The producers conceptualized the remake as more of a "re-envisioning" which would work in some references to the original but would primarily work on its own terms.[8] Co-producer Eric Newman cited Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), The Thing (1982), and The Fly (1986) as influences on the remake, considering these to be "amazing updates" as well as "great movies that add to rather than diminish the original films".[8] By way of respect to Romero's film, the producers cast the original's Tom Savini, Scott Reiniger, and Ken Foree in cameos; and incorporated visual references to Gaylen Ross and James A. Baffico.[8][b]
In writing the script, Gunn took an action-oriented approach while remaining faithful to the basic premise of Romero's version.[19] To develop the plot, he declined to write a treatment in favor of a discovery writing method whereby he would devise hypothetical situations which would ultimately force the characters to evacuate the mall.[10] Gunn decided to leave the origin of the zombie outbreak ambiguous, believing this would give not only equal consideration to each audience's viewpoint (scientific or otherwise) but also something to think about what they would do if they found themselves in a similar situation.[10] The script was given uncredited rewrites by Michael Tolkin and Scott Frank; co-producer Richard P. Rubinstein said Tolkin further developed the characters while Frank provided some of the bigger, upbeat action scenes.[20] Gunn revealed he received internet backlash over the film due to his past screenwriting credit on Scooby-Doo (2002), believing him to be unqualified for the job.[19] However, film critic Harry Knowles, initially an opponent of the remake, read Gunn's script and gave it a positive response on his website Ain't It Cool News, which Gunn said helped eliminate doubts cast upon him by fans of the original.[19]
All right! Got a feed that isn't three years old and can actually talk to you in relatively real time.
So, if you're a zombie fanatic, do I have some shows for you.
I checked your channel and you haven't made any videos about Korean zombies, so let me turn you on to them.
First off, the Koreans Love Zombies. "Train to Busan" is just the tip. There's a terrific show called "All of Us are Dead" where a group of high school students are trapped in their school when a zombie virus breaks out in it and the surrounding area. It's gory as hell, but the length of the series lets you really get to know the characters, and how their strengths and weaknesses come out under pressure. There's also a unique zombie two season series called "Kingdom," set in Korea's medieval times, where a zombie plague threatens to overrun the entire country. It also had a prequel, "Ashin of the North," which revealed the zombie plague was deliberately started to get revenge on the slaughter of a village by royal soldiers.
Those are three I'd tell you to check out, and just a taste of the incredible horror/fantasy output from Korea. It's a wild, wild world over there...
James Gunn's early writing is incredible
you should make a video on any news about the 28 years later movie!
2 things Zak Snyder did for the zombie genre:
He made it scarier with the running zombies and added realism. He also made it funner, with all the games they play and how they keep themselves entertained in an abandoned mall in an apocalypse.
He wasn't even the first to do running zombies though. That would be 28 days later..
300 is Snyder's magnum opus but this is a fun movie
I love this film. The original is obviously iconic but this is one of my favorite zombie movies ever. Shaun of the dead beinf my favorite. But thats slightly different cuz its very much a comedy horror but this film is just great.
Zach Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead is the movie that made me obsessed with zombies, and has resulted in countless nightmares.