DVD: Dawn of the Dead

Dawn of the Dead 4/5

A group of mostly strangers end up hiding out in a shopping mall, amidst a massive outbreak of something that causes people to turn into zombies. At first, there are only dozens of zombies, but soon they horde around the mall in the thousands.



Across the street from the mall, on the roof of a building, Andy, the owner of a gun shop, hides out alone with ten thousands rounds of ammo. He and the shopping mall group communicate with each other using white boards and binoculars to read each other’s messages.

What’s the cause of the zombies? A preacher states that when hell is full, the dead shall walk the earth. Hell apparently gets filled up since people engage in all sorts of lifestyle choices that, while controversial, become more and more accepted by society -homosexuality, abortion, sex before marriage, etc.

The main actors are excellent: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, Michael Kelly. Canadian Jayne Eastwood (The King of Kensington) shows up in what turns out to be a Canadian location shoot.

The funny scenes are few but look for one where the shopping mall group asks Andy to shoot certain zombies who look like celebrities, such as Jay Leno and Burt Reynolds.

The film doesn’t end where it you think it does. You have to watch through the end credits to see snippets of what happens next. Among the bonus material is a program that that is worth watching: Andy’s Terrifying Last Days Revealed.

This is an excellent film!