Dawn of the Dead

Finally! Caught up. Today's horror film was George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead. George A. Romero is one of the pioneers of zombie lore as we know it and that makes it even more shameful that I somehow had not seen Dawn of the Dead before now. I know, I suck. 

What makes Dawn of the Dead so fascinating is the fact that it is in many ways a zombie origin story. Just like Romero's first zombie film Night of the Living Dead brought the undead to the forefront, Dawn of the Dead cements exactly what zombies are. This film set up what we think of as zombies today. Slow, shambling, brainless undead, albeit a bit (a lot) more white or gray than we're used to. Of course Dawn of the Dead is a little dated but it's no worse for it. For what it was at the time (and for it's minuscule budget) it's excellent. The sense of humor it showcases is pretty entertaining to boot (pie facing zombies. Pure hilarity).

Romero drops you right into the middle of the zombie apocalypse and, just like his characters, expects you to survive. The movie focuses around that survival and dealing with the fallout of the apocalypse. It's great to see a zombie movie dealing with not only zombies themselves but also with how the world at large is dealing with the outbreak. Societies discussion around it's causes and morality gives depth to the story that newer zombie lore misses out on; the concentration on survival can be deepened by looking at the far-reaching ramifications of the zombie apocalypse. 

That's pretty rambling and proably makes no sense, but... I don't care. Either way, I loved Dawn of the Dead as a fitting zombie origin story for the genre itself. Romero created a world that exists until today. 

9/10