Dawn of the dead (1978)

Thanks to my fellow reviewest for the discription of zombie films.

Dawn of the dead

Story: After a outbreak of a virus that changes the dead into flesh crazed monsters breaks loose, a ragtag group of army troops and civilians take refuge in a abandoned mall. From there the group works to get supplies and make themselves a life in the mall.

Review: Well when talking zombie films with anyone knowlegdable about horror films, this is the film that is usually number one or two on the lists of classics. Why? What has given this film the lasting power that after over 30 years still keeps top spots? Well when the film released it was praised for its effects and the satire within it. It was a huge metaphor for consumerism. These points still are valid to this day. It still works as a metaphor, the zombies are presented as consumers shambling around reaching out to items that were familiar to them back when they where alive. The effects may be permeative compared to newer zombie media such as The Walking Dead, or even 1988's Day of the Dead, they still are a huge achievement for the time, and still look good compared to today's over reliance on CGI.

So the effects and symbolism still work today, so is this why the film still is huge today. Well let's get into the acting, is it good or bad. Well it is pretty good 85% of the time, those other times it's usual the zombie actors only because back in the 70's zombie acting was slow and cumbersome so the camera focused more on the character acting. I'll say now that the film is in no way hampered by this fact. The characters are believable so they help take attention away from the campy zombie acting. So the effects, the story, the acting , and the symbolism all still work today, so is it really a huge mystery why this film is still so influential today. No, it's still a huge success of a film, it cemented zombies into the mainstream. Tom savani's effects still capture the horror of zombies. Yes it has aged some, but still a classic

9.5/10 A near perfect horror film. My only question left is if you have not seen it Why not?