![]() As it must, the real world eventually barges in, first as one of the group is bitten by a zombie and slowly dies, then as a nasty biker gang decides they want what's inside. Soon, things aren't quite so fun anymore. The faux comfort of the mall – with its garish inauthenticity and intolerable muzak – becomes more and more stifling for the viewer. The music – especially within the mall – transformed the events into something that could almost be described as festive, as our heroes gradually forget the troubles of the outside world and settle into their luxurious new home.īut a feeling of dread always hovers around the edges even as the protagonists eat heartily and enjoy everything the mall has to offer, the atmosphere Romero builds is subtly nightmarish. This movie was surprisingly funny! It made the zombies look silly, shambling about in their bad 70s duds, going up down escalators, easily getting picked off – sometimes even doing it their own selves (won't ever forget the helicopter zombie bit). That grim message is delivered in DAWN with some frequently absurd touches of humor, even of the slapstick variety. Humans are just as likely to shoot at one another as they are at the zombies. ![]() ![]() As would always be a theme with Romero's zombie projects (and, indeed, most zombie projects, including The Walking Dead), it seems people simply can't work together chaos reigns as most everyone scrambles to look out for themselves. What immediately struck me about DAWN was the power of its upsetting worldview. So it would probably be a lot like NIGHT, just larger in scope, right? Not exactly. I knew the set-up: as the zombie apocalypse heats up to a frightening degree, a band of people find shelter in the most obvious place, a shopping mall. I don't remember how DAWN came into the picture I had undoubtedly already seen Romero's brilliant NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (a movie that has been in my life so long I can't even recall my first viewing), but I'm certain I didn't know what to expect. My step-brother Chris was my partner in crime, as we stayed up late (well past 3am) almost every Saturday night devouring whatever schlock we could get our hands on. This was around the time I was ingesting as much horror as I could Joe Bob Briggs was on The Movie Channel, MonsterVision was on TNT, and the local video stores were packed with perversely appealing VHS goodies. I don't remember the date, but I'm fairly certain it was the fall of 1993, perhaps September or October. Romero's terrific DAWN OF THE DEAD, one viewing was just not enough. Why It's My Favorite Scary Movie: The night I first encountered George A. Who Made It? The late, great George Romero, with some assistance from Italian horror legend Dario Argento, who helped secure financing for the sequel as he was a major fan of Romero's first dalliance with the undead, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Who's In It? No one famous, but a very reliable troupe nonetheless: Ken Foree, Gaylen Ross, David Emge and Scott Reiniger as our four protagonists, with make-up effects maestro Tom Savini lending support as a third act villain. But it's really hard to maintain normalcy, or security, in the middle of the apocalypse. ![]() They find it in the form of a large shopping mall, where they proceed to make themselves quite comfortable. As the city of Philadelphia falls apart (presumably the case with most major cities in the country), four people – two SWAT team members and an expecting couple – make off with a helicopter in hopes of finding safe haven. ![]() In fact, our war against them is becoming more and more fruitless. What's It About? Not long after the events of Night of the Living Dead, it has become clear the walking dead are not going away. For the month of October, staff will be gearing you up for the Halloween season with My Favorite Scary Movie, where we will share our favorite scary flicks, be it gory horror, supernatural thriller or bloody slasher flicks, lending the personal touch for each film and why it stands as one of our all-time favorite spooky flicks of the season. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |