Dawn Of The Dead (1978) Dir: George A. Romero
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A little while ago, I watched Zack Snyder's 2004 remake, which I actually thought was pretty good. It was with that in mind that I took to watching George A. Romero's acclaimed 1978 original. The film is lorded as among the best the subgenre has ever produced, so my expectations were high.
The makeup is goofy and, in the modern eye, terrible, but it has a weird charm to it that meant I didn't hate it. Some of the special effects were, while also cheesy, actually pretty good. The emphasis being on 'some', because other effects were as poor as the makeup.
The film is, of course, a commentary on American consumerism - something that still very much applies today. The absurdity of it is all the more so because of how relevant and true it all is. It's both hilarious and poignant.
At no point is the film explicitly boring, but, I must confess, the middle of the film almost lost my attention entirely at points, mainly due to how slow that period of the story is. It's not bad, not in the least, but it does unquestionably drag.
The story itself is very good - I think it has a very significant and poignant point to make, which it does well, but it honestly could have been at least fifteen minutes shorter. For clarity's sake, I watched the 'Extended Cannes Cut', which may have something to do with that.
As a final little complaint, I can only describe the acting of the zombie actors as unconvincing. From waiting for vehicles to pass by to very lifelike expressions and mannerisms, it was increasingly difficult to suspend any disbelief. I guess that goes to show the progress that has been made, even by something as simple as that, in this popular subgenre.
Ken Foree was by far the best actor in the film, as well as portraying the most interesting and well-rounded character. I think he was head and shoulders above everyone else involved from beginning to end.
David Emge had me divided. I think he had some well-acted scenes, especially in the first half of the film, but he bored me as a character. He had one use, which soon became far less relevant.
Gaylen Ross was wasted on a character with next to nothing to do for the vast majority of the film. Her acting was actually decent, but she only really got proper development in the middle part of the film.
Scott H. Reiniger is a little inconsistent, but he improves vastly in the second half of his performance. Even so, I definitely found him to be the weak link of the four main protagonists.
Overall, I have very mixed feelings about this classic zombie film. On the one hand, the message of the story is brilliant, the narrative was interesting and the comedic elements worked well. However, the actual zombies have aged awfully, and the majority of the acting is pretty poor.
My final thoughts are as such; it's a good zombie film, especially for the 70s - it has some incredibly good social commentary, but my modern eyes definitely could not handle some of the cheese. This may not be a popular decision, but I think I prefer the Snyder remake.
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