Dawn of the Dead (2004 film)
Reception
Reception
---------

### Contemporary

*Dawn of the Dead* received generally positive reviews upon its release, with critics praising it as a worthy remake of the original and a fine addition to the zombie genre. The film was considered by most to be an improvement over the original in terms of acting, production values, and scares, although *[Variety](/wiki/Variety_%28magazine%29 "Variety (magazine)")* and [Derek Malcolm](/wiki/Derek_Malcolm "Derek Malcolm") felt that it was only intermittently scary. Despite giving it a negative review, *Variety* said that the film was otherwise "more palatable" than the "atrocious" [*Texas Chainsaw Massacre* remake](/wiki/The_Texas_Chainsaw_Massacre_%282003_film%29 "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003 film)") released the previous year. [Michael Gingold](/wiki/Michael_Gingold "Michael Gingold") stated, "\[...] *Dawn of the Dead* joins *[The Ring](/wiki/The_Ring_%282002_film%29 "The Ring (2002 film)")* and *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre* as an update that both honors its source and emerges as an effective horror film in its own right", a sentiment also shared by *[IGN](/wiki/IGN "IGN")*. [Lisa Schwarzbaum](/wiki/Lisa_Schwarzbaum "Lisa Schwarzbaum") praised Snyder's direction in "a killer feature debut", while [Roger Ebert](/wiki/Roger_Ebert "Roger Ebert") said in a positive review that anyone paying to see it is guaranteed to get their money's worth.

Abundant praise was given to the film's opening sequence, which an otherwise negative review from *[The Hollywood Reporter](/wiki/The_Hollywood_Reporter "The Hollywood Reporter")* called "pulse\-poundingly good". Gingold found Snyder's camerawork utilizing a [first\-person video\-game perspective](/wiki/First-person_%28video_games%29 "First-person (video games)") at the beginning of the film to be praiseworthy, more so than those of the video game films *[Resident Evil](/wiki/Resident_Evil_%28film%29 "Resident Evil (film)")* (2002\) and *[House of the Dead](/wiki/House_of_the_Dead_%28film%29 "House of the Dead (film)")* (2003\). The lack of dark humor of the original was a source of criticism, although the scene in which survivors shoot zombified celebrity look\-alikes with a sniper rifle was considered by most to be funny, among other jokes; *The Hollywood Reporter* cited it as some of the film's "moments of inspired audacity". Many noted that the fast\-moving zombies of *Dawn of the Dead* were similar to those of *[28 Days Later](/wiki/28_Days_Later "28 Days Later")*, but felt that the [Danny Boyle](/wiki/Danny_Boyle "Danny Boyle") film was "darker and creepier", "smarter, more rigorously structured", and could pass for a remake of the original.

Despite the general praise, some critics said the film gave scant consideration to Romero's [satirical](/wiki/Satire "Satire") critique of [consumerism](/wiki/Consumerism "Consumerism"), among other sociopolitical issues. Ebert and *Variety* stated that whereas Romero used the shopping mall to stage a metaphor about consumer society, Snyder used it merely as a convenient shelter for his characters. Gingold lamented that unlike Romero's film, Snyder's provided no social commentary on [racism](/wiki/Racism_in_the_United_States "Racism in the United States") through its Black characters Kenneth and Andre as well as the [interracial relationship](/wiki/Interracial_relationship "Interracial relationship") between Andre and Luda. In contrast, [Manohla Dargis](/wiki/Manohla_Dargis "Manohla Dargis") commented that Romero's consumerist metaphor has lost its significance in the years since the original's release, "with the politics of consumption now an established academic field and shopping now considered a statement of [identity](/wiki/Identity_politics "Identity politics")". *IGN* praised the film's tonal departure from Romero's, calling it "a calculated risk that paid off".

*The Hollywood Reporter* and *[Chicago Tribune](/wiki/Chicago_Tribune "Chicago Tribune")* commented that *Dawn of the Dead* was content to indulge in bloody zombie killings devoid of meaning and introspection once present in the original, leaving the audience rather numbed and "less mercifully handled, even at the end\-credits". [Wesley Morris](/wiki/Wesley_Morris "Wesley Morris") gave a negative review in which he said the film "feels like the product of the [PlayStation](/wiki/PlayStation "PlayStation") era" as opposed to a reverence for Romero. [Elvis Mitchell](/wiki/Elvis_Mitchell "Elvis Mitchell") had similar objections, writing that "\[t]he flesh\-eaters are picked off like video\-game targets". Conversely, the *[BBC](/wiki/BBC_News_Online "BBC News Online")* complimented the film as a "stylish, gore\-drenched shoot\-em\-up", and Dargis attributed its appeal not to the bloody violence but to "the filmmakers' commitment to [genre](/wiki/Film_genre "Film genre") fundamentals". Writing in a positive review, internet\-based critic [James Berardinelli](/wiki/James_Berardinelli "James Berardinelli") said fans of "tight, tense, graphic horror" should be able to enjoy the same aplenty in *Dawn of the Dead*.

While Schwarzbaum and Dargis complimented Gunn's script as "sharp" and propulsive, respectively, others took issue with what they believed to be the lack of plot and character developments. Morris found most of the characters to be too irritating that he believed audiences might want them "thrown from the mall roof to the throngs of undead". The *Chicago Tribune* said that the characters were clichéd and about as dumb as the undead, though sympathized with the "tragic" moral dilemma faced by Andre as an expectant father. Conversely, Berardinelli said that while there are moments in which the characters show a lack of [common sense](/wiki/Common_sense "Common sense"), "it's inevitable that most of them end up as one\-dimensional throw\-aways whose sole purpose is to increase the [body count](/wiki/Body_count "Body count")" and that "not many people go to a horror film looking for character development and drama". He and Ebert found the subplots of Kenneth and Andre to be "touching", with Berardinelli stating that these were "handled with a deft hand". Although Ebert was personally not on board with the characters' "risky" plan to escape from the mall in lieu of awaiting the zombies' natural death, he remarked that "taking chances makes for good action scenes". Mitchell criticized the plot as "strictly by the numbers" and said that the climactic gun store scene "shows why zombie pictures aren't unsettling anymore".

The ensemble cast was generally praised: comments ranged from "superlative" and "convincing down the line" to "respectable" and "annoying". Schwarzbaum and the *Chicago Tribune* described [Sarah Polley](/wiki/Sarah_Polley "Sarah Polley")'s screen presence as "a perfect against\-[type](/wiki/Typecasting_%28acting%29 "Typecasting (acting)") heroine" with "a nice anxious stare". *IGN* was dismayed that least attention was given to Phifer's "naturally charismatic presence" with such a large cast, though felt that Rhames was effective as Polley's "quietly authoritative [foil](/wiki/Foil_%28narrative%29 "Foil (narrative)")" and praised [Jake Weber](/wiki/Jake_Weber "Jake Weber")'s performance in "a thankless role". While giving equal praise to Polley, Phifer, and Rhames, Gingold singled out Weber's existentialist role as "the best of all", as did the *BBC*, who also credited the actor with "bringing a redoubtable decency and charisma to a potentially bland part, like the young [Roy Scheider](/wiki/Roy_Scheider "Roy Scheider") in *[Jaws](/wiki/Jaws_%28film%29 "Jaws (film)")*".

 , *Dawn of the Dead* is Zack Snyder's highest\-rated film on the website.  Audiences polled by [CinemaScore](/wiki/CinemaScore "CinemaScore") gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A\+ to F scale.

### Retrospective

In 2005, George A. Romero spoke briefly of how dissatisfied he was with *Dawn of the Dead* during an interview with actor [Simon Pegg](/wiki/Simon_Pegg "Simon Pegg") for *[Time Out](/wiki/Time_Out_%28magazine%29 "Time Out (magazine)")*. Romero said that although the remake could pass for a good action film, he felt it was aimless and "more of a video game" for that matter, as well as maintained he was "not terrified of things running at me".

Numerous publications have named *Dawn of the Dead* as Zack Snyder's best film, with *[Den of Geek](/wiki/Den_of_Geek "Den of Geek")* considering it his *[magnum opus](/wiki/Magnum_opus "Magnum opus")*. Revisiting the film on its 15th anniversary in 2019, Joe Lipsett wrote the following verdict for [Bloody Disgusting](/wiki/Bloody_Disgusting "Bloody Disgusting"):

> Fifteen years later, *Dawn of the Dead* completely holds up. The film's flaws are mostly at the character level, though having a dumb zombie baby and a few undeveloped red shirts in the mix is hardly a deal breaker. The action – particularly the opening scene and the [propane](/wiki/Propane "Propane") explosion climax – in addition to the fantastic special effects makeup, the brief flirtation with [found footage](/wiki/Found_footage_%28film_technique%29 "Found footage (film technique)"), and the reverence for its source text while introducing something new makes 2004's *Dawn of the Dead* one of the best remakes on the market.

Likewise, *Dawn of the Dead* has appeared on several lists of the top zombie films, including number 3 by *[Rolling Stone](/wiki/Rolling_Stone "Rolling Stone")* (2012\), number 12 by *[Empire](/wiki/Empire_%28film_magazine%29 "Empire (film magazine)")* (2020\), by *[Collider](/wiki/Collider_%28website%29 "Collider (website)")* (2021\), number 17 by [IndieWire](/wiki/IndieWire "IndieWire") (2022\), and by *[Variety](/wiki/Variety_%28magazine%29 "Variety (magazine)")* (2023\); as well as the best horror films of the decade, including number 3 by [Dread Central](/wiki/Dread_Central "Dread Central") (2010\), number 8 by Bloody Disgusting (2009\), number 52 by *[IGN](/wiki/IGN "IGN")*, and number 55 by *Rolling Stone* (2020\). The film made review aggregator website [Rotten Tomatoes](/wiki/Rotten_Tomatoes "Rotten Tomatoes")'s lists of "The 20 Scariest Opening Scenes in Horror Movie History" (at number 6\), "The 25 Best Horror Movie Remakes" (at number 9\), "The 30 Essential Zombie Movies" (at number 13\), and "18 Memorable Horror Remakes".

In a June 2018 article for *[The Hollywood Reporter](/wiki/The_Hollywood_Reporter "The Hollywood Reporter")*, Richard Newby opined that *Dawn of the Dead* helped revitalize the zombie genre along with *[28 Days Later](/wiki/28_Days_Later "28 Days Later")* at a time when the United States "was ripe for the re\-emergence of zombie movies" following the [September 11 attacks](/wiki/September_11_attacks "September 11 attacks"), which he believes to have contributed to the Americans' "increased fear of [biological weapons](/wiki/Biological_weapons "Biological weapons"), fervent mass [militarization](/wiki/Militarization "Militarization") and the burrowing question of who exactly are the people we call our neighbors". Likewise, author [Stephen King](/wiki/Stephen_King "Stephen King"), in the forenote of the 2010 edition of his book *[Danse Macabre](/wiki/Danse_Macabre_%28book%29 "Danse Macabre (book)")*, saw what he believed to be Snyder's subtext conveying the horrors induced by terrorist attacks, drawing parallels between the zombie apocalypse and a post\-9/11 America. King described *Dawn of the Dead* as "genius perfected" in terms of its standing in the zombie genre.  *[South Park](/wiki/South_Park "South Park")* creators [Trey Parker](/wiki/Trey_Parker "Trey Parker") and [Matt Stone](/wiki/Matt_Stone "Matt Stone") and South Korean filmmaker [Yeon Sang\-ho](/wiki/Yeon_Sang-ho "Yeon Sang-ho") consider themselves to be fans of the film, citing it as an influence upon their works "[Night of the Living Homeless](/wiki/Night_of_the_Living_Homeless "Night of the Living Homeless")" and the [*Train to Busan* series](/wiki/Train_to_Busan_%28film_series%29 "Train to Busan (film series)"), respectively.

### Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2004 | [Bram Stoker Awards](/wiki/Bram_Stoker_Awards "Bram Stoker Awards") | Screenplay | [James Gunn](/wiki/James_Gunn "James Gunn") |  |  |
| [Golden Trailer Awards](/wiki/Golden_Trailer_Awards "Golden Trailer Awards") | Best Horror/Thriller | *Dawn of the Dead* |  |  |
| Best Music | *Dawn of the Dead* |  |  |
| 2005 | [Saturn Awards](/wiki/31st_Saturn_Awards "31st Saturn Awards") | Best Horror Film | *Dawn of the Dead* |  |  |
| Best Make\-Up | [David LeRoy Anderson](/wiki/David_LeRoy_Anderson "David LeRoy Anderson") and Mario Cacioppo |  |
|


Why are we predisposed to use that power unwisely?