Dark Discussions Podcast, Podcasts

Dark Discussions Podcast – Episode 229 – Zack Snyder Focus: 2004’s Dawn of the Dead

Don’t touch the classics! Hollywood loves to do remakes of not only Hollywood films but also indy productions. But what if producers decide to do a remake in “name only”? With the success of 28 Days Later, fast zombies became a craze again and so Dawn of the Dead was greenlighted. Bringing in a first time director named Zack Snyder, the film surprised many people. It was fantastic! Moviegoers loved it! Critics loved it! And it was really a different and original film from George Romero’s 1978 film.

Ana, a nurse, gets off shift and heads home to her husband. By the morning, the world as we know it has changed forever. With a pre-credit sequence that some say may be one of the greatest horror film openings of all time, the movie goes on a ride from there. Interesting people dynamics evolved: a salesman from Best Buy becomes a leader, a small time hood isn’t all that bad, a security guard learns to overcome his suspicions of others, and a police officer tries to sort out where he stands.

Though hard at the time for some to accept, fast zombies turned out to be one scary monster. The screenplay, written by James Gunn (now a big time director), also uproots the tale to Milwaukee from Pittsburgh. And the addition of more characters including a stranded man named Andy on a roof of a gun store only brought more originality to what could have been a derivative tale. The film, having won a Dark Discussions poll for review, is taken up by your co-hosts in an in-depth review.

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