Dawn of the dead 1978 review
All pictures used in this commentary and review ar legal under the fair use agreement of 1976.
Happy Halloween everyone. I’m back again and it’s been a while. For this review and commentary, I’ll be taking a look at Dawn of the Dead 1978.
This movie comes as a request from a friend on another platform. Right on time for the creepy holiday so it’s quite appropriate. So, let’s have a look at this ghoulish good time.
You know there is a reason why George A. Romero always will be the grandmaster of Zombie horror movies. And Dawn of the Dead 1978 proves no exception to the rule. This film got made several years after Night of the Living Dead in 1968.
Romero waited several years because he didn’t want to get stereotyped as a horror director. Understandable of course and some of his credits may surprise you. As the story goes, he was visiting a mall in Pennsylvania with a friend.
One who happened to work with a mall crew. And while visiting the mall that’s where he got the idea for Dawn of the Dead. The result is the stuff of horror legend.
It should be of note Romero not only made it as a horror film but also as a satire. In the late 70’s and 80’s shopping culture was becoming a big thing. Indoor malls were popping up and people were packing them for all sorts of things.
At my rather…distinguished age I can say I understand the context. I lived the shopping culture of the 80’s. My mother would take my brother and I to Washington Square in Tigard.
Or to downtown Portland to shop for things. Ironic that the shopping culture got many families into some financial trouble.
As a result, I do buy stuff of my own. But I tend to err on the path of fiscal responsibility. Getting myself into trouble with my finances is not something I like the sound of.
So ironic that while this movie came out in 1978 the context is not lost on me today.
Now with that said on with the review and commentary.
This movie follows the horrific events of Night of the Living Dead. Though it has none of the original characters in it. It is in Romero’s Land of the Dead series but is its own story.
Following Night of the Living Dead things have gotten worse. The unknown event which caused the dead to reanimate as zombies spread all over the world. In the city of Philadelphia things are getting very bad.
Intellectuals argue over what needs doing. When faced with a horde of flesh-eating undead don't argue take the philosophy of Larry the Cable Guy. That is get er’ done!
Despite the U.S. Government’s best efforts, they are no closer to an answer. And society itself is breaking down into chaos. The rural communities and the national guard are holding up.
But that’s because they’re in more open space with fewer people.
Ah a zombie apocalypse. Fun times, laughs, and cookies for everyone! Isn’t it all so grand?
The first scene starts at the WGON-TV studio in Philadelphia.
Amidst the societal breakdown we meet two of the main characters in this movie. The first is Traffic reporter Stephen “Flyboy’ Andrews played by David Emge. The other is his producer and pregnant girlfriend Francine “Fran” “FlygirL” Parker. She's played by actress and writer Gaylen Ross.
Andrews and his girlfriend are planning to steal a helicopter and escape the city. A move that is a very smart one. There have been all kinds of videos and such on zombie apocalypse survival.
First rule is to get out of the cities fast! That will have the heaviest concentration of zombies seeking warm bodies to eat. An all you can eat buffet for the undead bleh!
Meanwhile across town things are not going well in a housing project. Here we meet two more main characters in this story. Roger “Trooper’ DeMarco as played by Scott Reiniger.
As well as Peter Washington as played by Ken Foree.
They’re raiding a low-income housing project. The heavy black and Latino populace are defying the federal martial law decree. The one that demands that all dead bodies get ned over for destruction.
Roger's SWAT unit gets into a firefight with some of the tenants. This is not going to end well. And boy does it ever go wrong big time!
The officers try to gain entry but with no success. Roger has trouble restraining one of his SWAT team. A man named Wooley who’s as bigoted and brutal as it gets.
A gun toting bigot in a zombie apocalypse that’s grand!
Wooley goes on a killing rampage. In the process he murders several unarmed people. Wooley gets killed by a gunshot from an officer on the roof.
None other than Peter Washington. I thought this an ironic and delicious twist. A bigoted and brutal monster of an officer taken down by a black officer.
Isn’t karma something else?
The SWAT team then take out the reanimated dead that have injured the tenants. The events are not too bloody but there is some bloodshed and gore. Though not in ridiculous amounts.
That was one thing I liked about this movie. It has some gore and bloodshed. It is after all a horror movie.
But it doesn’t go to insane lengths with it. Thereby maintaining a level of believability.
There's chaos amid the bloodshed of the injured and dying tenants. As the flesh-eating zombies get dispatched one thing becomes evident. Roger has grown disillusioned with everything that’s happening.
It seems he’s realizing they’re fighting a losing battle. With the millions infected by the zombie outbreak worldwide yeah it is! He meets up with Peter and we see the bond of friendship between the two SWAT members.
Roger wants to desert and join up with another friend of his Stephen. Considering how bad things are that idea starts looking good to the black policeman. Roger suggests Peter come along so they can escape the city.
The two then meet up with an elderly priest. The old man explains that there are zombies confined to the basement. He also explains the SWAT team are stronger than the tenants.
But soon the dead will be stronger than the SWAT team. This is wisdom from an elderly man of God that should get taken to heart. Yeah, civilization is collapsing and it’s time to head for greener pastures…if any.
Roger and Peter go into the basement. And proceed to the grim task of taking out the zombies. A gruesome task indeed.
Later that night Stephen and Fran reach a police dock. police dock. There he discovers the body of a security operator. He'd been guarding the traffic helicopter for Stephen's employer.
Peter and Roger join Fran and Stephen. They take the stolen helicopter. Meanwhile more friends take a boat out to sea.
All fleeing Philadelphia for good.
What follows is the four have some close calls as they stop to get fuel for the helicopter. The zombie outbreak has turned even children into flesh eating undead monsters.
This proves evident when Peter gets forced to shoot some of them. There’s guaranteed nightmare fuel. Welcome to the hellish world of the zombie apocalypse.
The four find a mall and make the decision to stay there since there’s plenty of food, medicine, and supplies there. Peter and Stephen proceed to camouflage the stairwell. Which is necessary to keep the zombies from finding their safe room.
It’s also revealed Fran is three months along with child. Oof, this adds to the awkward situation they’re in. Stephen engages in a cat and mouse game with a security guard who’s turned into a zombie.
Peter ends up saving him after the pilot uses up all his pistol bullets. Stephen was careless in his bullet use and that was a real facepalm kind of moment.
Two rules for surviving a zombie apocalypse. Don’t waste your ammo because it’ll draw other zombies. Also make sure when you kill a zombie you shoot it in the head.
Blocking the stairwell proves no easy task. The mall is crawling with zombies on the prowl for human flesh. The group then block the mall entrances with trucks.
Not an easy task with all the zombies in the area.
Roger and Peter grab the trucks, but it proves to be a dangerous encounter. Because there are far more zombies around then they realized. Yet they need the trucks to keep the undead from penetrating the mall.
Such proves the case when Roger and Peter survive their dangerous encounter. They plow through hordes of zombies that disregard their injuries. Roger forgets a bag of his and gets bitten by them.
Uh-oh that is not good at all! Another important rule for Zombie apocalypse survival. If someone gets bit by a zombie, be they friend or stranger remember this.
Unless there’s medication like Zombrex it's best to put the victim out of their misery. Then burn or bury the body.
The group then clean the mall of the zombies not locked out. They then proceed to enjoy a hedonistic lifestyle with all the goods available in the mall. Even as civilization collapses and the intellectuals show they’ve lost their minds.
Roger soon succumbs to his wounds and dies. He rises and Peter shoots him before burying him in the mall. Ouch what a way to go.
Sometime later the three find all emergency broadcast system transmissions have ceased. Indicating the government finally collapsed. Proving they're on their own.
The three load some supplies on to the helicopter in case they need to make an emergency escape. And Fran learns how to fly the helicopter. This I thought was a very smart move on the survivors’ part.
The dividends of this move become clearer soon enough in the film.
Things take an ugly turn when the CB radio they have picks up transmissions from a nomadic biker gang. It seems they’ve been watching the mall and have seen the helicopter in flight. This is a recipe for disaster if ever there was one.
This I thought was also not too surprising. Law and order itself has broken down. So, it stands to reason nomadic biker gangs would take control of the roads.
That’s a recipe for things to go bad in a hurry.
The massive gang storm the mall. The gang destroys the barriers allowing hundreds of zombies back into the mall. Despite having a plan for if the mall gets attacked Stephen flies into a territorial rage.
Another important rule of the zombie apocalypse. Never get too attached to any place. One never knows when abandoning it is necessary.
Stephen causes a protracted battle to break out even as the gangs are looting what they can from the mall. The stragglers get overwhelmed by the zombies unleashed in the mall and eaten.
Stephen himself tries to hide in an elevator shaft. Unfortunately, he gets shot by some gang members. Then mauled by a horde of zombies.
He soon emerges reanimated as a zombie. So, the others begin to follow him as he by instinct heads for the safe room. And towards Peter and Fran.
Well, this situation turned from bad to very bad!
Peter kills the undead Stephen while Fran escapes to the roof and the helicopter. At first Peter doesn’t want to leave and contemplates suicide. But when the zombies burst in Peter has a change of heart.
He fights his way through the zombies to the roof and the helicopter. Fran and Peter fly off low on fuel and into an uncertain future. Well, isn’t that dandy!
The movie ends with the zombies going about macabre imitations of what they did in life. Proving that they're acting on instinct. And there's no reason to them at all.
Now what is it about this movie that makes it a classic? Well part of it as I said earlier is they don’t place too much emphasis on gore, viscera and mutilation. This is something a lot of modern horror movies especially the Saw movies tend to do.
It’s a bad trope that the horror genre needs to break.
Another thing I like about this movie is the solid storytelling. There’s no question about what is going on and how bad things have become. From the lighting to the expressions of the actors.
This movie leaves no question on what’s going on.
Some of the performances I like are from Ken Foree as Peter Washington. He came off as a very likeable and intelligent character. One line I liked from him was when he mentioned his grandfather who lived in Trinidad and was a voodoo priest.
He used the slogan of the movie. “When there’s no more room in Hell the dead will walk the earth.”
Wow, prophetic words huh?
David Emge and Gaylen Ross were also very believable in their roles.
Scott Reiniger was okay in this…until it came to his slow transformation into a zombie. That’s where his performance went the extra mile, and I loved it! It was so terrifying yet so heart wrenching an excellent combination.
Bravo Mr. TReiniger bravo to you sir!
So, as I said there’s a reason George A. Romero is the grandmaster of Zombie horror movies. And Dawn of the Dead helps cement that well-deserved status.
Big shout out to the late-great director. And a shout out to all the Zombie horror movie fans and the George A. Romero fans. I salute you and give high praise to Dawn of the Dead 1978.
If you’re a horror movie buff or a George A. Romero fan this is a movie for you. Right in time for a delicious and spooky holiday.
Thanks for reading this, everyone. I hope you enjoyed this movie review and commentary. There will be more coming in the future so stay tuned folks.
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