Dawn of the Dead (2004 film): Difference between revisions

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Ana, a Milwaukee nurse, finishes a long shift at her hospital where -- along with other bits of [[Foreshadowing]] -- she discusses [[Zombie Infectee|a patient who was bitten in a bar fight]]. After work, she chats briefly with a cute neighbor child, then returns to her suburban home and her waiting husband. The next morning, she wakes up to find her zombified young neighbor in her house; the girl kills her husband, who then rises a zombie and comes after Ana. Ana escapes in her car, only to learn that, overnight, the town has fallen into [[Zombie Apocalypse|chaos]]. A living human attempts to carjack her vehicle, causing her to panic, drive off the road, crash into a tree, and knock herself unconscious. When she awakens, she meets up with a police officer by the name of Kenneth, and then a small group of survivors more-or-less led by jack-of-all-trades Michael. They all break into a nearby shopping mall, where they are confronted by a trio of mall security guards, led by the surly C.J. Via binoculars and dry-erase boards, they also "meet" gun-store owner Andy, who is stranded alone in his shop across the mall's zombie-infested parking lot. The guards are eventually disarmed, and some more survivors are let into the mall, among them teenaged Nicole.

For a while, the group wallows in the mall's materialism, and Ana and Michael edge into a romance, but due both to general stupidity (thanks Andre!) and the collapse of the power grid, the situation finally deteriorates to the point where the group decides to reinforce a pair of parking shuttles, drive to the local marina and escape out to an island on Lake Michigan. An attempt to get some food to starving Andy ends in general disaster (thanks Nicole and Steve!), and when the zombies finally break into the mall, it forces the survivors into a premature evacuation. {{spoiler|The only ones to survive the chaotic trip to the marina are Ana, Kenneth, one of the guards, and Nicole. Setting sail, they manage to reach an island, only to be immediately attacked by a new zombie swarm; their ultimate fate is unknown.}}

 

* [[Action Girl]]: Ana

* [[Apocalyptic Log]]: Andy's video diary in the remake's DVD extras.

* [[Asshole Victim]]: Steve

* [[Badass]]

* [[Black Dude Dies First]]: Averted with the black leads in both movies; {{spoiler|Andre dies about 2/3rd of the way through the remake.}}

* [[Bolivian Army Ending]]

* [[Break the Cutie]]: Nicole.

* [[Casanova Wannabe]]: Bart the security guard is a light example.

* [[Chainsaw Good]]: Brutally subverted in the breakout.

* [[Crazy Survivalist]]

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Steve, on top of being a [[Jerkass]].

'''Steve''': Well, dead-ish. }}

** Also, {{spoiler|Michael}} was pretty dead set on {{spoiler|killing the infected Frank before he turned.}} It's simultaneously ironic, impressive and heartbreaking when {{spoiler|he reveals his own infection, says goodbye to Anna, and sets the others off in the boat before shooting himself in the head.}}

** Also, {{spoiler|Andre's}} death eerily mirrors the conversation where {{spoiler|he tells Kenneth that his purpose was to bring his child into the world.}} Err... mission accomplished?

* [[Death By Pragmatism]]: C.J. is a jerk, but his original plan to stay firmly buttoned up inside the mall ''was'' much safer. He finally executes a [[Heel Face Turn]] and goes along with a escape plan. Good idea, since the lack of power and increasing number of zombies was getting a bit big.

* [[Developing Doomed Characters]]: Both films avoid this, with bloody zombie-action smashing onto the screen within ten minutes. (A police raid on a zombie-infested tenement in the original, and the remake having zombies come right into the heroine's bedroom.)

* [[The Elevator From Ipanema]]: "I like this song!"

* [[Emergency Presidential Address]]: In the news report-style [[DVD Bonus Content]], the ongoing media coverage temporarily switches to an announcement from the White House press office, wherein the press secretary confirms that an unknown virus is causing people to rise from the dead, the President has been moved to a secure facility, and then turns the podium over to a general who declares that martial law is in effect for the United States.

** Also C.J., until he learns trust is the foundation to any successful relationship.

* {{spoiler|[[Kill'Em All]]}}

* [[The Load]]: Nicole

* [[Lyrical Dissonance]]: [[Richard Cheese]]'s cover of Disturbed's "Down With The Sickness".

* [[The Mall]]

* [[Meaningful Background Event]]: Whatever's on the TV.

* [[No Communities Were Harmed]]: The fictional Fort Pastor stands in for the real Fort McCoy, Wisconsin's only military base.

* [[Not Using the Z Word]]: The word "zombie" is never said.

'''Kenneth:''' Now it is. }}

* [[One-Scene Wonder]]: Matt Frewer and his character's early death scene.

* [[Our Zombies Are Different]]: The 2004 version compared to the 70's version. The zombies in that one are capable of running and jumping, with no sign of exhaustion and very persistent. Making them a much more severe threat. The 70's version was mostly scary due to numbers. They were slow and shambling but could easily overcome the humans if they managed to corner them.

* [[Regret Eating Me]]

* [[Remake Cameo]]: Ken Foree (Peter from the original), Scott Reiniger (Roger) and Tom Savini (Blades) all have cameos in the remake, playing, respectively, a televangelist, a general and a sheriff who appear on the TV. Gaylen Ross (Francine) doesn't appear in the remake, but she gets one of the department stores named after her.

* [[Russian Guy Suffers Most|Russian Woman Suffers Most]]: Luda is infected, but Andre hides it from the others, denying her the chance for a mercy kill. After she dies and turns, she gives birth to a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Zombaby]].

* [[Sequel Hook]]: Featured, though a sequel now seems unlikely. The remake of [[Day of the Dead]] is '''not''' a sequel despite the return of Ving Rhames and it being the case for the Romero movies.

* [[The Stinger]]: Footage was belatedly added to the closing credits.

* [[Suspiciously Apropos Music]]: There are multiple instances involving the Mall's muzak.

** The first is "Don't Worry, Be Happy", which plays when the survivors enter the mall just barely escaping the undead.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Films of the 2000s]]

[[Category:Zombie Stories]]