Dawn of the Dead:
In 1978, the zombie plague has spread past the countryside, and has been recently invading populated society. The apocalypse is now looming more, everpresent now as small towns fall to the zombie hordes. But, a small band of survivors, including some SWAT members, stake out a small mall, but, a violent biker gang and endless swarms of flesh-eating monsters threaten their dream of peace and quiet... This film offered more gore, action, and death, all in gruesome color. The opening of the film shows a SWAT raid on a project in the slums, showing it overrun with zombies, and the news stations are running 24/7 in order to warn the masses. This shows that the epidemic is even worse, especially as in the last film, it seemed that the local cops were wrapping up the zombie situation, at the expense of Ben's life. The cast are great, cult actor Ken Forree (The Devil's Rejects, From Beyond, Keenan and Kel) plays Peter, another George Romero black protagonist, who is a SWAT member. He's a bad-ass, and another black hero who just takes charge. Scott Reiniger plays Roger, Peter's smart-ass best bud and fellow SWAT member. He's cocky and likeable, which makes his death halfway through the film more tragic. He also has a great line ("We got this man, we got this by the ass!!") David Emge and Gaylen Ross play Stephen and Francine, a young white couple,w ho know Roger, and get smuggled out on a chopper by the two after the SWAT raid. Francine works at the news station, and Stephen's her boyfriend. Tom Savini (special effects artist on this, Creepshow, Friday the 13th, and others) has a minor role as Blades, a motorcycle gang member. The tension and special effects are great. The slow-moving zombies create a more slow-moving suspense scene, and Savini's graphic special effects are great. There's some funny comedy, too. Also, the political message stays as well. This time, it's a message about consumerism, as the zombies stumble around the mall mindlessly. This film was released in Italy under the name Zombi, and got unofficial sequels like Zombi II (a cult film, called Zombie in the US, as it's msotly unrelated). The film also escalated Ken Foree, Tom Savini, and, of course, George Romero to cult stardom.Overall, Dawn of the Dead is an excellent horro film, and the best zombie film ever made. 5/5 stars.
The film is famous for having a darker, alternate ending:(Spoilers) In the original ending, after Stephen and Roger become zombies and get killed, Francine starts up the hlicopter (evne though she can't fly), and Peter kills himself before being eaten by zombies, and Francine, realizing there is little hope, chops off her own head with the chopper's blades. In the theatrical ending, the director decided to have a more light ending, so as Peter is about to kill himself, he springs to action and kills some zombies, and he and Francine fly away in the chopper....
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