Dawn Of The Dead

Woo Elephant Yeah · Post by **Woo Elephant Yeah** » March 17th, 2006, 11:36

Watched this again last night for the first time since seeing it in the cinema.

Fuck me it's a good film! Not in a plot based or well acted way, but just really entertaining

In your opinion, what are the top 5 greatest Zombie films of all time?

spoodie · Post by **spoodie** » March 17th, 2006, 11:39

Not as good as the original, assuming you're talking about the remake. I must watch it again though as I probably didn't enjoy it properly at the cinema, too much expectation.

http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0489018/

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » March 17th, 2006, 11:42

dfficult.

in no real order

Braindead
28 days later (not strictly, i know)
Shaun of the dead
The original dawn of the dead
Land of the dead.

spoodie · Post by **spoodie** » March 17th, 2006, 12:01

Yes, Land of the Dead is better than the DotD remake because it was made by The Master

mrbobbins · Post by **mrbobbins** » March 17th, 2006, 12:17

spoodie wrote:Yes, Land of the Dead is better than the DotD remake because it was made by The Master

But IMHO Dawn of the Dead (remake) is a better film than Land

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » March 17th, 2006, 12:22

mrbobbins wrote:
spoodie wrote:Yes, Land of the Dead is better than the DotD remake because it was made by The Master
But IMHO Dawn of the Dead (remake) is a better film than Land

Dawn (R) loses for not being too original, i admit i liked it, but when compared with the other.

well. no screwdriver.

mrbobbins · Post by **mrbobbins** » March 17th, 2006, 12:29

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:
mrbobbins wrote:
spoodie wrote:Yes, Land of the Dead is better than the DotD remake because it was made by The Master
But IMHO Dawn of the Dead (remake) is a better film than Land

Dawn (R) loses for not being too original, i admit i liked it, but when compared with the other.

well. no screwdriver.

He he yeah, But Dennis Hopper was shit, like Mario Bros shit.

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » March 17th, 2006, 12:30

Screwdriver.

mrbobbins · Post by **mrbobbins** » March 17th, 2006, 12:31

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:Screwdriver.

On the rocks?, yes please!

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » March 17th, 2006, 12:33

hmm, is this cluedo?

mrbobbins · Post by **mrbobbins** » March 17th, 2006, 12:37

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:hmm, is this cluedo?

Dr. Kitteny Berk in the General Forum with the Screwdriver?

NO!

WHAT!!!, how can it be Deject in the Half Life Forum with the 12" black Dildo?!

spoodie · Post by **spoodie** » March 17th, 2006, 12:37

Two screwdrivers and a waldolf salad

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » March 17th, 2006, 12:42

mrbobbins wrote:WHAT!!!, how can it be Deject in the Half Life Forum with the 12" black Dildo?!

I actually walked in on that.

I've not slept since.

Lateralus · Post by **Lateralus** » March 17th, 2006, 12:48

spoodie wrote:

Two screwdrivers and a waldolf salad

We have the WINNAR!

Post by **Dog Pants** » March 17th, 2006, 12:51

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:dfficult.

in no real order

Braindead
28 days later (not strictly, i know)
Shaun of the dead
The original dawn of the dead
Land of the dead.

That's pretty much it as zombie movies go, so I'd go with this too. Quick review of any zombie films I can think of (for little other reason than that I'm bored):

Night of the Living Dead:
The original zombie horror. Before this zombies weren't undead but people in voodoo trances. It's a good classic horror, and is notable too for being one of (if not the) first films to cast a black lead in the hero role. Very gritty and defeatist for a film of its time, but I think it lacks the apocalypse atmosphere that makes zombie films great.

Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Probably the pinnacle of the genre. Great lead up to the film with the outbreak starting to take effect and civilisation breaking down, leading into a famous social statement in the mall. The comedy interjects are brilliant - the expression on the face of the zombie who gets squirted in the face with the soda bottle has me in fits of laughter even after seeing it umpteen times. Too many good points to list really, but for anyone with any interest in zombie films this is a must see.

Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead had some nice points but wasn't as good as Dawn. It suffered a little from being a bit of a stereotypical 80s horror, and just didn't quite capture the atmosphere. The opening scene is very good, with one of the heroes slowly driving around the empty city calling for survivors, casually avoiding the shambling dead. Worth watching, if only to make a little more sense of Land of the Dead by introducing Bubba - a captured zombie they've been trying to train who slowly massages some trace of thought back into his rotting brain towards the end of the film.

Land of the Dead
As with Day of the Dead, doesn't quite capture the essence of Dawn. It's still a good zombie jaunt though with a little humour and it has a nice take on the genre by being set in a post apocolypse society rather than the initial outbreak. The two zombies on the 'Have your picture taken with a zombie' stand are Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, fact fans.

Dawn of the Dead (2003?)
Not really a remake of the original DotD, but a modern zombie flick with the same basic plot. Has some very good moments, especially the bits about the guy living in the gun shop across the road. Personally I'm not a fan of the turbo-zombie though, as you don't feel the sympathy for them as you do with their shambling, hapless predecessors.

Return of the living Dead
Not actually seen this, but the zombies are rather more intelligent apparently. By all accounts a sub-standard comedy/horror, I've included it because it introduced zombies moaning 'Braaaaains'.

Braindead
New Zealand comedy horror, directed by a pre-Lord Of The Rings Peter Jackson. Terrible special effects, cheesy acting, bizarre plot - all come together to form a brilliant film. Everyone will have a favourite scene from this film, but my personal favourite is the one where the vicar cries "I kick arse for The Lord!" before getting Kung-Fu on a gang of zombies.

Resident Evil
Personally I thought this was great. The zombies are refined to a peak, although they don't provide the comedy that Romero's zombies do. There's plenty of action to be getting on with, which kind of detracts from the dread a little but doesn't adversely affect the film in my opinion.

Resident Evil 2
Oh dear. They skipped the really interesting bit of the story where Raccoon City is being overrun by the dead and skipped straight to the part where Blade-esque superheroes compete in a zombie setting with no real threat from the real stars of the film - the zombies themselves. Only really noteworthy bit is when the civilian population are clamouring to get out of the quarantined city with the threat of a zombie outbreak snapping at their heels.

28 Days Later
The originator of the turbo-zombies. Although they're not actually zombies, they might as well be. There's more good than bad here, and the apocalyptic atmosphere is pretty strong. Also has the honour of being the film I took Mrs Pants to see on our first date (yeah, I know I say that all the time).

Shaun of the Dead
This film does everything right - the zombies are excellent and the comedy is sublime. There's a very strong British sense of humour that had me howling with laughter. Proof positive that one of the biggest appeal of zombies as a 'bad guy' is that they're quite pathetic really.
The Reanimator
Like Wierd Science with a pretty poor zombie instead of Kelly Le Brock. Doesn't quite hit the comedy mark and certainly not worthy of its HP Lovecraft association. Probably worth a watch for fans for the sake of having seen it, but not really worth going out of your way for.

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » March 17th, 2006, 12:55

fuck me, i'd like to remove LOTD and add undead.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0339840/

also, Dawn was 2004, i think

Lateralus · Post by **Lateralus** » March 17th, 2006, 13:01

Am I a bad man for having only ever seen 28 Days Later from that list?

We took a (fairly sqeamish) girl with us to see it under the pretence that it was a sequal to 28 Days. Was most amusing.

Was cool to see the opening sequence in London tho - especially cos it went right past my Dad's office by the Duke of York statue.

Zombie films have just never really grabbed me, but I may have to give them a go.

Post by **Dog Pants** » March 17th, 2006, 13:04

Dr. kitteny berk wrote:fuck me, i'd like to remove LOTD and add undead.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0339840/

also, Dawn was 2004, i think

Ooh, I've never heard of this but I like the look of it. Shame they don't make it in region 2 discs, the bastards. (Another great film not available in region 2 is Split Second with Rutger Hauer).

Post by **Dr. kitteny berk** » March 17th, 2006, 13:10

i'm sure there's a few 5punkers with dvds of it, most likey region free.

hell, i might even have it.

edit: only have an avi.

*Will not wear thong in exchange for dvd of undead*

Woo Elephant Yeah · Post by **Woo Elephant Yeah** » March 17th, 2006, 13:15

Dog Pants wrote:
Return of the living Dead
Not actually seen this, but the zombies are rather more intelligent apparently. By all accounts a sub-standard comedy/horror, I've included it because it introduced zombies moaning 'Braaaaains'.

THIS

is my favourite zombie movie ever for having a zombie in a red leather jacket get electicuted and spin around in Michael Jackson stylee before fitting and twitching on the floor.

Completely over the top humourous zombie film, but very enjoyable to watch.