Posted by Barry, Suave MF at adsl-68-23-43-196.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net on March 23, 2004 at 20:00:48:
In Reply to: You liked it that much? posted by Gabe on March 23, 2004 at 19:47:09:
First off, the original is one of my all-time top 5 favorite flicks ever. I've seen the film countless times & it holds a special place for me. Horror is also the genre I like & follow the most with zombie flicks being my favorite sub-genre. It's been that way for about a quarter of a century now.
(Thanks to my dad for having me watch "Night of the Living Dead" late one night when I was about 6. He fell asleep & I was scared awake the whole time. Yeah. Anyway....)
So I pretty much know what works & what doesn't in such films. Hearing about this almost 1.5 yrs. back made me skeptical, but after hearing/seeing bits here & there, that changed. To have a Hollywood funded horror flick is one thing. To have it be a zombie one is even more mesmerizing.
Some people don't like it & that's fine. Certain people aren't conditioned to the stylings of horror films. Same way with being attracted to someone romantically. Not everyone's going to like the same thing. Doesn't mean one opinion is above the other.
Just because a horror flick doesn't make you jump every few seconds doesn't mean it's not scary or tense. This film - though to me it wasn't really scary - made me tense pretty much the whole time. Instead of the typical horror cliche of "who's-behind-the-door-in-the-darkened-house", this film was the "you-better-run-your-ass-off-or-else-these-things-will-tear-you-apart". It made you pay attention.
And just because you don't cry when a character dies doesn't mean there's no character development. What matters is the acting & plausibility of their actions. This film has both. Please don't argue the logic of that because it's easier to say what you'd do while you're watching it in a theater as compared to actually experiencing it in real life. I didn't see anyone do anything stupid like you'd see in typical horror flicks (except maybe Connie trying to save her dog, BUT the dog was the only thing she cared for in her life so you understand her reason).
"Dawn of the Dead" took its subject matter, characters & audience seriously & delivered a well-intended film. It tried to please & I think it worked.