I will be honest here. I have always loved horror movies but never got around to seeing the original Dawn Of the Dead before the re-make. In the past, I had never really experienced any of the real famous zombie movies, such as The Night, Dawn, Day series, Zombie, etc. The idea of green faced humans with their arms outstretched in front of them groaning and biting screaming people like that Michael Jackson video always seemed a little redundant and stupid to me, that is, until I saw 28 Days Later. The fact that the Trainspotting director did this movie made me want to see it, not because I loved Trainspotting or zombie movies, but because I love horror movies. Also the fact that the zombies didn't do the drunken stagger like in older movies, had an actual storyline, and didn't look incredibly lame intrigued me. I saw 28 Days Later a few times in theatres, and thouroughly enjoyed it. I heard about Dawn of the Dead being re released, changing the story a good deal, and making the zombies run, I was pretty excited to see it. I bugged my girlfriend about it and when we finally went, and sure enough I was entertained from the start to the ending of the credits.
The acting was above par for the most part, especially by the main character who's name slipped my mind, but also plays the blonde girl in the movie Go! I didn't find anything wrong with the story, and thought it moved at a very reasonable pace, starting with no backstory or plot setup, but dived right into the action. This movie didn't fuck around, in the first 5 minutes theres already a huge number of people dead. The one real complaint I have is that there were a lot of characters, and by a lot, I mean a lot. There were tons of people that stayed throughought the bulk of the movie, and it became more of an annoyance as you knew most of them were going to die by the end, you were just waiting for it to happen.
Right after seeing the remake, I bought the original, due to everyone saying how the remake couldn't even compare. I am still not really sure what to think. The original has many more flaws, such as being way too long (over two hours for a zombie movie?) and lack of modern make up and special effects, but I think in general the original creates a much creepier atmosphere, and has a few cooler parts. Of course without the original, the remake would never have existed, so credit is given where it is due. I also suggest to everyone that they see the original version first, so they know at least what to expect as far as a general plot for the remake.
Im conclusion, the original is a better movie, it makes you think more, and draws you in, as the remake is a more action oriented, horror movie for the year 2004. I am sure I will end up watching the remake more, as it's easier to sit through, and much shorter. Overall a great movie, that I think any fans of horror or zombie movies should check out, whether you are one of those people that claims to hate current horror movies or not.
