8/10
This is one of my go-tos. It’s difficult in that my favorite movie of all time is the original Dawn of the Dead but this movie is its own beast. Uses a mall, sure, but it’s almost secondary to the survivors battling for their lives while convening on a plan to leave. The opening 15 minutes of this flick is the best zombie movie ever made in my humble and never-wrong opinion. ‘When the Man Comes Around’ was perfectly sewn into the fabric of the world-building(world destroying) and this movie made me a fan of James Gunn and Zack Snyder. When the group allows the truck to dock and unload its survivors, the movie kinda goes downhill for me a tidbit. There’s also not a lot of close interaction with the zombies aside from the gun store cavalry scene and I could’ve totally been fine with the Mekhi Phifer/zombie-baby storyline on the cutting room floor. There’s no way to beat the flavor of the 1978 classic but this movie did a damn fine job of creating something fun. Damn fine.
Again, loved the opening 15 and the credits. I also enjoyed all close encounters with the undead but thought there could’ve been more. Also feel the mall was underused as a backdrop. Hated that it’s called ‘Dawn of the Dead’ without trying to encapsulate any part of the soul of its predecessor. Still, like I said, a go-to comfort film and I feel it stands on its own merit. Damn fine.
#Crossroadsmall#cultclassics#zombies#runningdead#meanderingbutnotshambling#worlddestruction