Watched on Amazon Video (Director's Cut)

In 2004, the zombie genre was pretty dusty. There was nothing new any more. Only "28 Days Later" brought good approaches to the genre. But I wouldn't classify "28 Days Later" in the zombie film sub-genre, but in infected horror, although the boundaries are of course fluid. What was offered to the friends of zombies? Unimaginative no-brainers that seemed to slide more and more into trash. As much gore as possible without a story. Lots of guts and blood without really good effects. The zombie film was on the verge of extinction. Studios were no longer giving filmmakers money for sensible and big productions. But then came Zack Snyer. With a relatively high budget of 26 million dollars, he made the remake of the cult classic "Dawn of the Dead" by George R. Romero. But did Snyder help the subgenre to a renaissance?

Fans of the original "Zombie" already condemned the remake in advance. Unfortunately, horror fans have to experience time and again how timeless classics are disfigured by a remake. But to say it in advance: The fans were not disappointed by Snyder`s work. "Dawn of the Dead" is a remake with a right to exist and definitely one of the best remakes ever. But what does Snyder do differently? He turns the genre upside down. For years, zombies were only staggering, slow and stupid creatures, but Snyder`s version turns them into fast, agile animals. Excuse me? Yes, the zombies run and are thus many times more threatening and dangerous. This makes "Dawn of the Dead" a trailblazer and led to a change in the genre. Only "28 Days Later", while only remotely about zombies, had the creatures run beforehand. However, here it was "rabid" creatures that acted in a zombie-like manner. So the zombies are no longer only dangerous in masses, but are also deadly as individual attackers. This leads to a better, unprecedented dynamic and a good tension curve. Not infrequently, the running zombies were copied. So Snyder set the course here for the zombie film of the modern era (particularly well recognisable in "World War Z").

But it is not only the agile zombies that make the film a successful remake. The zombies finally look like zombies. They are injured, gnawed and disemboweled. The make-up team as well as the special effects team have done a great job. The audience gets blood and gore, but never in absolute overload. It just fits, although the ending is a bit over-the-top. But that doesn't detract from the film.

Snyder and his scriptwriter James Gunn have also done a great job with the variety of ideas. "Dawn of the Dead" is not just a mere copy of other zombie films. It offers many new ideas that have not been seen before in zombie films and offers some surprises even for die-hard fans. Furthermore, various funny ideas are worked into the film, which, however, never seem silly or inappropriate. It fits the situation. Even the setting is well chosen. Especially the beginning in the bland suburb, which turns into hell on earth. Strong images as well as successful camera work directly set the tone of the film. Fast, evil, bloody, uncompromising. We see the old familiar in a new guise.

To honour the classic, many allusions were hidden in the film. For example, some original actors get a cameo appearance, which always fits and never seems ridiculous or out of place. You can tell that Snyder wants to stand out from the classic and create his own work, but he always manages to do so with an appreciation of the original. Quotations are taken up, but repackaged. We find references everywhere, which are sometimes more, sometimes less obvious.

But what prevents "Dawn of the Dead" from becoming the genre reference par excellence? Snyder does many things right, especially with regard to the action scenes, the gore moments and the dynamics of the film, but overlooks the obvious. The characters are all pure cliché products of the horror genre. After the first few seconds of screentime alone, the audience knows how to categorise the character. What happens next is immediately clear. We experience no surprises about the characters' actions and decisions. Even the development of the dialogue is fixed. We have the tough cop, recognisable by a pump shotgun and broad shoulders. We have the vulnerable woman who, however, tries to be the strong one. We have the husband who will go to any length for his wife's well-being. And so on, and so on. Each character serves a cliché of the horror genre, so much so that it is almost annoying. Deaths and actions are instantly recognisable. If we look past the interchangeable characters, we see that the actors play their roles ambitiously, but never outstandingly.

Ok, in a horror film I don't expect a character study and I can overlook this shortcoming, but unfortunately this is not the only thing. Finally, I can't say if it's because of the short running time of the film or if the focus should be set differently, but the story is very thin. Everything that was put into action and zombie scenes is lost in the story. Why exactly are the survivors holed up in the department stores' again? The remake doesn't give a definitive answer to that. It is simply this. Why do you want to escape from the department stores'... I don't know but the black guy thinks this is a good idea. And why exactly do we do this and that? ... Never mind. Unfortunately, I can't fade this out completely. Where the original made too much of the story, here it is simply overlooked. I am not talking about various stupid and incomprehensible actions and reactions here.

Although these two points of criticism are not elementary in a horror film, they nevertheless spoil the enjoyment of the film. Sure, the audience is entertained and the transfer to modern times is almost perfect. However, it is not enough to make "Dawn of the Dead" THE zombie film par excellence. However, it is a great remake! It definitely increases my hype for "Army of the Dead", which I will watch on Friday.