Day 23: Dawn of the Dead
Another case of me having only seen the original, I was pretty shocked by my own enjoyment of the remake.
To add to my shock, not only is this a Zack Snyder film, but it's his very first feature length movie.
To soften the shock, this is a James Gunn script, hence the perfect balance of fun, gore, and intensity.
This film is at its best when it's having fun, which is the opposite of how I felt about the original Dawn of the Dead, with the pie fights merely confusing my high school brain (I know, due for a rewatch). Making games out of zombie-killing, funny banter between the characters, and one of the most bizarre needle drops in a horror movie ever, these are the most memorable moments of the movie and what makes it stand out as an example of a good remake.
The more intense dramatic scenes work for the most part, but there's a handful of moments that don't really convey the seriousness that they were clearly hoping for (looking at you, baby scene).
The visuals are unique, with the heavy saturation and grainy film style, though there's surprisingly no slow motion (we'd have to wait 2 years for Zack to go full Snyder on 300). The violence is good when it's done practically, but there's a few cases of obvious CG blood which never ceases to take me out of a movie.
But overall I really enjoyed this take on the iconic zombie classic, especially James Gunn's screenplay really getting creative with both the setting and the situation, and Zack Snyder's surprisingly good first-time directing.
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