When there's no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the earth.Dawn Of The Dead is the second movie in the Dead series of zombie films written and directed by George A. Romero.There are two versions of the film, the original 1978 Romero version (the first sequel to the original Night of the Living Dead) and a remake in 2004 directed by Zack Snyder, and starring Ving Rhames and Sarah Polley. Both feature a small group of humans holed up inside a shopping mall during a Zombie Apocalypse, but beyond that the details vary a great deal. There is ongoing and violent disagreement in zombie-film fandom about which one is "better".1978 VersionThe movie opens during an ongoing Zombie Apocalypse: law enforcement and government are rapidly losing control of the situation and zombies are overrunning the country, or at least the cities. TV-station employees Stephen and his pregnant girlfriend Francine steal the station's traffic helicopter in an attempt to get to Canada; they are joined by Roger and Peter, deserters from a SWAT team. After an unpleasant episode at a small airport, the group sets down on the roof of a large shopping mall (a structure which, at the time of filming, was something of new development on the American cultural scene).Once inside they realize if they could block the doors and clear out the few zombies inside the mall they could "be onto a good thing." They block the mall doors using large delivery trucks but in the process cocky Roger gets bitten by a zombie. While they proceed to enjoy all the material goods available to them, Roger slowly wastes away, dies, and revives as a zombie. He is immediately shot and then buried by Peter.Francine demands to be taught how to fly the helicopter in case of emergency. A passing group of survivalist/bikers notice the practice lessons and decide to "share" the mall with the group. Peter urges Stephen to just let the bikers do their thing and go, but their looting of the mall and letting the zombies in angers Stephen so much that he opens fire on the bikers. In the battle that ensues, hordes of bikers and zombies are both let loose inside, and Stephen is killed and becomes a zombie. Francine and Peter (re-)kill him, escape to the helicopter and fly off to an unknown future.2004 VersionAna, a Milwaukee nurse, finishes a long shift at her hospital where — along with other bits of Foreshadowing — she discusses a patient who was bitten in a bar fight. After work, she chats briefly with a cute neighbor child, then returns to her suburban home and her waiting husband. The next morning, she wakes up to find her zombified young neighbor in her house; the girl kills her husband, who then rises a zombie and comes after Ana. Ana escapes in her car, only to learn that, overnight, the town has fallen into chaos. A living human attempts to carjack her vehicle, causing her to panic, drive off the road, crash into a tree, and knock herself unconscious. When she awakens, she meets up with a police officer by the name of Kenneth, and then a small group of survivors more-or-less led by jack-of-all-trades Michael. They all break into a nearby shopping mall, where they are confronted by a trio of mall security guards, led by the surly C.J. Via binoculars and dry-erase boards, they also "meet" gun-store owner Andy, who is stranded alone in his shop across the mall's zombie-infested parking lot. The guards are eventually disarmed, and some more survivors are let into the mall, among them teenaged Nicole.For a while, the group wallows in the mall's materialism, and Ana and Michael edge into a romance, but due both to general stupidity (thanks Andre!) and the collapse of the power grid, the situation finally deteriorates to the point where the group decides to reinforce a pair of parking shuttles, drive to the local marina and escape out to an island on Lake Michigan. An attempt to get some food to starving Andy ends in general disaster (thanks Nicole and Steve!), and when the zombies finally break into the mall, it forces the survivors into a premature evacuation. The only ones to survive the chaotic trip to the marina are Ana, Kenneth, one of the guards, and Nicole. Setting sail, they manage to reach an island, only to be immediately attacked by a new zombie swarm; their ultimate fate is unknown.Followed by Day of the Dead. Contains examples of the following tropes:
Action Girl: Francine gradually becomes one in the original, while Ana in the remake is one virtually from the get-go.
Black Dude Dies First: Averted with the black leads in both movies; Andre dies about 2/3rd of the way through the remake.
Bittersweet Ending: In the original, Peter and Francine are the only ones who escape from the mall after it is infested again by zombies, while Steve is dead and the helicopter's fuel is half gone. Subeverted in the remake, where Ana, Kenneth, Nicole, Terry and Chips are the only ones who survive during their attempt of escape while Michael kills himself revealing he was bitten. The post-credits scenes through Steve's recorder then reveal the survivors are running out of supplies and disembark in an island to find more, only to be attacked by a swarm of zombies. Whether any of them survive from that remains unknown to the viewer.
Brick Joke: The zombie with the gun in the original who steals Peter's other gun at the end.
Camp Unsafe Isn't Safe Anymore : The characters begin the film believing that a mall is the perfect hiding place, but later discover they cannot stay there forever because eventually they're going to run out of food, and the zombies will get in sooner or later.
Comic Book Time: The 1978 film apparently takes place a few weeks after the events of Night, released a decade earlier. This pretty much holds true for all the rest of Romero's Dead films.
Kenneth: *referring to Fort Pastor* Is everyone there dead?
Steve: Well, dead-ish.
Death by Irony: C.J. says about midway through the film, "I'll kill each and every one of you to stay alive." Guess who ends up committing a Heroic Sacrifice?
Also, Michael was pretty dead set on killing the infected Frank before he turned. It's simultaneously ironic, impressive and heartbreaking when he reveals his own infection, says goodbye to Anna, and sets the others off in the boat before shooting himself in the head.
Also, Andre's death eerily mirrors the conversation where he tells Kenneth that his purpose was to bring his child into the world. Err... mission accomplished?
Death By Pragmatism: C.J. is a jerk, but his original plan to stay firmly buttoned up inside the mall was much safer. He finally executes a Heel Face Turn and goes along with a escape plan. Good idea, since the lack of power and increasing number of zombies was getting a bit big.
Death by Sex: At least two characters in the remake.
Developing Doomed Characters: Both films avoid this, with bloody zombie-action smashing onto the screen within ten minutes. (A police raid on a zombie-infested tenement in the original, and the remake having zombies come right into the heroine's bedroom.)
Driven to Suicide: Michael. Peter in the original. Averted to Peter's case since he decides that he wants to live in the last minute and escapes with Francine.
Emergency Presidential Address: In the news report-style DVD Bonus Content included in the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, the ongoing media coverage temporarily switches to an announcement from the White House press office, wherein the press secretary confirms that an unknown virus is causing people to rise from the dead, the President has been moved to a secure facility, and then turns the podium over to a general who declares that martial law is in effect for the United States.
Tucker was noted as having a gimped foot, which nips him in the bud when he falls through a manhole and breaks his leg.
Steve taunted Ana by giving her the go-ahead to shoot him if he ever turned. She gladly obliges when he does.
The destruction of Fort Pastor is hinted at early on, when news footage from the base clearly shows several infectees (victims sporting bite wounds and other mutilations) being brought in via truck.
Fridge Brilliance: See C.J.'sHeroic Sacrifice below. Not only does he take out a whole mess of zombies by blowing up the bus, but the flaming wreckage effectively barricades the marina, allowing the others to cast off unimpeded.
Friendly Sniper: In the remake, though we only see him personally in his video log, included as a DVD extra.
The Fundamentalist: The televangelist in the remake, who blames the zombie apocalypse on America's sinfulness. He's played by Ken Foree, and gets to utter his famous line from the original.
Guns Akimbo: Tucker in the remake, after he breaks his leg in the sewer. Not like he has much of a choice, and he gets leaped upon when he has to reload.
Heroic Sacrifice: In the remake, C.J. stays behind to draw away the zombies and detonate the buses to kill a good number of them.
Ignored Vital News Reports: In the remake Ana does this with her car radio on the way home from work. Later she and her husband miss a TV report while taking a Shower of Love.
Even the untrained civilians are able to headshot running targets with amazing accuracy, often while running themselves, wounded, in the dark, attacked by surprise, etc.
Averted in the original. Stephen misses a lone slow zombie multiple times before Roger steps in to put it down.
Infernal Retaliation: Fire/explosives used against zombies several times in the remake; in one case it works because the people burning them are safely behind a fence.
It's The Only Way To Be Sure: Dr. Rausch suggests the use of nukes against the zombies in the 1978 film, perhaps forgetting that all the living humans killed by radiation or severe burns will eventually get back up. Fortunately, no one takes this suggestion seriously.
The Load: Stephen and Francine in the original. Originally all he has going for him is his skills as a helicopter pilot, despite his efforts. Francine starts with nothing. However, as Roger's health fails Stephen is forced to become more proactive and even early on manages to discover the vent system they use to move safely at several points. Francine does very little, though she does learn basic shooting and how to fly the copter.
Nicole in the remake.
Lyrical Dissonance: Richard Cheese's cover of Disturbed's "Down With The Sickness" in the 2004 film.
I Love the Dead: Part of the emergency broadcast shown in the 2004 version (left on the cutting room floor) showed a bunch of teenagers who had kidnapped a recently zombified hot girl from their school and tied her to a bed so they could have sex with her. Even if they weren't bitten in the process, chances are still likely they'd be infected anyway.
The Mall: Chief setting of both films. In the original, this setting was used to skewer American consumerism by comparing it to the zombie hordes who "consume" everything in sight.
Neutral Female: The actress playing Francine famously refused to be just another Screaming Woman. However, during the first confrontation at the airport she just stands there while her boyfriend is fighting with a zombie, neither running nor helping. She does get better though.
Not Using the Z Word: For the most part, both films deliberately avoid using the word "zombie." Save for one line in the original ("With those bay doors open, there's going to be a thousand zombies in here...")
Michael:[holding a shotgun] This is the dangerous end, right?
[Kenneth reaches over, *click*]
Kenneth: Now it is.
One-Scene Wonder: Matt Frewer and his character's early death scene in the remake.
Our Zombies Are Different: The 2004 version compared to the 70's version. The zombies in that one are capable of running and jumping, with no sign of exhaustion and very persistent. Making them a much more severe threat. The 70's version was mostly scary due to numbers. They were slow and shambling but could easily overcome the humans if they managed to corner them.
Phony Newscast: The 2004 remake's special edition contains bonus footage of a newscaster reporting continuously on the outbreak. It goes to Hell in what appears to be a day, and ends with him leaving the station to get his family.
Pie in the Face: The 1978 version has a scene where the bikers pelt the zombies with pies and seltzer water.
Power of Trust: C.J. is more compelled to cooperate with the other survivors after reading some magazine articles while locked up.
"Trust. The primary ingredient in any relationship."
Remake Cameo: Ken Foree (Peter from the original), Scott Reiniger (Roger) and Tom Savini (Blades) all have cameos in the remake, playing, respectively, a televangelist, a general and a sheriff who appear on the TV. Gaylen Ross (Francine) doesn't appear in the remake, but she gets one of the department stores named after her.
Room Full Of Zombies: The original has a SWAT team raid a housing complex that had their basement filled with zombies.
Russian Woman Suffers Most: Luda is infected, but Andre hides it from the others, denying her the chance for a mercy kill. After she dies and turns, she gives birth to a Zombaby.
Sequel Hook: The remake, though a sequel now seems unlikely. The remake of Day of the Dead is not a sequel despite the return of Ving Rhames and it being the case for the Romero movies.
Shout Out: The remake contains numerous nods to the original versions of both Night and Dawn.
In the original, there are numerous scenes of the Zombies in the mall stumbling about to shopping muzak, notably the end credits.
In the remake, when the anxious survivors break into the Crossroads Mall, they are greeted with a cheery rendition of "Don't Worry, Be Happy", wafting gently over an eerily empty mall.
The Stinger: In the remake, footage was belatedly added to the closing credits.
Straight Gay: Glen in the remake. In the theatrical version, the only hint that he is gay is him trying on shoes during the montage of time passing in the mall, although the directors cut includes a scene where it's outright stated.
Throw It In: Many of Tom Savini's brilliant makeup effects were improvised. And they look great.
Too Dumb to Live: Several characters in both films. Most of them do in fact die.
The most egregious example being the Mexican bandito biker taking his blood pressure while his friends are getting shot at, eaten, or otherwise leaving the mall and zombies are visibly surrounding him. Also serves as a great Brick Joke.
Noticeably, Roger's attitude and reckless actions bring him about to like three bites and slowly turning into a zombie.
The sequel contains a darkly humorous scene which is a cross between this and Hollywood Squares.
The original has the scene where a SWAT cop breaks down an apartment door in a raid and blows an innocent man's head apart with a single shotgun blast.
Zombie Gait: Averted in the remake with zombies who sprint when chasing their prey. Later played straight because the more decayed ones eventually down.
Zombie Infectee: Semi-averted in both movies. The SWAT officer and Michael do not bother to hide their wounds, and the fat lady that came in the truck can't. Played straight with Luda.
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