Dawn 78' Vs Dawn 04

[babomb]

I understand what they were attempting in the scene, but it crashed and burned due to characters behaving like a script needed them to behave, rather than how people really would behave. I think this same thing about every zombie movie I watch. And I'm in no way saying this in defense of Dawn04. Just as a general thing I've noticed, and something that seems to always be out of place. I have a hard time understanding when and how a person would come to the conclusion that the dead are rising and attacking the living. A person is much more likely to think that they are stuck in a dream. What would it take for a person to accept the idea that the dead are rising and eating the living? I think the last survivor would die without accepting that as the reality of the situation. Without ever even seeing that as a possibility of the reality of the situation. I think that most people could watch these events play out multiple times, but in hindsight they would think that they are either remembering the incident in a distorted way, have somehow been drugged and hallucinated parts of it or all of it, or that there is some scientific explenation that they are just not privvy to. Even though I'm a fan of the zombie genre, I can't see myself ever coming to the realization that the dead are rising to eat the living. Even if I were watching it happen in front of me, and having medical experts explain to me that it is indeed happening. My mind would still be searching for a plausible explenation. Because the dead don't rise to eat the living. It just does NOT happen. And I've yet to see a zombie movie that realistically depicts this with that in mind. Somehow, the characters always make this impossible realization. Which to me is more of how a script requires them to behave rather than how a person would ever actually behave under those circumstances. I think that faced with these circumstances, a person could never actually accept that and remain an effective survivor. Which is why I think it's a mistake to make that assertion in any zombie movie. It's something that should happen in the mind of the viewer but never actually said in the film. Which means the characters WOULD make alot of stupid mistakes, because the reality of the situation is that of utter chaos and confusion. From the perspective of a typical survivor in that situation, severely injured people are attacking other people and tearing them apart. It would be a while before people would even come to the conclusion that people are being eaten. You would have to witness an attack from a safe location to observe that. You would never turn on the TV and see anyone informing the public that people are attacking other people and eating their flesh. You might see something like that being said on youtube, but people would not just accept it.

[DEAD BEAT]

When i heard a ramake of Dawn was in production i was really excited. I love the 1978 G. Romero version of "Dawn of the Dead", but it 'dawned' on me that this was another lame remake. Whereas Romero's favourite monsters are a slow, rotting, shuffling horde whose sheer number and relentless advance is very much part of their creepy menace, Snyders zombies are ridicolously fast. They have no problem racing at 25MPH toward their victims. There are some who find this particular addition to "zombie attributes" exciting, but I found it to be a completely absurd. You know what 1 of the worse things about having fast zombies vs. slow is that you lose a lot of the great scenes of survivors who are in the middle of the hoards slaying zombies! Example the truck scene where Rodgers jumping from truck to truck, or when they are running past the zombies to get to the department stores or even the pie in the face! lol In Yawn 04' you cant even be on ground level with them for a minute with out someones nuts being ripped off!

[Neil]

In Yawn 04' you cant even be on ground level with them for a minute with out someones nuts being ripped off! Unless you're chasing after a dog with absolutely no common sense or concern for your mortality! (Am I being unfair - Can't remember the scene well!)

[MinionZombie]

Unless you're chasing after a dog with absolutely no common sense or concern for your mortality! (Am I being unfair - Can't remember the scene well!) No, you're not being unfair at all - that was one of the most idiotic moments in that piss poor excuse for a movie (and no, my problems with the flick wouldn't be fixed if it was re-named something else, in case anyone out there suggests it ). That silly girl going after Mr Chips or whatever its name was ... dozy bint ... leave it to her to mess up an already idiotic plan. Dead Beat is also quite right - the shamblers allow for that sort of feeling you used to get as a child when you played that game where "the floor is lava, don't touch it!" and you'd have to traverse the room by only climbing on the furniture. The floor is right there inches away, and you could so easily land on it ... likewise with shamblers, they're not leaping at you like raptors (thank heaven for that!), but they're so close and they're only getting closer as you faff about getting from one vehicle to the next, or figuring out your plan of action, or whatever. And yes, you do lose that close proximity tension - again, kind of like playing British Bulldogs, or tag, or any number of games when you were a kid - the point being that, the feeling generated by these scenarios featuring shamblers, has a sort of primal vibe to them. A sensation that goes right back to your youngest years, which burrows right down into the fight-or-flight reflexes, and the part of the brain that sends shivers across your flesh. Runners have never, and can never, achieve that.

[Neil]

Dead Beat is also quite right - the shamblers allow for that sort of feeling you used to get as a child when you played that game where "the floor is lava, don't touch it!" and you'd have to traverse the room by only climbing on the furniture. The floor is right there inches away, and you could so easily land on it ... likewise with shamblers, they're not leaping at you like raptors (thank heaven for that!), but they're so close and they're only getting closer as you faff about getting from one vehicle to the next, or figuring out your plan of action, or whatever. And yes, you do lose that close proximity tension - again, kind of like playing British Bulldogs, or tag, or any number of games when you were a kid - the point being that, the feeling generated by these scenarios featuring shamblers, has a sort of primal vibe to them. A sensation that goes right back to your youngest years, which burrows right down into the fight-or-flight reflexes, and the part of the brain that sends shivers across your flesh. Runners have never, and can never, achieve that. True but.... stick with me here... There's a phone app game, along the lines of zombies/infected. When you run it, your phone will show you the local position of other survivors/infected. When an infected gets next to a non-infected, they then become infected, and so on, until everyone is infected (dead). The thing is, the infected have a longer range on their map/radar... Anyway, in the account I heard, one guy playing it decided to go to the middle of a nearby park so he had a clear line of sight. His radar was clear, but a good distance away he saw someone who was clearly a non-infected (survivor) running with a crow of people after them (clearly infected). They caught the individual... He then watched as the entire herd looked down, and then immediately looked up in his direction, at him, and then started running straight for him full speed... Now that's what runners give you...

[Andy]

Unless you're chasing after a dog with absolutely no common sense or concern for your mortality! (Am I being unfair - Can't remember the scene well!) Slightly unfair, i believe the scene was written to demonstrate exactly the characters stupidity. Do you really think in a zombie apocalypse that a teenage girl thats just lost her dad would be the most reasonable and intelligent person around? Anyway, personally i know the argument (Runners vs Shamblers) will never reach a conclusion because while i like both, i like them both in totally different ways. To me, They are different monsters each with their own merits and drawbacks and this argument is about as logical as trying to argue pepsi vs apples. And MZ, still holding onto a grudge.. its been 8 years man..

[capncnut]

The shamblers allow for that sort of feeling you used to get as a child when you played that game where "the floor is lava, don't touch it!" and you'd have to traverse the room by only climbing on the furniture. The floor is right there inches away, and you could so easily land on it ... likewise with shamblers, they're not leaping at you like raptors (thank heaven for that!), but they're so close and they're only getting closer as you faff about getting from one vehicle to the next, or figuring out your plan of action, or whatever. And yes, you do lose that close proximity tension - again, kind of like playing British Bulldogs, or tag, or any number of games when you were a kid - the point being that, the feeling generated by these scenarios featuring shamblers, has a sort of primal vibe to them. A sensation that goes right back to your youngest years, which burrows right down into the fight-or-flight reflexes, and the part of the brain that sends shivers across your flesh. ^ Pretty much. I associate slow-moving things with the dead. I associate fast-moving things with the living. I like my zombies to shamble and moan like an old pervert, not sprinting down the road and squealing like pigs.

[MinionZombie]

The dog chasing girl's dad died within 10 minutes of their arrival on-screen, however by the time they pissed off on their stupid plan (even the characters admit it's a daft plan, and even the one smart guy in the whole group gives up and goes with it after stating it was a bad plan) a bunch of time has passed, so she'll have got used to her loss ... besides, she didn't seem that emotionally bereft when she was shacking up with that goofy security guard apprentice. A grudge? If I think a movie is shit over a long period of time, that's just a consistent opinion. I've not even spoken much about Yawn04 in the last couple of years.

[facestabber]

Regardless of opinions on Dawn 04 it is my belief that Dawn 04 was the catalyst needed to spawn a new era of the zombie genre. Before that it was dead. Even though I can't stand Land of the Dead I dont believe it would have been made without Dawn 04. And certainly a tv show about zombies probably doesnt happen. Admittedly I enjoyed Dawn 04 but probably more because there was nothing else. To see the living dead on the big screen was a sense of relief and enjoyment. Now I realize Dawn 04 has flaws and as time as worn on I have found that I enjoy it less. I dont hate it like I hate Land but its not as enjoyable for me. The acting and script were weak. Thank god TWD took over and is completely re-writing what equals great story. TWD has set a standard that surpasses Romero IMO.

[JonOfTheShred]

It's funny, because as much as I lampooned World War Z in the other thread for being a disgrace to zombie cinema, and how it completely disrespects the source material, I still love Dawn of the Dead 2004 to this day. When I first saw Dawn of the Dead 2004, I was 16 years old, and it resonated very well with me. I had seen zombie movies before then, but thinking back I'm pretty sure Dawn '04 is the movie that inspired my spiraling descent into crazed zombie-obsession insanity. And while I see all the flaws in the movie as plain as day, I can watch it and enjoy the movie. Hell, I also loved Land of the Dead, and think despite a few hiccups it's one of the better zombie movies out there. Although Dawn '04 certainly strays from the original, I still definitely get a sense of passion in it that I couldn't see in the WWZ trailer. Maybe it's because of my bias, but Dawn '04 seemed like a love letter to the concept of the original, meets 28 Days Later, and for cheesy action I dig it. The first 15 minutes of Dawn '04 were intense the first time you see it. WWZ, based on just the trailer of course, feels more like a straight cash-in, even more cookie cutter (what with obvious CGI) and cliche-ridden story-wise (man forced by government to get his hands dirty to save his family) than what some of you refer to as Yawn '04. Day of the Dead 2008, on the other hand, had ZERO redeeming qualities and makes Dawn '04 look like Night 1990 in comparison. Then Night of the Living Dead 3D, on the other hand, with Sid Haig as the mortician, wasn't all that bad, even if it was a shitty cash-in I remember watching it with extremely low expectations and being pleasantly surprised. Maybe my opinion would be more jaded now after being spoiled with the Walking Dead. Who knows.

[krisvds]

Even though I can't stand Land of the Dead I dont believe it would have been made without Dawn 04. sigh. Even though I can't stand Yawn (in fact where i first looked upon it as an enjoyable action flick i have come to seriously detest it after repeat viewings) I don't believe it would have been made without the far superior original: I still don't get all the hate Land gets. Never have. Diary and Survival (for the record, i like both) yes, but Land? Sorry, no.

[MinionZombie]

As an aside, regarding Land, over time I have moved from a Land Lover to a Land Liker. There's still loads I really dig about the flick, but gradually with repeated viewings there have been little things here and there throughout that irk me. Things where I think "if only he'd tweaked that just a little bit this way or that way, then that little element would be better". I still dig the movie, but there is a list of little irksome things about it which accompanies each viewing nowadays.

[Trin]

As an aside, regarding Land, over time I have moved from a Land Lover to a Land Liker. There's still loads I really dig about the flick, but gradually with repeated viewings there have been little things here and there throughout that irk me. Things where I think "if only he'd tweaked that just a little bit this way or that way, then that little element would be better". I still dig the movie, but there is a list of little irksome things about it which accompanies each viewing nowadays. I've done the same from the opposite side. I'm not a Land hater anymore. I'm a Land disliker. My basic list of likes and dislikes is still the same. The irksome things are still irksome and I still feel frustrated that the movie could've been far greater with some rather smallish changes. But the characters and the setting are really good imo and my appreciation of those two aspects alone has grown, and is almost enough to pull me into the "like" category. I maintain that Diary and Survival make Land an easier movie to like.

[clanglee]

Hey Trin!! Nice to see you still around. And totally agree with you on that point. Land has grown less irksome as the years pass. Having said that. . .

[EvilNed]

Regardless of opinions on Dawn 04 it is my belief that Dawn 04 was the catalyst needed to spawn a new era of the zombie genre. Before that it was dead. Even though I can't stand Land of the Dead I dont believe it would have been made without Dawn 04. And certainly a tv show about zombies probably doesnt happen. I'm not so sure that the current zombie regeneration has spawned much worth keeping, except for 28 Days Later but that was before Dawn 04 anyway. Maybe TWD, Ok, but that's about it.