In Philadelphia exhausted employees of a TV station feebly try to convey what is happening on the streets.  An invited expert unveils the truth, but the interviewer deems it implausible that the streets are full of zombies devouring human flesh.  Despite the interviewer's doubtfulness he continues to question the expert while several employees begin to leave their posts.  In the middle of this chaos Francine (Gaylen Ross) tries to do her best in helping, but when her boyfriend Stephen (David Emge) arrives he tells her to meet him on the roof at 9PM.  She realizes it is high time to get out of the city before it is too late.

At a different location in the city the police force has joined up with the National Guard in order to get control of the problem, but without much luck.  In one of the poor housing projects Roger (Scott H. Reiniger) bumps into Peter (Ken Foree).  They are two likeminded characters and realize that they might need each other in order to survive.  Roger invites Peter to come along, as his friend Stephen has a helicopter and they are leaving tonight.  Peter takes his chance with Roger and they leave the city of Philadelphia to its destiny with the living dead, as four of them fly out of the city.

During their flight they stop for fuel and encounter more zombies, which forces them to reconsider their plan.  When they by chance fly by a shopping mall they take their chance to check out the place and if they can get some food.  After some exploration of the mall they realize that they have stumbled on what they think is heaven on earth.  Sure, they are fortunate, but it comes with a price, a very costly price.  At the same time, an interesting allegorical perspective of the societal values appear with death everywhere around them.  The value of items seems futile when they find out that Francine is pregnant, which makes them think about the future.  Those who have read Everyman can draw parallels between the Medieval morality play and the film.  For example, there is a scene where they find an abundance of money, but what is money when death is knocking on the door?  Riches do not matter, beauty does not matter, friends are about to run out, no kin exists, and the only thing that is left is the action they take and how they could affect the future – a possible hope.

Another interesting aspect in the film is how they barrier themselves from zombies, but also possible visitors.  Here Romero touches on the basic idea of a government building, which is built on the idea of protecting one's territory.  This provides strong suggestions that humans are territorial, which is true when studying a world map.  The simplicity in which Romero applies this notion into an intriguing situation where fear is the constant that keeps them alive and what they have could help keep them alive for the time being.

The film has some years on its neck, which means that the special effects are not up to the standards of 2005.  However, it still has its desired effect, and nothing of the story is lost due to the technical aspects of the film.  Besides the technical aspects Romero intendeds this film to be a sequel to his Night of the Living Dead (1968) and he surpasses the initial film by light years in both horror and wisdom.  The conclusive verdict of the film is that Dawn of the Dead offers a truly remarkable cinematic experience that offers high level suspense in an insightful horror film.  

DIRECTED BY

COUNTRY

Italy / USA

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