Warnings:
Graphic Violence, Adult situations, Gore/blood. Not appropriate for young children
SUMMARY:
In the suburbs of a Wisconsin city, a nurse named Ana wakes to find a world in chaos. Overnight a plague has spread through the world, turning its victims into the living dead. Ana, and a small group of survivors take shelter in a local mall, but can they survive the hordes of zombies?
My Opinion:
I saw this one in the theater, and only noticed small changes in the DVD, which touted deleted scenes. There was a considerable difference in the level of graphic violence between the theater and this version however. This is one I won't be watching with my kids, and not just because of the violence, there are some definite adult scenes in it.
I will say that the only thing this version has in common with its predecessor of the same name is the fact that they are both set in a mall. The first Dawn was more of a social commentary then this one, though I did like the more modern strong characters, specifically the women. There are also numerous debates over running versus shambling zombies, and while I won't go into great detail over it here, both have their advantages. That being said, if looked as a movie that takes scenario inspiration from the original, it can be viewed as a seperate movie. I enjoyed it immensely, and it lessens my view of it, or the original, none.
EXTRAS:
The Lost Tape-Andy's last days: This extra clocks in at 18 minutes. Bruce Bohne does an excellent job of playing Andy, the owner of a gun store, who manages to communicate with the survivors in the mall. This vignette covers what happens to him in small flashes over the days from the time it starts to Andy's final fate. To add a touch of realism, the tape is shown to have flashes of home movies, with a little girl who is revealed to be his daughter. This is definitely a good one.
Special Report-Zombie Invasion: This one clocks in at 20 minutes in length. This is the "on-air" news cast with a reporter by the name of David Burrows in the studio. David Burrows is played by Richard Bigg, better known for his role in "Babylon 5". Covering Hours 1 through 26 in the plague, this shows the effects the events have on the world and the reactions to it officially. It includes "interviews" with doctors, witness, and other authorities. It even has a small section where Tom Savini plays a sheriff of the town of Monroeville, which is placed near Pittsburgh. This is a very interesting insight to how the events could possibly be handled.
Optional commentary
DVDRom
Attack of the Living dead: Vignette of Zombie attacks
Raising the Dead: Behind the scenes of making the Zombies
Splitting headaches-Anatomy of exploding heads
12 minutes of deleted scenes
Overall view of the DVD:
I enjoyed this DVD. While it is not a family movie, it has its charms, including the extras. While I think they could have kept the deleted scenes separate, it isn't a hobble to the entertainment value of the movie. It has re-watch value, there are small details to see each time it's played. I also enjoyed cameos by at least two actors from the original, and that they didn't try to remake that word by word. Definitely a good one.
