1h 40m
Director: Zack Snyder

This is a remake of the classic 1978 film by the same name by George A. Romero who really helped define the modern zombie genre.

Zack Snyder was at the apex of his career around this time and taking on such a classic was a brave move. We've since discovered that he seems to be a bit rubbish when he's making his own stuff and does a much better job when borrowing source material from elsewhere (see 300 (2006)).

The first 10 minutes of this version are epic. They set up a full zombie apocalypse in about 5 minutes of that time with Ana escaping through the suburbs in her car.

Soon she meets up with a group of strangers and they make their way into a mall where much of this movie plays out. Many who are familiar with the original will recognise this set up. A mall probably isn't a bad place to end up if there's a zombie apocalypse as there's plenty of supplies and you can do a bit of shopping to pass the time.

Much is made of the first head shot in this movie, likely a nod to the original where they attached a bit of magicians string to a coin, stuck it to the zombie actor's forehead, plastered make-up over it and then pulled it off quickly to simulate the bullet hole appearing in-camera. Zombie head shots are a well established trope in the genre, being the only way to make sure you get the kill.

The zombies can run in this apocalypse which makes them scarier than the slow walking ones meaning our characters have to hump it if they get caught short and everything feels a bit dangerous.

The film discusses many of the usual zombie questions. Should we just kill someone if they get bitten before they turn and attack the healthy? What will happen if a pregnant woman gets the virus? Often, the surviving humans are forced to make hard decisions when trapped in this scenario but we get an insight into the human condition.

You also get a growing sense of group cohesion throughout the run time which has our characters take increasingly greater risks to rescue one another, bad from a survival point of view but superb from a humanity perspective.

It's the little touches that make this movie feel a bit special. The original classic was trying quite hard to make things real but here we're doing pastiche as everyone knows what to expect so when a cheesy cover of 'Don't worry be happy' plays on the tannoy during their initial mall investigations, it doesn't feel out of place.

Some inventive kills (I love the chainsaws in the van) and none of the usual Zack Snyderisms like over stylised shots or slow motion. Don't get me wrong, they have their place but this is good old fashioned film making and it keeps the narrative feeling real.

Overall, it's a decent update which adds a bit of zing and pays homage to the original!



Trailer: