Horror Shorts: Dawn of the Dead

Continuing on from his trailblazing Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead takes place 12 years later. Dealing with the themes of racism and consumerism, the film once again focuses on a disparate group of people trying to survive the zombie apocalypse.

Beginning with a raid on a public housing tower, occupied mainly by people of colour, we see the racism of a riot police officer who gleefully shoots men and women who have not even been turned into zombies. Two of the riot police abandon their posts to attempt to escape the city along with two newspeople. However, when they land in a shopping mall, they decide to fortify and spend time there. Here we see the sending up of consumerist culture as zombies mindlessly wander the shopping malls, some part of them remembering that it was once important to them. Our protagonists initially enjoy having all they could possibly need, but later grow bored and empty, like the zombies themselves. In the final act, we see how humanity is its own enemy, when a group of raiders attacks the mall.

 There is a lot of black humour in this film, a gambit not always successful in horror films, where it can become cheesy and ridiculous. However, it definitely works in this film. The Prog Rock soundtrack by Goblin is considered a modern classic. Goblin are also famous for their eerie soundtrack to Argento's Suspiria. 

Romero successfully combines humour, horror and social commentary to make a film that is still relatable today. Groundbreaking special effects from Tom Savini (who also appears as a character in the final act) made this movie shocking at the time, and laid the path for many of the today’s horror films. This is an essential piece of horror film history.


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