Dawn of the Dead (2004)

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Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 remake of George A. Romero's zombie-horror classic. It re-imagines Romero's story of a world in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, again focusing on a handful of survivors who have taken refuge in a shopping mall. While the original incorporated themes and undertones satirizing consumerism, the remake is more action oriented and also swaps out the traditonal shambling zombie with the modern "fast" zombie.

The film was directed by Zack Synder and stars Sarah Polly as Ana-, a nurse who also plays as the central character, Ving Rhames as Kenneth, a police officer, Jake Weber as Michael, a cunning jack-of-all-trades, and Michael Kelly as C.J., a brash mall security guard.

Plot

Note: This synopsis is based on the unrated Director's Cut of the film.

 "That.... that wasn't a deer..."

Ana, a nurse working at a Milwaukee hospital, is ready to retire for the night after a long day dealing with victims of what she will later learn to be a zombie outbreak. Despite the situation, everything is normal in her area and she and her husband fail to take heed of an emergency broadcast, which plays as they enjoy a planned date night. The following morning, the couple awakens to the appearance of a zombified neighbor girl who attacks Ana's husband, who then changes and attacks her. She manages to escape from her house where she is greeted by sheer pandemonium. The undead have made their way into the suburbs of the city, which is now being bombed by the military. She jumps in her car and makes her way for outside the city, but is forced off the road by a panicked survivor and crashes into a tree.

When she comes to, she is greeted by police officer Kenneth Hall and the business end of his pump-action shotgun. She identifies herself as a friendly and the two head out to seek safety. Along the way, the encounter another group of survivors being led by a Best Buy employee named Michael. In his group he is accompanied by Andre, a petty criminal, and his pregnant wife, Luda. They had just come from another shelter which had just been overrun by the undead and are now making their way to a new one: The Crossroads Mall.

 Crossroads Mall

The group shoots their way into the mall, deal with the undead inside and check on the mall's protections. The glass for the building is shatter proof and all of the doors are locked so for the time being they are safe from the hoard. After dealing with a few zombies inside, they head up to the mall's second floor and are immediately greeted with guns in their faces. Holding the guns are a trio of mall security guards led by a man named CJ. After some convincing, the group are allowed to stay but they are kept on a tight leash. The survivors are all assigned to put up signs and messages for any rescue personnel who may come by. Meanwhile, the chaos outside is only escalating. A futile attempt to contain the threat is being carried out by law enforcement and the military. The cause of the outbreak remains undetermined with ideas ranging from a virus to a punishment by God.

The survivors spend the night locked up in a furniture store while remaining under the watchful eye of the security guards. CJ doesn't want the group there, seeing them as a potential to do more harm than good. That morning, another group of survivors arrive at the mall, via truck. Initially, CJ wants them all turn blind eye to the newcomers but then Kenneth and Michael overpower him and his fellow guard, Bart, with the assistance of Terry, one of the guards. They put them in a holding cell and help the truck-bound survivors enter the mall. They had just escaped from Fort Pastor, a military outpost that was taking in survivors and infected alike, which had become overrun with the undead. The news upsets Kenneth, who planned to use the next available opportunity to go there and find his brother. Back downstairs, Ana is treating two survivors who had been bitten by the zombies. Once a sickly obese woman changes, and killed, Ana understands that the virus is spread through bites. The other infected survivor, Frank, is bound to change so someone has to kill him despite the protest of his daughter, Nicole. Sad, but understanding, Frank accepts his fate. He says his final goodbyes to Nicole and then allows Kenneth to shoot him once he changes.

For the next few weeks, the survivors adjust to life in the mall. As the situation outside grows worse they manage to cope and keep themselves entertained. Kenneth befriends a gun shop owner named Andy, who has barricaded himself in his shop across the street. Only being able to communicate with the group through whiteboards, the two play long-distance games of chess and, for fun, shoot at zombies who resemble celebrities. But things soon turn ugly. When the power goes out, CJ and Bart are allowed out of their cell to help locate a generator. In the process, Bart is killed by a nearby hoard.

Back inside, Luda is finally ready to give birth, but as it turns out she was infected by one of the zombies fought in the mall. But this doesn't deter Andre, who kept her infection a secret and simply gags his undead wife (corpse bride?) and allows the baby to be born. Norma, one of the truck survivors, is shocked to see that Luda is zombified and promptly kills her. In reaction, Andre pulls out his weapon and the two exchange gunfire, killing each other. Ana, along with the rest of the survivors, are attracted by the gunshots and are greeted with the grisly scene and the newborn, which is also a zombie. Without hesitation, Ana kills the baby.

 Monster. Monster Garage.

The incident with the baby convinces the survivors that dying in a shopping mall is a horrible way to go out. So they come up with a plan to reinforce a couple of shuttle buses that Michael spied back in the garage and drive to safety. One of the truck survivors, a cynic named Steve, jokes that they could drive over to his yacht at the marina and seek out an island. This turns out to be the goal of the plan. So, in agreement, the buses are armored and fortified for driving through the mob. Also, a special slot has been added that would allow one to stick out a chainsaw and slice off any zombies climbing the buses.

With the buses repurposed, Kenneth tells Andy that they will be ready to leave in a few days. They plan to pick up Andy as well, seeing that his expertise with guns will be a valuable asset. But Andy can't wait: he has long ago run out of food and is now dying of starvation. The group comes up with a plan to send him a sandwich and a walkie-talkie by using a dog that they found in the parking garage, who they named Chips. Despite the protests of its new owner, Nicole, the zombies are not interested in the dog who smoothly makes his way to the gun shop. When Andy opens the door to let Chips in, a couple zombies crawl inside and attack him. The survivors use their own walkie-talkie to check on Andy, who admits that he got bit. Then they notice a truck plowing its way to the shop. Nicole had made a brash decision to save Chips, unaware that Andy has now become a zombie. She makes it to the store and barricades herself in a closet, but the screams from the radio suggest that she had been killed.

Nonetheless, the group decides to take action. Kenneth, CJ, and Tucker, another truck survivor, gear up and take the sewers to the gun shop. While the plan is to make sure that Nicole is alright, they also need the guns and ammo for the trip. After fighting their way inside, they collect the needed guns and ammo, dispatch the Andy zombie, and save Nicole and Chips. CJ sets off a propane bomb inside the zombie crowd and the group takes the sewer back to the mall. But the zombies follow them down and towards the mall access. Having broke his legs after falling down the manhole Tucker is overwhelmed by the zombies and is given a mercy killing by CJ.

Having failed to lock the door the group run back upstairs and alert the others that they are leaving immediately. They manage to drive straight out of the mall, through the thick mob of zombies, and into the city. But when Kenneth tries to shake off one latching zombie, one of the survivors, Glen, accidentally slips his chainsaw into a young woman named Monica. (Why am I bringing up these names so late? Because they're not important.) As a result, Kenneth loses control and crashes his bus. The others turn around to save whoever survived the crash, turning out to be Kenneth and Terry. Steve had decided to run off, only to become a zombie himself. Ana shoots the zombified Steve and takes his yacht key. The remaining survivors board back onto the bus and make way towards the marina.

At the marina, Kenneth crashes the bus into the dock. CJ then sacrifices himself by setting off a huge explosion that blows up part of the dock, separating the hoard from the group. So with that, only five survivors remain: Ana, Kenneth, Michael, Nicole, and Terry. (Oh, right, and Chips.) But, sadly, Michael got bitten during the escape and he knows it's only time. Against the wishes of Ana, who had fallen in love with him during their time at Crossroad Mall, he chooses to stay behind. So as the yacht sails away to new, and hopefully safer horizons, Michael commits suicide.

During the credits, we see that Terry has found Steve's old camera and is filming the survivor's boat trip. It shows to be far from ideal. The food is rotten, the water eventually runs out, and the engine breaks down forcing them to rely on wind power the rest of the way. When they get to the island, they are horrified to see that it too is overrun with zombies. While gunshots are heard, the camera is dropped and the fate of the survivors is grim, but unknown.

Survivors

Pic	Groups
	Original Group Ana- A nurse at a Milwaukee hospital. Kenneth- A hard boiled police officer. Michael- A Best Buy salesman and jack-of-all-trades. Andre- A petty criminal hoping to atone for his past by fathering his wife's unborn child. Luda- Andre's Eastern-European wife.
	Crossroads Mall Security CJ- The leader of the group with no interest in helping others, lest he risks his safety. Bart- CJ's meatheaded right-hand man. Terry- A rookie guard who is at the bottom of the totem pole.
	Truck Survivors Norma- A trucker who saved a group of people held up at Saint Verbena church. Tucker- Presumably, Norma's husband. Steve- A wealthy cynic. Frank- A lone father who was bitten during his group's escape. Nicole- Frank's daughter. Monica- A beautiful young woman with little backstory. (So, yeah, of course she dies.) Glen- A gay organist employed at Saint Verbena Chruch.
	Other Survivors Andy- A divorced father who owns the gun shop across the way of the Crossroads Mall. Andy's backstory, as well as his final days, is chronicled in the DVD short film, "The Lost Tape."

Comparisons Between the Old and New "Dawn of the Dead"

 Cameos by the original "Dawn of the Dead" actors.

Despite the larger cast and relocation to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the film's basic core plot line remains the same. A handful of survivors take refuge in a shopping mall during a zombie outbreak. There, they manage to barricade themselves, dispatch the undead inside, and then reap the material objects inside. But then the survivors grow weary of living in the mall and decide to leave just as the undead retake the premises. The survivors, now dwindled, ride off into the sunrise to an uncertain future.

In the credits, the film's story is credited to being based on the original Dawn of the Dead. While there are similarities, there are few since the remake has been rewritten to be more zombie action-oriented while the original used zombies as a means to satire consumerism.
 
The film also cameos actors from the original film. Scott Reiniger, who played Roger, plays a general at Fort Pastor. Tom Savini, who did the original film's make up as well as play the leader of a motorcycle gang, plays a Monroeville Sheriff. Finally, Ken Foree, who played Peter, plays a televangelist who recites the famous line "when there is no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the earth."

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