Dawn of the Dead

When there’s no More Room in Hell the Dead Will Walk the Earth!

It was a long decade after Night of the Living Dead that Romera finally came out with the sequel, Dawn of the Dead.  While it was meant to be the second part in the series, no settings or characters from its predecessor were used or even referenced. 

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Dawn of the Dead took more than four months to create, shot entirely in Monroeville and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

Although Dawn of the Dead only cost approximately $650,000 to create, the movie grossed more than $55 million worldwide!  Due to reviews and the fact that the movie still remains popular, it was voted as one of the Top 500 Greatest Movies Ever by Empire Magazine.

Plot

The cause of the flesh-eating zombies was never determined in Night of the Living Dead and that is exactly where Dawn of the Dead picks up.  The United States government is trying to control the chaos and survivors are seeking refuge.  The killing has spread throughout the country, especially in highly populated areas and the best chance for survival is out in the country.

The first scene introducing characters in Dawn of the Dead shows Stephen, a television studio staff member along with his girlfriend Francine who are plotting to steal a helicopter to get away from the zombies.  Meanwhile, SWAT teams are exploring apartments around the city.  Two guys, Roger and Peter, who are from different teams, meet for the first time, Roger knows about Stephen’s plan for escape and invites Peter to come along.

The next transition in Dawn of the Dead is the four escaping in the helicopter with more than a couple very close calls.  They find a shopping mall and make this their safe house but first they have to kill the zombies inside.  During this fight for territory, Roger is bitten and eventually has to be shot by Peter to protect the others.  As they are realizing that this mall has become a prison to them, Francine tells Stephen that she is four months pregnant.

After a little time passes in Dawn of the Dead, a gang of bikers suddenly breaks into the mall.  Of course, while doing so, they also let hundreds of zombies in.  Stephen starts a gun battle with the bikers and is shot and then immediately attacked by the zombies.  Stephen comes back as a zombie and is leading the rest of the ghouls to the place where Peter and Francine are hiding.  Peter has no choice but to kill Stephen so him and Francine can escape in the helicopter.

Interesting, although this is how Dawn of the Dead ends, it is not how Romera originally planned.  His first intentions were for Peter to commit suicide by shooting himself and then Francine would plunge into the helicopter’s blades and kill herself.  Dawn of the Dead was meant to end with the camera showing the fuel gauge in the helicopter  and that they wouldn’t have had enough gas in the tank to escape anyway.

To find out where it all began see Night of the Living Dead!