This Day in Horror History: DAWN OF THE DEAD Was Released in 2004
Horror fans like myself had a knee-jerk disdain for remakes–until Zack Snyder’s adaptation of George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978) came along on this date in 2004. Game, changed! These days, 2004’s Dawn still ranks elite among horror remakes, counting films like David Cronenberg’s The Fly and John Carpenter’s The Thing among its peers.
If it’s been a while, revisit the trailer and synopsis for Dawn of the Dead below.
Synopsis:
When her husband is attacked by a zombified neighbor, Ana (Sarah Polley) manages to escape, only to realize her entire Milwaukee neighborhood has been overrun by the walking dead. After being questioned by cautious policeman Kenneth (Ving Rhames), Ana joins him and a small group that gravitates to the local shopping mall as a bastion of safety. Once they convince suspicious security guards that they are not contaminated, the group bands together to fight the undead hordes.
Snyder worked with James Gunn (Slither) to adapt Romero’s original screenplay for Dawn of the Dead.
Trivia:
For the scene where Ana stitches Kenneth’s wounds, the director hired a real nurse for the close-ups. She misunderstood the director’s directions to go deeper and inadvertently punctured Ving Rhames’ skin and stitched the prosthesis to his arm. He didn’t say anything until after the scene was done filming and the director thought the blood was merely “a really good effect”. (Source)
Actors Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger and Tom Savini all appeared in the original 1978 version of this film, but playing different characters. Ken Foree delivers the tagline he delivered as “Peter” from the 1978 version of Dawn of the Dead; “When there’s no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth.” (Source)
Are you a fan of 2004’s Dawn of the Dead? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter @josh_millican.
Categorized:News This Day in Horror
