Best of Horror--Dawn of the Dead--Arachnia's Den of the Deceived

Part of the classic Romero Dead Trilogy (the source of all the spinoffs), this movie is great for two main reasons: the storyline is great and the actors don't suck! It's rare indeed to find good acting in Horror films, but this movie definitely rises to the challenge. And the situation of hiding out in a shopping mall (isn't that everyone's all time dream, to live at the mall, a new bed every night?) is brilliant to say the least.

The movie begins at a television station during an emergency broadcast regarding the outbreak of the Living Dead. The city is in chaos, and anyone with the resources is

fleeing to "higher ground" in the hopes of escaping the inevitable. One of the main carachters, Steven, owns a helicoptor and plans for his girlfriend Fran to meet him on the roof of the studio so they can take off together, along with their friend Roger, a police officer. While Fran and Steven make their plans and try to cope with the madness surrounding the studio, Roger is doing his best to combat zombies which have overridden an appartment building. During this, he meets up with Peter, a fellow police officer, and they quickly become friends. Roger mentions the fact that he planned on escaping the city with Steven, and asks Peter if he's like to come along. Peter reluctantly agrees.

Peter, Fran, Roger and Steven pile into the helicoptor, leaving all they know behind them as they venture off in search of a place not affected by the strange "plague". As they fly, thy are astonished to see that seemingly no place is safe. For miles and miles, the image is the same: animated corpses wandering the streets and fields, preying on the flesh of the living. Soon their aircraft grows dangerously low on fuel and they are forced to stop. When they make this stop, they must literally fight for their lives against the onslaught of zombies. Their first thought is to head for Canada, but knowing the could never make it that far, they decide to do the next best thing.

dawndead_1.jpg (9278 bytes)

They land on the roof of an abandoned mall, overrun with zombies. From their vantage point, they see a room through the skylight that doesn't seem to be connected with the actual mall, and which appears to be safe. They break in, but soon realize that they will have to leave their haven to go in search of supplies (food, etc.) Peter and Roger venture into the mall, killing every zombie they cross paths with. Miraculously, them manage to exterminate all the Living Dead within the mall, and create a barricade blocking all entrances so no more can get in. They're safe at last!! Or, are they?...

If you're familiar at all with Romero's work, you know it's a pretty safe bet that it doesn't end there...This movie is excellent in every sense of the word, and features remarkably gory special effects for a movie made so long ago. Yeah, the blood is faker than fake, but everything else is pretty impressive. If you have yet to see this movie, scan the Horror section for it, or better yet, BUY IT!! Actually, as of 2 nights ago I own the directors cut. The special edition includes 11 minutes of extra footage (like a feeding scene that was cut from the mass-produced version) and in my box set anyway, an extra tape full of theatrical trailers and other such goodies. So cover your brains, pop the sucker in the VCR and for the love of God, make sure you're not eating any meat products!