Scary Movies: Dawn of the Dead

The sequel to Night of the Living Dead and no, I didn’t show this one to my son. Maybe when he’s older. Like 22. I have seen it as recently as last Halloween. One of the best horror movies ever made, and possibly my personal favorite. A genuinely scary movie but also a cogent satire of materialistic 1970s American culture.

DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978)

Story/Plot/Characters–Good pacing, tight plotting, many complicated action scenes are presented clearly and coherently. Well-drawn characters. Dialogue a little less than sparkling but not actually bad. (3.5 points)
Special Effects–Cutting-edge effects at the time, possibly the goriest American movie made up to that point. Perhaps a little dated but grading on the curve gives it a full score here. (2 points)
Scariness–Some of the tensest, scariest scenes I have ever viewed. (2 points)
Atmosphere/Freakiness–So freaky. The scene near the beginning when the helicopter is taking off as the skyline of Philadelphia winks out behind it is one of the all-time great visuals. The scenes at the mall as zombies “shop” the corridors is unbelievably freaky. (2 points)
Total=9.5 points