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Static Media
Zack Snyder, the director of several recent films, made a remarkable debut in 2004 with “Dawn of the Dead,” a remake of George Romero’s 1978 film of the same name. Garnering mostly positive reviews, the film raked in over $100 million at the box office against a $26 million budget. The film even caught the eye of horror maestro Stephen King, who praised the film’s opening sequence as “genius perfected” in his nonfiction book “Danse Macabre,” hailing it as one of the best opening sequences in a horror film.
As King describes, “Ana (portrayed by the multi-talented actress and director Sarah Polley) is lying in bed with her husband, Luis, when their neighbor’s little skate-girl pays them a visit. The innocent visit turns bloody when the skate-girl rips open Luis’s throat, turning him into a zombie. In Snyder’s version, the zombies move with surprising speed – a detail Romero wasn’t fond of, but it works.”
The film introduces a new concept to the zombie genre – running zombies. While not entirely new, it was not a feature in Romero’s original. Additionally, the transformation of bite victims into zombies is remarkably quick. Luis transforms into a zombie in under a minute, chasing Ana out of her bedroom and forcing her to escape through her bathroom window. As King puts it:
Thanks to some clever editing, Ana manages to escape into a neighborhood turned slaughterhouse, and then into the countryside with a conveniently located mall. King argues that the most effective terror sequences often result from instinct or pure accident rather than scriptwriting or direction, and this scene is no exception.
The sequence is rapid and chaotic, leaving both Ana and the viewers with little time to catch their breath. It’s easy to imagine the sheer terror of waking up from a peaceful sleep to find your husband turned into a zombie and chasing you around the house. This scene quickly builds up audience sympathy for Ana as she adapts to her horrifying situation without breaking down. The audience’s immediate connection with Ana is crucial, as King suggests that it’s entirely possible she could be killed off in the movie.
Dawn of the Dead (and why sometimes it’s good to cast an unknown)
Universal Pictures
King points out that “Polley, a Canadian actress, was largely unknown to American audiences in 2004. If we saw a familiar face like Julia Roberts or Charlize Theron as Ana, we’d be sure she’s going to survive. But with Polley, we’re rooting for her to escape, yet we’re not certain she will. The first nine minutes of the film are a symphony of suspense.”
In many ways, the opening of “Dawn of the Dead” is the exact opposite of “Scream’s” opening. For the 1996 horror flick, director Wes Craven cast the famous Drew Barrymore in the opening sequence. With Barrymore being a prominent part of the marketing material, it seemed like a ploy to give the audience a false sense of security. Surely, they wouldn’t hire Drew Barrymore just to kill her off in the first nine minutes? But that’s precisely what happened. This move set the tone for the rest of the film, making it clear that no character was safe.
On the other hand, “Dawn of the Dead” toyed with the idea that Ana might have a similar fate — that she might be there just to die a horrific death and set the stage for the real main character, who would be introduced shortly after. The result is a horror film with a suspenseful and terrifying opening sequence that also allows us to continue rooting for the expected first victim throughout the rest of the film.
This was a smart creative decision, and writer James Gunn deserves some credit for it. We’re not sure why he was chosen to write this script, given that his only significant writing credit at the time was for 2002’s “Scooby Doo,” but he certainly knocked it out of the park with this one. This was likely the first and last time Gunn wrote a script that Snyder would direct, which is a pity because they made an excellent team.
Credit: www.slashfilm.com
