What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this 2004 Dawn of the Dead is an extremely violent remake of George A. Romero's 1978 horror film of the same name. Perhaps the violence should come as no surprise, since this is, after all, a zombie film. Expect lots of blood, bites to the throat, vast armies of zombies shot in the head by shotguns, as well as moments of gore like eye stabbings and a head impaled with a spike. There's also considerable profanity, and some of the characters fill the empty hours of hiding out in the shopping mall from the zombies waiting outside by drinking and having sex. While this film delivers what horror fans want and expect from the genre -- including zombies moving at a much faster, more aggressive pace than typically seen in zombie movies -- for younger viewers and people who aren't horror fans, he violence and gore will be too much.
- Families can talk about the different approaches taken by the survivors and the range of choices that they make. Are there times when the moral answer is at odds with the instinct to survive?
- If you've seen the original 1978 Dawn of the Dead, how do you think this version compares?
- Why do you think movies and books about the undead are so popular?