The film is zombie related, so there is a lot of violence and gore. Sex scenes and nudity. Language. Smoking. It's a good movie, but not kids under 13.
Dawn of the Dead
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Extremely gory horror movie; not for kids.
Why We Rated This 
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Dawn of the Dead was written by Nell Minow
Parents need to know that this movie is extremely violent, gory, and scary. Most of the characters die terrible and explicit deaths. The squeamish will be particularly disturbed by a scene of childbirth and the resulting mayhem. Characters amuse themselves by shooting zombies milling in the parking lot around the mall. There are two explicit sexual situations, including a tender one between a married couple.
Families Can Talk About
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- 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? How would you handle this variance?
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More on Dawn of the Dead
What’s the Story?
A remake of George A. Romero's 1978 zombie film, DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004) begins much the same as the original. For unknown reasons, people across the country are turning into blood-thirsty, animated corpses with rotting visages only an undertaker could love. The morning after the outbreak of a mysterious "virus", an unlikely group of humans still capable of thought and speech converge on an empty shopping mall outside Milwaukee to escape the marauding zombies, who were until then the friends, families, neighbors of the survivors. As they fortify their defenses against the peril outside the mall walls, they must also face the threats they pose to one another. Unspecified days pass in a haze of mall enjoyment and zombie sniping until the remaining survivors opt to make a break for the nearby marina in order to escape by boat to a hopefully-deserted island in Lake Michigan.
Is It Any Good?
This remake of George A. Romero's 1978 sequel to Night of the Living Dead soups up the zombies, takes the gross-factor to eleven, and has a lot of cheeky in-jokes about its predecessor. In comparison with the original, gone are the shrieking blondes and rampaging looters, while in are smart, controlled Ana (Sarah Polley as a believable nurse not afraid to wield a fire poker) and Kenneth (Ving Rhames) who is exactly the kind of cop you want walking beside you if you are facing scores of the undead.
The zombies are a bit spryer in this film, and the pregnancy of one of the main characters is not the life-giving promise it was in the first movie. But it is in the end that the 2004 version differs most greatly from the original. If you are a fan of the horror genre, much less a "(Noun) of the Dead" fan, then this flick is a welcome, if derivative, fright-fest in the school of Romero's classics.
Movie Details
Studio: Universal Pictures, Director: Zack Snyder
Run time: 110 minutes
Theatrical release: 3/12/2004, DVD release: 10/25/2004
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive strong horror violence and gore, language and sexuality
Run time: 110 minutes
Theatrical release: 3/12/2004, DVD release: 10/25/2004
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive strong horror violence and gore, language and sexuality
Our Members Say
See all 18 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
Good movie for zombie, or George A. Romero fans.
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I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
Ehh. Not the best remake of all time, acting was ok, but the whole story just sucked. This is one of those movies that you only need to see once and never have to see again. I wouldn't recommend buying the DVD. Not worth it.
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I rate this title off for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
rent it its not an amazing movie
this movie was entertaining but kingd of stupid they presented it as a horror movie but do they really expect me to be scared over some ugly looking zombies at the end its a action flick
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I rate this title off for age 15 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
not for tweens
has to much violence,sex and language
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- My highlights are:
Another Remake
pretty good remake, but i would stick to the original, not a big deal here!
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I rate this title off for age 17 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- Negative role models
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I rate this title iffy for age 15 and give it
really good.
I always heard bad reviews about this film but I love the original and zombie films in general so I gave it a shot.I loved it.It shouldn't really be considered a remake because the only things it has in common with the other one is a mall and zombies.
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I rate this title off for age 16 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
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I rate this title off for age 17 and give it
Way too scary for kids
An R-rated movie? no kids!
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I rate this title off for age 0 and give it
bloody satisfaction
This film has the most grusome gun violence in anything i've seen (except when Marvin is shot in Pulp Fiction). The amount of brain matter and blood is staggering. The scenes where they name celebrities and shoot the zombie is funny though. honestly, i thought they all deserved to die by the end with how ridiculous it got.
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I rate this title off for age 0 and give it
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
well,
it sure as hell isnt the first dawn of the dead, but it was still pretty damn good
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
this movie is really good
u should really see this movie why did u say there was extreme sexuality? there isn't theres a lot of gore but it rox and it has a pretty real story out line if u really think about it. Great movie kids 10 and over can watch it iiiiiiiiits great
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
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I rate this title off for age 0 and give it
This movie has alot of suspence and scary parts.
This movie is nothing for kids at all. It is rated R for many bad reasons.One is for sexuality and grusume Photos and scenes.One scary part is at the begining when the girls mouth was bit by a zombie! then the girl bit her father and her father died and became a zombie.Then the father tried to kill his wife.All of the survivors went to The mall to get away from the zombies. They thougt it was safe at the mall but it was not.Overtime more and more zombies came and tried to atack the survivors.
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
cool
im 11 years old i really think this movie is one of my favorites though other kids my age i wouldnt really think they would like it i geuss it depends on the persons persoality
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I rate this title pause for age 0 and give it
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I rate this title pause for age 0 and give it
Ok, but not better than the original.
I think that the original was much better because of the more time spent in the mall. The original has a little bit more than just horror blood and guts. Also, the original has less main characters and centers on them. This causes less confusion and helps the viewers know more about the characters. Even though this movie was pretty good, you should watch the original. You'll probably know what I'm talking about.
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Ratings at a Glance
| 83% | of parents say it's too violent |
| 50% | of parents say it has language their kids can't use |
| 50% | of parents say the sexual behavior isn't age appropriate |
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