 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Dawn of the Dead
- Review Date: October 25, 2004
- R
- Genre: Horror
- 2004
Common Sense Media says
Extremely gory horror movie; not for kids.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
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.
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.
What families can talk about
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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AGE
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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AGE
Lot's of blood and gore, but Romero's films are still gorier and more detailed
The 2004 remake of the 1978 George A. Romero directed Classic of the same name, follows the formula of the original film well enough, I guess. The only problem is, that we just don't really care: We don't care about the characters, we don't character if the entire zombie apocalypse takes over the world and the human race as we know it is annihilated and wiped out once and for all, and this time, for good. That's just the problem with this movie, it's dull, it's rehashed, the violence and is gory but uninspired, the acting is completely frozen and people faking panic and making crude banter. That's all this movie really is, just a static, dead (pun intended) movie. But, this movie, as you have already quiet obviously guessed before this review, this is certainly not a movie fr children, tween's or even most younger teens: There is lot's of strong bloody violence and gore with plenty of zombie eating people, people being dismembered, zombies being dismembered and more. Also, there is some sexual content such as two sex scenes, one passionate with nudity and the other, very quick, crude, explicit and just down right unnecessary to begin with. Finally, there is also lot's of strong language which is used throughout the movie, with about 53 F-words and its derivatives. Well, that's all, but, if you enjoyed the original film, than you may still possibly find some sort of entertainment value in this movie. I just didn't, that's all.
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AGE
Very
My MPAA Rating, R: Extremely explicit zombie horror violence and gore, pervasive language, sexual content, and brief nudity
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AGE
Good for Mature High Schoolers.
It isn't age appropriate due to the fact of the violence and sexual content.
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AGE
Too grotesque..........
Very gory zombie-splatter movie. Definetly not for persons under age of 16/18. since it says "R for pervasive strong horror violence and gore, language and sexuality" It really means its for adults-only. Even your kids would really want it they see this movie.
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AGE
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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AGE
Not scary, just gross!!!
My cousins and I wanted to see a really scary movie, so we chose Dawn of the Dead. We wanted something scary, but got something disgusting. There are blood and guts everywhere, and the world is so over-run with zombies, the whole point of surviving seems kind of hopeless. There is a scene where the there's a nude zombie, where the main character has sex with her (later zombie-fied) boyfriend, and a racy scene at the mall. There is strong language, and since the majority of the movie is in a mall, noticeable product placement. I felt like throwing up throughout the whole movie. *SPOILER ALERT* Although the whole point of the movie was about surviving, everybody dies in the end. Go figure.
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AGE
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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AGE
A great movie for zombie movie fans.
I really enjoyed this movie. Of course, it's pretty violent, but there are only a few parts that are grisly. Finally a remake of a classic that doesn't screw up huge.
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AGE
So-So
It was alright. Not that great. I especially didn't like the ending during the credits. Too bleak. Suggested MPAA rating: R for pervasive strong horror violence and gore, language, and some sexuality/nudity.
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| Studio: | Universal Pictures |
| Director: | Zack Snyder |
| Cast: | Mekhi Phifer, Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Run time: | 110 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | March 12, 2004 |
| DVD release date: | October 25, 2004 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | pervasive strong horror violence and gore, language and sexuality |
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