10 Hidden Meanings Behind Famous Horror Movies

Whereas Night of the Living Dead covertly explored issues of social and political unrest in America, George A. Romero ups the social satire ante with his scathing critique on consumer society in its sequel Dawn of the Dead. Inspired by a trip Romero took to the very mall that the movie was set in and filmed at, the director has said he was motivated to make the film after witnessing its vacant-faced shoppers going from store to store seemingly hypnotised by their quest to buy, buy, buy.

In the movie, four survivors of a zombie apocalypse find refuge in a mall that seems to offer all the security and material comforts they could possibly need to survive. Unluckily for them, the undead have seemingly retained some memory of the importance the mall played in their living lives and have too retreated to its familiar enclaves. Before long, the mecca of consumerism begins to feel more like a prison to the survivors than the sanctuary it first seemed. Dawn of the Dead is not only a critique of the consumerism’s inability to provide true happiness, but a movie that suggests its flesh-hungry zombies are no worse than brainless shoppers mindlessly buying trinket after trinket. As survivor Peter remarks in the movie, “They’re us”.

Unfortunately, Zack Snyder’s 2004 remake, though a fun enough splatter-fest, didn’t cast such a critical eye on consumerism as Romero did. It did include a controversial zombie baby and an amusing montage scored by Richard Cheese’s take on Down with the Sickness however, so we’ll give it a break.