10 MORE Horror Movies You Knew Would Be Good After The First 10 Minutes
4. Dawn Of The Dead (2004)
Zack Snyder must've had balls of steel when he decided his directorial debut would be a Dawn of the Dead remake. Considering George A. Romero's classic is hailed as one of the best and most influential zombie films ever, it seemed to be an impossible act to follow.
To the surprise of everyone, Snyder's version was a blast. In fact, the most cynical viewers were sold before the first scene ended. Less than five minutes in, child zombies are chomping on neighbours, helicopters are crashing, and buildings are going kaboom.
Even though Snyder's later work tends to be overly stylised, this opening feels gritty and visceral. Rather than relying on excess CGI, the Man of Steel director uses complex dolly shots to emulate our heroine being chased, especially while she's driving.
The scene is also memorable because most viewers weren't expecting the undead to run. Save for 28 Days Later, zombies had been commonly depicted as shuffling corpses, especially in Romero's work. Now the reanimated flesh-eaters could keep up with their lunch, they posed a far greater threat.
Even though Dawn of the Dead has many awesome scenes, nothing grabs you the same way as this ferocious sequence.