31. Scene: Roger's Demise
One of the most unsettling moments in the entire movie comes when Roger finally joins the hoard of the dead after being bitten. Thrashing and writhing in agony as his friends fight to try and prolong his life, Roger slowly makes his transition into becoming "one of them". Slowly pulling back the bedsheets, we see Roger emerge as a new born zombie, gradually inspecting the environment around him and rising from the bed. Rather than showing us Peter putting Roger out of his misery, Romero cuts away to Stephen and Francine as the gunshot echoes through the room as they watch an emergency broadcast. Its really all over isnt it ?
32. Score: The Gonk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEBPmY_5L4k
33. Quote: Zombie 101
Every dead body that is not exterminated becomes one of them. It gets up and kills! The people it kills get up and kill! - Dr.Foster
34. The Iconic Posters
35. Scene: Hillbilly Montage
Dawn of the Deads hillbilly montage stands out as one of the sillier moments of the film, but thats exactly why its so much fun. In the scene were briefly introduced to a bunch of shotgun wielding rednecks enjoying a spot of hunting. Chugging away at cans of beer and taking down zombies from afar, Romero shows us how even during a zombie apocalypse and the resulting breakdown of society, therell always be people who find a way to enjoy themselves.
36. Shaun of the Dead
Without Dawn of the Dead, Edgar Wright's fantastic zom-rom-com surely wouldn't have ever existed. More than just a clever spin on the title, Shawn of the Dead is an affectionate tribute to Dawn, which packs in a vast number of references and narrative simialrites to Romero's classic. There's small blink and you'll miss it details such as Shaun working in a shop called Foree Electronics (named after Dawn's Ken Foree) and uses of Goblin's score, to much larger narrative similarities. Romero himself was so impressed with Shaun of the Dead that he gave
Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright cameos in his flawed but enjoyable return to the genre, Land of the Dead.
37. Score: Safari
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKbOJVmOv80
38. Quote: Déjà Vu
Francine: What are they doing? Why do they come here? Stephen: Some kind of instinct. Memory of what they used to do. This was an important place in their lives.
39. Scene: Biker Invasion
After turning the Mall into a home by surrounding themselves with expensive goods, the survivors become trapped by their grotesquely detached lifestyle. It sadly takes a group of violent pillaging bikers to break them free of their funk, by invading the mall and trying to take it for themselves. Led by the machete wielding Blades (Tom Savini) the sequence also brings the movie to an astonishingly gory climax. Decapitating zombies left right and centre, the motorcycle gang are defeated by the ingenuity of the malls previous inhabitants who pick off the bikers one by one and let the zombies finish the job. While they manage to fatally shoot Stephen, the posse of bikers are ripped apart by the incoming hoard of zombies, forcing Peter and Fran to flee the Mall.
40. It Was A Groundbreaking Moment For Horror
Dawn of the Dead was a landmark moment in horror history when it was released back in 1978. Once again Romero showed audiences how horror could be used to highlight social and political issues, evolving the racial commentary of Night of the Living Dead to encompass issues of mass consumerism, the Vietnam war and 1970's society. As well as Romeros witty and clever script, Dawns groundbreaking special effects and strong characterization also proved to be hugely influential. Dawn of the Dead was also an unexpected hit with critics, despite many having an often vehement hatred of the horror genre. Even renowned film critic Roger Ebert was bowled over by Dawn of the Dead, calling it One of the best horror films ever made. Although years earlier he was less than favorable in his review for Night of the Living Dead, Ebert continued to praise Dawn of the Dead as brilliantly crafted, funny, droll, and savagely merciless in its satiric view of the American consumer society.