deadite
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Dawn & Shaun
Just joined this forum & hoping I can get things moving by giving my opinion on a couple of films that are totally different but come from the same gory box which I for one greatly anticipated this year & hopefully get a few others opinions on them. So here goes.
**********CONTAINS SPOILERS*************
Saw Shaun Of The Dead when it first came out at the cinema & call my biased coz I live in England but that was the best f***in film I've seen since 28 Days Later (Of which there's a reference to near the end).
It had everything, comedy, action, melodrama & a good spattering of gore & even some Zombie gut-munching. Also there are some nice but not blatantly-rub your nose in it-obvious nods to a few genre films & even one to Reservoir Dogs. Shaun works for Foree Electrics for instance.
Forget the crappy Dawn remake this film is made by people with a great respect for the genre as opposed to just plagiarising. It's actually gorier than the Dawn remake in that you actually see someone get torn apart (a nice homage to Day) rather than the sanitised "I'll just nibble on your arm so you'll turn" of the Dawn remake.
Something that will add a little twist to US audiences is the fact that we have a zero gun policy over here & that adds a nice level to the proceeedings as there isn't a gun in sight........ well not many! & they come up with some hillarious ways of dispatching the undead. Look out for that vinyl!
It's also another good example of how to make a film without the "If we throw enough money at it it's bound to be good" theory. No flashy FX although one or two zombies are killed in some interesting & hilarious ways.
The cast do an exemplery job too considering there are quite a few characters, but I think that's partly due to a good script. The main thing that works with the characters is the fact that no one has got a clue what to do. No ones a hero, although some are accidentally which adds to the empathy of the characters. No Rambo wannabes here, just people scared & not knowing what the f**k to do when faced with a shuffling, flesh hungry zombie (who would?).
For those that enjoyed Spaced I guarantee you'll love this film. As you probably already know it's buy the same director of the series & it does play like a long episode. Although it still holds up a FILM & not an overlong TV episode.
On the technical side the photography is good in that the 2.35:1 format is used to good effect & the sound is pretty good without being obtrusive (there's some nice use of the original Dawn track in places without overusing it).
As for laughs there are plenty & I can't wait for the DVD release as there's bound to some great extras, deleted scenes, blooper reels, etc.
Now onto the Dawn Of The Dead remake.
I went with a friend to see this on. Now my friend is not a big horror fan (I'm in the process of converting him!) so I thought it would be a fun film to go & see. Boy was I dissapointed. Infact I apologised to my friend for wasting his hard earned on such a big pile of crap.
Now before you tear my head off & **** down my neck I'll try to give some reasons for my dislike of this abortion.
I'm not gonna compare this to the original (apart from the references it's totaly different) as that would be unfare to both films.
First of all while watching the pre-credits sequence I thought "Cool, this is gonna be fun". It started at a good pace with some nice sequences that had you gripping your seat, even though it was dipping heavily into 28 Days Later.
After the start credits rolled it turned to ****.
I didn't have ANY empathy with ANY of the characters which was a shame as there were quite a few little known names & this could have been used to good effect but the script must have been written by someone who has watched too much MTV & too many teen flicks.
I think they may also have been afraid of offending. It's a horror film for ****'s sake, offend me please. This film's got no balls. For instance, when they discover the father of the girl is infected they all um & arr about killing him & all I wanted was some one to pop up from the background & put a bullet through his head while they all deliberated on the rights & wrongs of killing him before he's turned. The only slightly nasty character was the Lemmy look alike & he didn't get enough screen time in my opinion.
As the for all the "references" to the Original. The part with Foree's cameo where he repeats those now famous words "When there's no more room in hell........" was just a throw away line mid way through. Where as in the original it's a profound statement with a lot of weight. If your gonna plagiarise at least do it with some dignity.
It also seems like they only set it in a mall because the original was. In fact someone says "I'm going to the mall" but gives no reason whatsoever for going there
The nail in the coffin for me was the Birth sequence. WHY????
Was this meant to shock? I know we live in jaded times & it's becoming increasingly difficult to shock, but this actually made me laugh out loud. Am I missing something here? Was this meant to be a comedy? I'm sorry but If I want to see a Zombie/comedy I'll go & see Shaun Of The Dead.
I will admit that it did kick into gear at the end & was fun for the last 15 minutes or so but the whole middle of the film was meant to build character & story (I guess?) & all it did was drag.
I'm sorry but this was Hollywood does horror & as is quite often the case they failed miserably.
The only good thing it did for me was make want to go home & watch Dawn followed by 28 Days.
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8/8/2004, 8:18 pm
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BrigadierA
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Re: Dawn & Shaun
Hi and Welcome to my hell,
Nice reviews. Free feel to pop back if you want to comment on any other movies.
BrigadierA
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www.HorrorDVD.co.uk
The Best and Worst Horror DVD's and Video's Sliced Up for your enjoyment
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8/24/2004, 9:47 pm
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deadite
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Re: Dawn & Shaun
Thanks, Brigadier. Glad you like the review.
Is there any way we can get a few more people interested in the forum?
You've got a good site here, it's a shame it's not reaching many 
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8/26/2004, 9:57 pm
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BrigadierA
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Re: Dawn & Shaun
I run the site as a hobby in my spare time and it just about pays for itself.
Unfortunately, I don't get enough time to promote the site using the free resources available (trying to avoid having pop-ups etc.) and so the visitor numbers are low.
All suggestions are welcome in trying to increase visitors!
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www.HorrorDVD.co.uk
The Best and Worst Horror DVD's and Video's Sliced Up for your enjoyment
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8/29/2004, 1:57 pm
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deadite
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Re: Dawn & Shaun
Have you got any links from other sites? You could advertise there's in return.
There aren't many UK run horror sites out there, & I expect there are a lot of people like me who want to talk to people in the same country (No disrespect meant to foreigners), & this is a "selling" point for the site
If I can help in any way let me know, i'm no PC expert but i'll have a go! 
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8/29/2004, 5:50 pm
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