dawn of the dead

i've never been a really big fan of horror movies, but i think this one has changed my mind. the first big directorial effort from zach snyder, who since has gone on to direct 300 and watchmen. a remake of the original film by ceasar romero, this movie starts in the suburbs as we follow a woman realizing that her family has become zombies, she flees the house and realizes that it happening all over the city! to escape, she heads to the mall where she finds a few others who have thought to do the same. there about about 8 people who are uninfected and they wall up the mall and keep out all the zombies. as they try to figure out what to do next they must overcome the hoard of zombies out front, and find a way to work together without killing each other. the different characters holed up in the mall are quite a variety, from the young girl who must watch her father be killed because he's been bitten, to the hardened military guy who wants them all destroyed. they can survive for a while in the mall, there is food, water, and just about anything else they need, but soon they have to find a way to safety. at one point they make friends with someone who has barricaded himself in another building just down the street. they talk to each other with chalk boards and binoculars. this friendship is actually fleshed out on one of the coolest dvd extras i've ever seen on a movie. there is an extra half hour movie on the dvd that shows the guy in the other building. he is filming himself and what he has been going through, and it coincides perfectly with the film itself. we get another perspective of the events that are going on in the mall, and a glimpse of someone who is trying to deal with the same problems as the group in the mall, but having to survive on his own. this little feature gives the actual film itself so much more depth! a great idea very well done.
the movie is gruesome, scary, and good, but the extra story of the lone survivor in the other building makes this movie even better!