kdruhm

****Spoilers Ahead (if that is possible)**** Wow, talk about fond childhood memories being destroyed!! I saw this film when it first came out in 1981 as part of a drive in movie double bill with Galaxy of Terror. I was only 11 years old and had to beg and beg to get my parents to take me. I remember being scared as hell by this film and thinking it was so bloody and repulsive. I just tracked it down on DVD and watched tonight and man was I young and foolish. It was the cheapest, stupidest horror/sci-fi film ever. A lobster monster briefly appears and rapes a female crew member on some useless outer space exploration mission. It is what happened next that really killed me. The raped gal is then possessed and starts violently killing off the rest of the crew. Although this space babe seems to have super strength, never have movie victims been so ineffectual at defending themselves or using problem solving approaches. They have guns but do not shoot her. They have explosives yet fail in every attempt to use them. They can't even use blunt objects to club her. When they do get her in bad situations they just run away instead of killing her. Despite this, the biggest loser of the bunch is able to out wrestle her and strangle her with cords at the end of the movie. If she could be strangled how did she kill off the entire crew before someone gave her the smackdown??? The best thing I can say about this film is that it has moments of inspired screaming and also, it is oddly comforting to know that far into the future, we will still use plastic milk crates like I did in college for furniture and storage.

I loved the original NOTLD. It was the first film to really, really scare me as a kid and I love it for that reason. Even though its a pretty old film, it still has a cool, creepy atmosphere and still can give you a sense of dread. I always thought it was because its almost like a documentary at times and it is easy to feel like you are in the house with the survivors as they are besieged by the dead. As much as it pains me to say it, the 1990 remake has none of the qualities that made the original NOTLD so great. While the acting is better and the zombies look creepier, the film isn't scary and I can't figure out why. I just sat there the whole time comparing it to the original and finding it lacking. I also was bummed by the way they changed the story from the original and made Barbara a fightin, cursin, tough as nails chick. To this day I am still perplexed and baffled by why I don't like this film better. I really tried and I really wanted to. Its a shame because I really love the remake of Dawn of the Dead. I guess my recommendation must be somewhat neutral. Its not an awful film, it just seems to be missing something that makes it good or memorable. In the end I don't think it should have been made and added nothing to the legacy of the original film.

O.K., I have to start by saying I am about as big a fan of the original Dawn of the Dead as you can be. I saw it in a drive-in with my parents when it came out and I was only 9 years old. I loved it then and the hundreds of times I saw it thereafter. When I heard that a remake was in the works I immediately got excited, but then thought about how awful the remake of Night of the Living Dead was and got worried. I had little to fear after all. Although there were a million differences from the original to the remake, I loved it anyway. Yes they story was changed. Yes the zombies were faster. Yes there were many more characters. SO WHAT????? Did it make the NOTLD remake great because they stuck to the original so closely? Hmmm, I thought you might see my point. This was more of a new take on a classic and as such it was a lot of fun. It had fast action, cool scares and I really had the same sense of despair and hopelessness that I did in the original. These things were scarier and MUCH harder to deal with and I loved it!!! My only issues are as follows: 1. Why oh why would anyone agree to leave the mall for a boat trip to nowhere? 2. How can one get so attached to a dog they just found that they are willing to go on a suicide mission to save him? 3. Why oh why would anyone leave that mall for a boat trip to nowhere??? Thesee points aside, this was a great re-imaging of a classic and does not deserve all the bashing it gets on here. How bad can a horror film be when it knocks The Passion out of first place at the box office. Needless to say, The Passion only had one resurrection while Dawn had millions so its more bang for the buck.