2.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
I figured since I watched
Night of The Living Dead for my first film of the season, why not finish up the original 'Dead' trilogy, even if they are re-watches, it's an opportunity to focus on aspects of each film I haven't seen talked about as much.
In re-watching it, one of the elements that makes Dawn stand out not just from the other Dead films but most zombie films in general is just how likeable and relatable the ensemble of four are. Peter, Roger, Steven "Flyboy" and Fran are one of the best groups of characters ever in a post-apocalyptic zombie film, and not just because of their relatability, but also because of their cleverness and resourcefulness. All four of them bring something to the story, and contrary to the usual clichés of the genre, they're not dumb people, they're actually smart, and make choices that are rational and practical in securing the mall for themselves.
I like that their weakness isn't from making stupid decisions, but from the PTSD they are all dealing with the traumatic experiences they've suffered through to varying degrees. It's never brought up verbally, but it's clear Roger is suffering from PTSD and flashbacks regularly from the horrors he's experienced, both in the opening sequence and potential experiences before the story of the film begins. He doesn't make costly mistakes because of stupid decisions in the script, he's swinging through bouts of PTSD that are affecting the way he's handling situations, and Scott Reiniger's performance should be commended for how he plays Roger, those moments are there, and seem to be more something he brought to the character rather than something outlined in the script. Ken Foree's Peter is also struggling with the same demons as Roger, but is able to bury them inside of himself, and it's notable how many shots as the movie progresses show Peter casually drinking bottles of Jack Daniels and other hard alcohol to dull the pain he's going through.
I like Steven's arc of getting on Peter's bad side early by being careless with a gun, and ultimately winning him over by working with Peter and Roger and their plans to secure the mall. After tragedy strikes the group, Steven and Peter grow closer as they have to rely more on each other both for survival and their own mental health.
There's a short scene where Fran is sitting behind the glass window in Penney's, and the zombie of a hobby baseball player hobbles down next to her across from the glass, and they have a moment, just staring at each other, sadly. That moment stuck with me this time. One of the few criticisms that come up with
Dawn is the appearance of the zombies in the film, mostly middle-class Pennsylvanians with blue face paint on. If they had more complex and grotesque makeup on, like what Romero and Savini went with in
Day of the Dead, it would be easier to see the zombies in
Dawn more as "the other", as just re-animated corpses. In being able to see who they once were, we have to confront the horrific truth that the zombies were and are us, they are your average folks that could be neighbors, co-workers or family members that have succumbed to being the walking undead. There's a sadness to them, because we can still see the humanity they used to be.