Dawn 2004 review

3-21-04

Again, if you don't like spoilers, do not read. Hit your back button.

The movie starts you off in a hospital where a doctor is on his cell phone yapping about a golf game and pairing and a tired nurse who is has been at work for 13 hours, Ana [Sarah Polley], is showing the doctor a skull x ray. The doctor is non-plussed as to why a x ray of the guy's head was ordered when he went in for a bite on his hand. Ana explains it's because he was coherent at 6 am but wasn't later. You can hear a voice in the background, a hospital voice over a loud speaker, calling for doctors and later, calling security to admitting.

Ana drives home to her house in a very nice neighborhood with very nice houses, green lawns, swimming pools in some backyards, etc. She meets a little girl name Vivian, who shows Ana that she can skate backwards. Ana and her hubby Lewis engage in idle banter and then make love in the shower. In doing so, they miss the special broadcast on the television.

At 6:37 am, their partially ajar bedroom door creaks open a little more. Lewis wakes up and sees Vivian. He then notices that she has blood on her nightgown. As he continues to stare, he realizes that she has a bloody face and neck. He goes to her and calls to Ana to look at her and then, Vivian strikes. This follows with Ana tossing Vivian out and then locking the bedroom door. Lewis dies while Ana tries to call 911 and then comes back 'to life'. Ana manages to escape and after many harrowing scenes in the now not peaceful neighborhood, Ana's car goes off the road and plows into a tree.

When she comes to and falls out of the car, she is met by Rhames' character, a police officer with a rifle, who tells her to 'say something'. She manages a 'please'. He continues on through the brush and she follows behind.

They do a stand off with Jake's character, and Mekhi Phifer and his wife, a very pregnant woman with a Russian accent. Jake has a crow bar in his hand and some blood on his shirt. After they stand down, the threesome informs Rhames and Ana that going forward was not a good idea as there were nothing but the dead. We also learn that the group of 3 used to be a group of 8. They go up a slight rise and we see the mall.

Once inside, they decide to split up and check to make sure that the first floor is secure. Jake goes one way with his crow bar and Mekhi goes another with his pistol. Rhames stays back with Ana and the pregnant lady. The door to the sporting goods store is open and Jake puts the crow ball down and decides to take a crocket mallet. He goes into a closet where there is noise [he notices a dropped mop], and comes upon a dead person attacking a janitor. The dead guy decides to jump out at Jake and they struggle. Meanwhile, a dead person attacks the pregnant lady and bites her. Rhames shoots the dead person, a guard, who sort of twitches like a malfunctioning robot in the fountain. Jake is able to grab the broken mallet and shove the sharp end up into the head of the dead person.

I'm going to have to see it again but eventually, they meet up with 3 security guards as they dash in an elevator up to a higher floor. The guards take their weapons and after allowing Ana to sew up Rhames, whose arm got cut, locks them in a posh furniture store.

Jake is able to talk to the head guard, JC, and put some ideas in his head. JC gets them up to the roof where they make signs to let someone know that they are alive. They get excited at one point when a military helicopter passes over head but it continues on. After a stand off on the roof, Michael [Jake] gets po'd and hits one of the guards and grabs his gun and Rhames follows suit. The two guards are locked into their office.

Rhames finds that there is a guy, Andy, holed up across the street on the roof of his firearms store. They engage in games of chess by writing moves on slates.

A truck goes roaring into the area and backs up and Jake and Rhames go out and help the people get in. They're a rag tag crew. A woman owns the truck and picked up the others: an elderly couple, one woman has been bitten and looks bad alive; a father and daughter [father played by Matt Frewer]; a weird skinny dude with an attitude - the one who owns the boat; another older guy and a young blonde with red lipstick.

The bitten woman dies and comes back as a 'zombie' and gets shot in the head. Ana then puts two and two together and figures out that the bite is what kills people and brings them back as the wackos.

Rhames finds out that the area where his brother was supposed to go was over run by the dead.

During one scene where they are eating together, we find out that Michael has done a bunch of odd jobs, the only one I remember is a copier repair man. We also learn that he has been married 3 times and 'gotten the pink slip' all three times. He considers that his failure but he considers being a father his good job. Of course, what goes unsaid is that his kids are now dead.

When the electricity blows, Jakes takes JC to get the generators operating. Rhames tags along and they find a dog who is alive and they also encounter a bunch of dead and lose one guard. After that, they decide to try to get out. Jake noticed a couple busses down in the parking area and if they could fortify them, maybe they could get out. Smart ass mentions owning a boat and that's when they get the idea to try to make for one of the islands in the lakes.

And I'll leave the rest for you to find out by going to see the movie. Uhm, you do have to sit through the credits - you really do.

Oh, there were scenes cut in that most of still pics I've seen and even some stuff in the trailer aren't in the movie. There is no scene with Jake and Ana 'toasting' their coffee cups. And the photo that is out almost everywhere with Rhames and Ana staring at green arms through an open door - I don't remember seeing that.

One reviewer had mentioned 'zombie dogs'. There were no zombie dogs. There were only zombie humans. Also, I think everyone is "assuming" that these walking dead want to "eat" the living. I didn't see any dead people eating living people. Biting them and tearing them up, yeah, eating, no.