Dawn of the Dead (4K Ultra-HD) [Blu-ray] [2021]

Product Information

The blankness of the zombies lumbering through the mall with grey faces also stands out more and ties into the themes of the film better than if they had been given full appliances like every Dead film since. The Universal Blu-ray back in 2008 was rather “meh” considering it was encoded with the more bitrate intensive VC-1 codec, and Scream Factory’s 2017 release looked only marginally better in AVC. The surround channels are also much more subdued, utilized almost exclusively for very light atmospheric effects. Green army fatigues, the yellow trim on the helicopter, the purplish skin of the undead – it all looks wonderful. So little of Dawn of the Dead matters though, just an aimless zombie excursion whose best moments come during the introduction.

The 4K UHD set from Second Sight is stunning; the three most well-known versions of the film; all remastered, with the Theatrical cut being given the most love and attention. However, it was Dawn of the Dead, Romero’s follow up to Night, made a decade later, that is arguably more iconic. They performed a full restoration and remaster of those elements while under the supervision and final approval by the director of photography, Michael Gornick.His work here maybe isn’t as refined as his later work, but this is purely due to the sheer volume of effects in the film. The movie isn’t perfect, but Snyder did a great job for his freshman effort as a director, and James Gunn (yes, of Guardians of the Galaxy fame) did a stellar job at writing the blood soaked script. I grew up watching George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead as young as 7 years old (at least that’s my first memory of having seen portions of it) and remembering it scaring the living tar out of me.

Raising the Dead goes over the nuts and bolts of the production with Michael Gornick, Christine Forrest, and Tom Dubensky. Intense, blood soaked, and a thrill ride from beginning to end, I still enjoy it as much as, if not more, than the Romero original. Throw in a superb, deep black level – when the source material allows it – and you have a first-rate 4K HDR transfer.

It's a horror masterpiece that uses the horde of mindless walking dead as a stark, poignant satire on modern consumerism, but what continues to interest me most of the film four decades later is society's insatiable hunger for purchased goods. The action and visuals also enjoy a wider, more sumptuous array of colors, especially the animated candy-rose reds of blood giving the movie a more energetic pop.