Remake has become a dirty word in Hollywood, especially when it comes to the horror genre. However, one of the best horror remakes in history is Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead. The 2004 remake of the classic 1978 George A. Romero zombie epic put the now-famous director on the genre map. Now the fleshy horror remake is coming to 4K Blu-ray for the first time thanks to Scream Factory on January 31, 2023.
The Collector’s Edition 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack comes with the classic fiery poster artwork featuring the silhouetted undead on the slipcover. This is a three-disc set that sees a new 4K scan of the film’s original camera negative for the unrated cut. The theatrical cut will be featured on the Blu-ray and this new edition will have all the special features from the film’s previous Blu-ray release from the boutique label. Also, if you pre-order from Scream Factory’s website the release will come with an exclusive 18x24" poster featuring the same chilling artwork from the slipcover.
Romero's original Dawn of the Dead was this revolutionary blood-soaked massacre of horror imagery. It was glorious carnage with necks being ripped to shreds, heads exploding, and amazing makeup work from genre icon Tom Savini. When approaching his remake, Snyder didn’t fall into the trap of the Psycho or A Nightmare on Elm Street remakes which were essentially shot-for-shot replications of the original. Snyder put his own unique spin on the film — and it didn't hurt that the script was written by Guardians of the Galaxy’s James Gunn who, like Snyder, was a relatively unknown talent at the time.
The remake does follow a similar structure to the original with our main group of survivors spending the majority of their time in an abandoned mall, but from the opening shot, this feels like a completely different terrifying experience. Snyder in the first sequence of this sweat-inducing nightmare takes us to suburbia on “outbreak day” which leads to some truly unique and horrifying imagery. It goes from a close-quarters escape from a house to a full-blown car chase that perfectly shows us the horrors of the new world. This kind of horror also contributed to the introduction of fast zombies which was a fairly new concept at the time. Whether it’s Snyder’s signature direction, Gunn’s energetic character dynamics, or the great ensemble cast, Dawn of the Dead is simply one of the best remakes of all time. Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Michael Kelly, Ty Burrell, and Ken Foree, who returns from the original, all give this zombie movie an emotional intensity that’s missing from most undead media today.
Many fans of Snyder and Gunn know the pair for their recent superhero work, rightfully so, but Dawn of the Dead is the perfect time capsule that shows how the two brilliant filmmakers became legends. You can pre-order the Dawn of the Dead 4K from Scream Factory for $35.99. While horror fans wait for January to see Snyder’s zombie world come to undead life in 4K, you can watch the trailer for Dawn of the Dead down below.