







Since The Walking Dead first aired on AMC, it’s explosive popularity has led to a slew of films and television series devoted to the zombie subgenre. They all run the gamut when it comes to their particular style, be it straight horror, horror comedy, family drama, among many other variations. They also vary from being excellent to downright awful. While it doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, Tony Jopia’s Dawning of the Dead is a fast paced zombie gorefest that delivers a neverending supply of unrelenting violence. Aside from the George Romero inspired title, this British indie horror film is a welcomed addition to the zombie family.





A deadly virus has been unleashed upon the world, turning people into flesh-craving zombies. The scientist responsible for creating the virus provides his information to Katya, an anchor-woman at W.W News. While Katya and her crew witness the worldwide devastation that is occurring, a pair of deadly agents are making their way to the top of the building, in order to silence Katya. At the same time, Katya’s boyfriend and his brother are trying to make it back to the news building. The story is nothing new or groundbreaking, having some similarities between The Raid and La Horde. There are three converging storylines that keep things interesting and help break up the action in the film; we have the news group at the top of the building, the group moving up the building floor by floor, and the brothers trying to get back to the building. The main subplot is the love story between Katya and Alex, which kind of drives the whole film.





Jopia has shown previously that he is a sound director that can make a quality looking picture on a modest budget. We get a mixture of great close ups of the actors, good camera movement, and a phrenetic camera style during some of the zombie attacks. There is also other types of footage used to show the worldwide zombie attacks, using security camera footage, cell phones, and news camera footage. This footage was most likely done by the segment directors Nika Braun, Yannis Zafeiriou, and Alexander Zwart.





For a low budget indie production, the acting is decent. There is a wide range of interesting and unique characters that have been created here, ones that you would typically expect to see at a news station. Ruth Galliers (Katya) is undoubtedly the main star of the movie and does a fine job, but that doesn’t mean that the other actors don’t hold their own. There is something you can’t help but like from actor Leo Gregory, who portrays the evil Agent Proteus.









If you’re seeking out bloodshed and violence, then this is your movie. With an endless supply of blood, brains, and body parts, you may need to hose yourself down after watching this. The gore rivals many other films that have a far greater budget. What’s equally impressive is the shear number of zombies that they were able to get on screen, or at least the appearance of thousands of them.





If you like zombies and are craving some fresh brains, you couldn’t do worse than Dawning of the Dead. The explosion of gore upon the screen and the fast paced action should keep you more than entertained.





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