Remy – Dawn of the Dead (1978)
The original Dawn of the Dead. That was it. I was in the fourth grade, peaking through the banisters on my stairs as my Dad and brother watched this classic. I knew NOTHING about zombies at that point, so I had no idea why those “blue people” were ripping apart humans and eating them, but I was also too young to be watching it, and was being a total ninja, so I couldn’t cry out and ask my Dad and brother what the hell was going on. I just sat there, transfixed, and sick with terror. That started my “closet” obsession with horror, and it also instilled a huge, irrational fear of zombies in me, that I have kept with me for most of my life.
Looking back, it was Tom Savini’s makeup on that film that did it for me. The bites and headshots, all of it was so visceral and perfect. My young mind could not even fathom how the deaths were “simulated” for film. As far as I was concerned, I was watching people get killed and eaten on film, and as much as it terrified me, and it TRULY terrified me, I knew I was in love.
I also feel the need to give a Zack Snyder shout out, for the AMAZING work he did on the remake. I know all he did was put 28 Days Later “runners” into the same film, but it worked amazingly, in my opinion, and helped to bring Dawn of the Dead to another generation, which was awesome.