Zombie Bracket – Round Two – Night of the Living Dead vs Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Another day. Another upset. George Romero’s classic Day of the Dead was put in its place by the spritely remake of its older brother, Dawn of the Dead. Granted, Day of the Dead was the weakest in Romero’s dead trilogy, but I’ll always have a soft spot for it. Nothing will beat that opening scene where the dead stumble out of a derelict town, or when all the arms shoot through the wall. Then again, with its puffy hair and over-the-top acting, I can see why it got trounced.
Well … on to the next round of the bracket, and we’re already seeing a match between two heavy hitters. Some might complain that this match is best left for last, but alas, a bracket is a bracket. Without further adieu, it’s time to see which is the better zombie film. Night of the Living Dead or Dawn of the Dead.
Here is Night of the Living Dead’s synopsis:
Chaos descends upon the world as the brains of the recently deceased become inexplicably reanimated, causing the dead to rise and feed on human flesh. Speculation rests on a radiation-covered NASA satellite returning from Venus, but it only remains a speculation. Anyone who dies during the crisis of causes unrelated to brain trauma will return as a flesh-eating zombie, including anyone who has been bitten by a zombie. The only way to destroy the zombies is to destroy the brain. As the catastrophe unfolds, a young woman visiting her father’s grave takes refuge in a nearby farmhouse, where she is met by a man who protects her and barricades them inside. They both later discover people hiding in the basement, and they each attempt to cope with the situation. Their only hope rests on getting some gasoline from a nearby pump into a truck that is running on empty, but this requires braving the hordes of ravenous walking corpses outside. When they finally put their plans into action, panic and personal tensions only add to the terror as they try to survive.
Here is Dawn of the Dead’s synopsis:
Following the events of Night of the Living Dead (1968), we follow the exploits of four survivors of the expanding zombie apocalypse as they take refuge in an abandoned shopping mall following a horrific SWAT evacuation of an apartment complex. Taking stock of their surroundings, they arm themselves, lock down the mall, and destroy the zombies inside so they can eke out a living–at least for a while. Tensions begin to build as months go on, however, when they come to realize that they’ve fallen prey to consumerism. Soon afterward, they have even heavier problems to worry about, as a large gang of bikers discovers the mall and invades it, ruining the survivors’ best-laid plans and forcing them to fight off both lethal bandits and flesh-eating zombies. Written by Curly Q. Link
So which is the better zombie film?
Updated Zombie Bracket (special thanks to Matt for some zombie bracket corrections)
