I just saw Dawn of the Dead, and it terrified me mindless, but left me mindlessly questing more. AHRGH!!!
I thought I should see it, because a friend of mine is obsessed with zombie movies, and I'm writing a short story about zombies attacking our campus. I thought it could be research. But I didn't realize that it would cause me to find the one genre of horror films that actually scared me.
I mean... ZOMBIES!! EFFING ZOMBIES!!! They don't stop, they don't sleep, and you could be one of them...
As for the movie, as a movie it was all right. I think it's only likeable if you like zombie movies. You care about the characters, but there's little hope. There is a LOT of gore. MILES AND MILES OF GORE. It wasn't necessarily a classic film, but it was very good for a remake. The music was hilariously funny in a few places. (A lounge redo of "Down With The Sickness" comes to mind) It was very very violent, but I cared about the characters. I didn't cry, but I gasped, twitched, and was flooded with adrenaline. I am now doubtful of my ability to sleep in darkness.
I'm actually really literally afraid. Maybe not now, but I certainly was. Enough to make my friends, even those who aren't necessarily the mose observant ones, notice that something was wrong. I want to go to bed, but I'm afraid of dreams. I don't want to be alone, but I do... It's freaky. Also, one of the friends who is here was responsible for irritating me through the entire first half of the movie by talking. Eh, anyway. I blame wanting to put myself in the movie, to give myself a better perspective for my short story. Since I wanted to care about the characters, since I really payed attention, it really really hit me. Damn.
So now I'm terrified for my life, and for some reason I'm interested in seeing more zombie movies. Anyone have any suggestions or see Dawn of the Dead?
[ March 23, 2004, 04:48 AM: Message edited by: Ryuko ]
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
ryuko,
pardon me, but that sounds like a load of horseshit. (unless it moves).... well, of it's own accord. that might be scary. can't imagine DotD is THAT scary.
could be wrong. (ain't scared of nuthin')
fallow
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
Can't help what terrifies me, flish. I just am. Adrenaline made me all twitchy. Yeesh...
Edit: I mean to say, I don't know how other people will feel about it, but I was afraid.
[ March 23, 2004, 03:19 AM: Message edited by: Ryuko ]
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
Ryuko,
Terror is having the rug pulled out from under you.
Flish don't pull rugs, and neither do Fallow.
Flish/Fallow/Mike
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
That's not terror, that's FURY. And the ensuing violence makes me smile.
Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
Ryuko, have you seen The Ring? I would suggest that you don't, if you haven't. That is the one horror movie that really got to me. I had to talk myself to sleep that night. The only other zombie-esque movie I can think of offhand is 28 Days Later, and I haven't seen that, so I'm not sure how well it would work for your research.
I pretty much agree with your assessment of DotD. It was like you knew what was coming, but it freaked you out anyway. Plus the make-up was really good. That makes a difference. I tend to not be frightened by movies when the make-up isn't that convincing. Even the Thriller video is freakier to me than, say, Evil Dead.
One other movie that isn't very scary, but deals with the undead is Cemetery Man. I suppose it somewhat qualifies as a zombie movie. Btw, are you going to post your story when you're done with it? I'd like to read it.
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
I might post it, I dunno. If you'd like to read it, I'll keep you in mind!
And the thing is, I HAVE seen The Ring. It didn't scare me. It was like, Oh, they're stupid. The movie didn't make much sense to me. The makeup was icky, and the part where they realize the truth about the girl was pretty creepy, but it wasn't really all that bad. Then I saw Ringu, and it was a lot better... The gore was less obvious, and it was more of a psycho-thriller than a shock-horro movie. But it wasn't scary either.
I think the thing about DotD was that they were normal people put into this situation over which they had no control. I have huge control issues. The fact that it's possible that they'll be infected Also, Zombies are freaky. JUST PLAIN FREAKY.
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
*flails hand at fiaz*
*flails hand at ryuko*
"groan...."
Rips mask off face.
"What's the point?!*
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
If you don't like it, stay outta my thread.
(slaps behind in your general direction)
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
ThreadBare bottoms ought not to talk.
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
O_o The more you post, the less sense you make, flish.
^_^ I missed that about you. (noogies)
Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
I'm an editor by nature, so I'm always up for reading other people's stuff, whether or not it is to give criticism.
And for clarification, The Ring didn't actually scare me. It was the way the people looked after they died that freaked me out. I can deal with blood, guts, gore, whatever, but deformity makes my skin crawl. I work in a hospital. I see all kinds of stuff, but the only thing that makes me want to toss my cookies is stuff like compound fractures or dislocations. I put the dead people in The Ring into the deformity category, and that was that.
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
Yeah, that was pretty gross. That's why I liked Ringu better. Instead of being all blue and icky, they just looked like they'd been terrified to death, which makes a lot more sense.
Posted by A Rat Named Dog (Member # 699) on :
I'm a big sucker for all kinds of suspense, whether it's the dread of a horror movie, or the constant threat of embarrassment in a sitcom. Gore doesn't get to me nearly so much as the threat of gore, and the skillful sound design and cinematography that lets me know it's coming.
Posted by larisse (Member # 2221) on :
Ryuko,
I thought Dawn of the Dead would freak me out, especially because of that one scene toward the beginning with the little girl. (I think that has more to do with my fear of long, dark hallways and their possibilities than anything else.) Suprisingly, it didn't. In fact, I have a compulsion to see it again. I think it has a lot to do with the likeability of the characters. I enjoyed them and was saddened as the movie went on.
However, despite enjoying the DotD (2004) movie, I am still having some strange dreams with mixed imagery of the walking dead. Not scary dreams, just strange.
Now the original Night of the Living Dead still scares me. I can't watch that movie at night without producing nightmares. I can barely watch it during the day, although I will. Partly, it's that creepy brother of her's that gets me. But mostly, I just have fear about people rising from the dead. (Don't get me started on Michael Jackson's Thriller.
Btw, did anyone notice the hidden homages to the original movie? At least three actors from the original had cameos in the film. I only spotted two, but had the third pointed out to me later. There were also references to the couple apparently, but I missed those.
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
I have to see the original... I think my problem was that I didn't think it would scare me... and then it did... A LOT.
But I slept better last night. A friend let me sleep in his extra bed. It's amazing how much better you feel when there's someone in the next bed, reading The Zombie Survival Guide.... Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
I've never seen either, but Night of the Living Dead and the original Dawn of the Dead are the favorite horror films of a friend of mine.
Posted by LockeTreaty (Member # 5627) on :
I would suggest all of the Evil Dead series. I just can't get enough of the cheesy claymation in a zombie movie.
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
*flish slithers through thread*
*points at bloated belly*
"evil dead, doncha know. who woulda thunk they'd be so tastie?!"
*slithers off at the sound of Fallow's garden weasel*
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