Dawn of the Dead (also known as George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, Zombie internationally, and alternately called Zombie: Dawn of the Dead) is a 1978 American horror film, written and directed by George A. Romero. The film stars David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger and Gaylen Ross. It was the second film made in Romero’s Living Dead series, preceded by 1968′s Night of the Living Dead, and followed by Day of the Dead in 1985. Dawn of the Dead contains no characters or settings from its predecessor, and shows in larger scale the apocalyptic effects a zombie epidemic would have on society. In the film, a plague of unknown origin has caused the reanimation of the dead, who prey on human flesh, which subsequently causes mass hysteria. Several survivors of the outbreak barricade themselves inside a suburban shopping mall.

Dawn of the Dead was shot over approximately four months, from late 1977 to early 1978, in the Pennsylvania cities of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Monroeville. Its primary location is set in the Monroeville Mall. The film was made on a relatively modest budget estimated at US$650,000, and was a significant box office success for its time, grossing an estimated $55 million worldwide. Since opening in theaters in 1978, reviews for the film have been nearly unanimously positive.

In addition to three official sequels, the film has spawned numerous parodies and pop culture references. A remake of the movie premiered in the United States on March 19, 2004. Labeled a “re-imagining” of the original film’s concept, several major themes, including the primary setting in a shopping mall, remain essentially the same. Cultural and film historians read significance into the film’s plot, linking it to critiques of large corporations and American consumerism and of the social decadence and excess going on in America during the late 1970s.

Cast

• David Emge as Stephen “Flyboy” Andrews
• Ken Foree as Peter Washington
• Scott H. Reiniger as Roger DeMarco
• Gaylen Ross as Francine Parker
• David Crawford as Dr. James Foster
• David Early as Sidney Berman
• Richard France as Dr. Millard Rausch
• Howard Smith as the TV Commentator
• James A. Baffico as Wooley, Insane SWAT Cop
• Tommy Lafitte as Miguel, The Zombie(uncredited)
• Sharon Ceccatti as Lead Zombie (Nurse)
• Pam Chattfield as Lead Zombie
• Mike Christopher as Lead Zombie (Hare Krishna)