Los Angeles Times
"Good zombie fun, the remake of George A. Romero's DAWN OF THE DEAD is the best proof in ages that cannibalizing old material sometimes works fiendishly well." 03/19/2004 p.E11Entertainment Weekly
"Snyder, making a killer feature debut, trades home-made cheesiness for knowing style, revels in the sophistication of modern special effects, and stomps off with the best remake...of a horror classic in memory." 03/26/2004 p.51-2 Chicago Sun-Times
"From a technical point of view, the new DAWN is slicker and more polished, and the acting is better, too." 03/19/2004 p.30 USA Today
"Snyder comes up with some 'wow' shots....[T]his DEAD is zippier than 1995's retake on VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED." 03/19/2004 p.5E Box Office
"[The film] still delivers a pretty mean bite as a gross-out/action shockfest." 05/01/2004 p.31 Premiere
"[A] reasonably enjoyable shock machine thanks to state-of-the-art effects and an appealing cast..." 11/01/2004 p.102 Rolling Stone
"It's good, thrilling fun." 11/11/2004 p.118 Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "A slick remake....Synder delivers a movie energy and vision that never dilutes the power of the original." 12/01/2007 p.89 Reel.com 8 of 10
...it is with a heavy sigh of relief and a great deal of surprise that yet another re-make, the zombie-fest Dawn of the Dead, based on George A. Romero's 1979 masterful, clever, and socially satirical cult classic, is actually impressive. Incredibly impressive. So much so that this critic places it above Danny Boyle's much lauded zombie art-house picture 28 Days Later...Wonderfully directed with zombies both hysterical and horrifying, and with a fast paced, jump-out-of-your-seat tension, the carnage adds some additional depth that's surprisingly real and even touching at times...The acting is excellent across the board and the music, from the hilarious elevator mall music (instrumental versions of "Don't Worry Be Happy" and "You Light up My Life") to Johnny Cash, to The Jim Carroll Band's "People Who Died," work seamlessly in this end-of-the-world universe. - Kim Morgan
Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
The contrast between this new version of "Dawn of the Dead" and the 1979 George Romero original is instructive in the ways that Hollywood has grown more skillful and less daring over the years. From a technical point of view, the new "Dawn" is slicker and more polished, and the acting is better, too...Of gore and blood there is a sufficiency. When the survivors devise a risky way to escape from the mall (which I will not reveal), a chainsaw plays a key role...So, yes, "Dawn of the Dead" works and it delivers just about what you expect when you buy your ticket. My only complaint is that its plot flatlines compared to the 1979 version, which was trickier, wittier and smarter. Romero was not above finding parallels between zombies and mall shoppers; in the new version, the mall is just a useful location, although at least there are still a few jokes about the Muzak. - Roger Ebert
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