DAWN OF THE DEAD - LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY review

Ten years after the release of George A. Romero's seminal zombie classic Night of the Living Dead, he decided to cement his reputation as the king of the zombie genre with Dawn of the Dead. Building on the racial and social allegories of the first film, Dawn added rampant consumerism to the mix, setting itself largely in the confines of a deserted shopping mall with an unconventional family unit of survivors who take on the undead as well as a violent biker gang.

For many horror fans, Dawn is the true gem in Romero's zombie filmography, expanding the universe and lore of the genre massively after the more subtle aspects of his black and white original. Here, the gore, the effects and the violence is ramped up hugely, in no small part thanks to the efforts of Romero's fellow Pittsburghian, special make-up effects legend Tom Savini (also on board as a stunt man, plus one of the lead biker invaders). Sure, the zombies all have a strange grey complexion that's unique to this film and the blood is an almost eye-scorching red giving the film a colour palette like no other, but the sheer ingenuity and complete disregard for health and safety employed in the zombie kills is the stuff of legend.  Take for example, Savini blowing the head off a zombie mannequin with a shotgun to get the explosive desired effect, all plain to see here (depending on what version of the film you watch).

I could bang on about how great and truly essential a film Dawn of the Dead is for any lover of horror, but to be honest, if you've gone looking for a review of this boxset, chances are you've already seen the film countless times and just want to see if it's worth upgrading from whatever version you have and investing in this new edition. Well, to cut a long story short, yes it is. It really is, and here's why.

The boxset, available in blu-ray and 4K UHD formats, houses 4 blu-rays and 3 audio discs and is packed full of things to sink your teeth into. There's three different cuts of the film (the theatrical cut, the Cannes cut and executive producer Dario Argento's slightly different European cut), the soundtrack by Goblin and two additional music discs, and a 160 page hardback book and a novelisation too, collecting various essays about the film. For me though, the meatiest morsel of the collection is disc 4, with a ton of NEW special features and films that cover the making of the film from all angles. You want a new hour long documentary that speaks to the actors (more accurately, Pittsburgh students and friends of Tom Savini) from most of the memorable zombie kills, plus another short documentary where Savini tells us how he did the effects behind those kills? You got it. Also included on this disc is Roy Frumkes' beloved Document of the Dead film, now with an extended cut that adds half an hour of content.

UK fans of this film have long been forced to traverse the minefield of importing foreign boxsets and owning a multi-region player, and that was just for DVDs (Anchor Bay put out a superb boxset over a decade ago, but this improves upon even that). Now on blu-ray and 4K UHD, with love, care and attention to detail, Second Sight have compiled what is undoubtedly the definitive compendium of Dawn of the Dead, all inside what must be one of the greatest looking boxset of all time with the original artwork put to great use. This is a collection that will inspire serious shelf envy.

At a time when the world seems a bit apocalyptic-esque and life in lockdown isn't too dissimilar to what this film's main characters are going through, let's either take comfort that we don't quite have it as bad as these guys do and/or sit and take notes in case survival skills become necessary. Enough to set the pulse racing of any true Romero fan, for a film that's recently passed its 40th anniversary, Dawn of the Dead has never looked as good as this.

Available to buy now from all good retailers, but buying directly from Second Sight will bag you some additional art cards.

Verdict

5/5

Special Features

- Zombies and Bikers - new documentary packed with interviews with the undead cast

- Memories of Monroeville - a fun tour of the Monroeville Mall how it is today

- Raising the Dead - The production logistics

- The FX of Dawn with Tom Savini

- Dummies! Dummies! - A New interview with the eye-patch wearing scientist on TV.

- The Lost Romero Dawn Interview - a newly discovered archive interview

- Super 8 Mall Footage - Behind the scenes footage by documentarian Ralph Langer

- Document of the Dead - Roy Frumkes' classic making of documentary, with optional extended cut

- The Dead Will Walk - Romero profile from 2004

- Trailers, TV & Radio Spots

- Commentaries on all versions of the film

THE SHED review

When a vampire takes refuge in the shed behind troubled high schooler Stanley's house, he must call upon his socially awkward best friend Dommer, and Roxy, the girl he likes, to help him get rid of the monster before the sun sets and it can leave to wreak havoc on the town. But with the ravenous beast sinking its teeth into anyone that gets near the shed, how is Stanley meant to do that, exactly?

Largely taking place around the ramshackle hut of the title, The Shed is a great example of a simple idea, done well. There's almost nothing offered in the way of backstory as to where the vampire in Stanley (Jay Jay Warren)'s shed has come from, just a short scene at the beginning where his neighbour Bane (a cameoing Frank Whaley) finds himself fleeing through the woods from the vampire that is about to bite him and in turn make him into a vampire. There's no explanation as to why any bloodsucker would end up in the woods of this small town, but really nor is one needed. Once Bane's been bitten and taken shelter from the sunlight in Stanley's Grandpa's shed, he stays there like a rabid pitbull in a kennel, protecting itself from anyone who dare stick their head in, dragging them into the darkness with him whilst occasionally throwing out the odd body part he doesn't want to eat.

There's a couple of films that The Shed liberally nods towards, and not just from the horror genre. Aside from a fairly blatant hat tip to Ferris Bueller's Day Off as Stanley sprints through his neighbours's back yards to try and beat the Sheriff to his house, the 80s teen movie this most recalls is director Tom Holland's Fright Night. Sure, the house next door is a lot smaller and the vampire here is nowhere near as snazzy a dresser as Chris Sarandon's Jerry Dandrige, but there's something about the relationship between Stanley and best friend Dommer (Cody Kostro) that reminds of Charley Brewster and Evil Ed; and if we can go as far as that film's 2011 remake, The Shed's leading man Jay Jay Warren does share a resemblance (and apparently a wardrobe) with its Charley Brewster, the greatly missed Anton Yelchin. The film largely rests on Warren's shoulders as the likeable but also generically bland rebellious teenager, as the rest of the cast either end up as vampire fodder (some deserved, some not), or like Roxy, don't really have a lot to do until the finale.

It's not without the odd occasion where the film feels like an elongated short story idea creaking at its limit, also bringing to mind another great 'My Pet Monster' scenario in the superb 'The Crate' sequence from George A. Romero & Stephen King's portmanteau horror Creepshow. That's a story that, had it been expanded into a feature film would have undoubtedly had a similarly lessened impact, but The Shed should be commended for its willingness to throw the odd curveball into the mix, namely some bizarre and unexpected dream sequences starting with an early fake out scene that abruptly dispenses with the picture of a happy family life it has painted in favour of Stanley's daily routine of bullying at the hands of his overbearing Grandpa Ellis (Timothy Bottoms).

The Shed is atmospheric enough to please genre fans looking for something new to sink their teeth into, and the sun drenched fields surrounding the primary location make for a nice visual departure from the vampire sub-genre tropes. The physical transformations of the vampire/s don't have a reliance on over the top CGI effects that, frankly, this film wouldn't have been able to afford anyway, instead favouring some decent make-up work and that old vampire mainstay, shadows and dim lighting. A low budget horror that sells its central premise very well, The Shed might not be the barnstormer it hopes to be but nor should it be confined to the dog house. Well worth checking out.

Verdict

3/5

Signature Entertainment presents The Shed on Digital HD from May 11th

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