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Spoliers:

Night of the Living Dead (Original and Remake)

Dawn of the Dead (Original and Remake)

Day of the Dead (Original and Remake)

Note:

The ‘Day of the Dead’ part of this report is yet to be included.

Out with the Old…

Mainstream cinema is always, in some form, a reflection of the time or place it was made in. This reflection can be present within the filmic language in numerous ways; ideologically, technologically, geographically, culturally, ethically etc. It is because of this that non-contemporary films sometimes struggle to find a new audience within contemporary culture. As time passes, culture changes, and as a result films can quickly become out dated. Screen writer Charles Mortiz explains that narrative characters who share the same values and moral structure as their audience are more likable and sympathetic (2008). Consequently if the cultural context the film was created in is not present within an audience a films potential impact can be lost and it can fade into obscurity or worse; be scrutinized. An extreme example is Leni Riefenstahl’s Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will (1934); a film which supported the Nazi ideologies of the time which, in both western and modern German culture, are out dated and frowned upon. The cultural context that Riefenstahl’s film was created in no longer exists and as a result Triumph of the Will is considered German Ideology propaganda film, instead of a classic piece of cinema.

Attack of the Remake!

Perhaps loss of cultural context is the reason that the ‘Hollywood Remake’ is has become more and more prevalent in mainstream cinema. The ability for a studio to remake a movie allows a simple retelling of a story updated for modern audiences. It’s seems there are countless example of this, particularly in the Horror genre. Some noteworthy examples of non-contemporary western films that have been remade include; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974, Remake 2003), Amityville Horror (1979, Remake 2005), Prom Night (1980, Remake 2008), Friday the 13th (1980, Remake: 2009), When A Stranger Calls (1979, Remake 2006), The Omen (1976, Remake 2006), My Bloody Valentine (1981, Remake 2009), The Last House on the Left (1972, Remake 2009) and there are plenty more just waiting to be given the green light.

Turning Japanese, Spanish, Swedish, and everywhere else.

Production companies sometimes feel that foreign films that present a different culture can alienate a western audience, and consequently are often remade with geographical adjustments, including; The Ring (Originally Ringu (Japan) 1998, Remake 2002), The Grudge (Originally Ju-on (Japan) 2002, Remade in 2004), Pulse (Originally Kairo (Japan) 2001, Remade in 2006), Quarantine (Originally Rec (Spain) 2007, Remade in 2008) and The Eye (Originally Gin Gwai (Japan), Remade in 2008).

But when a story is re-told, does it distort the film makers original message? To effectively answer the posed question, I will compare several non-contemporary films to their modern remakes. As I have already mentioned the staggering number of horror remakes available I will refine my comparison to the sub-genre of Zombie movies. To refine my comparison further I will only compare the original two films in the ‘Trilogy of the Dead’ series created by George A. Romero with their contemporary remakes.

Why Romero?

The reason I have selected Romero is because he essentially created the modern zombie movie (Paffenroth, 2006). Contemporary Zombie films like Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead and Capcom’s Resident Evil video game & film franchise all draw influence from the formula Romero created. Additionally, Romero is has been praised for his bleak critiques of western culture present within his films (Williams, 2003). Romero’s Trilogy of the Dead has recently expanded to include six films. I will however, only refer to the original trilogy of films as the most recent three films have not been remade.

Romero’s Zombies…

Before I compare these films I should first define the common plot continuity and themes Romero has included in his trilogy and the ‘rules’ that apply within said films. Each entry to the trilogy is not a sequel in the traditional sense. There are no recurring protagonists; the only consistency is the event of the Zombie Apocalypse, where the recently deceased mysteriously return to life as zombies who:

“… Are ordinary-looking people. Some say they appear to be in a kind of trance. Others describe them as being misshapen monsters. At this point, there’s no really authentic way for us to say who or what to look for and guard yourself against… people who acted as if they were in a kind of trance were killing and eating their victims …” (Radio Announcer for Night of the Living Dead, 1968)

A group of Zombies from Romero's Dawn of the Dead.

When a survivor is bitten by a zombie they become infected. Regardless of the severity of the bite, they will eventually die and subsequently return from the dead as a zombie. Romero has cited Don Siegel’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) as an influence for his living dead trilogy. (Russell, 2005)

“These works share the theme of becoming your enemy. In Siegel’s film, when people fall asleep they wake up and physically resemble the person they once were. They are now emotionless and try to make other people fall asleep and become like they are. Both narratives blur the line between ‘us and them.’” (Russell, 2005)

Each film centers on a different group who are trying to survive the apocalypse, usually by taking refuge in what they consider to be a safe area. I will refer to each group as survivors. This recurring plot point is a device used by Romero. Robert Kirkman, writer of popular zombie comic The Walking Dead explains:

“The best zombie movies aren’t the splatter fests of gore and violence with goofy characters and tongue in cheek antics. Good zombie movies show us how messed up we are, they make us question our station in society… and our societies station in the world.” (2007)

In Romero’s films, the survivors often find the real danger in a zombie infested world is the careless, irrational or selfish actions of other people (Russell, 2005). The zombies themselves are slow moving and can only be stopped by “shooting the head or removing the brain.” An action that author James Russell considers metaphorical for the survivors situation.

“The headshot may be the only way to ‘kill’ the zombie once and for all, but it also symbolizes everything that is wrong with the authorities’ response to the crisis… It’s a policy that that’s doomed to failure since giving up the head (reason, logic, intellect) can only encourage the body (emotion, desire, the flesh) to gain ascendancy.” (2005)

Night of the Living Dead.

Romero’s Night of the Living Dead

The original Night of the Living Dead was released in 1968. The plot is; the recently deceased inexplicably start returning to life and attacking the living. A group of seven survivors take refuge by barricading themselves in an abandoned farm house for the night. It was filmed on a budget of just over one hundred thousand dollars. Upon release it was heavily criticized for its graphic depiction of cannibalism and violence.

Romero’s Depiction of Women.

Romero’s Night of the Living Dead was also criticized by feminists due to its depiction of women. The male characters do all the decision-making in the film. Barbara, the main protagonist of the film, is either hysterical or frozen with fear throughout most of the film after witnessing the death of her brother Jonny. At one point during her hysterics; another character Ben, knocks her unconscious to silence her.

Eventually she is killed by her reanimated brother when the zombies finally break into the house. Helen and Karen are two other repressed female characters. Helen is verbally overpowered by her husband Harry throughout the film and it is her maternal instinct to take care of her bitten daughter Karen that results in her demise. In one of the most disturbing scenes in the film, Karen returns to life and murders her mother with a Gardening Trowel. Finally the only other female character, Judy, is killed in a gas pump explosion, after refusing to stay inside under the advice of the male characters.

Romero’s Depiction of Men.

While it’s difficult to watch Night and overlook a theme of the patriarchal society (Grant, 1996) the interpretation of this theme is purely subjective. It’s worth noting that none of the Male characters survive the film either, in fact it is the bickering between Tom and Henry that prevents the group from banding together. Henry wants the group to hide in the basement but Ben thinks that if they go in there they will be trapped. The two start dividing the house into territories and a struggle for leadership ensues. The struggle gets out of hand when Henry locks Ben out of the house after his escape plan fails (and Tom and Judy are killed). Ben manages to break into the house and angrily punches Henry. . It’s difficult to judge however if this is a flaw within the film makers that slipped into the films subtext or a reflection of society.

Savini’s Night of the Living Dead.

The adjustments in the remake of Night of the Living Dead would suggest the latter. It was released in 1990 and directed by Tom Savini, the makeup artist (and actor) who worked on Romero’s two sequels; Dawn and Day. The script itself was written by Romero and, unlike future remakes, the project received his seal of approval. The plot of the film is nearly identical to the original; seven survivors attempt to survive the ‘Night of the Living Dead’ by barricading themselves within a farm house.

Gender in Savini’s Film.

The most notable change to the text is the protagonist; Barbara. No longer a woman paralyzed by fear, she is the character who takes charge of the group of survivors. Barbara is emotionally calm and as capable as any of the male characters, who are preoccupied bickering amongst themselves to take any real action. Eventually the zombies break into the house but Ben and Harry are too busy trying to kill each other than defend themselves. Barbera is ultimately the only character who survives; unlike in the original where all the survivors are killed. James Russle (2005) quotes critic Barry Keith Grant on the topic.

“Romero has returned to his original zombie narrative and fashioned a more politically correct view than the original, particularly in terms of the feminist issues raised by the first.”

Savini’s place in the Trilogy of the Dead.

Ironically enough, Savini’s remake allows Night to fit into Romero’s Dead Trilogy more comfortably than the original in terms of ideology. While it didn’t revolutionize the genre like the Romero’s original, Savini escalates the conflict between Ben and Harry to a new level and matches the feminist themes present in Romero’s Dawn and Day. Savini’s Night of the Living Dead is an excellent example of a film being remade to meet the ideologies of a contemporary audience (Grant, 1996).

Dawn of the Dead.

Romero’s Dawn.

The original Dawn of the Dead was released in 1979. Despite the 11 year gap between the two films, Dawn is still considered a sequel. The film also reflected the late seventies instead of the late sixties. It features a new group of survivors; Francine, a strong willed woman. Stephen, a helicopter pilot who is romantically involved with Francine. Peter and Rodger, two SWAT trained soldiers who abandoned their platoon. These four survivors take refuge within a large shopping mall.

Masculinity in Dawn of the Dead.

The male characters clear the interior of zombies and barricade all the entrances. Francine insists she should be involved in securing the mall, but her request is denied by Stephen (who is looking to prove his own masculinity to the SWAT members.) During the clearing of the Mall, Rodger gets too caught up with his own overly masculine antics and is bitten by a zombie due to his carelessness. Despite this the men still successfully clear and barricade the mall. Francine is not entirely convinced of their security and insists that Rodger teaches her to fly the helicopter, an intelligent action that directly contrasts Barbra from Night of the Living Dead. Now the survivors have access to all the food, water and safety they need to survive. But Rodger’s subsequent death breaks their spell of consumerism and the survivors realize how empty and dull their lives have become, reminding them of the fact they will inevitably be killed too. (Williams, 2003).

“[The consumer goods in the mall] are only symbols. A pound of coffee from a store is not just a pound of coffee; it represents a way of being. In Dawn of the Dead the symbols have lost their meaning. The films characters have given it value only to realize that none of it is valuable anymore, because there’s no longer any context for it.” (Gaylen Ross, Gagne, p.89)

Conflict

Eventually another group of survivors, a gang of bikers, discovers the people within the mall and decide to raid it for supplies. Peter suggests that the group hide and wait for the raiders to leave of their own volition. Stephen however is furious that the gang has undone all their hard work. Like Rodger, Stephen ‘loses his head’ and angrily attacks the many bikers. He is shot multiple times and is then eaten by zombies. This triggers a series of events leading to the zombies finding the two remaining survivors hiding place and forcing them to leave the now unsafe mall to an uncertain fate.

Snyder’s Dawn.

The 2004 remake of the film was directed by Zach Snyder. The project did not receive Romero’s permission (although in a legal context it was not required) and consequently loyal fans looked upon the remake unfavorably. Romero’s criticism of consumerism in regards to shopping malls has since become less relevant, as malls have become more common over the past 30 years. Perhaps the film should have been given the more appropriate label of ‘re-imagining’ instead of ‘remake’. All the original characters have been replaced and many of the plot points were absent. While Romero’s original provoked fear through a seemingly paradoxical feeling of claustrophobia and isolation, Snyder’s filmic techniques to provoke fear were far less subtle and much more aggressive. Physically the Zombies received an upgrade, no longer Romero’s iconic slow lumbering and emotionless creatures, Snyder’s zombies could run, climb and snarl (somewhat reminiscent of Danny Boyles ‘infected’ from 28 Days Later, a film released two years prior) (Russell, 2005).

Conflict

The plot point where the bikers invade the mall was removed and instead the conflict is among the group survivors and the armed mall security guards. They argue over deciding who they should allow inside the mall, what they should do with the ‘infected’ survivors and if morals existent in a now extinct society still apply to the post apocalyptic world. Eventually the survivors and guards come to the realization that the Malls walls, not only keep the zombies out, but trap them inside.

Snyder’s reflection of Romero’s Themes.

Snyder, intentionally or otherwise, channels themes present within Romero’s original Dawn and Day. The conflict and struggle between the groups of survivors is initially very reminiscent of the political struggle for cooperation between the scientists and military within Romero’s Day of the Dead. Additionally the survivors desire to leave the mall is reminiscent of an eerie monologue made in Romero’s Day about their shelter in an underground bunker.

“They got the accounts of all the wars and plane crashes and volcano eruptions and earthquakes and fires and floods and all the other disasters that interrupted the flow of things in the good ole U.S. of A. Now what does it matter, Sarah darling? All this filing and record keeping? We ever gonna give a shit? We even gonna get a chance to see it all? This is a great, big, 14 mile *tombstone*! ["tombstone" echoes with distant moaning]”

In comparison to Romero’s Dawn, Snyder’s remake falls short in terms of including Romero’s original themes of Consumerism and Feminism. Snyder has however, used Romero’s story to present new ones. Ignoring Romero’s theme of consumerism, Snyder builds upon the theme of delaying the inevitable. Like Romero, Synder appears to leave the ending open for interpretation as the survivors sail away to an uncertain fate, or so you believe. At the end of the credits the fate of the survivors is revealed as we see them reach an island, another plot point from Romero’s Day of the Dead. Unlike Day, however, a huge mob of zombies rush at (and most likely kill) all the survivors and the audience is left asking if the survivors should have left their secure life or continued living their distracted existence. Snyder also succeeds in creating are far more adrenaline fueled engaging movie with the addition of running zombies, aggressive hand held camera work and gruesome special effects.

Conclusion.

A remake of a film is undoubtedly an effective way of allowing a film to engage with a new audience. Filmic elements including; technology, fashion (mise en scene), dialogue, ideology and narrative can quickly become outdated in an ever-changing audience. An ever-changing audience has ever-changing expectations. Thus a remake or re-imagining of a film can effectively allow it to find a new audience in contemporary culture or express the similar themes in different ways as in Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead. Sometimes a remake readjusts an ideology present within a film as in Savini’s remake of Night of the Living Dead. Consciously or otherwise genres such as Romero’s Zombie Films reflect the society they were created in, and a film which represents an unfamiliar culture to an audience can alienate or confuse that audience.

Day of the Dead.

Sorry this chapter is still in development. Gimme like a month. Sorry for the anti climax.

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Films Mentioned (in order of release):

Triumph of the Will (1934)

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

The Last House on the Left (1972)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

The Omen (1976)

Amityville Horror (1979)

When a Stranger Calls (1979)

Prom Night (1980)

Friday the 13th (1980)

Dawn of the Dead (1980)

My Bloody Valentine (1981)

Day of the Dead (1985)

Night of the Living Dead (1990)

Ringu (1998)

Kairo (2001)

The Ring (Remake) (2002)

Gin Gwai (2002)

Ju-on (2002)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Remake) (2003)

The Grudge (Remake) (2004)

Dawn of the Dead (Remake) (2004)

Amityville Horror (Remake) (2005)

Pulse (Remake) (2006)

The Omen (Remake) (2006)

When A Stranger Calls (Remake) (2006)

Rec (2007)

Prom Night (Remake) (2008)

Quarantine (Remake) (2008)

The Eye (Remake) (2008)

Friday the 13th (Remake) (2009)

My Bloody Valentine (Remake) (2009)

The Last House on the Left (Remake) (2009)

References:

Grant, B. (1996). The Dread of Difference: Gender and the Horror Film. Texas, University of Texas Press.

Harper, S. (2007). “”They’re Us”: Representations of Women in George Romero’s ‘Living Dead’ Series ” Intensities: The Journal of Cult Media 1(3).

Kirkman, R. (2007). The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye. California, Image Comics, Inc.

Moritz, C. (2008). Scriptwriting for the Screen. United States, Routledge.

Paffenroth, K. (2006). Gospel of the living Dead: George Romero’s Visions of Hell on Earth. Texas, Baylor University Press.

Russell, J. (2005). Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema. England, FAB Press.

Waller, G. (1986). The Living and the Undead : From Stoker’s Dracula to Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. Illinois, University of Illinois Press.

Williams, T. (2003). The Cinema of George A. Romero: Knight of the Living Dead. United Kingdom, Wallflower Press.

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