Dawn of the Dead (2004)

The 2004 remake of the classic "Dawn of the Dead" was Zack Snyder's smashing debut as a director and was a critical success. The two films have several glaring differences and because of this, they both stand out as exceptional films in their own ways. The beginning of the remake begins calmly and shifts into a non-stop adrenaline rush at a drop of a dime, showing how quickly the zombie apocalypse can spread through a typical suburban neighborhood. The remake has a larger cast which provides additional victims for the zombies throughout the film. The remake does not have a nomadic bike gang that raids the mall, instead it chooses to show the survivors making a break to a possibly even more secure location. And the zombies run, fast! Some die hard fans hate any film that features zombies running but I don't mind; if they can show vampires walking in the sun then movies can have zombies that run if they want to.

Ana is having a bad day. Her husband is bitten by the adorable neighbor girl who has all of a sudden become ravenous, and then her husband starts acting the same way, slobbering and clawing at Ana with a crazed look in his eyes. She makes it outside and sees that the entire neighbor is under siege as neighbor attacks neighbor with violent abandon. It's a zombie apocalypse and Ana is standing right in the middle of it all!

After driving away, crashing, and then being saved by a police officer, Ana and a group of other survivors hide themselves from the chaos inside the local super mall....only to be taken prisoner by the three security guards who work there. They manage to escape and turn the tables on the guards, then slowly fortify the mall and clear it of any excess zombies. More survivors come, a few of them turn and are killed in due process, and Kenneth the cop befriends a sharp shooting survivor trapped across the street. The survivors comes to realize that the mall will become there tomb if they don't act, so they modify two utility vehicles and try to make it to a boat in the harbor, with plans to sail away to a nice secluded island, where there surely aren't any zombies....

Day of the Dead (2008)

The 2008 film “Day of the Dead” is not a part of the George A Romero canon but is heavily influenced by his version that he made in 1985. Both films focus on military personnel and the doctors/scientists who are working on finding a cure or cause of the zombie outbreak. Several characters even share the same names in both films, although the personalities are not the same. The concept that a zombie might retain some of its human personality is also explored. This updated version of these concepts results in an entertaining zombie movie that deserves a chance. It stars Mena Suvari who is great in the role of Corporal Sarah Cross, who happens to be from the town that is experiencing the zombie outbreak. It also stars Ving Rhames who plays Captain Rhodes, one of the characters in the 1985 version. This film was written by Jeffrey Reddick who is best known as writing the complete "Final Destination" series.

There is a flu-like epidemic affecting the residents of Leadville, Colorado. The military arrives and blockades all ways in or out of the small town. Corporal Sarah Cross takes Private Bud with her as she checks in on her mom. Her mom is sick and so she takes her and her younger brother Trevor and his girlfriend Nina with them. At the hospital, Sarah and Bud find that the ER is full of people suffering from the epidemic. Suddenly, they start dying and then moments later the dead residents come back to life and attack the living. The hospital becomes a chaotic scene and Sarah and Bud barely escape while Trevor and Nina end up finding safety in the town’s radio station. The film focuses on Sarah and Trevor and those with them as they try to stay alive and escape from the mobs of super-fast, strong, vicious zombies.

Zombie Captain Rhodes, pulling out his eye only to eat it moments later.

Corporal Sarah Cross and Captain Rhodes inspect the hospital.