With so many characters, it’s inevitable that most of them end up as one-dimensional throw-aways whose sole purpose is to increase the body count.  But there are exceptions.  Ana, Kenneth, Michael, and Andre are developed to a point where we care about them.  And several touching subplots are handled with a deft hand: Andre’s concern about his unborn fetus, Frank and Nicole’s sad farewell, Kenneth’s long-distance friendship with a man on the roof of a nearby gun shop, and Ana and Michael’s halting attempts at intimacy.  Of course, not many people go to a horror film looking for character development and drama, so there are plenty of good scares, and a moment or two of gut-wrenching terror.  The movie even crosses the PC line and allows children to do demonic things.

The creatures in this film move a lot more quickly than those in the original, whose slow, staggering gait was ripe for parody.  Here, their swiftness proves to be the undoing of more than one character.  As zombie films go, this one is a small step beneath Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, which was darker and creepier, but it’s still a respectable effort.  Adherents of the original may be annoyed by some of the changes, but cameos by Tom Savini, Scott Reiniger, and Ken Foree (who once again makes the dire pronouncement: “When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth”) should build some goodwill.  For those who enjoy tight, tense, graphic horror, this movie offers an ample helping.

Excerpt from James Berardinelli, Reel Views located HERE

Video:

This HD DVD boasts a very sharp 2.35:1 1080p transfer and excellent detail and deep blacks.  However, some scenes have some grain or noise that get out of control, and there is quite a bit of print damage in the form of small nicks.

Audio:

This HD DVD sports both Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (lossless) and a DD Plus 5.1 English tracks.  This is a very lively, aggressive mix with plenty of rear channel and subwoofer activity.  The center channel is balanced well, so there are only a few times when the dialogue is drowned out by the commotion.

You can also watch the movie with a DD Plus 5.1 French dub.  Optional English SDH and French subtitles support the audio.

Extras:

Director Zack Snyder provided an introduction to the Unrated Director’s Cut.  He and producer Eric Newman contributed a joke-y audio commentary.  “Undead Scenes” is a collection of deleted footage with optional audio commentary by director Zack Snyder.

 

“The Lost Tape” is a video diary that was “shot” by a character in the movie that lives by himself for about a week across the street from the mall inhabited by the other characters.  “Special Report” is a “news report” by a fictional TV station.

 

“Raising the Dead” highlights the extensive make-up work that was created for the movie.  “Attack of the Living Dead” looks at specific make-up that was created for key zombies.  “Splitting Headaches: Anatomy of Exploding Heads” shows you the many ways that zombies were killed for good in the movie.