I've been counting down zombie movies for two weeks in anticipation of this movie, so I guess I kind of have to review it. Since it has the same name as one of the greatest zombie movies of all time, Dawn of the Dead has a lot to live up to.

The filmmakers probably felt that they couldn't make as great a film as the original, so they took the basic plotline into a totally new direction. This is less of a remake then it is a "re-imagining."

Thankfully, this re-imagining isn't an abomination like Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes. The only thing this film has in common with its ancestor is that it involves zombies and some people in a mall. Besides that, the two are almost as different as night and day.

Is that a bad thing? Hell no. I'm overjoyed that the new Dawn of the Dead goes and does its own thing, and the result is one of the more entertaining zombie movies of the past decade.

By now you know the zombie movie drill. One day everything's fine, an hour later all hell has broken loose and there's zombies everywhere. The film wastes absolutely no time in getting to the action that everyone wants to see.

The movie goes at a breakneck speed from its very beginning all the way to the very end of the credits. There's no social commentary or any real zombie epidemic side-story stuff going on in this movie. You stay with the characters involved the entire time. You'll never get to see or learn anything that they don't.

Speaking of the characters, there's some really great ones in this film. Even characters that you consider to be total jerk offs when you first find them will endear themselves to you. Most of the characters are completely flat, but as their cannon fodder it doesn't really matter.

There's not going to be much character development with as many zombie battles these people get into. One of my favorite things about the film is the fact that no one is safe. Characters come and go throughout the entire film.

A really great addition to the formula is a character that lives in a building across from the mall and has conversations with the mall goers through the use of signs. It helps to illustrate just how hopeless the situation is and also provides some good comic relief.

There's been a bit of controversy over the fact that the zombies in this film are fast instead of the traditional slow ones. I prefer slow zombies myself, but they just wouldn't work in this film. Slow zombies shuffling toward the characters in the parking lot couldn't hold a candle to the awesome scene in the movie as tons of lightning quick zombies pursue them through the corridors.

These zombies can't be maneuvered past and you can't take a minute to catch your breath when they're around. You've got to keep your ass moving because if you stop for just one second you're zombie fodder.

The zombie action scenes are beautifully shot. Some of the scenes involving the masses of zombies outside of the mall are just plain awesome.

The film adds a few new terms to the zombie movie dictionary and mythos, such as the "twitchers" (zombies in this movie twitch like they're having a seizure if shot anywhere but the head).

The cast does a great job of selling the terror of the approaching zombies. No one really gives a stand out performance (although Ty Burrell almost pulls it off with his yuppie character), but they all do enough work to make the whole concept of flesh eating zombies seem real enough. I really must commend any film that casts Matt Frewer in a role. He deserves to be in a lot more movies than he is.

As is the standard for horror movies, there are some cameos to be had. Tom Savini stops by to play a sheriff on the television while Ken Foree gets to be on TV and deliver his trademark "When there's no more room in Hell..." line.

These cameos are totally unobtrusive to the mass audiences and fun for fans of zombie cinema. That's the way cameos should always be. There's a few "odes" in the film to other movies, even Lucio Fulci's "Zombie."

This film has some flaws, but what zombie movie doesn't? The pacing is really off in a few scenes and some character motivations are left unclear and hazy which results in some confusion in places. Some of the action scenes become repetitive but the tedium never lasts too long before the movie busts out some new stunt that has the audience yelling.

It's a shame that the filmmakers had to cut some gore out of the film to get an R rating, especially when I really don't think there was that much gore to begin with. If you want the best horror movie experience, be sure to see a night show with a big crowd.

You can always view the movie in private on DVD, but you can't duplicate that mass audience experience with everyone reacting to the events unfolding on screen. The film makes the audience run the gamut of emotions, being terrifying one moment and funny as hell the next.

The movie's got awesome gore, some kick-ass weaponry, and more than enough zombies for any zombie fan. What are you waiting for? If you're a fan of zombies or just horror in general, get off your ass and go see the film. Oh yeah, be sure to stay during the credits. It has essential information pertaining to the story.

8 out of 10

SPOILERISH COMMENTARY

I just felt the need to comment on one last thing. If George Romero ever gets to make his "Dead Reckoning" film about an ass-kicking zombie vehicle in the future, he's going to have a hard time competing with the awesome zombie killer bus that Dawn of the Dead creates. Hopefully he gets to make it and can prove me wrong by making something even more awe-inspiring.