Dawn of the Dead (1978): Consumerism in the Zombie Apocalypse

ByFabian Bullitt

1978 • George A. Romero • 1.85:1 • Jump to Gallery ↓

A sequel to George A. Romero’s landmark zombie film Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead broadens the scope of the outbreak by depicting four survivors attempting to escape the collapse of social order during a zombie epidemic. Two television station employees and two SWAT team members flee by helicopter and eventually take refuge in a suburban shopping mall. After securing the building, they attempt to establish a temporary life within the abandoned consumer paradise.

Principal photography took place inside the Monroeville Mall, with filming largely occurring at night after the mall had closed. This location serves as the film’s primary visual concept and as a metaphor for consumer culture. Long interior corridors, large open atriums, brightly lit retail spaces, and colourful storefront displays create a vividly artificial environment that contrasts sharply with the violent chaos unfolding within.

This artificiality has also been noted in relation to the zombie makeup itself. Special effects artist Tom Savini and his team created the undead with a pale blue-grey skin tone, influenced by the stage lighting and film stock used during production. This contributes to the film’s stylised visual identity rather than strict realism. Through its blend of social satire, graphic horror, and memorable imagery, Dawn of the Dead helped to define the modern image of the zombie apocalypse, influencing countless works in the genre that followed.

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