Dawn of the Dead (2004): 10 Things You Didn’t Know

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5. Snyder insisted on including that lounge version of ‘Down With the Sickness’.

During a montage playing out in one of the more lighthearted periods of time in Dawn of the Dead, a rather weird song is heard playing. It’s a soft, upbeat lounge music version of the Disturbed song “Down With the Sickness”, which uses the exact same lyrics, but presents them in a much different way.

This wasn’t done just for the sake of the film. That’s actually a very real song from a musician who calls himself Richard Cheese, and that’s just one of his Vegas-style song remakes. Cheese is actually still active and even performs live for audiences in lounge bars. Once you start listening to his stuff, you may be surprised how hard it is to stop. The way he strangely transforms these otherwise inappropriate songs is very entertaining.

This was one of the songs that director Zack Snyder insisted remain in the movie, despite the producers discouraging him. I remember watching this movie in the theater and seeing most of the filmgoers laughing and really enjoying that particular montage, strictly based on that song, so Snyder made the right choice.

Next: Plenty of familiar faces.