Evil Dead, It and the 15 greatest horror movie remakes of all-time

7. Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Before Phil Dunphy was Phil Dunphy he was a zombified Steve Marcus in the remake of George Romero’s 1978 zombie film, Dawn of the Dead. Before Zack Snyder was known for his slate of superhero films, premiered to varying degrees of success depending on who you ask, he was making his mark on Hollywood by directing said remake.

Many consider Dawn of the Dead to be Zack Snyder’s magnum opus. Indeed it is one of the best horror movie remakes, one of the best zombie films, of all time. Even Romero was relatively pleased with the end product. Known for his honesty, Romero told Simon Pegg in an interview that the movie turned out “better than I expected.”

What made Dawn of the Dead so successful? It didn’t stomp all over the premise of the original film. Satire is a remake’s best friend and Dawn of the Dead owned that premise. It was fast and fierce, with even the zombies being runners instead of the lumbering monstrosities of the 1978 film.

Instead of building on a creeping sense of fear, Dawn of the Dead brought its shocks and gore in abrupt, frenzied, pulses. Dawn of the Dead certainly helped kick off the late 2000 comeback of zombies. If it weren’t for Snyder’s remake, The Walking Dead may not have been greenlit.