Roger Ebert opened his 1979 review of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead with something of a shocking line. "Dawn of the Dead is one of the best horror films ever made—and, as an inescapable result, one of the most horrifying," he wrote.Ebert wrote this? Ebert, who lambasted most horror films for lack of originality or sense?But here, in one of the most honest and unflinching pieces of criticism we've read for a horror film, Ebert laid out exactly what made this zombie film repulsive and brilliant.Ebert had a bit of a fraught relationship with the genre, and he alienated a lot of people with his often scathing criticism of horror films. The legendary critic famously despised slashers and what he called "Dead Teenager Movies." But when a horror film earned his respect, it really earned it. - YouTube www.youtube.com What Ebert Said About Romero's 1978 FilmEbert seemed to be at a crossroads that didn't make total sense to him with Dawn of the Dead. He wrote:It is gruesome, sickening, disgusting, violent, brutal, and appalling. It is also (excuse me for a second while I find my other list) brilliantly crafted, funny, droll, and savagely merciless in its satiric view of the American consumer society. Nobody ever said art had to be in good taste.That contradiction is pretty much the point. Ebert was saying that great horror doesn't have to choose between visceral impact and intellectual heft.What makes this review impactful decades later is how Ebert defends the film's...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Monday, 27 October