George Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD Midnight This Friday at The Moolah

“This situation must be controlled before it’s too late. They’re multiplying too rapidly!”

George Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD screens Midnights this Friday (April 20th) at The Moolah Theater and Lounge (3821 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108) as part of  Destroy the Brain’s monthly Late Nite Grindhouse film series.

The gore effects in DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978 – courtesy of master of the macabre Tom Savini, who also plays as the leader of the bikers in the film) are incredible, and even all these years later you’ll still marvel as the zombies are offed in many weird and wonderful ways – expect to see a scalping courtesy of a helicopter’s blades, a screwdriver being stuck into a brain through the ear, and more exploding heads than… well, than some sort of horrible mass head-exploding incident that thankfully hasn’t happened yet.

Since its release 40 years ago, DAWN OF THE DEAD has been parodied, homaged, referenced and even somewhat successfully remade by Zack Snyder in 2004. However the original retains a more complex social commentary that helps keep it in the upper echelons of ‘70s horror films. Romero casts his net of comment far and wide and succinctly, subtly and in some cases brutally exposes the truth and hypocrisies in American society in the late 1970s. Consumerism, Vietnam War, and immigration are all looked at and parodied within the context of the ongoing zombie apocalypse. If NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD focused its energies on Civil Rights and racism, then DAWN OF THE DEAD  has a more scattergun approach, which encompasses so many issues of the era and under the acute directorial eye of director George Romero, these topics are ruthlessly torn apart and exposed for what they are.

Computer games often make reference to the shopping mall setting, and modern zombie classics like SHAUN OF THE DEAD not only parody the name, but also pinch a few bits from the iconic score, written by Italian prog-rock band Goblin. This will prove part of the problem for newcomers to DAWN OF THE DEAD, as they’ll feel that they’ve seen everything before, but with modern special effects. The important thing to remember is DAWN OF THE DEAD did it first, and in most cases better. The combination of creeping threat, slightly comedic zombies and Romero’s often cutting social commentary help make DAWN OF THE DEAD one of, if not the greatest zombie films of all time.

The Facebook invite for Friday night can be found HERE
https://www.facebook.com/events/1594735233928959/

TICKETS ARE $7 AND YOU CAN BUY THEM ONLINE VIA MOOLAH’S WEBSITE.

THE PSYCHOTRONIC PRE-SHOW STARTS AROUND 11:30P WITH THE FILM STARTING AT MIDNIGHT.

The Moolah Theatre & Lounge serves alcohol until 2:30AM! Feel free to show up early and stay late to have some drinks and get friendly with the amazing Moolah staff.