MovieChat Forums > Zombi 2 (1980) Discussion > A Dawn of the Dead rip off? WTF?

A Dawn of the Dead rip off? WTF?

posted 16 years ago by NoseofNicko
16 replies | jump to latest

I'll never understand why some people call this movie a Dawn of the Dead rip off... Except for the fact that it has zombies, it doesn't have ANY similarity with Dawn of the Dead! It has a totally different plot, it mostly takes place on an island (not a mall), the zombies look totally different, etc... OH and it was written BEFORE DOTD! Saying that it's a DOTD rip off is just like saying that every single zombie movie is a Night of the Living Dead rip off, that every single vampire movie is a Nosferatu rip off, etc...

OH WAIT, The Plague of the Zombies (just an example) was made before Night of the Living Dead!!1!eleven! Night of the Living Dead is a rip off!1!1!!

Yeah, just as stupid as saying that Zombi 2 is a Dawn of the Dead rip off.

[–] Incredible_Brightness 16 years ago

I agree that saying Zombie is a rip-off of Dawn is actually a fairly big leap. However, there are a few similarities- I guess they're mostly small:

1: the heavy use of gore
2: the semi-isolated locales
3: the fact that each has a group of 4 main survivors
4: shooting people in the head who are partially wrapped in sheets
5: both have various methods of transportation (the boats and the jeep, the helicopter and the car)
6: both feature either radio or TV broadcasts telling us the viewer or the characters of the zombie situation
7: both feature scenes where you hear sort of voodoo drums
8: both have black characters who have quotes that are very similar ("when there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the Earth," "when the Earth spit out the dead, they will come back to suck the blood from the living")
9: big gun shoot-outs

If I think of any more...

"Carol, one word of advice: send Cindy to a special school"

[–] NoseofNicko 16 years ago

Indeed. Those are REALLY small similarities. In fact, I know A LOT of movies with 4 main characters, heavy use of gore, big gun shoot-outs, various methods of transportation, etc...

It's almost like saying something like: "(insert random movie title) is a rip off of (insert random movie title) because both have a black guy as the main character".

[–] daedalus1337 16 years ago

Anyone who said this is misled. The reason for the misconception being that it was MARKETED upon release as a sequel to Romero's film just to cash-in. Also - correct me if I'm wrong - I believe this film was produced without Fulci even SEEING Dawn!

[–] claptonisgod53 16 years ago

Yes. It was living off the sucsess of Dawn of the Dead mainly because it was being marketed as a sequel to it.

Fulci did rip-off quite a few movies, though.

[–] leafletbombs 15 years ago

This movie is not a ripoff, but a sequel(in title only)to Dario Argento's recut DAWN OF THE DEAD. He took out the humor and gave it a new score. He called his version ZOMBI: DAWN OF THE DEAD. Which is why this movie is called Zombi 2 in Europe. It was written before DOTD, and is the reason why it has nothing to do with the plot of the aforementioned.

IT'S ALL PROPAGANDA & LIES
HORROR REMAKES

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] The_Real_Squirrel 15 years ago

I'm sorry, but why are you saying Argento? Did he even have anything at all to do with this film?

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] The_Real_Squirrel 15 years ago

Haha, no worries, it happens right?

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] NoseofNicko 9 years ago

Bump.

CG GORE IS THE WORST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO THE HORROR GENRE!

[–] jackthehack 9 years ago

If you want a rip-off, check out Hell of the Living Dead. One of the most horrendous steals ever. Plus, it's totally dull and has bizarre NatGeo stock footage shoehorned in. Even Tarantino would blush. But then again, it was made by hackstraordinaires Bruno "Rats" Mattei and Claudio "Nilbog spelt backwards" Fragasso.

They even went so far as to rip-off Dawn of the Dead's theme by Goblin and other Goblin soundtrack from movies such as Contamination and Beyond the Darkness. Lazy basterds credited Goblin despite Goblin not working on the movie at all.

[–] Wolfbrother1983 9 years ago

It was called "Zombi 2" in some markets because Dawn of the Dead was "Zombi 1". I wouldn't call it a ripoff, but it was intentionally targeted to appeal to those who loved Dawn.

America isnt ready for a gay mexican chicken sandwich - Poultrygeist

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] theTRUTH-hurts 9 years ago

OH and it was written BEFORE DOTD!

Says who? And what year was it written?

OH WAIT, The Plague Of The Zombies (just an example) was made before Night Of The Living Dead!!

Zombies have been on the screen since the silent era. The zombies in Plague and other earlier zombie films were mindless slave zombies which were controlled by someone else to do their bidding. Romero invented the ones that actually eat human flesh and are driven to pretty much do that and only that, just like the ones seen in Zombi 2 and most other zombie films since 1968.

[–] owlfy 9 years ago

Stylistically the films aren't similar at all. You can illustrate small resemblances but underneath Fulci's direction and the cinematography are completely different.