They should have used actors and make-up!

Yip. You're right. For me this is the only aspect of the film that they boo-boo'ed on. In saying that, the CGI New York looks great (when is the big-apple EVER so eerily quite) and I can't believe the film got panned the way it did. If it had been an original screenplay it would have pleased more people, but the book fans didn't like it. It actually gets better as it gets older, for some reason.

When the director was at the Apple Store soho (meet the filmmakers) a fan asked him about that. He said they had tried out both directions during production (cgi and makeup). Obviously they went with cgi but he said ultimately he wished he had went with make up. (But that you move on and learn as you grow) His attitude was so up front and honest that I fianlly got over that aspect of the movie (.. I think it really was the difference between an ok movie and what could have been a classic remake)

Agreed. The scene where he's looking for Sam in the dark building had me on edge. But when they finally revealed one of the monsters and it was animated I felt a little let down. CG never stands the test of time. Something like the creatures from descent or the demon in Rec 2 would have been vastly greater.

Agreed. The CGI creatures looked like something out of a cheap'n'cheesy low-rent video game.

I've been chasing grace/ But grace ain't easy to find

The worst part is they actually had a practical effect design worn by an actor that actually looked great, especially in comparison to what we got, but the director didn't go with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j22RthvabUM

Not having real actors wouldn’t have been an issue for me if the movie had better CGI. Evidently, the effects were less than impressive and they certainly don’t hold up.

CGI monsters/creatures can be pretty great and startling when done right. I mean, for an actor to replicate the freaky movements of some GOOD CG characters is not as easy or as effective. Anyway, this movie still manages to thrill.

They should also have replaced Will Smith with a real actor.

Yeah. The undead were much more convincing in movies like Dawn of the Dead (2004) that used actors.