After watching the new version of Dawn of the Dead movie last night (director Zack Snyder's 2004 remake of George A. Romero's classic 1978 film), I felt it is a redefinition of the zombie genre as well as a new take on how people deal with a crisis post 9/11. After an undefined disaster causes people to turn into zombies with one bite from another infected person, the world of suburban Wisconsin (and everywhere else, judging from snippets of television footage showing similar problems in countries across the globe) turns into literal hell for Ana, a young nurse played by Sarah Polley. She escapes the clutches of her murdered husband-turned-zombie who chases her away from the burning ruins of their once idyllic neighborhood. Avoiding burning trucks in the streets and other obstacles, Ana eventually plows her car into a tree.

The opening minutes set the tone for the rest of the film, a frenzied sequence of death and havoc that is reminiscent of the hours after the attacks of 9/11. The world seems to be coming to an abrupt end with little notice or explanation, but Ana survives the crash and meets up with Kenneth, a policeman played by Ving Rhames. Kenneth brings an immediate change for the better to Ana's situation, considering he obviously works out and is armed with a shotgun. Soon they are joined by Michael, a soft-spoken engineer (Jake Webber), a possible hoodlum named Andre (Mekhi Phifer), and his pregnant wife Luda (Inna Korobkina). Knowing that everything has been consumed by this phantom pestilence, the group decides to take shelter in the local mall.

This setting mirrors the one in Romero's original film, and by placing the characters in such a viscerally familiar place, Snyder immediately comforts the audience with a false sense of security. More living characters join this group, and, after ridding the mall of the remaining zombies, they barricade themselves inside and use the stores as individual living quarters to promote a semblance of normalcy. While partaking of the food, drink, clothing, and other amenities available in their rather comfortable but confined quarters, the characters create a new micro-society that is defined by what they did in their former lives. In essence, the disaster has not eradicated their individual histories but helped to define them. Ana provides medical care as necessary, Kenneth security, and Michael brings a technical savvy that assists the group members in their efforts to survive.