At first glance, Zack Snyder’s 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake appears to have a fairly hopeful ending, that is until the credits scenes kick in. While remakes have been a thing since the earliest days of cinema, in recent decades, the horror genre has become especially inundated with them. It seems like just about any horror film with a decent following will one day be remade, ranging from all time classics like Halloween and Psycho to cult items like The Evil Dead and Suspiria.
Following writer/director George A. Romero’s creation of the modern zombie genre with Night of the Living Dead, Romero would make a sequel in 1978, titled Dawn of the Dead. Starring all new characters and taking place in a new setting, Dawn of the Dead doesn’t necessarily continue Night’s story, and instead offers viewers a glimpse into the same world at a later stage of the zombie outbreak. Depending on who one asks, Dawn of the Dead is possibly the greatest zombie movie ever, and also probably Romero’s best work.
After quasi-zombie film 28 Days Later reignited interest in the flesh-eating sub-genre in 2003, Universal enlisted future DCEU director Zack Snyder to helm a remake of Dawn of the Dead. While fans objected to the idea, Snyder and writer James Gunn smartly made a film that’s less a redo and more of a companion piece, keeping the main idea of outbreak survivors living in a mall, and changing just about everything else. This included Romero’s ending, which was decently hopeful.
Dawn of the Dead 2004 Credits Scene Killed The Entire Cast
Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead at first appears to end similarly to Romero’s original, which saw survivors Fran and Peter escape via helicopter to destinations unknown. Snyder’s film has its four surviving characters - and their dog pal - escape by boat, and head off in search of a safe place. So far, so similar, and for viewers who decided to turn the film off once the credits began to roll, a somewhat happy ending, despite all the characters killed along the way to it. Those who sit through the credits get a different conclusion.
Partway through the credits, footage from a camcorder found on the boat begins to play, and paints a bleak picture. The vessel runs out of fuel and breaks down, stranding the group on a nearby island. Once ashore, a massive swarm of zombies run out of the trees, straight for the survivors. While Ana, Kenneth, Nicole, Terry, and Chips the dog’s deaths aren’t shown, it’s pretty obvious that they couldn’t have survived. Unlike Romero’s zombies, Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead zombies sprint and are physically vicious, and there’s no way such a small group with limited supplies could’ve withstood the onslaught of such a large horde.
More: How Night of the Living Dead Accidentally Became Public Domain
