Stop! And Watch This Great Movie on Netflix Before It Leaves on August 1

Zombies are so common on Netflix that they should probably get their own subgenre page.

From The Walking Dead shows and Army of the Dead to the recently arrived Ziam, there are a lot of options for fans to choose from.

But on July 31, one of the best modern zombie films, Dawn of the Dead, is set to depart Netflix.

This 2004 remake of George A. Romero‘s 1978 film of the same name is a classic zombie flick, and Dawn of the Dead is our pick for the great movie on Netflix that you need to watch before it leaves in August.

The ‘Superman’ Connection

Dawn of the Dead was the theatrical directorial debut of Zack Snyder, who went on to helm Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. Interestingly, the screenwriter of this 2004 horror reboot was James Gunn, the director of the new Superman movie currently in theaters.

Some fans online have drawn battle lines between Snyder and Gunn’s take on Superman and the other DC characters, but the directors are friends in real life. Dawn of the Dead illustrates that their respective sensibilities work well together. This film truly feels like a fusion of Snyder and Gunn’s styles, making it all the more entertaining to watch in 2025.

‘DotD’ Has Some Good Character Moments

One of the common complaints about Dawn of the Dead is that most of the characters have paper-thin personas that make it difficult to care about them. That’s a valid point, and the cast of the film is too big for all of them to matter. However, there are some very good character beats in the movie, especially around Kenneth Hall (Ving Rhames).

Kenneth quickly emerges as a leader among the survivors, although he doesn’t get a romance story in the film. What Kenneth does get is an oddly touching connection he makes with Andy (Bruce Bohne), a survivor who is trapped in a gun store. Andy and Kenneth’s conversations are played out entirely on whiteboards, since they can’t directly speak to each other. The friendship they form feels real, even though the odds of their mutual survival is rapidly dwindling,

Ana Clark (Sarah Polley) and Michael Shaunessy (Jake Weber) do get a romantic arc, and they’re both two of the most appealing characters in the film. But if you’re hoping for a happy ending between them, it’s not that kind of movie.

The Action Is Intense

Dawn of the Dead may be a horror film first and foremost, but it has some really terrific action when the survivors encounter the undead. Romero expressed his dissatisfaction with the overall film and its fast zombies, but the remake wouldn’t have been as exciting without them. Slow zombies are just too easy to deal with in large numbers.

Gunn and Snyder took a more action-oriented approach to the entire movie, culminating in an inventive scene in which the survivors armed themselves for an escape attempt from the mall. Sometimes, the survivors’ willingness to engage the undead didn’t work out in their favor, but it was fun to watch.

The Ending Is Unforgettable — And Bleak AF

Without giving too much away, the fate of the survivors is revealed at the end of the movie through footage they shot themselves. These short scenes present an even bleaker outlook for the future than the one that unfolded in the rest of the movie. The story ends on an ambiguous note that doesn’t exactly inspire hope. But it felt like the right ending for a zombie movie where death and chaos reign supreme.

Dawn of the Dead is streaming on Netflix through July 31.