12 Films That Have Stayed With Me

Recently, I was tagged in a Facebook post to rattle off 12 films that have stayed with me.  The instructions were A.) Not too think about it too hard and B.) To only use one film per director.  Obviously, the point of this blog entry goes against Rule A., but, I just thought this was too cool of a thing to pass up (plus, my buddy Richard Diaz gave me the idea of breaking each film down and why they're so important to me).  On with the list, shall we?

 
1.) Dawn of the Dead – the fact that I wrote one of my college papers on why I love this film so much speaks volumes.  To me, it goes together with me the way oxygen does…it’s just a simple part of me.  From the first time I saw this film, as a wide-eyed 5yr old who dug the sounds and images of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, to the time I rediscovered it as an 11yr old and falling head over heels for it, to ultimately meeting many of the film’s creators and visiting many of its filming locations. 

There’s a sense of comfort and familiarity that goes along with this film; it’s unmistakable soundtrack like a sweet lullaby or calming force.  In short, Dawn never gets old for me!

2.) Rocky IV – this was the first film I ever saw in a theater and, even though I was only 3yrs old, I still have very vivid memories of seeing it.  Both of my parents telling me that it was like watching a really big TV and that I had to be quiet (a rule that I’ve never forgotten nor broken) as they piled their coats up on a seat so that I could see.  I sat there in pure amazement, ignoring my parents as they offered me popcorn, candy, or a drink.  The only time I broke my fixed attention was…when I fell asleep.  BUT, I do clearly recall the scene of Apollo visiting Rocky at his home with his intentions to fight Drago. 

Perhaps one of the first albums I ever owned was the soundtrack to Rocky IV (I’ve since gotten it on CD and vinyl now too); each song inspiring me to climb mountains and beat up Russians.  It’s safe to say that, yes; this is another one that never gets old for me.

3.) Indiana Jones And The Temple of Doom – while I can’t say for sure whether I saw this or Raiders of the Lost Ark first, this one has always held a special place in my heart.  Sure, a lot of people would choose Raiders over Temple of Doom, but not me.  Maybe I saw a little of myself in Short Round, as I day-dreamed about going on adventures with one of my first childhood heroes, Indiana Jones.  Maybe it’s the borderline horror movie elements that creep their way throughout the story and set pieces; admit it, the Temple of Doom itself, with its towering Khali statue is incredible!  Speaking of which, who doesn’t love a lei made from human skulls and a grass skirt made from severed human arms??  Plus, John Williams’ score is fantastic in this; sure Raiders has some incredible themes on its own, but Temple of Doom has its titular piece that places during the human sacrifice sequence….if I had a band, that music would totally be our intro theme! 

As if further proof was needed of just how deeply ingrained Temple of Doom is in my psyche, as a kid, every time I’d see a rope or wire bridge, I’d INSTANTLY want to run/play on it because of the movie.  Hell, to this day, I can’t not see a suspension foot-bridge and not want to cut it in the middle and drop twenty or thirty advancing bad guys on either side of me into the waters below!

4.) Rocky – why yes, I am including two Rocky movies…different directors.  Next to Indiana Jones, Rocky was an early childhood hero to me (thanks mostly to Rocky IV).  As a kid, I remember seeing all the Rocky movies at various points, often getting them confused with one another – no thanks to the previous endings being repeated at the start of each sequel.  However, I didn’t really fall in love with the original film until high school.  I saw and still see a lot of myself in the Rocky character.  I’ve always felt like an underdog – especially in elementary school and, to some extent, in high school where I was considered popular and pretty much everyone liked me.  “His whole life was a million to one shot” . . . my million to one shot was going to college and becoming the first person in my family to do so an earn a degree.  Much like Rocko training for the big fight with Apollo, I busted my ass during my final semesters at Rutgers University (another instance where the Rocky IV soundtrack came in handy…listening to it as I studied for my absolute final exam literally before I walked over to take it!). 

In life, I’d also consider myself an underdog; sort of marching to the beat of my own drum and never really finding myself fitting in with the so-called status quo (whenever I tried to do so, it came off disingenuously). 

5.) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4:  The Dream Master – some of you may say “the sequels sucked! Freddy became a wise-cracker instead of a skin-carver!”  While this may be true to a fault, the first Nightmare film I ever saw was either Nightmare 3 or Nightmare 4.  In fact, this was the one that I remember seeing TV spots for around its release.  Regardless, it’s always been the one I’ve felt closest to.  The kids in it are all great and, to me, are realistically fleshed-out instead of the cardboard stereotypes you’d see in other horror franchises of the time.  Actually, they’re all kids I either wanted to be or at least hang out with!  Lisa Wilcox’s transformation from shy Alice to ass-kicking Dream Master is a great, believable arc.  Danny Hassel’s Dan reminds me of the jocks I was friends with in high school.  Andras Jones, as Rick, is the kinda dude I’d hang out with and/or secretly want to be.  To this day, I’m not afraid to admit that I still have a crush of Brooke Theiss as Debbie.  Haha.    

As for Freddy….well, this is MY Freddy.  As a kid, watching the entire series on VHS, I always felt that the first two films (especially the original) had Freddy “all wrong”.   From the sleeves with no stripes and hobo look (and voice) in Nightmare 1 to the general all-around evil nature in Nightmare 2, it all felt like the filmmakers were still trying to perfect the character. 

Plus…that soundtrack!  At the time, The Fat Boys and “Are You Ready For Freddy” was my jam.  There’s not a time that goes by where I don’t play Dramarama’s “Anything, Anything (I’ll Give You)” and not want to work out or kick some ass at something! 

6.) Back To The Future – growing up in the 80s and early 90s and being your average American boy, it’s safe to say that Marty McFly was a dude you were required to look up to and emulate!  In my eyes, anyone with a skateboard or riding a skateboard was Marty McFly.  Even though I have very fond memories of seeing Part II and Part III in the theater, it’s the first film that solidified my love for the series.  Marty was just so cool in pretty much every situation and always outsmarting Biff!  Maybe I saw some of that in myself, since I was never a big, muscular brute and I always thought I could charm or talk my way out of potentially bad situations.  Plus, what kid at that time didn’t think the DeLorean was the raddest car of all time or who didn’t want to rock out on a guitar like that?  Why yes…I did play air guitar on a broom to “Johnny B. Goode” many, many times.

7.) Aliens – I can still vaguely recall the first time I saw Aliens on TV, through the lenses of a pair of 3D glasses.  I kept switching from one eye to the other, making the picture either totally blue or completely red.  The thinking of a 5yr old, right?  Of course, another early memory revolving around Aliens was, or course, the accompanying arcade game released in 1990 . . . loads of fun that one!   Anyway, as a film, Aliens is exactly like a rollercoaster thrill-ride!  It was never “scary” to me, but always a fun ride with memorable characters – who didn’t want to be Hicks or even Drake?  In the early 90s, instead of just playing “guns” or “war” with my buddies, we’d play Aliens or Predator (especially when we get toy mini-guns!).  I was so obsessed with Aliens that I remember one night during a snowstorm, which was almost guaranteeing no school the next day, I took an old pair of greyish pants and colored black camouflage all over them to resemble the Marines’ gear!  True story.

Around 1992 when Alien3 came out, I managed to tape Aliens off of Request Pay-Per-View, which was for some reason airing it as a free movie.  Of course, I missed the very beginning and so the tape that I always watched -- until I bought the first DVD boxset in 1999 or 2000 – always started with the Marines rushing formation for inspection as they prepared to board the Dropship.  Also, don’t even get me started on the toys from Kenner….had them all…well, most of them.  Some of the mutant, hybrid Aliens were a bit too goofy-looking for my taste as the line started to die out.  In fact, when I first heard there was going to be a toy line from Kenner, I daydreamed of what the figures would look like – almost exact recreations of the movie, though the finally released line (based in part on an unproduced cartoon series) still fit the bill for me. 

Today, it’s one of those movies that I can quote verbatim and, in any given situation, I tend to throw out a line or two . . . I still say “I’m on it” just like Hudson after Hicks gives him orders later in the film!

8.) Michael Jackson’s Thriller  - “But this isn’t a film…” you say?  Bullshit.  Of course it is.  The reason for its inclusion on my list is pretty simple:  it was my exact introduction to all things Horror and monsters.  Being born in 1982, Michael Jackson was part of my being and the Thriller album as a whole was a huge part of that.  I can still vividly recall watching the Thriller music video in pre-school in 1985/1986 and being terrified of the were-cat monster (which I always thought was a werewolf anyway) and not really scared by the “monsters” in the second half of the short film . . . of course, then I saw Dawn of the Dead and my entire notion of zombies (and, most importantly, what they are and what they can do) made Thriller absolutely terrifying to me!

Let’s not forget that ending either . . .still creeps me out!!   Hell, even though I’m almost 34yrs old, just the intro of the song itself still kinda creeps me out.  Those memories and emotions I felt while watching Michael Jackson’s Thriller way back when I was knee-high to a duck have stayed with me for evigt!  And so, it’s because of Michael Jackson’s Thriller that I can trace the roots of my Horror fandom back to today.

9.) The Crow – the first time I read about this film was in an issue of Comics magazine and, while I’m not 100% certain, I’m pretty sure it was before Brandon Lee’s tragic death.  At this point, I had seen Showdown in Little Tokyo and Rapid Fire and so I knew Brandon was “Bruce Lee’s son” and that he was an all-around badass just like his father before him.  My interest was definitely there from a photo in the mag of Lee, in character with the make-up and trench coat.  This would be a cool movie.  And then he died and an entirely different vibe swept over the film and its release.

I was obsessed with The Crow . . . even though I absolutely hated the way people would point out to me that I was.  To this day, I kinda still loathe the word “obsessed” mainly for this very reason.  Ultimately, what attracted me to The Crow so much was that it was a story about love (which, given that I was 11/12yrs old when it was released and I was starting to have “those feelings”, I was looking for love) and revenge (hey, there’s still a part of me that would love nothing more than to turn the tables on those who tormented and wronged me).  This is a film that came along in an awkward period of my life…if I ever had a Goth or emo phase, this was it….grew my hair out (mostly because I wanted to be Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction and/or because Metallica had long hair), wore a lot of black (mostly because of Metallica though) and started to immerse myself in music and movies and was basically finding my own identity.  Ultimately, I never owned a black trench coat, wore white pancake makeup, dyed my hair jet black, painted my nails black, or wore eye makeup…so yeah.  Of course, I was The Crow for Halloween that year, but that was about it.     

The film itself was awesome . . . it was one of the first movies that I rented and double-taped (as it wasn’t yet available to own yet) and got smacked in the face with macrovision copy-protection!  So, even though the tape copied, the picture constantly went from very bright to very dark throughout the entire running time!!  But, at least I had the movie!!

Speaking of music, this is one of the last great soundtracks that I can listen to front to back with no complaints.  Every track is great and, more importantly, is actually in the damn movie!  Nope, none of this “music from and inspired by” bullshit here! 

Over the years, my “obsession” with The Crow seemed to have waned a bit as there was a time where I literally didn’t watch the film or listen to the soundtrack for, at least, 10 years.  It’s one of those films (and soundtracks) that I can revisit and fondly recall those earlier emotions as well as continue to enjoy the story.

10.) Pulp Fiction – another film that I can quote endlessly (and still throughout lines from in almost everyday conversation) with an outstanding soundtrack from start to finish, this is one for the ages as far as I’m concerned.  Actually, the first time I heard of the movie was by seeing the theatrical trailer at the start of The Crow VHS that I had copied!  At first, when I saw Bruce Willis, I thought it was going to be a Die Hard sequel and that Travolta was the villain . . . imagine that scenario for a moment, will you?!  Anyway, that trailer kinda blew me away and I knew right there that I needed to see this film.  Ultimately, I missed it in the theater, but I do remember staring fondly at its theatrical poster in the light box at the movie theater that I’d eventually work at 4 years later! 

As a matter of fact, I had the soundtrack for Pulp Fiction almost 21 years ago to this day!  Yup…bought the soundtrack before I ever saw the movie and I can remember wondering aloud how some of the dialogue bits fit into the film – did Samuel L. Jackson play a preacher man (or at least pose as one) who got shot up?!?!  It’s safe to say that I wore that CD out because I actually did and took it back to The Wall music store, under their “Lifetime Music Guarantee” and got a fresh disc.  Side note:  how many of us just switched out cassette or CD cases with these famous blue stickers when something happened to the music?  Haha.  

My local video store was awesome; they had a killer Horror section and I never got carded for the stuff I’d rent – whether it was I Spit On Your Grave or, in this case, Pulp Fiction.  I actually reserved the very first rental of the VHS at my store and I remember being excited as hell when the day finally arrived that I could go pick it up!  As soon as the end of the day bell rang at school that day, I walked my narrow butt the mile or so down the road to the video store – straight from school.  I even remember waving to my teacher as he drove by while I was walking along the shoulder of the road!  My life changed that afternoon when I brought the movie home . . . in fact, one of my buddies was over and watched it with me.  I think both of us heard many words and phrases that neither had heard before (which we soon added to our vocabulary of course!) and, if I’m not mistaken, he got in trouble with his parents for watching the movie at my house! 

Good times!

11.) The Adventures of Milo & Otis – I’m pretty sure I didn’t see this in the theater, but it was one of the first movies that my mom rented for me on Request Pay-Per-View (along with Elvira: Mistress of the Dark).  To this day, it cracks me when people view my Film Aficionado collection listing and this is at the top since it’s alphabetical! 

Before I was all about blood, guts, zombies, and heavy metal thunder, I was a cat person (and still am, though I don’t have any pets any longer).  This movie and its story of a curious cat and a pug-nosed pup has always spoken volumes to me about the true meaning and values of friendship.  No matter whom you are or what your differences may be – even if you’re a cat and he or she is a dog – it doesn’t mean that you can’t be the best of friends!  Everything is just too cute about this film; from the adventure that Milo & Otis go on and all of the other characters they meet along the way, to the late Dudley Moore’s excellent narration.  One day, I’d love to see the original Japanese version of this film, though I’m sure it doesn’t have that great theme song!

12.) Night Patrol – to some, this is a film that is bottom of the barrel, lowest of the low-brow comedy at its worst.  To me, it’s one film that I will NEVER forget seeing for the first time in my life!  It was a New Year’s Eve party at my cousin’s house – 2002 into 2003 – and one of his friends had brought it over for a screening.  I was literally in pain from laughing so hard at those guys laughing at the movie!!  Everything about it friggin’ KILLS me!  The diner scene is worth the price alone, but just do yourself a favor and check it out . . . especially if you’re into or get the comedic styling of The Unknown Comic!

Dawn of the Dead: My Soundtrack Holy Grail (Goblin edition)

At the risk of letting this blog become dedicated to All Things George A. Romero (hey, besides this entry here, I've got a couple of other cool ideas I'm digging up from the Crypt) . . . I wanted to share, with you, the story of my hunt for the once elusive Dawn of the Dead soundtrack.

You see, in the days before the internet, there was a time a where people actually went out and purchased CDs, records, or cassettes of soundtracks they were looking for.  The main spark for this entry here at Constriction Pictures stems from an old friend asking me to burn a copy of the Dawn of the Dead soundtrack for them; matter of fact, I think I may have, but I don't remember.  The point is though, right now, you can google the soundtrack and instantly download it from pretty much any message board or blog similar to this one.  For me, the thrill of the hunt, and ultimately the glory of actually finding it in the flesh, has always been more rewarding than a quick and easy download. 



Just look at this cover art.  Stark, simple, and amazing.

The year was 1993 or early 1994 at the latest.  A random, after school hang session with some of my buddies resulted in talk of Dawn of the Dead. Can’t really say how or why it crept into our conversation, but the end product saw us renting the film and me rediscovering something that I had first seen at the impressionable age of 5.

Of course, when Mom came home, I got busted for having people over when no one was home and I had to deal with Dad later. But, needless to say, the damage was done and on that fateful evening, I was set on a path that I'd follow for the rest of my life.

I was now a fan of Dawn of the Dead.

Now, what had a very unique effect on me was the score that the film contained. It was haunting and eerie, yet the coolest music I had heard in a long time. The fact that it was instrumental appealed to me even way back then; in fact, I still stand by the fact that Horror movies need a good, strong instrumental score! At that point in time, I was going by what the film's credits stated "Music by The Goblins with Dario Argento" . . . um, excuse me, who and who?  I could barely pronounce Argento's name at this point, but my interest was peaked, to say the least!

I'm not sure where I first discovered that there was actually a soundtrack album available, but so began an almost ritualistic journey to the mall to search every single soundtrack section in the hopes that I'd find the CD of my dreams. In fact, back in those days, on the East coast we had a mall music store known as The Wall (which is now commonly known as F. Y. E.); one of the cool things that The Wall was known for was their lifetime music guarantee . . . whenever you purchased a cassette or CD at one of their stores, you were given a square, blue sticker that you could place on the case of your recently-purchased music. Should anything happen to your item -- be it a scratch or your car's cassette deck got a little hungry -- The Wall would replace it for you. For free. For life. Or until they got bought out.


But, I digress . . . The Wall also had a special order program where you could go to a little kiosk in their stores and look up pretty much anything. If you found it, you could print out a little receipt-like piece of paper that was your special order form. As luck would have it, the Dawn of the Dead soundtrack by Goblin was listed in their database! Score!

So, there I was, barely 13yrs old printing out a special order ticket for the Dawn of the Dead soundtrack and walking it up to the counter. I was told to come back in a week or so. Was it REALLY this easy?? Nah...no way it was.

Of course it wasn't.

What was an incredibly foreign concept to me at the time was that the soundtrack was out of print. WHAT?? Not one single employee of The Wall ever told me it was out of print; all they ever told me was that it was on back order. Dammit. Seriously, I can't tell you just how many different malls I'd gone to printing out special order forms at The Wall for this record . . . and always coming up empty.
Okay, damn you . . . so this was to be a foot chase. No problem. Like The Wall, I would eventually hit every mall or independent record store in the remote area (courtesy of my Mom and her mini-van). If it wasn't a store, then it was a flea market where I'd search through dusty old milk crates of records I cared nothing about, but still, I always came up empty.

What's a kid to do when he REALLY wants to listen to the Dawn of the Dead soundtrack in the car or in his headphones when he's walking to school? Obviously, he sits in front of the TV with a tape recorder and records the audio of the movie . . . only momentarily lashing out at people who might unknowingly call the house, thus interrupting the afternoon's recordings. Seriously folks, if you thought the mullet geek with the dirtstache in Trekkies was horrible to his friend when their phone call disrupted his precious interview time . . . you didn't know me as a kid!

So, the quality was incredibly poor and there may have been the occasional phone ring or parental interruption, but it was something...

Some time later, Mom and Dad took me to my first Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors convention in 1995 -- where, again, I was unable to locate the Dawn soundtrack, though I did see a vinyl copy of the soundtrack for Day of the Dead. But it was what I discovered after that convention that made an impact . . . shortly after that show, while thumbing through a recent issue of Fango, I stumbled across a personal ad that read "Dawn of the Dead garage kit" . . .

"What the hell is that?", I thought to myself.

Anyway, I sent away for a mail order catalog from the address, which was listed in Michigan.

A few weeks later, I received what basically amounted to a Horror collector's zine in the form of a photocopied catalog, detailing various -- and quite costly -- items for sale. The company was called Classic Horrorz and it was run by a guy named Ron Causey and his buddy Terry Prince. As I thumbed through the catalog, feverishly scanning for anything Dawn of the Dead-related, I quickly came across a CD titled "Zombi/Tenenbre", a split collection of selected tracks Goblin had recorded for both Dawn of the Dead and Tenebre (a film I hadn't seen at that point).

The price was a whopping $75 . . . hey, that’s a lot of money to a 13yr old who has no income outside of being a good kid to his folks! This, of course, ended up being the first version of the Dawn soundtrack that would wind up in my collection.

I don't know many times I traced that 'bald head' image!

Released by Cinevox Records in 1990, the split release compiles tracks that Goblin recorded for Dawn (aka: Zombi) as well as Tenebre.

The tracklist is, as follows:

Dawn:

1.) L’Alba Dei Morti Viventi

2.) Zombi

3.) Safari

4.) Zaratozom

5.) La Caccia

6.) Tirassegno

Tenebre:

7.) Tenebre

8.) Gemini

9.) Lesbo

10.) Flashing

11.) Waiting Death

It’s interesting to note that, had I not also ordered a dubbed copy of the Dario Argento cut of Dawn of the Dead shortly before I ordered this CD, I would have only known three of the Dawn tracks! Still, I finally had some of the Dawn of the Dead soundtrack in my possession!!

Being that the titles were in Italian, I was desperate to know what they meant . . . so, I headed over to my local, favorite pizza place and asked my good friend and owner, Tony, if he could translate, which he happily did!

April 1997 saw me attend my second Chiller Theatre convention in East Rutherford, NJ. There, I picked up yet another split release of the Dawn soundtrack! This version featured all ten tracks of the Dawn soundtrack – with the inclusion of “The Gonk” (here labeled as “Mall Muzak”) as well as Goblin’s complete score for the Australian shocker Patrick.

A decent bootleg featuring the entire Goblin score

There's been some speculation about this release and whether it's some sort of promo or just a bootleg . . .if the horrid print quality of the cover art and the hissy quality of the audio weren't dead giveaways, it's definitely the latter.

Sometime in 1998, as Dawn of the Dead was celebrating its 20th anniversary, Cinevox released a really cool special edition of the soundtrack on CD.  I picked this one up at a Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors convention for $15 or $20; this particular release includes the original 10 tracks, as well as 6 additional -- and highly sought-after -- unreleased tracks.  There's also a throwaway bonus track entitled "Zombi (The Living Dead's Voices)" which sounds like someone messing around with a guitar effects pedal.

This is pretty much the definitive edition of the soundtrack!

Simply put, this release rocks!  To FINALLY have the complete Goblin score in collection was a dream come true.  Of course, there was also the search for the De Wolfe Library cues that were pain-stakingly assembled by Romero during the film's post-production...but that would be a separate quest in and of itself.

Sometime in 2000 or 2001, I managed to win an original Varese Sarabande vinyl LP off of eBay.  I've gotta say, on my iPod, a rip of this particular vinyl version gets the most airplay without a doubt.  Also around this time, I picked up a vinyl copy of the original Italian release from Cinevox as well.

In 2004, I picked up yet another vinyl re-issue, this time from Dagored, with an interesting (and creepy) cover.  Nothing too special about this release, as it's merely the a repressing of the original version, though this time on 180gram vinyl.  Still, a cool addition to the collection.

Well, I think that about does it for my Dawn of the Dead soundtrack collection in terms of the Goblin score.  I don't have too much in the way of the De Wolfe tracks outside of the 2004 Trunk Records collection of "unreleased" library cues.  Other than that, I've got mp3 versions of fan-made "Ultimate Edition" collections. 

Thanks for checking out another entry here . . . stay tuned for some more A Nightmare On Elm Street stuff coming up!

Dawn of the Dead: The Monroeville Project

Think of a place that truly means something to you....does that place hold some sort of special memory?  A memory that is instantly brought back the moment you step foot in that place? 

Now think of your all time favorite movie....have you ever wondered what it would be like to step into that movie?  For most of us, our favorite movies were probably filmed on massive soundstages.  As much as some of us wish we could walk into the Death Star hangar or train for "the big fight" in Mighty Mick's Gym, those classic locations were merely sets which have now likely been dismantled and destroyed unfortunately.

For as long as I can remember, there's been one place that combines both of the things I asked you to really think about. 

The movie is, of course, Dawn of the Dead and the place is The Monroeville Mall where, in the Fall of 1977, four survivors of a national crisis sought refuge from hordes of the living dead.

Above:  January 1978...Below:  April 2013

As early as my second or third time seeing Dawn of the Dead, I clearly remember fantasizing about going to the mall.  Growing up in New Jersey, I've seen my share of shopping malls, many of which were probably built around the same time as the Monroeville Mall as some of them even featured similar decor and structures.  For those of you back home, the Whitehall Mall outside of Allentown, PA had some very similar features near its entrances....until it was pretty much demolished and got a massive facelift, as so many of these classic malls have fallen victim to....yes, even the Monroeville Mall.

Living a brisk walk away from Pennsylvania for most of my life, making a trip to Monroeville, PA seemed like a no brainer!  Unfortunately, that never materialized, as family vacations and roadtrips never quite veered far enough west along I-80.

Last year, for my 30th birthday, I knew I had to do something special to commemorate the event.  The idea of road-tripping it back to New Jersey to see my family and friends came up and...of course, Monroeville happens to be on the way!

After doing some solid research on-line for addresses of not just the Monroeville Mall, but other locations from Dawn of the Dead, as well as The Crazies, and Night of the Living Dead, my wife Sandee and I were all set to go.  In fact, to say we were excited is way too much of an understatement.

Though, before we really get along on our journey, Dear Reader, I've gotta introduce some sort of antagonist, don't I?  Every good story has a great antagonist, right??  Well, while doing my research on various George Romero-themed websites and message boards, I came across a post from someone who had recently visited the mall....this person claimed that the JC Penney's store, which had been the main location for a lot of the action in Dawn of the Dead, was ultimately closing and being demolished to make way for a movie theater!

What now?!?!  That can't be!!  They can't really destroy a place of horror movie history and, ironically, turn it into a movie theater....could they?  With that question hanging over our heads, we set off for Monroeville, PA.....

Our first location appears to be pretty far from the mall itself, but is actually a lot closer than you'd think!  Early in the film, the four friends need to find helicopter fuel and come across a large posse of local hunters and National Guardsmen out "hunting" the living dead.

Just try and look at this pic and NOT start humming "Cause I'm A Man" as it plays in the film!

 Most of the "redneck" scenes were filmed at a nearby golf course which is actually right up to the left in the location photo.   You can also see that the house, road, and general area remain untouched aside from 35+ years of tree growth.

This area is actually a bit of a treasure trove of Dawn and Romero-related locations....just down the road from the Redneck House is the Monroeville Airport (Harold W. Brown Memorial Field)....

I guess they truly DID hit the pumps and they took off....with the pumps!

It was pretty surreal when we first arrived at the airport, parking right across from the helicopter landing pad!  At first, you turn down a gravel road which is marked by warning signs of trespassing and threats of being protected under Homeland Security(!) until...BOOM...you're there!

And, exactly as the location is laid out in the film, right across from the landing pad is the field house....

Beware of bald, redneck zombies and crazy kiddie zombies when entering this building!

Unfortunately, both times we visited the airport, no one was around for us to ask if we could get a peek inside.  For those who maybe aren't Dawn fans, a lot of action was filmed in the field house and all over the airfield itself.

Remember what I said about this area being a treasure trove of locations?  Well, just over the trees behind the field house is a small residential neighborhood...containing none other than the house from the wrap-around story in Creepshow!

If Tom Atkins actually lived here, I'd be tempted to be an ass just to have him come out and yell at me!

As our heroes in the film eventually do, I think it's time we headed to the mall . . . shall we?

Here we see the original JC Penney's location, one of the first and longest-standing residents of the mall.

 The first location at the mall that is shown in the movie is, of course, the JC Penney's store as our heroes fly over the barren parking lot.  It's funny that I didn't actually realize the first location shown in the film is, in fact, Penney's . . . though, once I first stepped foot onto the property or inside the mall itself, I felt as though I'd been there a million times before!

"They're in Flyboy.  They opened the loading docks!  With those bay doors open, there's gonna be a thousand zombies in here."

The entrance we chose to enter the mall first was, of course, the loading docks.  This is where a good majority of some of the more important action takes place.  This is, of course, the second entrance that Peter and Roger block with the trucks and, ultimately, where Roger gets bitten.  It's also the entrance that the raiders later use to get into the mall with their bikes.

The photo above of the zombies, of course, is what a lot of us first saw from the old VHS tape!

The area seen above is so cool; as soon as you see the stone wall -- which is seen so much during the raider invasion as well as most noticeably as the back cover photo of the film's original VHS release -- it's instantly recognizable!  The first time we were there, there was actually a large tree planted in the open area off to the bench's right side (you can see it in the nighttime shot above).  When we came back in November, though, the tree was gone, making the area more resemble its 1978 version!

Once inside the loading dock doors, the mall really hasn't changed all that much . . . 

One of the interesting things that I noticed while first seeing the mall in person versus seeing it a million times in the movie is that it seems so much smaller in reality.  So many areas seen in the film always felt like they were shot in some other remote area, yet a majority of them were shot in a lot of the same areas.

From this entrance, there's a long hallway, leading to the main part of the mall.  This hallway was used for a variety of set pieces throughout the film; it's most commonly seen as Peter sets his sights on the Tommy Gun Raider as the bikers retreat.

Stationed at one end of the mall, this entrance leads to the area known as Fountain Square where the fountain originally was located.  This is on the Macy's side of the mall which, at the time of filming, was home to Hornes department store.

As you can see, today, it's a virtual petri dish of germs as the fountain has been replaced with a Mister Rogers' Neighborhood-themed childrens' play area.  Also, unfortunately, the cool stairwells stationed in each of the anchoring ends of the mall, which the zombies so prominently climbed, have been replaced with escalators. 

Directly above this area, as well as at the other end of the mall where the Clock Tower once stood, are those funky skylights which are famously seen at the start of the film's end credits.  The first time I looked up and saw them, I knew I was HERE . . . a great feeling!

Keeping with the film, we had to enter the JC Penney's store from the upper level, so let's make our way up there, shall we?

Up on the second floor and on the way to Penney's is, of course, one of the most instantly recognizable spots from the film:  the hallway that leads to the apartment hideout of our heroes!

Any fan knows that, just to the left side of the DVD screencap above, there's a fake wall that was put into place to mask the seemingly never-ending hallway (which actually leads out to the parking lot!).

It's worth noting that the change in the color scheme makes the hallway just a little more inviting and friendly.  Every time we've been to the mall, there is always a family or two with small kiddos in a hurry to get to the rest rooms located at this end!  You can also see a difference in the height of the hallway . . . it looks like, over time, there were some changes to the structure of it.

Now hit the department store!  Go!

This shot is such a classic!  The location photo we got was actually by accident, but it's still a great shot, don't you think so?

When there's no more room in HELL, the dead will walk the Earth.

Unfortunately, this was one (of two) of the only times I was able to visit the Penney's store; you see, the rumors were indeed true:  this location was closing to make way for a movie theater.

Seeing Penney's in her state of disrepair -- fixtures removed, CLOSEOUT sale signs, and general emptiness was bittersweet.  It was absolutely a bummer to see the store closing, knowing that Horror fans would forever be losing a piece of film history.  With that being said, it was also a treat to see the store almost completely empty!  In fact, for my next visit to the mall in November of 2012, it had been closed and was in the process of being completely gutted . . .

To most visitors of the Monroeville Mall, the JC Penney's store may have just been a tired, old department store well beyond its expiration date . . . but to Horror fans around the world, it held a special place in our collective heart.  

The main areas of interest in Penney’s were, of course, the escalator which Roger famously slides down the middle of, and the elevator where Flyboy meets his fate.

Heeeeeey Peter!

At the time we were there, the escalator was also in a state of disrepair.  Over the years, its wide open view point from the 2nd floor down to the ground floor had been replaced with a walled-in mirror look commonly found at most department stores.  Of course, the escalator itself still remained and, from what I could tell, most of the surrounding departments remained in the same area – with the Home Entertainment area being off to the right on the ground floor.

The first day we were there, I was nervous about sliding down the escalator – hey, I had to do it, if not for being a fan of the film and dreaming about it for so long, at least to get to do it before the store closed!  After much urging from my better half, I took a slide and recorded it . . .

Good times!  

When we returned the next day, the escalator was actually not working at all and was roped off for “maintenance” . . . something tells me they were trying to deter anyone else from taking one last slide though!

Booooooooooooooooooo!

The elevator had seen some changes over the years; most notably with its interior, which had been modernized.  Though, once the store was closed and demolition had begun, I was delighted to see several fans with access to the store and her parts posting photos of the original wood paneling inside the elevator, which had been hidden by the added modernizations!  Very cool!

Get me a screwdriver and something to stand on for down there....

On the ground floor, the area around the elevator saw many changes; in the film Flyboy runs past what looks like a small office or service desk.   Ultimately, the hallway leading down to the elevator had solid walls, a small doorway leading to several offices and a drinking fountain.

The second day we were there, more of those "Elevator" letters were missing....

The 2nd floor of the elevator, where Flyboy eerily returns as a zombie, looked pretty much the same as it did in the film!  It’s worth noting that, in the film, I had no idea that the exterior entrance of the mall was literally just out of sight in the right hand portion of the screen!

This is actually one of the shots that, for me, has always stood out from this film and genuinely creeped me out!

You can see that the area remained the same, aside from some modern flooring, a change of carpet, and the overhead lighting panels removed.   In fact, the door just to the left of the elevator appeared to even have the exact same sign “Associates Only”!

During that November visit, while the interior mall entrances were closed, the exterior doors to the gutted Penney’s were indeed wide open as demolition crew cleared out the location.   I was able to quietly step inside and see Penney’s in her naked state; the entrance I went in was right by Flyboy’s elevator, which was closed off unfortunately.  The little bit of Indiana Jones in me wanted to remove the elevator button for my collection, but alas, it had already been dismantled and what was once used in the film to reveal the Flyboy zombie was now just an errant wire sticking out of the panel.

These photos were taken in November 2012 as Penneys was being prepped for demolition.

Sadly, there was nothing I could really grab as a souvenir.

The Lower Level entrance to Penney's.

The LL entrance again.  This is also where Fran encounters the Nun Zombie.

Perhaps the most famous JC Penney store . . . ever?

Goodbye JC Penneys.

Moving along through the rest of the mall, the next location to check out would be one of the other entrances that the heroes lock from inside before they go on a hunt.

This particular location was interesting to me as it's actually on the upper level of the mall!

This entrance is relatively unchanged from how it appears in the film!

Also worth noting here is, along the wall leading to this entrance, there's an incredible mural painting that recognizes many great aspects of Pittsburgh history and pride -- including Dawn of the Dead and even The Dark Knight Rises.

The mural itself is actually a little further down than what is shown in the film.

  Here, we also get another famous line from Peter as the heroes finally take over the mall.

"We'll get it all locked off . . . then we're going on a hunt."

 After "the hunt' is over and all of the zombies still inside the mall have been put down, there are several locations highlighted in one of Dawn's best montage sequences.

The first is the coy pond.   In the film, there are several little pond/bridge combos seen, most of which have long been removed except for, of course, the coy pond.  The area around the bridge has changed a bit with the removal of the foliage and refurnishing of the floors, but the coy pond and its bridge remain as one of the last truly recognizable landmarks from the film.

Another area shown in the aftermath of the "the hunt" -- and shown quite a bit in the film -- is the Town Square area at the end opposite the Fountain Square.  This, of course, was home to the mall's famous Clock Tower.  The anchoring department store is now the new location of JC Penny; during filming Gimbel's department store was located there.

At one point, this area housed a trampoline/bungee attraction for kids.

Later on in the film, Roger finally succumbs to the bites he received earlier while blocking the entrances of the mall.  Once he turns and . . . comes back, Peter puts him down and he and Stephen bury him in one of the gardens of the mall.

As you can see, the tropical jungle-esque gardens that once took up a great deal of the lower level's floor space have all but been removed.

Now, let's take a look at one of the more secret filming locations found deep within the bowels of the Monroeville Mall . . . 

The boiler room.

In the shot above, I'm not quite sure if it's the same area.  With that being said, the boiler room itself is quite small and, well, it's a boiler room -- and a fully-functioning one at that!  With all of its lighting on, it's not quite as foreboding as it appears in the film.

Although I'm unsure if I'm in the same area that's shown in the screen cap above, there is at least one place in the boiler room that stands out and is immediately identifiable....

The control room. 

Looking at this photo, I'm wondering if Romero consciously went for moodier lighting to hide the clutter.

 One of the coolest aspects of the Monroeville Mall is that, true to Romero's original inspiration for setting Dawn there, it really is operationally self-contained.  I'm told that it's also one of the first (if only?) climate-controlled malls, operating under its own resources.  So, yeah, when the heroes first arrive to the mall and Peter notices that the power's still on and it "could be nuclear"?  He wasn't bullshitting.

Below, you see the interior of the office (as glimpsed through the door as the technician was getting ready to close up shop at the end of the night).  Looking at all those gauges -- which remain almost identical to the way they were seen in the film! -- I'd say this little, tiny office is truly the nerve center for the entire mall!  Seriously, just looking at the pic as I'm typing this, I'm smiling in amazement that this area hasn't really changed at all! 

"Hit 'em all.  We might as well have power on everything.  We might need it."

Here, we see the famous office where Peter and Roger grab the "keys to the kingdom" and flip on all of the mall mechanical features such as the muzak, displays, and even the escalators . . . 

Yes, this is where the late Clayton Hill, as the Sweater Zombie, took his ride.  Every fan should give it a go in his memory!

Even though the cool staircases originally situated at either of the anchoring ends of the mall have long since been replaced with escalators, the original escalators in the center of the mall have always remained.  Gone, though, is the funky floor tiling, which has been replaced with a marble-esque floor, a "fell off the truck" perfume kiosk, and a set of Lazy-Boy recliners . . . speaking of which, why are we seeing more and more of this sort of "living room" set-up in the middle of shopping malls?  Are we really that lazy that we need to sit down in a faux living room while we're shopping??

Also worth pointing out are the French marble columns seen throughout many of these photos.  From my knowledge, they're original to the mall and, at first glance, most of them look as though they've never been replaced outside of minor patch-up work here and there.  
Speaking of the marble columns, you may also notice something a little different . . . the light fixtures.  Unfortunately, the original light fixtures seen so prominently in the film, have long since been replaced by the night stand-like shaded lamps.  

Of course, the late Monroeville Zombies museum and gift-shop managed to hold onto a few of those awesome fixtures . . . 

Wouldn't these lights make the coolest living room centerpiece?

Maybe one day, I really will have one of these in my house.

 Speaking of Monroeville Zombies, fear not fiends . . . like any good zombie, they won't stay dead!  The museum will be returning VERY soon in its new home as The Living Dead Museum in the place where it all really began:  Evans City, PA.

Moving on to some other locations in the mall, let's lace up our skates and go for a spin around the ice rink at the Ice Palace shall we?

Oh wait . . . it's been replaced with a food court.  Damn!

Well, there were some zombies eating on the ice, so I guess this is only fair, right?

As far as I'm concerned, there's only ONE Sbarro Pizza and it's at the Monroeville Mall.

It's pretty much your standard mall foodcourt with all the usual types of food you'd find; Asian, BBQ, Chicken, Burgers, and a Sbarro Pizza.  Naturally, I recommend the Sbarro Pizza myself, as the slices are always great (especially when they're fresh) and the service is always top notch and friendly!   

Also, a brief word of caution:  the bathrooms in the foodcourt area are disgusting!

"Say 'goodbye', creep!"

One thing that pretty much any Dawn fan can agree on is how amazing Tom Savini's special make-up and effects are in the film.  One of the absolute standout images from the film occurs when the raiders invade the mall, letting thousands of zombies in with them; almost like they're having a good old time, the raiders start butchering the zombies.  

Savini's character of Blades is knocked off his bike by a zombie passerby.  Back on his feet, Savini swings his machete down into the ghoul's skull, effectively showing some of his cinema magic, as well as turning young Lenny Lies (who stood in as said zombie) into one of the most famous zombies in film history!

Soon, Peter and Stephen start shooting at the raiders, taking them out one by one.  Blades catches on and tries to hunt Peter down . . . 

"Ohhhh, you mother!"

 Before Penney's was torn down and moved, one of the only other stores that remained from the film is this Naturalizer.  Believe it or not, it was a Naturalizer store during filming and remains so to this day!

Also a stuntman, Tom Savini actually did this stunt himself . . . twice.  The first time didn't go so well.   When visiting the mall, please don't try this kids!

Another famous and notorious spot in the mall is the blood pressure machine.  These days, you don't see too many of these machines actually inside a mall, as they're usually tucked away inside pharmacies or mega stores like Wal-Mart and Target.

"Hey man!  What the hell ya doin, playin' around when someone's up there shootin' at us?"

These days, the blood pressure machine has been replaced by a Vitamin Water machine!

Outside the mall, there are still many more places to check out . . . 

As I said earlier, a lot of action takes place outside the Loading Dock entrance.  This area is also home to a shot in the film that forever had me puzzled in terms of layout . . . 

Obviously, the shot in the film was taken from the rooftop, which gives the illusion that there are more than two levels to this area of the mall.  In reality, the little squared off area looks down right above the loading dock doors themselves.  Right behind the railings is the mall entrance to the second level directly above the loading docks hallway.

This spot is great, though, as you can see out across most of the back end of the parking lot -- again, where a lot of action occurs in the film.  Directly to the right of the railing is where the famous, pod-like lamp posts were as seen when the heroes first arrive at the mall.
Looking at the pic below, I see what they did when the mall was updated . . . there originally was a staircase, similar to the ones by the Clock Tower and fountain.  In the screen cap, you can see the handrail for the stairs in the right hand corner. 

Looking out across the parking lot, you'll instantly recognize the service road that Peter and Roger tear down in the trucks as they block the entrances.

Those of you outside of the East Coast, might not be familiar with A & P grocery stores, but seeing that store in the strip mall across the parking lot in the film always made everything feel a lot more real and much closer to home.  Growing up, my hometown had an A & P and, along with that one, I used to go to at least two or three others, so this inclusion here always made me chuckle.  

These days, the A & P is now a Guitar Center.  In the film, you don't really much more of that annex where A & P was located, but these days, it's almost like a mini mall in and of itself!

Again, this area is where the second truck blocking scene takes place and it's also home to one of the squishiest (if not underrated) scenes in the film!  As Roger backs his truck up against the Loading Dock doors, he runs over the head of a zombie that Peter hit while turning into the area in front of the entrance.

Oddly enough, as we were leaving the mall, a truck was making deliveries and was parked in almost the exact same spot as Roger's truck!  

Well, there you have it.  I can't say this enough:  If you're a Horror movie fan, you owe it to yourself to check out the Monroeville Mall.  Sure, a lot of it has changed and it may very well be unrecognizable to the untrained eye . . . but to the rabid, dare I say "obsessed" Dawn of the Dead fan, it's like stepping into the film!  Every time we go back to the mall, it's like seeing an old friend that I've known for most of my life.  

So, what are you waiting for?  Plan your trip and see it for yourself!

The Monroeville Mall:  After Hours

Thanks for sticking around and reading through this piece; I've been slowly working on it for almost a year now!  It's been fun going through and finding the locations and matching them up to their film versions.

Remember, this is by no means a final guide to all of the Dawn locations . . . I've still got a few more to search out!

In the meantime, feel free to also check out the video version of this article . . .