Scream Factory will release a Collector's Edition Blu-ray of Zack Snyder's 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. In 2004, the world was introduced to a filmmaker named Zack Snyder, whose debut feature Dawn of the Dead - a remake of the seminal 1978 horror classic from George A. Romero - helped popularize the zombie genre for a new age while taking the motivated, sprinting zombies concept of Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later and ran with it.

That film launched Snyder into orbit as a superstar director, leading to his high-profile gig rebooting Superman for a new generation with 2013's Man of Steel, its follow up Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and this year's Justice League. Snyder's signature hyperreal visual style and sure hand at epic-level action sequences has had a distinct influence on blockbuster filmmaking in the past decade (for better or worse), and while he gets to play in the DCEU sandbox these days, Dawn of the Dead started it all.

Now, cult sci-fi and horror label Scream Factory has announced on its Facebook page that a new Collector's Edition Blu-ray of Dawn of the Dead will be released this October. See the full announcement below:

Yesterday we announced George A Romero’s Land of the Dead and today we bring you even more zombie action in the form of Zack Snyder’s thrilling 2004 remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD!

Project is still in progress but here’s what we can tell you so far:

- The Blu-ray release will be branded as a "Collector's Edition" that will come with a slipcover (guaranteed for three months after its original release date.)

- The newly-commissioned front-facing artwork you see pictured comes to us from Nathanael Marsh (Carrie, The John Carpenter steelbooks). The reverse side of the wrap will showcase the original theatrical poster art design.

- Bonus features & specs are still in progress and will be announced sometime in Sept but we can confirm today that this will be a 2-disc set and will sport new extras (including interviews with Ty Burrell, James Gunn, Jake Webber, David Anderson & Heather Langenkamp Anderson) plus the theatrical and unrated versions of the film.

- Official street date is 10/24/17. However, if you pre-order now directly from our website @ https://www.shoutfactory.com you’ll get it two weeks earlier plus you’ll received a free 18” x 24” rolled poster of the newly-designed key art (while supplies last)!

Dawn of the Dead Zombie Horde

The details of the bonus features and the specs of the new Blu-ray's picture and sound are still forthcoming, but a return to Snyder's Dawn of the Dead seems fitting. The film helped usher in a boom for the genre which is still (sort of) going strong. The countless zombie movies released in the wake of Dawn of the Dead have more or less dried up, but AMC's The Walking Dead is still drawing viewers and has inspired the spin off series Fear the Walking Dead, several video game titles and is still hotly debated on social media. Not to mention a script from James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 & 2.

While Romero's original is famous for the image of the undead horde shambling through a shopping mall in search of a good meal, that film's celebrated social commentary essentially begins and ends right there (we're mindless zombie consumers, get it?). More memorable are Romero's splattery sensibilities and willingness to push the shock envelope right over the edge - considered extreme for 1978, much of it remains so today.

Snyder's film has its flaws - cardboard characters, Canadian outlet stores in a supposedly Midwestern American mall, the zombies would've totally eaten that dog - but his Dawn of the Dead featured a terrifying new take on those somewhat irritating genre monsters, a grim, apocalyptic sense of humor, gore galore and the zombie birth scene, a sequence that still holds up as one of the most gruesome, disturbing horror scenes in recent memory.

It will be interesting to see what kind of fresh features Scream Factory can bring to a repackaged Blu-ray edition, as the bells and whistles of such releases will be what makes it worth the price. Will you be snatching up the Collector's Edition of Dawn of the Dead?

Next: Zack Snyder’s Wonder Woman Cameo Finally Found

The Dawn of the Dead Collector's Edition Blu-ray will be released on October 24th, 2017.

Source: Scream Factory