Of all the beloved horror classics, this is the only one I don't really get.

What, all there is to a movie are the special effects and the hairstyles of the day? DOTD '78 is a classic in part because the characters are all interesting and sympathetic, and their making a bunker out of a shopping mall provided a good setting for all sorts of tension and sly commentary. Let's contrast this with the supposedly superior DOTD '04 and its supposedly superior special effects. That CGI itself now looks dated. Plus, every character was either an asshole, an idiot, insufferably whiny, or some combination of those three. I wanted them all to die. Even the bits of humor I found funny a couple decades ago now fall flat, with everything drenched in a certain sarcasm and irony that was all too common even then. You want to talk dated? Whatever you find exhilarating and cutting edge now will eventually meet that same criticism. What gives lasting appeal to films like DOTD '78 with its dated special effects and hairdos are the film's other qualities, like the characters and obstacles they contend with. Those critical components haven't dated in the slightest, except that now every jackass in Hollywood is making some sort of zombie film or tv series.

At the time, it followed a hit. Night of the living dead was the first of its kind for zombie movies. Dawn of the dead properly enhanced the experience with color, gore, music, and setting. It's very 70's. By today's standards, it's quaint. But back when it was released, it was revolutionary in the zombie genre. That's why people initially consider it a classic. I like it for characters and quirky sense of storytelling. It's great seeing how the effects and acting progressed from night of the living dead. Plus the characters are pretty cool. Romero did that well in his earlier films.