Hello, and welcome to “Debra Tries…” The series where I review topics and activities that I would not normally take part in on a normal day. For example, I will listen to music, watch movies, TV shows, play video games and even eat foods that lie outside my comfort zone. Today’s topic: a rated R horror movie. 

   For those who do not know, I scare easily. If you call me chicken, I would agree with you. So today’s challenge was going to happen eventually. This issue had been coming for a while. When the concept of “Debra Tries…” was made, horror movies were one of the first ideas to come up. However, I wanted to wait (or procrastinate) till now to try this.

So let’s get right into it. 

   The movie I planned to watch was 2004’s “Dawn of the Dead.”This was mainly because it was recommended by the WolfTracks adviser, Adam Musgrave, as one of the scariest movies he’s ever seen. Perfect for “scaredy-cat” Debra. Before you ask, yeah that holds up. The scariest thing I’ve seen by a long shot. 

   Basically, the movie is about a zombie pandemic spreading throughout the US. This takes place in Milwaukee county, Wisconsin at around 2004(as seen by the technology). A group of survivors find each other and make camp at the local mall. All the while they try to find a way to live through constant zombie attacks. 

   My first thought about this movie was about how graphic it was. Literally, the third scene is a 12-year-old zombie biting the main character’s husband, which leads to the husband chasing the main character, Ana, around the house, trying to kill her. To say that I was hiding under my blanket would be an understatement. I was living under my bed and that was just in the first 20 minutes. 

There is a scene when a father rips a baby out of his girlfriend’s womb after she died from a zombie bite. The baby also turns out to be a zombie, so after the father dies, the baby is shot. Probably the most graphic, bloody thing I’ve ever seen. 

   For what it is worth, I also thought this movie was hilarious. It is basically “Guardians of the Galaxy” with killer undead monsters trying to eat off of everyone’s flesh. How so? Other than both movies being directed by James Gunn, there are multiple happy music-filled montages of characters vibing in the abandoned mall, making weapons, playing roof chess and even having some private fun if you know what I mean. Once all the important characters are ‘assembled’ they crack jokes with one another, form romantic relationships and come up with off-the-wall crazy plans to get to safety from impending doom. Pretty funny stuff. 

    There is one character that I absolutely love and relate to so much, and that is Nicole. She is 16 years old and lost her whole family except her dad, to the monsters. Her dad was then shot in the head because he was bitten and the group did not want him to turn into one of the undead and kill them. She already went through so much that quickly. What makes her the absolute best is that she is in fact, a dog lover. 

   After her father’s death, she found a dog at the abandoned mall and named him Chips. A few weeks later, in an attempt to send Anthony, someone living on a roof across the street, some food, they send Chips. This is because the zombies don’t want to kill non-humans. Thinking that they lost Chips, Nicole sneaks out, steals a truck and heads into monster-filled streets to save the canine, knowing she might die in the process. I can’t stress enough how much I loved this scene, mainly because I feel like I would do the same thing in a similar situation. As I volunteer at a local dog rescue and would do anything for a dog.  

   All I have to really say is that even though this flick made me scream in sheer horror it was actually pretty good to watch. Will I ever watch another horror movie again? Never. Will I ever get some sleep after the nightmares this movie gave me? Probably not. I really do not think these genres of films are for me, though now I understand why people would like them.