Thanks to an all- Goblin score and a shorter runtime, I’ve long preferred the European cut of Dawn of the Dead overseen by Italian horror legend Dario Argento (Tenebre, Suspiria, Opera). But thanks to Brian Collins, formerly of Horror Movie A Day and currently of Birth.Movies.Death, this Halloween belonged to the original theatrical version of the seminal sequel to George Romero’s original zombie classic, Night of the Living Dead. I noticed something new in this viewing (it may well be in every version, just enjoyed Collins’ rundown): the starship Enterprise NCC-1701, of the original Star Trek, appears in Dawn of the Dead.
See?
The Star Trek Enterprise appears in Dawn of the Dead ’s famous shopping montage, when the four survivors indulge all the glories of consumer capitalism, even Roger (Scott H. Reiniger), zombie-bit and doomed to die. Their life in the mall soon slips into ennui and the oppressiveness of death, but for this one moment they are happy and it has partially to do with Star Trek.
Of course, the full story is a little more complicated than that. The arcade cabinet they’re playing is Atari’s Starship 1, which wasn’t “officially” Star Trek.
Instead you’d fire phasers and proton torpedoes from the bridge of the starship Atari to save the Federation.
But whatever, the source of this rip-off is unmistakeable.
It’s always fun to catch new things in your favorite movies. And what a nice juxtaposition, as our culture’s finest utopia shines it’s light into one of our most enduring dystopia. Yay Star Trek.
