What actually happens
The neighbor girl rings no doorbell
Ana finishes a nursing shift in the Milwaukee area and goes home to her husband, Luis. Neither of them notices the emergency news reports that evening. The next morning a zombified neighbor girl walks into their bedroom and kills Luis, who comes back almost immediately and attacks Ana. She escapes through the neighborhood, crashes her car and passes out. When she wakes up she meets Kenneth Hall, a police sergeant, Michael, an electronics salesman, and Andre, a criminal who has his pregnant wife Luda with him. They go to a shopping mall, where one of the guards is already infected and goes for them. Three uninfected guards named C.J., Bart and Terry confiscate their weapons and allow them to stay. From the mall, they see Andy trapped in a gun store across the parking lot, and they see a helicopter that does not notice them.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
Luda goes into labor at the worst possible moment
The next day a truck full of survivors reaches the mall with zombies chasing it. C.J. and Bart want to turn them away, but the others let them in. The new group includes Norma, Steve, Tucker, Monica, Glen, Frank and Frank's daughter Nicole. A very sick woman in the truck dies, comes back and is stopped, and the group works out that bites spread the infection. Frank has been bitten, so he isolates himself and is shot after he turns. Weeks pass, and Kenneth and Andy talk to each other by whiteboard. When the power goes out, four of them head down to the parking garage to get the emergency generator running, and a friendly dog named Chips signals a breach. Meanwhile, Luda, restrained by Andre, dies in childbirth and comes back. Norma kills her, which starts a gunfight that ends with Norma and Andre both dead. Afterward the remaining survivors track down the zombie infant and kill it. That is the scene people dread most, and it comes in the middle of the story. The survivors then plan to get to a marina, take Steve's yacht and head for an island in Lake Michigan.
Chips is the most reliable employee in the mall
Andy is starving across the parking lot, so the group lowers Chips down with provisions tied to his back. The dog makes it to the store, but a zombie slips in through the dog door. Nicole rams a truck into the store to get Chips back and ends up trapped by Andy, who is now infected. Kenneth, Michael, Tucker, Terry and C.J. take the sewers to the store, where they kill Andy, get Nicole out and pick up extra ammunition. Heading back, Tucker breaks both of his legs and asks C.J. to end it for him. When they cannot secure the doors of the mall, the group evacuates.
The ending, explained
On the way to the marina, Glen kills Monica with a chainsaw by accident, and the crash that follows kills him too. Steve tries to abandon everyone and is killed by a zombie that was hiding. Ana kills the reanimated Steve and takes the boat keys. When they reach the marina, C.J. stays behind to give the others a chance to get away. Michael confesses to a bite and kills himself. Ana, Kenneth, Nicole, Terry and Chips sail off on the yacht. The movie ends with camcorder footage showing their supplies running low, then the island they reach, and then countless zombies swarming them.
The post-credits ruling
Yes, there is a scene during the credits, so you may want to stay for it.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, and the dog has a bigger role than most of the security guards.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Dawn of the Dead scary?
Yes, Dawn of the Dead is a 6 out of 10. It is a loud zombie siege with a lot of jump scares and plenty of gore, and the dread lasts about a night.
How does Dawn of the Dead end?
Ana, Kenneth, Nicole, Terry and Chips escape on a yacht. Camcorder footage then shows them reaching an island that is overrun with zombies, and the movie does not show what happens next.
Does the dog die in Dawn of the Dead?
No dog dies in Dawn of the Dead. Chips survives a trip across the parking lot with supplies and is still on the yacht at the end, although his fate on the island is unclear.
Is there a post-credits scene in Dawn of the Dead?
Yes. Dawn of the Dead has a scene during the credits, so you may want to stay for it.
How do the zombies spread the infection in Dawn of the Dead?
Through bites. In Dawn of the Dead the survivors work this out after a woman from the truck dies and comes back, and Frank's bite wound confirms it.
