Dawn Of The Dead Poll Image Shows Audience Reactions From 1978

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George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead appeared destined for greatness based on early audience reactions from a 1978 screening questionnaire that has recently resurfaced. It is not surprising that viewers would find the sequel to 1968's Night of the Living Dead favorable when considering the staggering influence that film has had on the horror genre and cinema in general. While Night revolutionized on-screen brutality taking place close to home, Dawn, released ten years later, expanded the scope of the preceding film by portraying a large-scale zombie invasion.

While Romero returned to direct the sequel, Dawn of the Dead is practically a different picture than its predecessor, not only in regards to characters and setting but the technical makeup of the film. With over five times the budget of Night of the Living Dead and the talented hands of Tom Savini behind the film's special effects, Dawn finds a group of survivors taking refuge at a shopping mall while fending off the reanimated corpses of their fellow (former) human beings. Shot in color instead of Night's black and white, Dawn was significantly gorier and initially given an X rating by the MPAA but released at the box office unrated.

Related: George A. Romero’s Zombie Movies Ranked, Worst to Best

The brutality in the film did not dissuade people from enjoying the final product. The George A. Romero Foundation on Twitter has shared a questionnaire from a test screening of Dawn of the Dead in 1978, revealing some intriguing fan reactions. The questions are basic, asking viewers to share their perspectives about the quality of the movie and the violence in it, specifically. For example, out of 230 responses, a combined 78% of people found Dawn of the Dead to be «good»