The 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake, written by James Gunn and directed by Zack Snyder (in his directorial debut!), celebrates its 20th anniversary this week. Both critically praised and commercially successful at the time of its release, the film, along with 28 Days Later, helped popularize the concept of sprinting zombies over their shambling, slouching, Romero-made counterparts. They created panic and urgency, and they made for an opening sequence that was worth the price of admission by itself.

Like many great horror films, Dawn of the Dead doesn't start with horror. Our main character, Ana, is a nurse, and she's wrapping up a long shift at the hospital. What's great about this opening sequence--of her talking with co-workers and killing time--is how mundane it is. This is not load-bearing dialogue, and the actors don't deliver it theatrically, as if to imply narrative stakes. We know that Ana is about to have the worst day of her life. But she doesn't know that. Nothing feels urgent or pressing, because from her perspective, it isn't.

She doesn't know it's the last time she's going to see her co-worker, or the neighborhood girl, or her husband. Even the shower sex between them, tastefully filmed behind the steaming glass, feels domestic and perfunctory.