Scott Reiniger makes Roger’s recklessness and loyalty equally credible in Dawn of the Dead. We rate the physical commitment and the feeling he brings to its ensemble, even when the script gives him too little room.
Fi1m perspective
Roger’s readiness to act is useful, though Scott Reiniger makes it worrying too. As the reckless, loyal SWAT officer in George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978), he brings a physical commitment that suits the film’s action-horror. There is enough feeling in the performance to make Roger more than someone assigned to keep the fighting going. Reiniger is worth watching here because we care about the man as well as what he can do.
Romero’s casting gives that energy some useful company. Ken Foree plays Peter Washington with a steadiness that contrasts with Roger’s recklessness, while Gaylen Ross’s Fran Parker and David Emge’s Stephen “Flyboy” Andrews complete the quartet. We cared about Roger: Reiniger’s commitment makes the loyalty feel as real as the recklessness. The actors let us take an interest in the survivors even while Romero is criticising their appetite for possessions, which is essential if the shopping-mall satire is to work as a survival story.
Dawn of the Dead was his principal screen break, followed by a second Romero collaboration as Marhalt in Knightriders (1981), the director’s medieval motorcycle drama. A cameo as the General in the Dawn of the Dead remake (2004) returned him to the title most associated with him. His later work has concentrated on teaching acting and directing new plays rather than regular screen appearances. There are too few substantial film roles here to make claims for a grand progression.
Our reservation about Reiniger’s work in the original concerns the space Romero gives him and his fellow actors. We sometimes wanted more room for these people when the script was occupied with what they represented, and the satire can become repetitive. That limits how much the performance can show us, though Reiniger does enough to make the wish for more a reasonable one. Start with Dawn of the Dead for the savage humour, but give its four survivors as much attention as its gore.
Biography
Scott H. Reiniger is an American actor best known for playing Roger 'Trooper' DeMarco in George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978). He later appeared as Marhalt in Romero's Knightriders (1981) and made a cameo as the General in the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead directed by Zack Snyder.
Reiniger was born on 5 September 1948. He graduated from Rollins College with a degree in theatre arts and has worked as a professor at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles.
