Day of the Dead

Rating:
Summary: "The Darkest Day of Horror the World Has Ever Known"
Review: The third--and possibly the final--entry in George Romero's DEAD series, 1985's DAY OF THE DEAD was initially panned by both critics and horror fans. Many complained that, in spite of the much improved special FX, the film did not live up to the creepiness and the literacy of the groundbreaking first film of the trilogy, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968), nor was its content equal to the offbeat humor and satirical subtext of the second film, DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978). Thus, it was simply written off as another exercise in shock value. But in the time that has passed since the initial release of DAY OF THE DEAD, many fans and critics alike have grown to regard the film as a worthy entry in the series, with many claiming it has become their favorite of the three.

DAY OF THE DEAD is a claustrophobic character study set almost entirely in a secured underground military bunker. The story picks up some months after the end of DAWN OF THE DEAD, with the earth now nearly overrun by the flesh-eating corpses (one character estimates that the zombies outnumber the "normals" by circa 400,000 to 1). Military personnel have been assigned to the bunker with orders to protect and assist the group of scientists there who are experimenting on zombies in order to find a "solution" for the pandemic. However, much time has passed already with few results, and the assignment is taking its toll on the soldiers. When the Major in charge of the unit dies, the next in rank, an unbalanced Captain named Rhodes, takes over the project with the intention of shutting it all down and bugging out. The scientists resist, of course, as do the few civilians under the scientists' employ, and the resulting strife just might result in the annihilation of these last vestiges of the human race.

Contrary to initial criticism of DAY OF THE DEAD, the film's characterization is strong, literate, and fairly unidealistic, and the matter-of-fact socio-political subtext of the plot--though it might be a somewhat cliché SF theme--is actually a quite believable, hard-boiled reflection of the real-world tension between science and the military. And, yes, there is something for the gore hounds, too. Romero's long-time FX man, Tom Savini, does some of his most sophisticated work in DAY OF THE DEAD, with some of the most shocking grotesqueries saved for the final reel.

The performances in DAY OF THE DEAD are actually some of the best in the three-film series. Lori Cardille's emotive portrayal of the hard-as-nails heroine--a scientist named Sarah, who is the only woman in the enclave of "normals"--is fantastic, and Joseph Pilato creates a truly frightening portrait of a draconian martial megalomaniac. Richard Liberty is also delightful as Dr. Logan, the "mad" scientist whose experiments on the zombies are so extremely over the edge that the soldiers have nicknamed him "Frankenstein." Actor Terry Alexander delivers a standout performance as John, a civilian helicopter pilot who is also a pacifist and therefore avoids assisting the military half of their troupe as much as possible. And equally outstanding is Sherman Howard's (a.k.a. Howard Sherman) warm and sympathetic characterization of Bub, a benign zombie that Dr. Logan has "domesticated."

In short, DAY OF THE DEAD makes a worthy finale to Romero's bellwether DEAD series, despite its initial rejection by fans and critics. The socio-political subtext, while not overly subtle, is interesting and realistic, as are the characters in the film. And DAY OF THE DEAD offers up lots of cool make-up FX for the gore freaks in the audience.

The two-disc Divimax Special-Edition DVD from Anchor Bay is a must-own for Romero fans. It offers a beautifully crisp and clean digital transfer of the film--of even better quality than Anchor Bay's previous release--with two great optional feature commentaries (one that includes Romero, Savini, and actress Lori Cardille). The second disc is chock-full of other goodies, including an all new 39-minute documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew about the making of the film, a behind-the-scenes featurette, tons of trailers and TV spots, artwork galleries, and much more! Definitely worth the price of admission.

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Dead trilogy?
Review: Choosing my fave. of Romero's Dead films is hard. At the moment I would have to say that i'm leaning towards the often overlooked and often bashed 3rd film in the trilogy, Day Of The Dead. Sure Night is a classic and was the begining of what we know as zombie films and sure Dawn influenced even more people and got even more people into this genre than Night did but somehow Day is the most solid of the 3. Sure Day could've been so much more but the studio forced George to not go by the orginal script (which can be found online and the excellent Hompage Of The Dead site)and George once said it was going to be the Gone With The Wind of zombie films, it was going to be an epic of a film.
Day still is an amazing film even though alot of what we see wasn't in the original script. What I think turns people off of this film is that it isn't a total non-stop zombie attack movie like the other two were. Out of every zombie film that i've seen most stick to the ways and ideas of the first two. Day is so different than any zombie film because for the first time we see the zombie contained. How scary is it to think about only a handful of humans left on earth and the rest of the people left on earth is the walking dead? In other zombie films there are alot of people around on earth to fend of the undead but in this one there are so few. We how capable they really are of still functioning like humans that are alive. In Day George took many risks to show us that the dead aren't just slow moving dead people who only have one motive, to feed. With the creation of the Bub character, who just might be the most likeable zombie in movie history we see that if contained they are very capable of doing many things the living still can do. In many way Day is more real and even has a slight side of humor to it. This is not saying that Day doesn't have it's share of gore and frighting moments. I love the scene when they are trying to escape from the dark tunnels and the only colors that we see are red and blue. You see shadows of people and zombies and it really adds more tension to the scenes, especially while viewing the movie in the dark. I always actually thought the zombies in Dawn looked alot funnier and weren't as dark as the ones in Night or Day. Sure they didn't act funny when they were feeding though.

After viewing this on a movie channel late Sunday morning, sitting in my dark living room I can see why that this is George Romero's fave. film from his Dead trilogy. Definetly check this film out because the bad reviews are definetly from people who don't know a good horror movie when they see one. I'm hoping that this is re-released on dvd very soon because paying alot of money for a used copy isn't going to happen. I know that a 3 disc ultimate version of Dawn will be coming in October 2003 so that should be an excellent addition to any horror fans collection but I hope they give the same treatment to Day as well. As for a new Dead movie, Romero in in talks with Fox to do the biggest budgeted Dead film to date. The film currently is titled Dead Reckoning (Twlight Of The Dead or Dusk Of The Dead would be much better titles)and would be the 1st since 1985. Hopefully this happens because we need George back in the chair directing another zombie film but hopfully it won't be messed up by the suits in Hollywood. BRING BACK TOM SAVINI!

Rating:
Summary: Apocalyptic and memorable
Review: This is the most apocalyptic film of Romero's trilogy, and possibly the least accessible of the three. Unlike the two previous films, the media has no role here (its presence is limited to a 'The Dead Walk' headline seen a few times throughout), and there's no real hope to be garnered, except for individual salvation - one of the characters interprets the situation as divine punishment, and it is the most plausible explanation of all. The few remaining humans - scientists and military men - are confined in an underground base; under these conditions, the living dead are not so much a menace anymore as a test and a challenge, the measure of each and everyone's worth. The real danger mostly comes from the humans themselves: from Rhodes, the agressive and nihilistic self-appointed head of the army; from Dr. Logan, a scientist whose ambitions are nothing short of hubristic, a treat to his fellow people. The characters are all generic types, and Romero pushes them so far (especially Rhodes and Dr. Logan) that the unrelenting darkness of the film becomes more palatable; the viewer is almost begged to consider allegory since the literal meaning is so outrageous.

Rating:
Summary: Underrated classic gets the treatment it deserves
Review: Chapter three of George Romero's zombie trilogy may be a let down compared to the legendary Night of the Living Dead and the horror classic Dawn of the Dead; but on it's own Day of the Dead is still an effective and superbly crafted horror film. Taking place in a sunken underground military base, a group of scientists and soldiers desperately search for a way to solve the zombie problem. Slowly but surely, some of them begin to go mad while an equally mad doctor (Richard Liberty) believes the zombies can be domesticated as long as they are rewarded. Undoubtadly the goriest film in the Dead trilogy, Day of the Dead is known primarily for it's over the top and extremely realistic gore (the best work by far by horror makeup maestro Tom Savini) as we see people get torn to shreds by the hungry undead. Upon it's initial release the film didn't garner much acclaim from critics or fans, but over the years it has achieved it's status as a horror classic, and this handsome Special Edition DVD from Anchor Bay is an absolute must own for any and every horror fan.

Rating:
Summary: A post-apocalyptic masterpiece.
Review: Zombies have completely overrun the planet, with only a handful of human survivors (consisting mainly of scientists and soldiers) situated in an underground missile silo. Tensions flare when the two factions' opinions on how to deal with the situation clash. By far, Day of the Dead is the most grim of the series, but also the most gripping and satisfying. The effective and often quite thought-provoking set up builds to an explosively intense climactic half-hour, packed with numerous exciting action sequences (the zombie shoot-up in the mine is the best) and some of the most astounding gore effects ever put on film. Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, and Jarlath Conroy deliver standout performances, putting forth genuinely likeable characters in a nightmarish situation. The film is heavily boosted by John Harrison's terrific score, one of the best to date.

Rating:
Summary: Glorious George's Zombie Fest!!
Review: If you scrolled this far, you must like Romero, horror movies, zombies or all the previously mentioned! So if you haven't seen this movie yet, stop reading and ORDER NOW!!

Audio & visual reproduction on this DVD are superb - I've never seen this movie looking better. For the first time ever I could make out pools of water and other scenery while the actors ran through the old mine/silo. Extras are a little limited - small featurette and trailer - but put this DVD above any previous release of the movie (the featurette briefly interviews Savini, the crazy lieutenant, hardcase Stone and a handful of zombies - but no George). A commentary from the man himself would have been nice - and surely there's more of the behind the scenes footage? What about Bud and the rest of the 'good guys'??? Next year is the 15th anniversary - or do we have to wait till 2005 for a 20th anniversary issue Anchor Bay???

Top marks to Anchor for this release, but role on the Special, just like the recently released Dawn of the Dead (thankyou for dropping the flipper!!)

Top marks to Amazon as well..you're the best and not enough say so!

Rating:
Summary: Even more Zombies
Review: Day of the Dead is the controversial conclusion of Romero's Living Dead trilogy. (For now anyway, Dead Reckoning is written and hopefully on the way before too much longer) As I understand it, it was almost uniformly poorly received at the time of its release. Since then, however, it's become increasingly more popular, with a fairly large contingent considering it to be the equal to, or superior to the two earlier films. This group has, in my opinion, revised the views on the film a bit too much, but it is still a very good zombie movie, albeit not without some flaws.

The same basic setup from the earlier two films remains; a small group of survivors has holed themselves up in a secure area while the zombies take over the rest of the world. Conflicts between the survivors are here, as before. Once again, however, the results are remarkably different, allowing for a very distinct experience rather than just a rehashing, as most sequels are content to allow. This time the inner-conflicts are more clearly defined, with the brutal and vulgar military outfit clashing with the scientists and civilians. This points to another change from the earlier films, where almost all the characters were at least somewhat sympathetic, whereas most of the soldiers in this are pretty much irredeemable. This leads to one of the main flaws of the film, which is the acting on the part of the soldiers. Steel and Rickles and the other grunts are somewhat over the top through much of the film, as they scream and holler and giggle like school girls and whatnot.(Actually, the fact that they scream and holler and giggle isn't the problem, the problem is that they don't really do so convincingly.) Beyond this, Cpt. Rhodes is too stereotypically psychopathic, with bulging eyes and a perpetual scowl. He's not really too bad I suppose, but not very good either.(Personally, I think Pilato should've played him straight. He would've been more menacing that way.) The 'good guys' for lack of a better term, are better, not necessarily great, but competent enough across the board with a few excellent performances. I particularly like Dr. Logan and Bub. Bub is one of the more controversial aspects of the film, as he is a relatively intelligent, semi-domesticated zombie. I'll admit it sounded bad to me when I first heard about him, but I think he works. His scenes are generally at least semi-comic, and they generally work in that way. Howard Sherman (or Sherman Howard, I dunno) is completely brilliant as him. I don't know if he could've been played better. I know lots of people are offended by the notion of a sympathetic zombie, but I, for one, found him to be genuinely likable, and he doesn't really hurt the notion of the zombie menace as a whole as it is clear that he is an anomaly.

The most common complaint is that the film is too talky. I'll admit that there isn't a whole lot of action for the first 2/3 of the film, but I still found the infighting and the experiments and whatnot to be fairly interesting. I will admit that lots of it doesn't seem to have a whole lot to do with anything in particular. They mainly just seem to be waiting around for the soldiers to freak out, and all their research and such doesn't really add up to anything. (Admittedly this is not all that different from how Night of the Living Dead went, but it had the atmosphere and intensity to justify, well, not just justify but necessitate the relative lack of specific actions or plot throughout much of the film.) Still, I was entertained by the early talky parts of the film, so I can't complain too much. And frankly, the plot comes of about as well as you could hope, and much better than I would've imagined considering that Romero had to radically rewrite it to make it fit in to the halved buget.(For those who don't know, Romero came in expecting a 7 million dollar budget, but then was told he'd have to get it an R rating for 7 million, or have it be released without a rating with a budget of only 3.5 million. He chose the latter.)

Fortunately when the action does start it is quite awesome, well worth the wait. It's got a good mix of action movie style violence and conventional horror violence, much as they had in Dawn of the Dead. The zombies look absolutely great, particularly the one early in the film whose lower face is essentially demolished. The gore fx (once again headed by Tom Savini) are absolutely superlative, and stand up incredibly well today. The mutilated, zombie test subjects are quite nice and gross. The repeated throat-rippings are pretty remarkable as well, and the gunwounds all look very modern too.(Apparently the zombies have wised up over the years, as they almost invariably go for the throat now.) The 3 big deaths towards the end are all excellent as well, though I think that the guy being torn in half is a bit over the top, though they may have been going for that.(The other two are better and more horrible, particularly the slow manual decapitation via the eye-sockets.) Overall, the climax has about everything you could hope for from a zombie movie.

In the end, Day of the Dead is(imo) unquestionably more flawed than the other 2 Romero films, but the positives still outweigh the negatives by a wide margin, and anyone who saw the other 2 films and enjoyed them needs to check this out. On a final note, the Anchor Bay DVD of it is quite excellent. It doesn't look as good as Dawn of the Dead, but still pretty nice, and you haven't got any other options really, so go with that one.

Rating:
Summary: Almost Perfect DVD of This Classic Film
Review: If you're a zombie fan, you'll either love or hate "Day Of The Dead". You'll love it if you like intelligent, mature storytelling along with your blood and guts.....you'll hate it if you keep comparing it to DAWN or NIGHT, which are two totally different movies.

In my opinion, the best of the DEAD trilogy. While it's a shame Romero couldn't give us his original concept (the script of which is included on the DVD) the film he managed to come up with is just as good.

The only thing wrong with this DVD release is the soundtrack: there are minor (but annoying) overdubs in a few scenes, apparently taken from a TV track. Nothing major, but when you hear the character John say "Right!" instead of "S--t!" in one of the opening scenes, you'll definately notice it.

Rating:
Summary: So-So Final Entry in the Dead Trilogy
Review: Day of the Dead had some MIGHTY big zombie boots to fill when it was released in the mid-1980's. All zombie buffs knew what great films Romero had put together with small budgets (Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead). With the largest budget yet for a Romero zombie film, all had high hopes. Unfortunately, some of the hopes were dashed with Day of the Dead. The film follows the tribulations of a small team of scientists and soldiers who are assigned to find a way to stop the zombie plague. The two groups are increasingly at odds, and this isn't helped by the fact that the chief scientist (Dr. Logan aka Dr. Frankenstein) is losing his grip on reality and the leader of the soldiers (Captain Rhodes) is an overbearing tyrant. The soldiers clearly want some scientific results for their sacrifices, however the scientists are unable to comply given the primitive nature of their labs (which apparently are in an underground storage facility in the Everglades). Clearly the two forces are on the road to a major blow-up. The only question is when the explosion will happen.

Day of the Dead has some very good moments. The opening scene is well done, the gore is VERY realistic (even more so than in Dawn of the Dead), and there is a subplot involving Dr. Logan and a zombie called "Bub" that is surprisingly touching. The major flaws in the film are 1) lack of likable characters (I found myself disliking practically all of the characters with the exception of Lori Cardille's character and that of Bishop and 2) the confining of almost the entire film to the underground base (some excursions to kill zombies in the Everglades might have been interesting). Still, Day of the Dead wasn't a bad entry into Romero's trilogy.

Rating:
Summary: almost glad i didnt buy it
Review: i own night of the living dead(1968), dawn of the dead(1978), and am pretty glad i only rented day of the dead. yes, if i wouldve bought it it would have completely the "holy trilogy" collection for me. but let me just say that bub and the gore was just about all this had going for it. bub was a zombie who was in experiment to be trained to be a good boy. he learned how to listen to music again, open a book and try to read again, use a gun again, brush his teeth again, shave again, and the most important---not to eat living humans! even though it was more dark humor than anything, bub still added to this movie quite a bit with the ending and all. in my review on dawn of the dead, 1978 version, i said that it was good because it had more zombies, more gore, and more running time. well, this movie has even MORE zombies, and yes, hard to believe, even MORE gore! the special effects makeup by tom savini is awesome, yet does that make any old movie worth buying? no. this was too much like dawn of the dead. slap in a shopping mall and youve got the same damn movie practically. i may just buy this one for the sake of having all three, yet take my word on it---the first 2 were much better. romero says hes working on a 4th installment. can we have more gore? i dont think so. more zombies? i dont think so. any new ideas period? personally, i dont think so. but romero is romero, hell find some way to make the 4th a good one. but as far as day of the dead goes, just rent it for now. (not that im giving you orders, sir)