Day of the Dead Reviews

Concluding the "Dead" franchise that began decades earlier, George A. Romero's "Day of the Dead" is a marginal improvement on many of the less developed areas of the prior entries. A number of intriguing building blocks are connected with residuum, as if the characters in "Dawn of the Dead" exist within the same universe as that of the previous sequel. Visually, a footprint is discernible, yet the main group of characters, and their motives and predicament differ greatly from the preceding films, although the premise remains: a zombie apocalypse has extremely decimated the human population, with the few remaining survivors forced to live in barricaded "security" in camps or underground. In one such facility, soldiers protect scientists attempting to find a solution to the pandemic. Previously, the zombies instinctively returned to their dull consumerist lifestyles by attacking a trio of survivors hiding out in a shopping mall; once in the presence of said humans, all succumbed to their innermost natures. In the present, the zombies are encircling an underground missile silo, with the soldiers and scientists offering different perspectives on exactly how to reverse the end of the world; simmering tensions and increasing animosity generate many tonal variances within the film, constituting the connective tissue of a plot structure. Each film has an explicit imprint, thematically and in terms of pervasive mood - in contrast to the claustrophobic horror onslaught of the first, a decidedly humorous, slapstick feel is evident in the second film. "Day of the Dead" is arguably the bleakest entry in the trilogy, examining the wider repercussions of the outbreak as well as the subtle interrelationships amid two opposed parties. As the character study yields to horror conventions once the soldiers learn that one such mad scientist is rehabilitating an imprisoned zombie through positive reinforcement and reward: the flesh of dead soldiers. All hell breaks loose as supplies dwindle, uncertainty abounds and initial veiled dismay and objection devolves into barely concealed verbal conflict and affray. Upon being unable to prove results in their mission and no additional survivors to be had, progress stalls and leadership struggles take hold, further damaging the morale. Romero observes the psychological dynamics of the group as if it were a social experiment as riveting and enthralling as the special effect-laden scenes incorporating the marauding zombies.

"Dawn of the Dead" revised and expanded upon the first film's race relations angle without referring to it implicitly, whereas "Day of the Dead" acknowledges the role of societal collapse in humanity's retrogression, proffering the root causes of the pandemic, namely, agitation, dissimulation, delusion, misinformation, opportunism, and a general lack of discourse. Survival and social unrest are entrenched in capitalism, the defining characteristic of the 1980s political landscape. Capitalism promotes self-preservation, maximisation, apathy and intransigence, and one could view the escalation of the situation within the bunker as a microcosm of Cold War tensions; as communication breaks down, the collective response to the situation descends into chaos as a scientist and her male cohorts clash with the increasingly toxic, dictatorial military personnel at the base. It is this intense pressure cooker environment that precipitates the film's tautly executed, strained sections of interplay, allowing for a much more satisfying pay-off as the group's cumulative animosity aggrandises to the point of no return. Romero constructs a logical edifice from the updated premise of each film in the trilogy, incorporating social commentary, i.e. rising hostilities and eroded societal systems, within a horror context. In studying two sequestered factions as they respond to the aftermath of a global emergency, dissension arises and tribalism becomes apparent in the strained interactions, highlighting volatility, paranoia and desperation as being incompatible with decision-making and diplomacy necessary to combat the disintegration of society and civilisation, with even the slightest incident capable of throwing us off course. Romero's conceit suggests that humanity's selfish myopia caused its own downfall, thus preventing them from averting further global catastrophe, which is in this case what happens after zombies have outnumbered humans - how do the survivors deal with the problem at hand? As expected, they panic, feud and refuse to compromise until complacency and in-fighting causes slip-ups; essentially, they slowly self-destruct.

I subscribe to Romero's pessimistic foretelling of the dissolution of society in all three films, but his most scathing attack on the military's magical thinking and belligerence incontrovertibly supports the fact that open discussion, transparency, amicability and neutral debate are imperative to avoid a combustible social situation unconducive to rectification. Scientific investigation and martial law fail to provide any resolution, and Romero's film ends on a dour note, but that is not to say the film is entirely depressing and despondent. In actuality, the film's prevailing mood is admittedly sombre, yet the dialogue-heavy sequences, littered with pithy put-downs and blackly comic touches courtesy of the soldiers and their zombie corral, as well as the mad scientist's grisly surgical and socialisation experiments, are funny and frank, derived from the first sequel's darkly humorous streak. Several of the most gruesome scenes vacillate between horror and comedy, though not at the expense of salience in terms of the plot or its sociopolitical slant, and therein lies Romero's genius. "Day of the Dead" stands in contrast to its predecessors in many respects, from the deeply haunting score, palpably claustrophobic sets, appreciable character development, to the overriding portent and unremitting menace present from the outset. Far less traditionally constructed, "Day of the Dead" therefore compensates for the second film's commercial leanings and characterisation shortcomings, resulting in a suspenseful, gratifying study of the human condition, with Romero's emblematic sociological substance tempering the ample gore and drollery. A satisfactory, fitting and ultimately hopeful closure to the trilogy that may be the least action-packed and ambitious but is definitely the eeriest and most philosophical zombie apocalypse movie of all-time.

"That's the trouble with the world, Sarah darlin'. People got different ideas concernin' what they want out of life."

The third instalment in director George A. Romero's undead franchise, 1985's Day of the Dead was intended to be the Gone with the Wind of zombie movies, with an ambitious story and epic scope. However, the budget was slashed from $7 million to $3.5 million by nervous financiers concerned about the film's gory content, with Romero hesitant to conform to the limitations of an R rating (how quaint, looking back), and with executive producer Salah M. Hassanein unwilling to fund an unrated film. The screenplay was therefore rewritten in line with the budget cuts, in the process compromising Romero's initial vision. Even though Day of the Dead is not a genuinely epic zombie extravaganza, the finished film is nevertheless hard to dislike. Although the scope is restricted, ample funds were available for the special effects - and consequently, this is a vehemently old-school, insanely violent horror film with the most impressive zombie make-up of its era, while the script is beset with thoughtful thematic content.

Picking up an unspecified time after 1978's Dawn of the Dead, the zombie infestation has only intensified and grown - for every living human on the planet, there are four hundred thousand zombies. Day of the Dead finds a number of survivors in an underground Floridian bunker, where scientists cohabitate with armed military personnel. The science team, led by Dr. Logan (Richard Liberty) and including Dr. Sarah Bowman (Lori Cardille), is conducting experiments on undead bodies in the hope of finding a cure, or at least another way to deal with the growing zombie numbers. However, the soldiers, led by the antagonistic Captain Rhodes (Joseph Pilato), are becoming impatient, and sanity levels are rapidly declining due to the confined space and ostensible lack of hope for the future.

Although zombie movies are usually brainless endeavours, Romero creates cautionary fables about societal malaises, buttressing the material with satire. Night of the Living Dead concentrated on the unrest emerging from the civil rights movement, and reflected the era’s growing fear of invasion by foreign forces. Dawn satirised materialism, viewing crass commercialism as a mindless escape from reality and a new drug of choice. Day of the Dead, meanwhile, is a product of the Regan era, with Romero setting his sights on the military and creating a doomsday prediction of life in the not-too-distant future. The tone here is darker and more dour than its predecessors, disposing of the almost slapstick feel that permeated Dawn of the Dead. Due to the budget cuts, Day mostly takes place within the labyrinthine underground facility, similar to Dawn's shopping mall setting. However, the mood here is more hopeless and the zombies are not the only threat, as the human characters begin to turn on one another. Romero posits that although some humans may still be alive during a zombie apocalypse, the undead still win if they destroy the soul of humanity.

Day of the Dead is backed by conceptual intelligence, but it is still an entertaining movie driven by visceral bloodshed and gore, with Romero never skimping on the nasty details. Without a doubt, this is make-up and special effects artist Tom Savini's artistic masterpiece. Savini is a long-time special effects champion, and he lets his war-scarred imagination run wild here (he was a combat photographer in Vietnam). As a result, Day of the Dead is viciously gory, with an unsettling attention to anatomical detail - we get a person's face being torn off by the eyelid, a head being cut in half with a shovel, and zombie fingers prying open living humans to pull out the gooey viscera inside. The zombies themselves look outstanding too, exhibiting convincing deterioration and decay. Additionally, some of the zombies are missing limbs, while another is entirely cut open on an operation table. Other elements of the special effects still impress to this day, including the terrific practical blood squibs. Furthermore, Romero's direction is expectedly competent, driving the mayhem and staging the action set-pieces with a sure hand. If there is a shortcoming, it's the synth score by John Harrison, which noticeably dates the film. Romero's vision needed a stronger musical accompaniment.

Admittedly, the characters inhabiting Day of the Dead are not exactly likeable or sympathetic; virtually everybody here is an over-the-top cartoon, from the mad doctor to the insane, trigger-happy soldiers. But aside from the sheer entertainment value of these caricatures, it is a credible portrayal of this type of situation - with the world in a post-apocalyptic state, the only people left alive are either rational or crazy. Pilato is the standout in terms of acting; his character of Captain Rhodes is memorably unhinged and rich in personality, yet he is also arguably the film's real hero. After all, he is right about the futility of surgery to "domesticate" the zombies, and the facility's security is ultimately threatened because of the scientists. Rhodes is mad and unsentimental, but that is precisely why he survived for so long. Meanwhile, Cardille is a strong and charismatic female lead, while solid support is provided by Terry Alexander as the rational helicopter pilot. Gary Howard Klar also warrants a mention; he's over-the-top and fun as one of the crazed soldiers. But perhaps the strongest performer here is Sherman Howard as Bub, a zombie in the process of becoming domesticated through scientific experiments. Howard looks like a brainless zombie at first glance, yet he also nails the role's more complex nuances. It's a quality performance, making Bub the most sympathetic character in the film.

Due to the screenplay changes necessitated by budget cuts, Day of the Dead is a polarising film that is seen as either a fan favourite or a missed opportunity. The movie certainly struggled to find its audience when released in 1985, with disappointing box office to boot, but it found second life on home video. Although it's lamentable that Romero could not accomplish his original vision, Day of the Dead is great for what it is: another bold portrayal of the zombie apocalypse that's creepy, frightening and gory. Romero's view of humanity here is detached and cynical, the film is full of scenery-chewing lunatics, and Savini's special make-up effects remain simply astonishing to this day. It adds up to another masterpiece in this reviewer's mind, though Day of the Dead is not for all tastes.

7.7/10

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, the first time around, after watching the 2 first zombie movies directed by Romero, I was just really eager to finish this trilogy. Obviously, this sequel didn't have such a stellar reputation like its predecessors but I still enjoyed it. The best thing, at least for me, was that all there 3 movies were so different in their look and also in their approach on the zombie  concept. Furthermore, I think it is pretty neat that there was about a decade between each movie. This way, you had a distinctive visual difference between all of them and this way and you could clearly see the evolution of those dear zombies. This flick was pretty much the most straightforward one and therefore the least interesting (the typical generic and cheesy 80's soundtrack didn't help either) but the special effects were pretty awesome and Frankenstein was a rather funny character. To conclude, even though it may not be a classic like its predecessors, it is still an enjoyable zombie flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

the best of the bunch. night is too cheesy and old, dawn is too long and boring, land is obvious and diary is too youtube, day of the dead has it all. from zombies that shoot guns to extreme gore to crazy experiments to a bunch of other stuff. watch it. don't beleive the hype.