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| A neatly drawn poster featuring Bub the zombie for George A. Romero's Day of the Dead |
QUICK REVIEW:
In this the last film in master writer-director George A. Romero's (Night of the Living Dead (1968)) first Dead trilogy, the plot plays out deep below ground in a military compound, where a group of soldiers protect and despise some scientists, who are trying to find out how to tame the walking dead.
Day is nearly as good as its predecessor, the masterpiece Dawn of the Dead (1978). Unlike that film, which is lighter, more action-packed and satirical, Day is intensely unpleasant, scary and disgusting, with some exceptional makeup and prosthetic effects. - It has actually made me nauseous to watch on one occasion.
The film does have a couple of scenes which are quite obviously too long. The conflict between the ignorant, racist soldiers and the good-hearted scientists is a bit over-the-top and contrived, but it somehow works great anyway, thanks in part to the actors giving serious characterizations and giving the film their all.
The music (by John Harrison (Creepshow (1982))) and conflict-heavy dialog is very 80s typical, which I love. Day has scenes and one character in particular (lab 'animal' Bub (Sherman Howard (Jumanji (1996-97))) that sticks in your mind years after you've seen it.
Shiver!
Related reviews:
George A. Romero: Night of the Living Dead (1990) - Romero and Savini hash up a superfluous remake (writer/executive producer)
Creepshow (1982) - Fun, campy horror anthology from King and Romero
Dawn of the Dead (1978) or, Mall of Death!
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| Sherman Howard as Bub in George A. Romero's Day of the Dead |
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| Lori Cardille as Dr. Sarah in George A. Romero's Day of the Dead |
Watch the trailer for the movie here
Cost: 3.5 mil. $
Box office: 34 mil. $
= Huge hit
[Day was made on a budget half the size hoped for, which forced Romero to alter his script drastically, effectively making a smaller and different zombie movie. It was filmed on locations in Florida, including in a mine. Extras were paid 1 $ plus a cap that read 'I was a Zombie in Day of the Dead.' The film had a small American release but still grossed 5.8 mil. $ (17 % of the total gross) in North America. It also became a lucrative VHS and later DVD and Bluray item.]
What do you think of Day of the Dead?
How do you rate it against Romero's other Dead movies?
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