The ZombieTastic Review of:
Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead
Director: George Romero
Year of Release: 1985
Country of Origin: USA
Type of Zombie Film: Zombie Bunker Drama
Also Known as: N/A
Part of a series?: Yes, the first (but not the last) conclusion to
Romero's zombie "trilogy".
The Scoring
Plot: The world has been overrun by the living dead, and accordingly a bunch of scientists
and military dickweeds have holed up in a deep underground storage facility. I guess you
could say that Day of the Dead is a lot like that movie Daylight, but with zombies in lieu of
atrocious acting.
Score: 4
Exposition: Day of the Dead features virtually no explicit exposition (or as I call it,
"explixposition"), which is of course, a virtue. Honestly, the film accomplishes something
that few zombie movies are able to do, which is to explain and develop plot points through
action and natural, unforced dialogue. What a concept! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy
long-winded, hurried speeches at the ends of zombie movies that explain/make sense of
the previous 90 minutes as much as the next guy; it's just that occasionally, I'd like some
decent dialogue to go along with all of the verbal diarrhea, you know? I hope so, because
I'm getting grossed out just typing this.
Score: 5
Plausibility: Day of the Dead does virtually everything right in terms of plausibility, i.e. it
doesn't have any forehead-slapping, "what the fuck?" moments. Furthermore, it does a
great job of believably escalating the action in the movie, believably building the tension
between the scientists and the military men, while also showcasing a variety of individual
reactions to the zombie epidemic, which include, but aren't limited to, anger, drunkenness,
panic, and overall assholitude. That said, I have to say that I found the haircuts of military
dudes to be highly implausible. Honestly, these guys collectively look like the SNL band
from the 70s. I'm not saying that army men should necessarily have military haircuts when
they're living in an underground bunker in a post-apocalyptic zombie world; but, you know
what they shouldn't have? Beards and joints. Maybe it's just me.
Score: 4
Year of Release: 1985
Country of Origin: USA
Type of Zombie Film: Zombie Bunker Drama
Also Known as: N/A
Part of a series?: Yes, the first (but not the last) conclusion to
Romero's zombie "trilogy".
The Scoring
Plot: The world has been overrun by the living dead, and accordingly a bunch of scientists
and military dickweeds have holed up in a deep underground storage facility. I guess you
could say that Day of the Dead is a lot like that movie Daylight, but with zombies in lieu of
atrocious acting.
Score: 4
Exposition: Day of the Dead features virtually no explicit exposition (or as I call it,
"explixposition"), which is of course, a virtue. Honestly, the film accomplishes something
that few zombie movies are able to do, which is to explain and develop plot points through
action and natural, unforced dialogue. What a concept! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy
long-winded, hurried speeches at the ends of zombie movies that explain/make sense of
the previous 90 minutes as much as the next guy; it's just that occasionally, I'd like some
decent dialogue to go along with all of the verbal diarrhea, you know? I hope so, because
I'm getting grossed out just typing this.
Score: 5
Plausibility: Day of the Dead does virtually everything right in terms of plausibility, i.e. it
doesn't have any forehead-slapping, "what the fuck?" moments. Furthermore, it does a
great job of believably escalating the action in the movie, believably building the tension
between the scientists and the military men, while also showcasing a variety of individual
reactions to the zombie epidemic, which include, but aren't limited to, anger, drunkenness,
panic, and overall assholitude. That said, I have to say that I found the haircuts of military
dudes to be highly implausible. Honestly, these guys collectively look like the SNL band
from the 70s. I'm not saying that army men should necessarily have military haircuts when
they're living in an underground bunker in a post-apocalyptic zombie world; but, you know
what they shouldn't have? Beards and joints. Maybe it's just me.
Score: 4
| Military specialists, or dope-loving hippies? You tell me. |
Production Value: Overall the production values in Day of the Dead are quite high. The
underground facility in which the film takes place is a quite impressive looking backdrop.
Additionally, the only major "above ground" scene, which happens during the film's
opening, is also quite well done--the makers of the film definitely made the abandoned
town look like Euro-Disney, i.e. understandably and believably abandoned; plus they filled it
with scads of cash blowing around: such props couldn't have been cheap, even if they were
using Monopoly money, a replacement set of which costs (as of this writing) a whopping
$3.99. Yowza. Anyways, this part of the film begs that age-old question, first posed (I
believe) by Aristophanes: if all governments fell after the world was overrun by zombies, and
"legal tender" accordingly became worthless, would you still collect it? I would. I'd hoard
the shit out of it--not because I'd be clinging to the hopes that someday it would regain its
value, but more so because I've always thought that rectangular pieces of green paper were
neat looking. It's a personal thing. Anyways, all of that said, I must admit that Day of the
Dead has to lose at least one point in this category for the fact that the military uniforms on
display in the film are pretty fucking low-rent; I'm no G.I. Joe expert, but I'm pretty sure that
members of our nation's army wear clothing that in no way resembles green pajamas.
Score: 4
Special Effects: While there aren't an over-abundance of special effects in Day of the Dead,
the ones that are there are definitely made to count. In addition to scads of instances of
people's guts falling out, the movie also features two of the best zombie buffet scenes ever
captured on film, these being when a guy keeps screaming as his head is ripped off, and
when the character of Captain Rhodes is ripped in half during the film's final sequence.
Not only are these scenes awesome to look at, but they give me hope: I've always thought
that if I were to be eaten by zombies, I'd like to go out singing Afternoon Delight as I was
consumed; thanks to this film, I now know it's possible. Thanks, George Romero. Thanks
very much.
Score: 4
Makeup: Considering that Tom Savini was at the helm for Day of the Dead's makeup, it
goes without saying that it's great. There's not much more to point out in this category,
other than saying that Savini did an especially commendable job of differentiating the
zombies while making them look similar to each other over all. It's nice when you can look
at a group of zombies and tell which ones are "older" by their more advanced state of decay.
Also, it's really depressing that I just typed that. There's nothing nice about looking at
ravenous corpses, right? I think I need to get out more.
Score: 5
underground facility in which the film takes place is a quite impressive looking backdrop.
Additionally, the only major "above ground" scene, which happens during the film's
opening, is also quite well done--the makers of the film definitely made the abandoned
town look like Euro-Disney, i.e. understandably and believably abandoned; plus they filled it
with scads of cash blowing around: such props couldn't have been cheap, even if they were
using Monopoly money, a replacement set of which costs (as of this writing) a whopping
$3.99. Yowza. Anyways, this part of the film begs that age-old question, first posed (I
believe) by Aristophanes: if all governments fell after the world was overrun by zombies, and
"legal tender" accordingly became worthless, would you still collect it? I would. I'd hoard
the shit out of it--not because I'd be clinging to the hopes that someday it would regain its
value, but more so because I've always thought that rectangular pieces of green paper were
neat looking. It's a personal thing. Anyways, all of that said, I must admit that Day of the
Dead has to lose at least one point in this category for the fact that the military uniforms on
display in the film are pretty fucking low-rent; I'm no G.I. Joe expert, but I'm pretty sure that
members of our nation's army wear clothing that in no way resembles green pajamas.
Score: 4
Special Effects: While there aren't an over-abundance of special effects in Day of the Dead,
the ones that are there are definitely made to count. In addition to scads of instances of
people's guts falling out, the movie also features two of the best zombie buffet scenes ever
captured on film, these being when a guy keeps screaming as his head is ripped off, and
when the character of Captain Rhodes is ripped in half during the film's final sequence.
Not only are these scenes awesome to look at, but they give me hope: I've always thought
that if I were to be eaten by zombies, I'd like to go out singing Afternoon Delight as I was
consumed; thanks to this film, I now know it's possible. Thanks, George Romero. Thanks
very much.
Score: 4
Makeup: Considering that Tom Savini was at the helm for Day of the Dead's makeup, it
goes without saying that it's great. There's not much more to point out in this category,
other than saying that Savini did an especially commendable job of differentiating the
zombies while making them look similar to each other over all. It's nice when you can look
at a group of zombies and tell which ones are "older" by their more advanced state of decay.
Also, it's really depressing that I just typed that. There's nothing nice about looking at
ravenous corpses, right? I think I need to get out more.
Score: 5
| Thanks to the makeup job, I think it's safe to say that this zombie is, much like the music career of Kevin Federline, not long for this Earth. |
Scariness: I'll be honest: the "hands through the wall" sequence during Day of the Dead's
opening credits never fails to creep me out, even though I know its coming. Maybe this is
because one of the hands touches Lori Cardille's breast, and I have some sort of
deep-seeded, subconscious aversion to disembodied groping? I have no idea. Anyways,
that scene aside, I must admit that there isn't a whole lot of "scariness" to be had in the
movie, at least in the "zombie movie" sense of the word. That said, Day of the Dead does
get some points here, because even if it doesn't feature traditional horror scares, the
increasingly hostile military/scientist relationship on display is creepy and menacing
enough on its own.
Score: 3
Goriness: Despite the aforementioned relative lack of scares, there is at least gore-a-plenty
in Day of the Dead. Or maybe I should describe it as "gore-a-flying"? Who knows? The
point is that the numerous sequences in Dr. Logan's lab, wherein he's experimenting on
animated zombies, are nasty enough on their own, and the gore score is only increased
when you factor in the other components of the film, including a graphic arm-severing
scene and a zombie taking a shovel through the head scene; additionally, Day of the Dead
features more graphically graphic flesh-tearing bites than you can shake a pair of dentures
at (whatever that means). The various gory ways that people are dispatched in Day of the
Dead brings up an interesting philosophical conundrum: if you're bitten by a zombie, you're
essentially given a death sentence--the bite will cause you to die in short order, i.e. you're
as good as dead, and you're guaranteed upon expiration of reviving as a mindless
flesh-eater. So, if you're bitten by a zombie, and you shoot yourself in the head while you're
still "alive", can this really be considered suicide? As I said, you're already, for all intents
and purposes, dead, plus you're at least performing a type of public service by ensuring that
you won't be munching on the living in the near future. Conversely, if someone that you
know is bitten, and they ask you to shoot them in the head before they become zombified,
can this really be considered homicide? Is there anyone out there with legal training that
could answer these questions? And, speaking of questions, what was it that I was
originally talking about? Oh right, the gore in Day of the Dead. It's pretty effective. Yeah.
Score: 4
opening credits never fails to creep me out, even though I know its coming. Maybe this is
because one of the hands touches Lori Cardille's breast, and I have some sort of
deep-seeded, subconscious aversion to disembodied groping? I have no idea. Anyways,
that scene aside, I must admit that there isn't a whole lot of "scariness" to be had in the
movie, at least in the "zombie movie" sense of the word. That said, Day of the Dead does
get some points here, because even if it doesn't feature traditional horror scares, the
increasingly hostile military/scientist relationship on display is creepy and menacing
enough on its own.
Score: 3
Goriness: Despite the aforementioned relative lack of scares, there is at least gore-a-plenty
in Day of the Dead. Or maybe I should describe it as "gore-a-flying"? Who knows? The
point is that the numerous sequences in Dr. Logan's lab, wherein he's experimenting on
animated zombies, are nasty enough on their own, and the gore score is only increased
when you factor in the other components of the film, including a graphic arm-severing
scene and a zombie taking a shovel through the head scene; additionally, Day of the Dead
features more graphically graphic flesh-tearing bites than you can shake a pair of dentures
at (whatever that means). The various gory ways that people are dispatched in Day of the
Dead brings up an interesting philosophical conundrum: if you're bitten by a zombie, you're
essentially given a death sentence--the bite will cause you to die in short order, i.e. you're
as good as dead, and you're guaranteed upon expiration of reviving as a mindless
flesh-eater. So, if you're bitten by a zombie, and you shoot yourself in the head while you're
still "alive", can this really be considered suicide? As I said, you're already, for all intents
and purposes, dead, plus you're at least performing a type of public service by ensuring that
you won't be munching on the living in the near future. Conversely, if someone that you
know is bitten, and they ask you to shoot them in the head before they become zombified,
can this really be considered homicide? Is there anyone out there with legal training that
could answer these questions? And, speaking of questions, what was it that I was
originally talking about? Oh right, the gore in Day of the Dead. It's pretty effective. Yeah.
Score: 4
| Insert "don't lose your head" joke here. That, or just say "yucky." |
Final Scene: Day of the Dead ends with the characters of Sarah, John and McDermott on a
tropical island, alive and relatively well. What I like about this scene is that it's neither a
happy nor a depressing ending--Sarah has a disturbing dream and, waking up, she looks
at her calendar and marks another day off; this recapitulates the film's opening scenes,
and, I think, underscores the point that just because they've survived, their really is no
ending. The zombie menace is still alive, nothing is guaranteed, their futures are what they
make them, time is short, live life to the fullest, zombie diem, and all of that. This talk brings
to mind Dead Poets Society, which in turn brings to mind this question, which I'll go ahead
and ask since this review has turned into a philosophical meditation on all things zombie: if
the world were overrun by zombies, is there any particular person's body of film-work that
you would try to completely destroy, in the hopes that someday it would benefit mankind?
I'm not going to lie to you: if I was in a zombie-world, in addition to many other things, I
would visit every shopping mall, Best Buy, and Blockbuster outlet that I could and eradicate
the films of Chris O'Donnell. That would be my little gift to future generations of humans.
Let me just go ahead and say it now: you're welcome.
Score: 4
Comedy: Day of the Dead, like all of Romero's zombie films, tries to play things relatively
straight and dramatic. That being said, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that some of
the performances in the film are slightly over the top. Fortunately, said performances
typically stop just short of campness, so they're able to fit in with the overall tone of the film.
Those aside, I have to point out that there is at least one laugh in the film, when a zombie
head is cut in half, and we later see the top half of the head looking around. I mean, if that's
not comedy, I don't know what is. Wait, what? Never mind.
Score: 2
tropical island, alive and relatively well. What I like about this scene is that it's neither a
happy nor a depressing ending--Sarah has a disturbing dream and, waking up, she looks
at her calendar and marks another day off; this recapitulates the film's opening scenes,
and, I think, underscores the point that just because they've survived, their really is no
ending. The zombie menace is still alive, nothing is guaranteed, their futures are what they
make them, time is short, live life to the fullest, zombie diem, and all of that. This talk brings
to mind Dead Poets Society, which in turn brings to mind this question, which I'll go ahead
and ask since this review has turned into a philosophical meditation on all things zombie: if
the world were overrun by zombies, is there any particular person's body of film-work that
you would try to completely destroy, in the hopes that someday it would benefit mankind?
I'm not going to lie to you: if I was in a zombie-world, in addition to many other things, I
would visit every shopping mall, Best Buy, and Blockbuster outlet that I could and eradicate
the films of Chris O'Donnell. That would be my little gift to future generations of humans.
Let me just go ahead and say it now: you're welcome.
Score: 4
Comedy: Day of the Dead, like all of Romero's zombie films, tries to play things relatively
straight and dramatic. That being said, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that some of
the performances in the film are slightly over the top. Fortunately, said performances
typically stop just short of campness, so they're able to fit in with the overall tone of the film.
Those aside, I have to point out that there is at least one laugh in the film, when a zombie
head is cut in half, and we later see the top half of the head looking around. I mean, if that's
not comedy, I don't know what is. Wait, what? Never mind.
Score: 2
| How's this for comedy? |
Originality: Day of the Dead is yet another example of George Romero's innovation in the
world of zombie movies. Not content to make the same zombie movie yet again, Romero
instead explores the "philosophical" side of zombies (much like this review does, except
that he does so in an effective, engaging, and sensible way). In addition to providing an
acceptable "scientific" explanation of why zombies want to eat people, he also explores a
variety of hot-button zombie issues, examining what is it that makes them tick, and proving
that they like Beethoven as much as the next guy. Dare I say it?: Day of the Dead does a job
of humanizing zombies while also showing them eating humans. Honestly, I haven't
rooted for the antagonist in a horror movie this fervently since I saw Some Kind of Monster.
(Incidentally, how come the monster in the title never actually showed up in that movie? I
kept waiting, hoping, begging for some kind of beastie to appear and devour those douche
bags in Metallica, but it never happened. What the fuck?)
Score: 5
Rewatchability: Speaking from personal experience (and really, who's experience would I
speak from? Charro's? Don't be stupid!), Day of the Dead is imminently rewatchable. Not
only do the performances and effects hold up on repeated viewings, but the plot itself is
wholly unique in the world of zombie movies, and makes for a nice break from the average
zombie flick.
Score: 4
Datedness: By definition, Day of the Dead isn't overly dated, because the isolated nature of
the setting prevents the types of references to the outside world that typically date a film.
That is, of course, aside from the hairstyles and the clumsy looking tape player that Bub the
zombie listens to his tunes on; the only thing that I could think of that would scream "80's"
more vociferously would be Boy George shouting his/her lyrics through a megaphone. If
that makes any sense. And I doubt that it does.
Score: 4
Soundtrack: The soundtrack is the one area of the film where things stumble a (teeny) bit.
The bulk of the music in the film appears to have been written and performed by a group
called Modern Man. Now, there's nothing wrong with the music per se--it sounds fine and
fits into the movie reasonably well; it's just that it happens to be the same type of noodly
synthesizer-heavy stuff that seems to be featured in every zombie movie made between
1978 and 1986. Honestly, was there some sort of international treaty or something in place
during this period of time whereby all zombie filmmakers were required to use nothing but
generic synth music in their films? And if so, when did it expire, and why didn't I learn about
it in history class? That sort of thing seems way more important than the Geneva
Convention.
Anyway, that aside, I have to say that even if the music was unique, there's still the
jaw-dropping fact that the official release of Day of the Dead's soundtrack, which was put
out by Saturn Records, contained a whopping five tracks, and clocked in with a total runtime
of 19 minutes and 59 seconds. Holy shit, that is unbelievable. 19 minutes! Not even The
Ramones put out albums that short. What, the producers of the record couldn't round it out
with some sound clips from the film and/or a few random incidental or throwaway tracks?
Rich Little wasn't available at the time to provide some hilarious impersonations of "Zombie
Bob Hope" at the end of the album? What the fuck?
Score: 1
world of zombie movies. Not content to make the same zombie movie yet again, Romero
instead explores the "philosophical" side of zombies (much like this review does, except
that he does so in an effective, engaging, and sensible way). In addition to providing an
acceptable "scientific" explanation of why zombies want to eat people, he also explores a
variety of hot-button zombie issues, examining what is it that makes them tick, and proving
that they like Beethoven as much as the next guy. Dare I say it?: Day of the Dead does a job
of humanizing zombies while also showing them eating humans. Honestly, I haven't
rooted for the antagonist in a horror movie this fervently since I saw Some Kind of Monster.
(Incidentally, how come the monster in the title never actually showed up in that movie? I
kept waiting, hoping, begging for some kind of beastie to appear and devour those douche
bags in Metallica, but it never happened. What the fuck?)
Score: 5
Rewatchability: Speaking from personal experience (and really, who's experience would I
speak from? Charro's? Don't be stupid!), Day of the Dead is imminently rewatchable. Not
only do the performances and effects hold up on repeated viewings, but the plot itself is
wholly unique in the world of zombie movies, and makes for a nice break from the average
zombie flick.
Score: 4
Datedness: By definition, Day of the Dead isn't overly dated, because the isolated nature of
the setting prevents the types of references to the outside world that typically date a film.
That is, of course, aside from the hairstyles and the clumsy looking tape player that Bub the
zombie listens to his tunes on; the only thing that I could think of that would scream "80's"
more vociferously would be Boy George shouting his/her lyrics through a megaphone. If
that makes any sense. And I doubt that it does.
Score: 4
Soundtrack: The soundtrack is the one area of the film where things stumble a (teeny) bit.
The bulk of the music in the film appears to have been written and performed by a group
called Modern Man. Now, there's nothing wrong with the music per se--it sounds fine and
fits into the movie reasonably well; it's just that it happens to be the same type of noodly
synthesizer-heavy stuff that seems to be featured in every zombie movie made between
1978 and 1986. Honestly, was there some sort of international treaty or something in place
during this period of time whereby all zombie filmmakers were required to use nothing but
generic synth music in their films? And if so, when did it expire, and why didn't I learn about
it in history class? That sort of thing seems way more important than the Geneva
Convention.
Anyway, that aside, I have to say that even if the music was unique, there's still the
jaw-dropping fact that the official release of Day of the Dead's soundtrack, which was put
out by Saturn Records, contained a whopping five tracks, and clocked in with a total runtime
of 19 minutes and 59 seconds. Holy shit, that is unbelievable. 19 minutes! Not even The
Ramones put out albums that short. What, the producers of the record couldn't round it out
with some sound clips from the film and/or a few random incidental or throwaway tracks?
Rich Little wasn't available at the time to provide some hilarious impersonations of "Zombie
Bob Hope" at the end of the album? What the fuck?
Score: 1
| Bub discovers how brief the Day of the Dead soundtrack is. |
Breast Factor/Nudity: Remember when I said that the soundtrack was the one area of Day
of the Dead where is stumbled just a bit? I lied. In addition to that, there's also the fact that
the film doesn't feature any nudity whatsoever--not even a random shot of a zombie's ass.
WHATEVER.
Score: 1
Lead Actor: Lori Cardille as Sarah. Put simply, Lori Cardille does a great job with the lead
role of the film, and that's a good thing, because without it, we really wouldn't have a film.
She's the proverbial straw the stirs the drink, as opposed to a literal straw that stirs the
drink, which does just that, and is totally irrelevant to what we're talking about it here. You
follow?
Score: 5
Sidekick(s)/Love Interest: Anthony Dileo Jr. as Private Miguel Salazar. This category is
hard to score; on the one hand, Anthony Dileo Jr. does a fine job with the material that he's
given. On the other hand, said material forces him to be an erratic, annoying ass hole. In
other words, the role of Miguel forces a decent actor to act like a total prick. Wait, I called the
character an 'ass hole' two sentences ago, can I really call him a 'dick' right after that? I
don't know, I feel like both words apply here. Can we combine them? He's a
dickhole--Miguel is a dickhole, and so it's hard to be pro-Anthony Dileo when we only know
him as such a hole (a dickhole, that is). This sort of thing is known as the Steve Urkel
Syndrome, and if you're an actor, you should hope that, much like Herpes, you never
contract it, because also like Herpes (coincidentally enough), it can never be shaken.
Score: 3
Overall Cast: As mentioned earlier, there is some overacting to be had in Day of the Dead,
but also as I mentioned earlier (sorry for all the redundant redundancy, people), the acting
never reaches the level of campness. And besides, compared to the casts of most zombie
movies, the actors in Day of the Dead are The Royal Freaking Shakespeare Company (not
to be confused with The Royal Shakespeare Company).
Score: 5
Token Scientist: Richard Liberty as Dr. Logan. While Mr. Liberty does succumb to some of
the overacting that I've mentioned approximately 334923082 times in this review (there's
that redundancy, again), his character is supposed to be freaking nut, so it works out. Plus,
he sports a wormy scientist sidekick, Dr. Ted Fisher (played by John Amplas). And, the
lead character of Sarah is also a scientist. Three scientists for the price of one--God Bless
America.
Score: 4
of the Dead where is stumbled just a bit? I lied. In addition to that, there's also the fact that
the film doesn't feature any nudity whatsoever--not even a random shot of a zombie's ass.
WHATEVER.
Score: 1
Lead Actor: Lori Cardille as Sarah. Put simply, Lori Cardille does a great job with the lead
role of the film, and that's a good thing, because without it, we really wouldn't have a film.
She's the proverbial straw the stirs the drink, as opposed to a literal straw that stirs the
drink, which does just that, and is totally irrelevant to what we're talking about it here. You
follow?
Score: 5
Sidekick(s)/Love Interest: Anthony Dileo Jr. as Private Miguel Salazar. This category is
hard to score; on the one hand, Anthony Dileo Jr. does a fine job with the material that he's
given. On the other hand, said material forces him to be an erratic, annoying ass hole. In
other words, the role of Miguel forces a decent actor to act like a total prick. Wait, I called the
character an 'ass hole' two sentences ago, can I really call him a 'dick' right after that? I
don't know, I feel like both words apply here. Can we combine them? He's a
dickhole--Miguel is a dickhole, and so it's hard to be pro-Anthony Dileo when we only know
him as such a hole (a dickhole, that is). This sort of thing is known as the Steve Urkel
Syndrome, and if you're an actor, you should hope that, much like Herpes, you never
contract it, because also like Herpes (coincidentally enough), it can never be shaken.
Score: 3
Overall Cast: As mentioned earlier, there is some overacting to be had in Day of the Dead,
but also as I mentioned earlier (sorry for all the redundant redundancy, people), the acting
never reaches the level of campness. And besides, compared to the casts of most zombie
movies, the actors in Day of the Dead are The Royal Freaking Shakespeare Company (not
to be confused with The Royal Shakespeare Company).
Score: 5
Token Scientist: Richard Liberty as Dr. Logan. While Mr. Liberty does succumb to some of
the overacting that I've mentioned approximately 334923082 times in this review (there's
that redundancy, again), his character is supposed to be freaking nut, so it works out. Plus,
he sports a wormy scientist sidekick, Dr. Ted Fisher (played by John Amplas). And, the
lead character of Sarah is also a scientist. Three scientists for the price of one--God Bless
America.
Score: 4
| Look at me, I'm a scientist! |
Token Fat Guy: Gary Howard Klar as Private Steel. Simply put, Gary Howard Klar gives you
everything that you could ever want out of a token fat guy: he's loud, he's obnoxious, he's a
boor, and gets his comeuppance during a pretty righteous death scene. If only all fat
people were so cooperative.
Score: 5
everything that you could ever want out of a token fat guy: he's loud, he's obnoxious, he's a
boor, and gets his comeuppance during a pretty righteous death scene. If only all fat
people were so cooperative.
Score: 5
| No, look at me, I'm a fat guy! |
Best Line: If you've read any of the other reviews on this glorious web site (ZombieTastic.
com, in case you're not paying attention), you probably know that I usually have a pretty hard
time picking just one line as "the best" for any given film, and of course, Day of the Dead is
no exception. For the sake of brevity, I'll narrow things down to the following three:
Intangibles: It should be fairly obvious by now that Day of the Dead has its mojo working in
a variety of ways, so it’s got to score high in this category. In addition to being an all-around
kick-ass movie, there's also the fun of fitting into Romero's overall "trilogy" and watching
zombies that, for once, seem to evolve over time. I think that if Darwin were alive today, he'd
(a) buy an electric razor and shave off his massive beard and (b) watch, and enjoy, Day of
the Dead. Yes.
Score: 5
Zombie Believability: Between the previously mentioned makeup effects and the overall
performances, the zombies in Day of the Dead are imminently believable. I guess my only
quibble with them would be in the scene in which the zombie Bub listens to, and enjoys,
some classical music. I think we all know that zombies only really enjoy death metal. What
other kind of music are they going to relate to? Smooth Jazz? As if.
Score: 5
Zombie Attack Scenes: Some have criticized Day of the Dead for taking a long time to
actually get around to having any zombie attack scenes (by my estimation, the first one
doesn't begin until around the film's 58-minute mark). That might be legitimate complaint,
but then again, it's hard to seriously level it against Romero, because it's clear that this is by
design. Besides, once the zombie attacks start they're very well done, so I think everyone
needs to have a Coke and a smile and shut the fuck up, you know?
Score: 3
Zombie "Orgy" Scenes: Technically speaking, there's really only one true zombie orgy
scene in the film, but it's a doozy--basically, with about 18 minutes left in the film, the
character of Miguel opens the "front door" to the facility and invites the zombies in for tea
and crumpets (read: brains and spleens), and from then-on, Day of the Dead is a Caligula-
esque orgy (if Caligula had been about the living dead, if you know what I mean.)
Score: 5
com, in case you're not paying attention), you probably know that I usually have a pretty hard
time picking just one line as "the best" for any given film, and of course, Day of the Dead is
no exception. For the sake of brevity, I'll narrow things down to the following three:
- "You've given us a mouthful of Greek salad!", spoken by Captain Rhodes to "the
scientists". Why do I love this line? It's simple: because it sums up how I normally
feel whenever I hear scientists talk about anything. If I had a nickel for every time I
had accused a brainiac of giving me a mouthful of Greek salad, I could buy many
Greek salads. - "They are us", spoken by Dr. Logan in reference to, of course, zombies. I enjoy this
line because not only is this an interesting juxtaposition of the living dead and the
just plain living, it also seems to nicely set the stage for Romero's next zombie
movie, Land of the Dead. - "Can't we just get along?" Ultimately, I think that this line has to win the prize. Why?
Well, not only does it underscore, I think, one of the main themes of the whole film,
but it's a line that has, of course, taken on a life of its own. Ultimately, I'm impressed
by the fact that not only does Day of the Dead use its dialogue to foreshadow its own
sequel; it also uses it to foreshadow Rodney King. That's pretty fucking awesome if
you ask me.
Intangibles: It should be fairly obvious by now that Day of the Dead has its mojo working in
a variety of ways, so it’s got to score high in this category. In addition to being an all-around
kick-ass movie, there's also the fun of fitting into Romero's overall "trilogy" and watching
zombies that, for once, seem to evolve over time. I think that if Darwin were alive today, he'd
(a) buy an electric razor and shave off his massive beard and (b) watch, and enjoy, Day of
the Dead. Yes.
Score: 5
Zombie Believability: Between the previously mentioned makeup effects and the overall
performances, the zombies in Day of the Dead are imminently believable. I guess my only
quibble with them would be in the scene in which the zombie Bub listens to, and enjoys,
some classical music. I think we all know that zombies only really enjoy death metal. What
other kind of music are they going to relate to? Smooth Jazz? As if.
Score: 5
Zombie Attack Scenes: Some have criticized Day of the Dead for taking a long time to
actually get around to having any zombie attack scenes (by my estimation, the first one
doesn't begin until around the film's 58-minute mark). That might be legitimate complaint,
but then again, it's hard to seriously level it against Romero, because it's clear that this is by
design. Besides, once the zombie attacks start they're very well done, so I think everyone
needs to have a Coke and a smile and shut the fuck up, you know?
Score: 3
Zombie "Orgy" Scenes: Technically speaking, there's really only one true zombie orgy
scene in the film, but it's a doozy--basically, with about 18 minutes left in the film, the
character of Miguel opens the "front door" to the facility and invites the zombies in for tea
and crumpets (read: brains and spleens), and from then-on, Day of the Dead is a Caligula-
esque orgy (if Caligula had been about the living dead, if you know what I mean.)
Score: 5
| Table for 200? |
Anti-Zombie Weaponry: The main anti-zombie weapon employed in Day of the Dead:
SCIENCE. Specifically, the strategy appears to be to capture zombies and stick them into a
holding pen, and to then experiment on them until they're just an indistinguishable pile of
blood and guts. While this technique is somewhat effective, I wouldn't recommend it to the
average zombie hunter, because most of them just don't have the necessary scalpel skills.
I should point out that while the main anti-zombie weapon in the film is science, the desired
weapon appears to be socialization, although this never seems to take hold, thereby
proving the old adage that you can lead a zombie to water, but you can't make him drink,
unless that is, the water also contains brains.
Score: 2
Zombification Explanation: There's never an "official" zombification explanation in Day of
the Dead--a stray newspaper featuring the headline "THE DEAD WALK" is the only "official"
word as to why the dead are rising. While this movie is part of Romero's "trilogy", we might
be able to safely assume that the radiation that caused the zombie plague in Night of the
Living Dead is the culprit here, but again, we're never certain that this is the case. I for one
enjoy that, because I think it's more effective for a zombie movie to simply contain zombies
doing their thing whilst the humans try to figure out what's happening. I mean, if you found
yourself in the midst of a zombie outbreak, you wouldn't be tuning in to the nightly news in
the hopes that Brian Williams would spell everything out for you; no, instead you'd be busy
reloading your gun or sharpening your machete or digging a moat for that sort of thing. In
other words, you'd be too busy acting like Rambo (minus the 'Nam flashbacks, of course) to
worry about the ultimate cause of the zombie plague, right? Right.
Score: 4
Zombie "Uniqueness": Have you ever seen a zombie movie in which you see members of
the living dead eat people and use firearms and try to shave? No, you haven't. The
prosecution rests.
Score: 5
Zombie Consistency: The zombies in Day of the Dead are inconsistently consistent; that is
to say that some of the zombies are your typical flesh-thirsty ghouls, some, like Bub, are
much smarter than the average zombie, and some seem to be in-between these two
states. Ultimately, this is what makes them interesting, and I think it was probably the point
of the film: if zombies are able to evolve or develop, we might also assume that they're
individuals like (gasp) humans, they're just differently-abled. Let me just come right out and
say it: Day of the Dead has turned me into an advocate for zombiecap parking. I'll be
circulating a petition about this soon--please sign it if you're so inclined.
Score: 4
Signature Zombie: Day of the Dead's signature zombie is of course none other than Bub,
ably played by Sherman Howard. Bub is possibly the most memorable zombie to ever hit
the silver screen (the filmic work of Anna Nicole Smith notwithstanding). Not only is Bub
likeable and charming, but he shoots his human nemesis with a handgun and sends him
to his doom while mocking him. In other words, in addition to the tasty qualities of human
flesh, Bub is also familiar with sarcasm. In other words, he's a trailblazer, setting the bar of
zombie achievement extremely high while also being admired by virtually all who come into
contact with him. I'm going to come right out and say it: Bub is the Jack Nicholson of
zombies.
Score: 5
SCIENCE. Specifically, the strategy appears to be to capture zombies and stick them into a
holding pen, and to then experiment on them until they're just an indistinguishable pile of
blood and guts. While this technique is somewhat effective, I wouldn't recommend it to the
average zombie hunter, because most of them just don't have the necessary scalpel skills.
I should point out that while the main anti-zombie weapon in the film is science, the desired
weapon appears to be socialization, although this never seems to take hold, thereby
proving the old adage that you can lead a zombie to water, but you can't make him drink,
unless that is, the water also contains brains.
Score: 2
Zombification Explanation: There's never an "official" zombification explanation in Day of
the Dead--a stray newspaper featuring the headline "THE DEAD WALK" is the only "official"
word as to why the dead are rising. While this movie is part of Romero's "trilogy", we might
be able to safely assume that the radiation that caused the zombie plague in Night of the
Living Dead is the culprit here, but again, we're never certain that this is the case. I for one
enjoy that, because I think it's more effective for a zombie movie to simply contain zombies
doing their thing whilst the humans try to figure out what's happening. I mean, if you found
yourself in the midst of a zombie outbreak, you wouldn't be tuning in to the nightly news in
the hopes that Brian Williams would spell everything out for you; no, instead you'd be busy
reloading your gun or sharpening your machete or digging a moat for that sort of thing. In
other words, you'd be too busy acting like Rambo (minus the 'Nam flashbacks, of course) to
worry about the ultimate cause of the zombie plague, right? Right.
Score: 4
Zombie "Uniqueness": Have you ever seen a zombie movie in which you see members of
the living dead eat people and use firearms and try to shave? No, you haven't. The
prosecution rests.
Score: 5
Zombie Consistency: The zombies in Day of the Dead are inconsistently consistent; that is
to say that some of the zombies are your typical flesh-thirsty ghouls, some, like Bub, are
much smarter than the average zombie, and some seem to be in-between these two
states. Ultimately, this is what makes them interesting, and I think it was probably the point
of the film: if zombies are able to evolve or develop, we might also assume that they're
individuals like (gasp) humans, they're just differently-abled. Let me just come right out and
say it: Day of the Dead has turned me into an advocate for zombiecap parking. I'll be
circulating a petition about this soon--please sign it if you're so inclined.
Score: 4
Signature Zombie: Day of the Dead's signature zombie is of course none other than Bub,
ably played by Sherman Howard. Bub is possibly the most memorable zombie to ever hit
the silver screen (the filmic work of Anna Nicole Smith notwithstanding). Not only is Bub
likeable and charming, but he shoots his human nemesis with a handgun and sends him
to his doom while mocking him. In other words, in addition to the tasty qualities of human
flesh, Bub is also familiar with sarcasm. In other words, he's a trailblazer, setting the bar of
zombie achievement extremely high while also being admired by virtually all who come into
contact with him. I'm going to come right out and say it: Bub is the Jack Nicholson of
zombies.
Score: 5
| Bub dishes out a little sarcasm, zombie-style. |
Total Points: 118
Verdict: So there you have it: Day of the Dead. In my opinion, it's easily one of the 10
greatest zombie movies ever made. I think that this is so because, aside from all of the
reasons listed above, it rises above the level of the "zombie movie" and speaks larger
truths about the world in which we live. Specifically, I'm pretty sure that Day of the Dead is a
metaphor for the high school experience. Think about it: the army guys are the jocks, the
scientists are the nerds, the zombies are the freaks and the geeks, the character of John
(the helicopter pilot) represents the cool outsider rebels who usually have awesome cars,
and the character of McDermott (the radio operator) represents the burnouts. With these
characterizations in mind, the rest of the movie falls in place: the tension between the
military guys and the scientists represents the merciless teasing that nerds suffer at the
hands of jocks. Why does this happen? Because the army guys resent having to protect
scientists deriding their "results" in the process, just as high school jocks resent having to
share hall space with nerds who get high grades. Additionally, the way they hate Miguel for
having a girlfriend is akin to the way real-world jocks always rip on their own that are getting
laid, even though they all, to a man, wish they were getting laid as well. All of this is taken
up a notch when you consider how the army guys beat/kill the zombies that inhabit their
bunker, just as jocks beat up the burnouts and wastoids in high school. And, one must
admit that the facility that is the film's setting very much resembles a high school, what with
its lockers, huge linoleum-tiled hallways, cafeteria, and conveniently placed drinking
fountains. I think all of these ideas are summed up by Captain Rhodes when he points out
that even though the scientists believe in their work, he's "not down in the cave for [his]
health, but on orders", much like jocks resent the compulsory nature of high school while
nerds at least enjoy doing "the work" that it requires. So, just when you thought Day of the
Dead couldn't be more profound, along comes this theory and kicks you in the nuts.
Ultimately, there's nothing that we can say but this: George Romero is the man, plain and
simple.
Next Time: The Dead Next Door
Verdict: So there you have it: Day of the Dead. In my opinion, it's easily one of the 10
greatest zombie movies ever made. I think that this is so because, aside from all of the
reasons listed above, it rises above the level of the "zombie movie" and speaks larger
truths about the world in which we live. Specifically, I'm pretty sure that Day of the Dead is a
metaphor for the high school experience. Think about it: the army guys are the jocks, the
scientists are the nerds, the zombies are the freaks and the geeks, the character of John
(the helicopter pilot) represents the cool outsider rebels who usually have awesome cars,
and the character of McDermott (the radio operator) represents the burnouts. With these
characterizations in mind, the rest of the movie falls in place: the tension between the
military guys and the scientists represents the merciless teasing that nerds suffer at the
hands of jocks. Why does this happen? Because the army guys resent having to protect
scientists deriding their "results" in the process, just as high school jocks resent having to
share hall space with nerds who get high grades. Additionally, the way they hate Miguel for
having a girlfriend is akin to the way real-world jocks always rip on their own that are getting
laid, even though they all, to a man, wish they were getting laid as well. All of this is taken
up a notch when you consider how the army guys beat/kill the zombies that inhabit their
bunker, just as jocks beat up the burnouts and wastoids in high school. And, one must
admit that the facility that is the film's setting very much resembles a high school, what with
its lockers, huge linoleum-tiled hallways, cafeteria, and conveniently placed drinking
fountains. I think all of these ideas are summed up by Captain Rhodes when he points out
that even though the scientists believe in their work, he's "not down in the cave for [his]
health, but on orders", much like jocks resent the compulsory nature of high school while
nerds at least enjoy doing "the work" that it requires. So, just when you thought Day of the
Dead couldn't be more profound, along comes this theory and kicks you in the nuts.
Ultimately, there's nothing that we can say but this: George Romero is the man, plain and
simple.
Next Time: The Dead Next Door
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