31 Days of Spooky Movies: Day of the Dead

Day #6.b

Day of the Dead

(1985)

The zombie apocalypse has ravaged the country, but in a military bunker a group of scientists are trying to find a solution. As fear, isolation, and hopelessness begin to reach a tipping point, the soldiers—meant to be protectors—start to become dictators instead.

When surviving is the only thing you can do, what do you do when you’re stuck between a gun and an undead place?

Fright Factor:

2 / 5 Armed Zombies

Gore Factor:

4 / 5 Feeding Frenzies

Should you watch it?

First there was Night of the Living Dead, then there was the Dawn of the Dead, and now George Romero brings us Day of the Dead! Like the other two, the story once again deals with a band of survivors trapped in a building surrounded by the living dead. However, while Dawn took the ideas of the previous film and expanded on them (adding a whole new dimension to the story,) the same cannot be said of Day.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad movie. In fact it’s a pretty gosh darn fun zombie movie. It’s just that after Night and Dawn...well, this one just feels like you went to a famous restaurant and they served you leftovers from last night. Sure, the leftovers are pretty good, but you kind of went in because you wanted more than just old reheated ideas.

Day of the Dead does add new something to the franchise though: exaggerated goofiness. It’s full of things like zombies learning how to use guns, a mad scientist, and an overabundance of silly specialty zombies (football player, clown, bride, marching band member, etc.).

Although, to be fair, the movie Romero made after this was about a psychic helper monkey who falls in a love with a quadriplegic and kills anyone who gets in the way of that love...so I should probably just be glad it wasn’t significantly more outrageous.

But as long as you don’t go in expecting it to be the cultural powerhouse the previous films were, I think you’ll have a good time. There’s some really great effects. Sherman Howard’s portrayal of Bub is fantastic and Joseph Pilato makes for a phenomenally unhinged commander that you just love to hate. Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, and Jarlath Conroy are an extremely likable trio of heroes.

It’s just some good ol’ goofy/gory zombie fun...from the guy who invented an entire genre of horror and made two of the most famous horror movies ever made.

He’s earned the right to have a little fun, too, I suppose.

“Maybe if we tried working together we could ease some of the tensions. We’re all pulling in different directions.”

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