Without any further stallings, let us commence the journey into my ramblings disguised as reviews.
The world has been ravaged and torn apart by a zombie apocalypse. Anyone who is not infected is an uncommon attraction among the millions of dead that plague the planet. Still, two groups of survivors have taken refuge underground, only to surface if supplies or food are becoming scarce. The first band of people is a troop of soldiers, lead by the brash, if not slightly ill Captain Henry Rhodes. The other is mostly comprised of scientists, who are a more optimistic pack of individuals, with one even going so far as to experiment on the deceased, believing they can be tamed through the right means. As tensions mount between the two, the undead evils above ground grow closer and closer...
Given that I absolutely love the original Night of the Living Dead and enjoy Dawn Of The Dead a good amount, you would have figured that I had seen George Romero's third entry into the zombie genre that he helped make into the juggernaut that it is today. Shockingly, I had not. Hell, I actually purchased a copy from Anchor Bay (THIS one with a velcro cover to be exact) nearly a decade ago with the intentions of watching and most likely adoring it. Again, that amusingly did not happen. Why you might ask? No reason. Well, perhaps laziness, but that can be my excuse for most things in my own personal life.
But after having finished Day Of The Dead, I really do need to remedy these problems disguised as mere procrastination. While I don't feel that the third entry in Romero's initial zombie trilogy is his strongest project, it does have a lot of impressive aspects to it. For starters, there is an immediate sense of dread and hopelessness that is set in stone from the very beginning. The barren cities (for what we see of them) give you the impression that something rather serious has occurred, making the world of modern day zombie tales such as The Walking Dead seem paltry in comparison. Accompanying it is a rather wonderful score by Mr. John Harrison, whose previous work on noted cult favorite Creepshow was also solid, if not a bit sillier at times. It almost makes up for the disappointment of realizing that Dawn composers Goblin and Dario Argento aren't back for the ride this time around. Almost.
Director George Romero has always seemed to have a knack for getting memorable performances, be they excellent or hilariously bad, out of his cast, even if the subject matter at hand was far from top notch material (Monkey Shines comes to mind). Joseph Pilato's Captain Rhodes is obviously the first person that will come to mind for previous viewers and even first time watchers such as myself. He's delightfully psychotic, but still somewhat sympathetic during select moments. The rest of his personnel came across as too cartoon-like for my taste, especially given the terrible situations that these people are in. Perhaps it was delusional behavior that was meant to hide how they really felt living in a society overrun by zombies, but maybe I'm looking into this too much. I couldn't help but be amused by Anthony Dileo Jr's character though, as he plays the supporting boyfriend to star Lori Cardille, but sounds like he's about to cry in every scene that he appears in. When the time comes for him to actually let out legitimate wails of anguish and pain, you just want to tell him to try harder since it seems like he used up all of his energy earlier in the film. Lead expert Dr. Matthew Logan, aka "Frankenstein," seems like he graduated from the Jeffrey Combs school of "matter of fact" acting, though that is far from a complaint given that the latter is one of the most underrated actors of the past three decades.
I suspect that what will keep people coming back to repeated viewings of Day Of The Dead will be its notorious scenes of violence, gore, and dissection. With each installment, the pure insanity and outrageousness has gone up exponentially, turning from Night's initial shock, to Dawn's slight disgust, and finally settling into Day's pure, unadulterated horror. Though I am certainly not going to spoil if anyone in particular or rather notable dies during its two hours running time, I can say that the final act is the movie equivalent of an early Cannibal Corpse or Dismember record. The legendary Tom Savini (Dawn Of The Dead, Friday The 13th) is at the top of his game here, being assisted by future juggernaut Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead, Misery), and every single kill is just a sight to behold. It was no wonder that the former was given a Saturn Award in 1985 for his work on the set and makeup.
It's easy to just gush like a fanboy about this wonderful little gem, and honestly, I'm not sure that I've even said much that hasn't already been uttered by horror connoisseurs and experts across the continent. Day Of The Dead's influence is mighty, seen in underground follies like Fido (the idea of domesticating or controlling a zombie) and the Resident Evil series of flicks (there are far too many to count). I don't know if I can fully back George Romero's statement that he believes this is his best work, but it's a great specimen and example of the genre that is often overcrowded with lackluster or unimaginative efforts. If you're a fan of the people vs. people vs. zombies formula of a certain modern television show that draws higher ratings than most other programs, you may want to find a cheap copy to buy (and if you have the money, do a double screening with another little zombie classic from 1985 that I've reviewed before!).
Oh, you're broke you say? Well, it's also available on Netflix's instant streaming service. So there you go you cheapskate.
Tomorrow, we're diving into two entries for 1986. One choice will deal with the vehicular side of horror. The other takes us back into the realm of H.P. Lovecraft. What do they have in common?
....you're not paying attention if you ask that question....
But after having finished Day Of The Dead, I really do need to remedy these problems disguised as mere procrastination. While I don't feel that the third entry in Romero's initial zombie trilogy is his strongest project, it does have a lot of impressive aspects to it. For starters, there is an immediate sense of dread and hopelessness that is set in stone from the very beginning. The barren cities (for what we see of them) give you the impression that something rather serious has occurred, making the world of modern day zombie tales such as The Walking Dead seem paltry in comparison. Accompanying it is a rather wonderful score by Mr. John Harrison, whose previous work on noted cult favorite Creepshow was also solid, if not a bit sillier at times. It almost makes up for the disappointment of realizing that Dawn composers Goblin and Dario Argento aren't back for the ride this time around. Almost.
Director George Romero has always seemed to have a knack for getting memorable performances, be they excellent or hilariously bad, out of his cast, even if the subject matter at hand was far from top notch material (Monkey Shines comes to mind). Joseph Pilato's Captain Rhodes is obviously the first person that will come to mind for previous viewers and even first time watchers such as myself. He's delightfully psychotic, but still somewhat sympathetic during select moments. The rest of his personnel came across as too cartoon-like for my taste, especially given the terrible situations that these people are in. Perhaps it was delusional behavior that was meant to hide how they really felt living in a society overrun by zombies, but maybe I'm looking into this too much. I couldn't help but be amused by Anthony Dileo Jr's character though, as he plays the supporting boyfriend to star Lori Cardille, but sounds like he's about to cry in every scene that he appears in. When the time comes for him to actually let out legitimate wails of anguish and pain, you just want to tell him to try harder since it seems like he used up all of his energy earlier in the film. Lead expert Dr. Matthew Logan, aka "Frankenstein," seems like he graduated from the Jeffrey Combs school of "matter of fact" acting, though that is far from a complaint given that the latter is one of the most underrated actors of the past three decades.
I suspect that what will keep people coming back to repeated viewings of Day Of The Dead will be its notorious scenes of violence, gore, and dissection. With each installment, the pure insanity and outrageousness has gone up exponentially, turning from Night's initial shock, to Dawn's slight disgust, and finally settling into Day's pure, unadulterated horror. Though I am certainly not going to spoil if anyone in particular or rather notable dies during its two hours running time, I can say that the final act is the movie equivalent of an early Cannibal Corpse or Dismember record. The legendary Tom Savini (Dawn Of The Dead, Friday The 13th) is at the top of his game here, being assisted by future juggernaut Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead, Misery), and every single kill is just a sight to behold. It was no wonder that the former was given a Saturn Award in 1985 for his work on the set and makeup.
"Ey fam, check out my mixtape."
It's easy to just gush like a fanboy about this wonderful little gem, and honestly, I'm not sure that I've even said much that hasn't already been uttered by horror connoisseurs and experts across the continent. Day Of The Dead's influence is mighty, seen in underground follies like Fido (the idea of domesticating or controlling a zombie) and the Resident Evil series of flicks (there are far too many to count). I don't know if I can fully back George Romero's statement that he believes this is his best work, but it's a great specimen and example of the genre that is often overcrowded with lackluster or unimaginative efforts. If you're a fan of the people vs. people vs. zombies formula of a certain modern television show that draws higher ratings than most other programs, you may want to find a cheap copy to buy (and if you have the money, do a double screening with another little zombie classic from 1985 that I've reviewed before!).
Oh, you're broke you say? Well, it's also available on Netflix's instant streaming service. So there you go you cheapskate.
Tomorrow, we're diving into two entries for 1986. One choice will deal with the vehicular side of horror. The other takes us back into the realm of H.P. Lovecraft. What do they have in common?
....you're not paying attention if you ask that question....
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