In a film world drowning in zombie films sometimes it seems like there are no really good zombie films left. When you get to that point it's best to go back to the ones that really helped to form the sub-genre. One of those is the one I have for review here today and that is Day of the Dead which is the follow up film to the amazing Dawn of the Dead (1978). Of the 3 films in the George Romero "Dead Trilogy" this in my eyes is the darkest of the 3. On top of it being the darkest it also is actually my favorite of the trilogy.
Review: This time around they use the same formula of there being a group of survivors who are try to stay alive which of course has become the standard for almost all zombie flicks now. Now there is of course a bit of difference because it follows some scientists and some military men who have to work together but by the point of the film where it begins you can see that it is not working out so well. The tension between the two groups seem to be coming to a boiling point. Like the other two films this one mainly focuses on the living and how they interact as the world around them keeps crumbling as well as their metal states. This is the formula that works so perfectly for Romero and it actually makes his films so damn good.
The characters that he creates works perfectly for and against one another. One of the coolest characters is by far Bub the zombie who is just awesome. He of course is the thing alot of people seem to remember from the film as the zombie who does some of the normal things he did before becoming a zombie. Aside from him the other notable characters are Rhodes (Joe Pilato), Steel (Gary Howard Klar), John (Terry Alexander), Rickles (Ralph Marrero),Sarah (Lori Cardille), and Dr. "Frankenstein" Logan (Richard Liberty) just to name a few. Rhodes is the most notable of the military guys due to his extreme personality and ruthlessness. Also he has one of the best death scenes that I think has ever been caught on film!
Since we are on the topic of death scenes I might as well delve into the gore that is in this film. First off it is some of the best that I have ever seen on a Romero film. Even when it's not a death scene and just it being one of them showing off the zombies that Frankenstein is testing on. Like I mentioned that Rhodes's death is the best and is quite gruesome to say the least, also he is still running his mouth while it is happening. If you want some good gore them look no further. Aside from the gore and characters the other thing that helps this film is that it is done in an old mine which adds to the claustrophobic and tense feel of the film. Everytime I watch it I can't feel anything but a sense of doom for those involved and the character of John says one thing that has always stuck with me and that is the place they are at is a 14 mile long tombstone. Even though his speech is awesome it still is haunting.
Overall this is one of the best zombie films to ever grace the theaters or to of ever been made. When it comes to the presentation on this release it is simply amazing. I used to have the older blu-ray release of Day of the Dead and it worked for the time, but it simply is not as good as this new release. The picture quality we have here is an easy 5 out of 5 as well as the audio track. Like you would expect by now from releases like this from Scream/Shout! Factory it has tons of special features. One of which is a fantastic new documentary titled "World's End: The Legacy of Day of the Dead". If you love this film like I do then I suggest you pick this release up!
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: George A. Romero
Lead Actor/Actress: Lori Cardille
Genre: Horror
Blu-ray Release Year: 2013
Theatrical Release Year: 1985
Time Length: 101 mins.
Rating: Unrated
Region Code: A
Release Company: Shout! Factory (Scream Factory)
Website:
www.shoutfactory.com
ADDITIONAL SCREENSHOTS:
In a film world drowning in zombie films sometimes it seems like there are no really good zombie films left. When you get to that point it's best to go back to the ones that really helped to form the sub-genre. One of those is the one I have for review here today and that is Day of the Dead which is the follow up film to the amazing Dawn of the Dead (1978). Of the 3 films in the George Romero "Dead Trilogy" this in my eyes is the darkest of the 3. On top of it being the darkest it also is actually my favorite of the trilogy.
