UHM - Review - Day of the Dead

Originally writer/director George Romero wanted this to be a much bigger and longer film, but due to budget constraints and the fact that he would have had to release the film as R, they couldn't do it and got half the budget, but at least got the Unrated rating. Originally there were a lot of other sequences above ground in other military bases. I'm sure it would have been a badass zombie flick if the original script was used.

So this is the third installment in the Dead trilogy and also the least money-makin' addition compared to the previous two. Personally I didn't really like the first B&W installment. I thought the remake by Tom Savini was actually better, but that's just me. Dawn still remains my personal favorite of the three though. I remember checking this flick when I was a kid and really liking it. Some years back I re-rented it on VHS so my friend (another zombie freak) could watch it, but sadly I fell asleep in the beginning, so I couldn't watch it with him. It wasn't until recently when I purchased the 2-Disc DVD set that I finally got to watch the movie again, and I liked it just as much as I did when I was a kid.

The story takes place after the events of Dawn, where the zombies have pretty much taken over almost everything and the main focus is on a group of remaining scientists and soldiers, who hold up in an underground military base. The soldiers round up some zombies in order for the scientists to study and figure out a way to somehow control the zombies actions. In this process the soldiers get anxious for results and eventually the group start turning on each other.

One thing I really liked about this film was the excellent effects by Tom Savini. Some of his best work is in this flick in my opinion. There's just gore everywhere here -- intestines falling out of the stomach; bodies being torn apart; blood everywhere; good stuff! I also liked how the movie wasn't just focused on the people trying to survive against the zombies, because a lot of interesting issues are brought up that also lead to them fighting each other. There's also a cool zombie named "Bub," (played by Sherman Howard) who demonstrates that not all zombies are entirely braindead. Thanks to the scientist the soldiers dubbed "Frankenstein," he has taught Bub how to behave and eventually he even uses a gun.

This is in my relatively small list of favorite zombie flicks, mainly because of the excellent effects and gore, as well as the interesting story. Some may think this is the worst in the series, but I don't think so. I think each of his Dead films have a little something good to offer the audience and I'm anxiously awaiting Romero's next installment; temporarily entitled Dead Reckoning.

OVERALL

Different from the previous two dead films, but definately not the worst in the trilogy. Excellent gore and a lot of good zombie-tearing-bodies-apart action. A MUST see for zombie fanatics.

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J Roark :

Posted 156 days ago

To scallypunkme
I have to say I'm impressed. Not many people would take that time to explain to someone who does know that much about movies ( no hard feelings sam). You show your a true dedicated horror fan or a zombie fan.

scallypunkme :

Posted 195 days ago

to sam...
you say you thought the first movie "land of the dead" was ok, this clearly shows you do not know what yo are talking about...land is the 4th film...they go in this order...(damn i dont know why i have to explain this)
1.night of the living dead (1968)
2.dawn of the dead (1978)
3.day of the dead (1984)
4.Land of the dead (2006 also known as DEAD Reckoning)
5.Diary of the Dead (2008 coming soon)
....the one with tony todd was Night of the living dead 1990..which wasa remake...and you definitly watch Day of the dead its really really bad ass..very dark and storywise there at a point where the dead have completely taken over the east coast and every survivor is out for themselves pretty much..that and its got some great amkeup effects by savini (director of the Night remake with tony todd)

sam :

Posted 200 days ago

i thought the first movie, land of the dead was ok, but i dont think im gonna wanna watch this one, zombies used to be slow and dumb, now they can run and use weapons now, there smart. I dont know how we would really be in real life if that were to happen, but I dout if we were all dead, wed no how to use guns and run around, i think the best zombie movie ever, was the one with tony todd, one of the first ones, i just cant think of what it was called, sorry, something in the night. Dawn of the Dead was a classic to, with flyboy and Roger and Peter, they had good actors and was not easy to top!!!!!!!

funghoul :

Posted 234 days ago

nothing was better than MANJA! from dawn of the dead, but this was a good continuous flow from the gore of the previous movie. as far as a remake goes theres nothing like the film production from the seventies for horror movies. todays movie productions are a little too slick to be scary but its better than nothing

J Roark :

Posted 339 days ago

Great movie and had awesome gore. This is my second favorite of his original trilogy, after Night of the Living Dead.

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