Post by slayrrr666 on Oct 31, 2008 10:11:33 GMT -5
“Day of the Dead” is a really nice send-off for the classic trilogy from Romero.
**SPOILERS**
Finding the cities of the world abandoned, survivors Sarah, (Lori Cardille) John, (Terry Alexander) and William McDermott, (Jarlath Conroy) are stuck underground with Capt. Rhodes, (Joseph Pilato) and his army crew, Pvt. Miguel Salazar, (Anthony Dileo Jr.) Pvt. Steel, (Gary Howard Klar) Pvt. Rickles, (Ralph Marrero) Pvt. Miller, (Phillip G. Kellams) Pvt. Torrez, (Taso N. Stavrakis) and Pvt. Johnson, (Gregory Nicotero) in a giant bunker. As Dr. Logan, (Richard Liberty) and Dr. Ted Fischer, (John Amplas) race to find a way of controlling the zombie plague sweeping over the world, they get success with a zombie, Bub, (Howard Sherman) which doesn’t impress Rhodes at all. When an accident releases the zombies inside the facility and from the outside world, they all race to escape before being overwhelmed by the zombies.
The Good News: There are some really impressive things in here. The most important thing in the film concerns the gore and special effects. This is an effects spectacle here and is filled not only with memorable ones but also completely realistic looking ones. The zombies here are easily the best in the entire series, finally looking like they’ve been dead for a while before being reanimated and come bearing all sorts of different scars, wounds, and facial distortions that give them a great, eerie quality. These finally look close to the Italian standard, and some inspiration is apparent in the design. The dissected corpses look even more impressive. The zombie sitting on a table with it’s head completely removed and only the brain matter and anatomical features connected to it have an incredible look to them, being completely original and mind-blowing in it’s realism. The body parts strewn about aren’t that bad either, and get a lot of screen-time to show off their flavor. That doesn’t even begin to touch the gore in here, which is really impressive. There’s necks being bit open, an arm bitten and then later sliced off, gunshots galore, a head ripped off at the mouth with a shovel and heads bashed with blunt objects. Of course, the centerpiece kills in here are the several bodies torn open and ripped apart, and the main one at the end, where one character is separated at the waist and the interior organs come falling out is a hallmark scene that still retains it’s gross-out appeal and bloody intention. Even the others, where the skin is ripped off the skull or the mouth pulled out are no less disturbing and realistic. Naturally, all of these wounds simply ooze gallons of blood, making them far more disgusting. The finale, where just about all of this occurs, is one of the greatest last half-hours possible, where everything from a rampage to shootouts to stalking scenes to just about anything possible. It’s incredibly action-packed and really is the highlight of the movie. The underground setting is one of the best locations, building tension easily and quite effectively, as every time down there is filled with unease and suspense as to what can happen. And anytime Bub the Zombie is on-screen is a joy to watch, as he really is a lot of fun. This, all in all, is a great way to end the series on a high note.
The Bad News: While there isn’t a whole lot of things wrong with this, there are still problems. The bleak and disparaging tone is a big hindrance to get over in the film, as there’s really no single frame of film that offers hope or even a positive consequence. This is angry and depressing, not exactly qualities associated with a highly re-watchable film. One of the things that hinders the movie is the endless bickering between the Army and the doctors. At first, it’s perceived as conflict, but as the movie rolls on it felt like fighting for the sakes of fighting. There’s no need for all the scenes that do nothing but eat up time which start out as bickering and play out in their entirety through bickering. This is due to the Army characters being way too one-note. You can’t reason with them and that makes for an eventually boring back and forth. It all gets tiresome after awhile, most noticeably in the middle. Due to a lack of zombie action, the film is forced to center on the characters, and if they do nothing but scream at each, it’s hard to sit through after a while. These problems have to be overcome in order to enjoy this film.
The Final Verdict: There are times when it’s hard to sit through and really doesn’t have a lot going for it, but it’s still watchable and features some good moments amongst them. There are it’s defenders out there, so use best judgement with this one. Easily recommended to any fans of the technical crew or of zombie films in general as well.
Rated UN/NC-17: Extreme Graphic Violence and Graphic Language
