Art by Nathan Thomas Milliner
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Day of the Dead (1985)
Starring: Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato
Writer & Director: George A. Romero
Synopsis:
A scant group of scientists and soldiers are holed up in an underground missile silo, while the world above is overrun by the undead.
I didn't see the original 3 Romero Dead films in sequence. Day
of the Dead was actually my first, in 4th grade -1988- at a
sleepover, via USA Channel. It was probably around 2 in the morning. I remember
thinking it was awesome, but didn't go back to it for some time. I was pretty
wrapped up in Freddy and Jason fandom at age 11. About 2 years later I watched
Night of the Living Dead alone in my parent’s basement and fell in love with
it. Now, fast forward to senior year in high school- that’s when I
finally saw Dawn of the Dead, and good grief, that was crazy exciting. For many
years I considered Dawn as the be-all end-all of zombie films. A little bit later DVD became a huge deal, especially for
horror fans, and I got all 3 Romero Dead films in what was at the time their
very best presentations. My love for Dawn never diminished, and still hasn't, but I found myself watching Day of the Dead the most, and I can easily
say now that it’s my favorite out of the series.
In Day, gone is the humor of Dawn, and you’re not spending a large duration of the film with only likable characters. The diversity creates a much greater dynamic and a
more realistic view of how people would be. The feeling that this group might be the last of mankind seems legitimate. Is there
over-the-top performances in Day? Of course, but it’s an over-the-top
situation. Everything and anything seems completely hopeless.
From a visual standpoint, Day of the Dead is marvelous right
from the opening- Sarah’s crazy dream scene in a sterile and empty brick
walled room. Then the title sequence, with the long shot of a rundown lifeless
Florida city street. The
production design fully captures the feel of a world in complete apocalyptic ruin.
All the wide shots are excellent. The claustrophobic approach of the
underground mine is a total success, as well. The use of red and blue lighting
in the corral during the third act is beautiful, as are those underneath shots
of Sarah and McDermott machine gunning the hell out of zombies. Lastly, the
wide cam of a countless amount of undead coming down on the lift into the
underground enclave is as eerie as it gets. It’s the stuff nightmares are made of.
As touched on earlier, we don’t get as much comradery from the characters as we did in Dawn. Day is different, but performances are just as on par. Lori Cardille as Sarah is awesome. A strong headed woman in the
midst of nothing but men. Ultimately, she’s searching for a lost cause, but at
least she’s searching for something. Anthony Dileo Jr. as Miguel is great, too.
A character totally on the brink. John and McDermott (Terry Alexander and
Jarlath Conroy) are two souls truly on point with one another. They realize how
ridiculous the motives are from both the science and the military, and
they are the only characters who have the right idea from the get-go. Terry
Alexander gives the best performance out of the entire film with the "punished
by the creator" speech. Totally hard hitting.
An equally awesome duo in Day is Dr. Logan -aka Doctor
Frankenstein- and zombie Bub, played by the late Richard Liberty and Howard
Sherman, respectively. Dr. Logan is searching for a way for humans and zombies
to live among each other, stemmed from his “star pupil” zombie specimen, Bub.
Liberty is great in the role of Logan, walking a fine line between brilliance
and insanity, but Sherman as Bub should not be discredited. I mean, he’s
playing a ghoul; VERY limited on dialog, but has such wonderful body language. The
scene of Bub’s reaction to hearing “Ode to Joy” is fantastic, and
Sherman kills it in the third act of the film. It’s a moment of sadness being
overruled by anger, from a character with the thought process less than a small child.
It’s just awesome.
Then when have the militant baddies. The more minor
characters all play either great jerks (Ralph Marrero as Rickles) or
adequate lapdogs (Greg Nicotero as Johnson), but Gary Howard Klar as Steel
slays as the right hand man. The character is a serious douchebag, and the
muscle of the group. Now, onto Rhodes, played by Joe Pilato. The performance
is indeed off the wall, but if you ask me, totally needed. Rhodes is a great
contrast to everyone else in the film, and I honestly find him to be quite freaky. He’s one of my favorite antagonists; not just in
Romero’s zombie world, but in general. Pilato performs the part so well that it
makes the departure of the character absolutely satisfying and forever cheer worthy.
From the SFX perspective, Day of the Dead is a masterpiece
and still holds up to this day. It’s a crew of wizards, with the likes of Everett Burrell, Howard
Berger, Greg Nicotero, and so many more. Then there's Tom Savini at the helm giving his disgusting best. From brains being blown out, to
the epic shovel scene, to Rhodes being ripped apart... it's all ghoulishly awesome. Brilliant zombie makeup applications, fantastic animatronics, I could go on and on. I love the hokier
look in Dawn, but those zombies aren't even in the same ballpark as the ones in Day of the Dead.
John Harrison’s score couldn't be any further from
Goblin’s jams in Dawn, but for what my opinion is worth, it’s every bit as
good. It’s like calypso horror, and it really nails the atmosphere of the
opening credits. Lots of slow pulsating bass notes. There’s even a nod to
the mall theme of Dawn, which is a cute touch. But other than that, Harrison
brings his own vibe here, and it fits perfectly.
While it may not have the fan base of Dawn or maybe not even
Night, Day of the Dead has definitely found its cult status, and that
makes me happy. For a film that feels so confined, it somehow manages to
encapsulate the dread of a world completely overrun by the undead. It was
originally meant to be a much larger scaled story, but I am ultimately
satisfied with the end result. Essential Romero zombie viewing, if you ask me.
I’m actually popping my Scream Factory cherry with Day of the Dead, and I am now in full understanding as to why the horror community is
going nuts over their releases. Day is presented in an all new
1080p High-Definition transfer, Widescreen (1.78:1). I love Blu-ray, lemme tell
ya, but often I feel like some things are a bit too cleaned up. What I loved
about this release is while Day looks more amazing than I have ever
seen it, the grain is still there, and it’s still locked in the time-frame of
which it was made. Sometimes I’ll watch an older movie on Blu and it's so
cleaned up that it almost comes off as a recently filmed period piece. That’s not
the case here; it looks exactly how it should. For audio you get a 2.0 DTS-HD
Master Mono. It sounds fantastic. That pulsating bass I mentioned
earlier is gonna flow right through you and start a fight with your heartbeat. Harrison’s score is done justice. And for anyone
whoever complained that they couldn't understand what Rhodes was saying while
he was being pulled apart (which I honestly don’t get), it should be crystal
clear for you, now.
Special Features:
CHOKE ON 'EM! CHOKE ON 'EM!
There’s an all new near 90
minute documentary titled 'World’s End: The Legacy of Day of the Dead'. This
puppy is going to tell you everything you’d ever possibly want to know about
the film. The doc features Lori Cardille, George Romero, John Harrison, Tom
Savini, Joe Pilato, and more. It covers everything- SFX process, the conditions
the crew underwent, EVERYTHING.
‘Behind the Scenes Footage: from Special Makeup Effect
Creator Tom Savini’s Archives’- The title sums it up quite nicely. Lots of good stuff in this section.
‘Wampum Mine Promotional Video’- Cool informational video of where most of Day of the Dead was filmed, and what the place’s
everyday normal purposes consist of. The 8-minute film is accompanied by an
awesomely cheesy music jam that reminded me of what you would hear in a employee safety video, with some sick guitar soloing throughout.
‘Underground: A Look Into The Day of the Dead Mines’- A walkthrough of the mines, hosted by Ed Demko.
Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots: All kinds of awesome in
here. The TV spots will make you miss that old school narration, and the “crowd” trailer is incredible.
Still Galleries: FX, Behind the Scenes, Locations, Posters
& Lobby Cards, and Miscellaneous. All kinds of awesome that you can spend a
great deal of time staring at. Miscellaneous was my favorite.
Two commentaries: The first featuring writer/director George A. Romero, SFX artist, Tom Savini, production designer Cleetus Anderson, and actress Lori Cardille. The second commentary is a solo effort, by filmmaker/fan Roger Avary. Two really different vibes from each. The first with Romero and company is particularly fun, because it just comes off like a bunch of friends reminiscing, no matter how painstaking the production was. The Avary commentary is cool too, though, because it's just like listening to a major fan of the movie go on endlessly about it. Both are worth a listen.
While we've gotten some of the special features before,
this in my eyes is still the best release of Day of the Dead. Really for
the excellent picture quality and sound of the film alone, and the new
documentary is just icing on the cake. If you are a fan of this film, you need
this release. If it is your favorite Romero film, opening the case and putting
the Blu-ray in your player is gonna make you feel like a ten year old on Christmas morning who got what they asked for.
It’s awesome.
Coming September 17th, 2013, from Shout!/Scream Factory.
Preorder HERE.
