With the new version of "Dawn of the Dead" packing them in at the box office we thought it might be a good idea (and a whole lot of fun) to go through our library of DVD's and find a few horror movie suggestions for those of you new to this whole
'the dead are coming back to life' horror premise. While there are more and better films out there than the five we're reviewing today we can at least assure you that, if you liked the new "Dawn of the Dead," you're going to at least be interested in seeing a different take on how human survivors dealt with the plague of the undead. The closing credits of the new "Dawn…" hint that there is no safe place on Earth from which to hide from the undead. What if the humans tried to study and understand the undead rather than just kill them? And what if all vestige of hope was lost to a group of people (women, scientist, soldiers, etc.) that have resigned to passing the time until it's their turn to walk the Earth as an undead corpse?
George A. Romero's 1985 flick "Day of the Dead," the third and thus far last chapter in the director's "Dead" trilogy (after "Night of the Living Dead" and the original "Dawn of the Dead"), dives head deep into those quasi-philosophical questions. It's the best movie dealing with how human characters have ceased to try to rid the world of the zombies. How's that for a niche'-within-a-niche' sub-genre? Seriously though, there aren't many horror flicks that have tackled neurosis and descent into madness as a springboard for drama the way Romero has with "Day…," which might explain why this movie was deemed a failure by both movie critics and horror fans upon its release in 1985. The lead characters (Lori Cardille's Sarah and Terry Alexander's John) are as bland and uninvolving as the lead performers in Romero's "Dawn of the Dead," which doesn't help "Day's…" attempts at being a serious drama. The story centers around human survivors trapped in underground mines and going insane because of their inability to deal with the undead; the military minds of the group collide with the scientific one's trying to study and harness the potential to command the zombies (personified by a zombie-in-training guinea pig named Bub). People yell, get testy with each other and lose their cool often. Wouldn't you if you were stuck in a mine instead of a mall? :-P
Though hope of salvation is kept somewhat alive by the plot there's no escaping the fact that "Day…" isn't a happy movie leading up to a sugar-coated ending. If you thought the ending of the new "Dawn of the Dead" remake was bleak and depressing then be prepared for an even bigger dose of bleakness. Only the colorful over-the-top antics of Joseph Pilato's Captain Rhodes (as a military leader at the end of his rope) and Richard Liberty's Dr. Logan (what "Re-Animator's" Herbert West might be like if he ever lived to be old) elevates the human performances above those of the zombies, which have never looked and come across in film as more disgusting creatures than in this movie. If you only watch horror flicks for the gore then "Day…" delivers the goods big time, easily ranking as some of Tom Savini's best make-up work to date. Time has been kind to "Day…" and the "Dead" trilogy though. Romero's gripping social allegories resonate strongly 19 years later because of calculated way in which he has constructed a cinematic universe in which human frailties are put to the test by the most unthinkable of horrors. One can only imagine how much better "Day…" would have been with better resources and more talented actors breathing life into the director's apocalyptic vision of America.
As a stand-alone horror movie "Day of the Dead" has enough good and bad points to continue to split horror fans right down the middle. As the concluding chapter in one of the best horror trilogies the world of cinema has seen this one fits right between the tongue-in-cheek bloody comic strip that is "Dawn of the Dead" and the claustrophobic b&w nightmare that is "Night of the Living Dead." If you haven't seen it (or saw it back when and misjudged its intentions due to genre prejudices) seek out this Divimax Special Edition DVD. It's the most fun you'll have screaming at zombies since… well, since you last saw "Dawn of the Dead" at your local multiplex.
The Disc:
Having only seen the ‘R’ rated version of the movie available through regular rental channels a long time ago I wasn’t expecting much from “Day of the Dead” when I popped the movie disc into my DVD player. Boy was I wrong; shortchanging Anchor Bay’s Divimax line of DVD’s is like holding one’s nose at a Criterion Collection release of an old movie. The Widescreen Anamorphic (1:85:1) Video Transfer is stunning considering this was deemed a low-budget horror flick from the 1980’s: vibrant colors (within the muted palette cinematographer Michael Gornick is allowed to work with), zero artifacting noise, no visible print flaws, etc. The quality picture is matched by English DTS ES 6.1, Dolby Digital EX and 2.0 Surround Soundtracks that come across better, cleaner and with less hiss than the remastered soundtracks in the Divimax “Dawn of the Dead” re-release (the result of better recording technology from 1985 at Romero’s disposal). Two Commentary Tracks (one with writer/director Romero, make-up artist Tom Savini, Production Designer Cletus Anderson and Actress Lori Cardille; the second one with Roger Avary, a co-screenwriter of Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction”) offer outstanding and highly amusing anecdotes, secrets, glowing admiration (from the Avary commentary track) that make repeat viewing of “Day of the Dead” a welcomed proposition. No English Subtitles are available to read the dialogue during the commentary tracks though (damn you Anchor Bay!).
The second disc houses a small army of well-produced bonus features that complement (but unfortunately also overlap with) the commentary tracks from the first disc. ’The Many Days of Day of the Dead’ Documentary (39 min.) lets many crew members from the movie share their stories along with some pretty cool behind-the-scenes footage. In fact, in the ’Day of the Dead: Behind the Scenes’ Featurette viewers get 31 uninterrupted minutes of behind-the-scenes footage of the different crews at work in their respective scenes, make-up scenes, etc. The lack of a narration in the featurette enhances the feel of being a fly on the wall watching how the movie was made 19 years ago (feeling old already? :-P). There’s a Gateway Commerce Center Promotional Video (8 min.) is a cheesy industrial video promotion the virtues of the locales where most of the movie was shot. It reminds me of an equally-cheesy industrial video in the MGM DVD for the James Bond movie “The Living Daylights” that promoted the virtues of the trucks seen in the flick, but I digress!
A 15 min. Audio Interview with Richard Liberty is also offered, along with Three Theatrical Trailers (Trailer #2 is hilarious and a must-see!), Three TV Spots, Seven Still Galleries (everything from Continuity Photos to Advertising Art), a George A. Romero Biography and DVD-ROM Content (the Original Screenplay and Production Memos). Anchor Bay has gone above and beyond the call of duty to make sure this is a home version of “Day of the Dead” worth owning.
bottom line:
A fitting and worthy end to George A. Romero’s “Dead” trilogy (although the director is still trying to get a fourth entry off the ground), “Day of the Dead” has aged remarkably well. Acting is weak across the board (except for Joseph Pilato’s Capt. Rhodes and Richard Liberty’s Dr. Logan) but Tom Savini’s horror make-up skills have resulted in some truly outstanding and disgusting sights that put recent horror movies to shame. Romero captures the selfish cynicism of its era (the 1980’s) perfectly, and thus the film works as both allegory and a freak show. Picture, sound and bonus features in Anchor Bay’s Divimax edition are outstanding across the board. This is adult horror entertainment to die for, and we highly recommend it (especially after seeing Universal’s new “Dawn of the Dead” remake).
By - J.M. Vargas
