Talk us through itSarah and her fellow scientists are holed up in an abandoned missile silo researching zombies in a project no one is really interested in anymore. Tensions are on the rise between the civilians and their military protectors. Living under the radar are helicopter pilot John and communications expert McDermott. The silo is under siege from a growing army of the undead. When Captain Rhodes assumes command following the unexplained death of the previous commander, paranoia enters the equation. Cabin fever is rife, and being shut off from any contact with any other survivors isn’t helping the descent into madness of a couple of characters. The one spark needed in this powder keg is Pvt Miguel Salazar who is suffering combat fatigue. Dr “Frankenstein” Logan has a pet zombie called Bub – how sweet – but unfortunately the deranged Captain Rhodes is about to find out what Logan has been feeding his "star pupil”. With Rhodes hitting the megalomaniac throttle and Miguel going martyr on us it’s not looking good for Sarah and friends. Romero points out that it’s not necessarily the undead you need to worry about.
Review“Forget it, Billy boy. It's a dead place. Like all the others, you know. Listen. You can hear it over the engine.” – JohnThe third movie in Romero’s “dead” series is also his most seriously underrated movie yet. For some reason this one didn’t catch on with fans and it’s surprising the amount of people who have never had the privilege to get onboard Romero’s vision. Of course there are those who run down the movie without ever having seen it as that’s another one of those bandwagons some sectors of the horror genre fandom delight in hitching a ride on. While not having the action of Dawn or the sheer tension of Night, Day packs a wallop in terms of its ideas and themes. Possibly a lot of fans are simply not prepared to give this movie a go because it’s heavy on the talk and very light on the action till the final twenty or so minutes when Romero rips down another house of cards. For those people I would suggest any of the modern Boredwood horror flicks or even Cloverfield, which don’t require any input or heaven forbid make you think about what you have just seen. Still with me? Good, let’s break down one of the best ever zombie flicks to grace our screens. Naturally the first of Romero’s targets during Day is as easy to spot as a three week dead zombie at a wedding reception. The military, deprived of orders from higher powers, is descending into disorder and finds it simpler to follow the commands of Rhodes, who clearly has a few roos loose in the top paddock, than bucking the system. The surviving soldiers are not taught to think for themselves and are therefore happy to be told what to do. It should also be noted that Romero may be hinting that to the military mind the unfettered civilian freedom is a danger and something to be stamped out at the earliest opportunity. The military believe their guns and force will be the ultimate solution, but completely fail to have a go forward plan. Rhodes is repeatedly asked where he would go if he did commandeer the helicopter, he never has a viable idea but sticks to the plan of getting out of Dodge regardless. The civilians aren’t getting off without blemish here either. Romero points out that while the military may not be doing the very best that they can under the circumstances, the civilian scientists aren’t doing much better. Besides Dr Logan, who could probably swap a few roos with Rhodes, Sarah and her fellow geeks do nothing much except take endless quantities of notes that aren’t in anyway leading to a final solution to the zombie problem above their heads. Logan believes that you can domesticate the zombie hordes. Sarah believes that something must be found that provides an answer once and for all. Neither realises that they are just treading water while Rhodes goes slowly into meltdown. It’s notable that the laid-back John, who along with McDermott pretty much opts out of the whole situation until forced to action, points out to Sarah that the whole silo is safeguarding records and materials that are no longer relevant, and if we had to be brutally honest never were. In the final wash up, John’s idea of just going somewhere to sit on a beach proves to be the solution, though Sarah is steadfastly keeping track of the no longer meaningful date. 
Romero of course nails some money shots to keep us all amused while laying down his themes. The prologue piece is striking in its simplistic design yet smack-you-in-the-head effect. All those grasping hands! That’s not really the sort of nightmare I would want unless it involves fish oil and the pit of the lesbians. Equally, a deserted city is used to good effect with the zombies slowly populating the rubbish filled streets as they hear the dinner bell in the form of Sarah’s search and rescue team. Note the absence of colour there, and John’s assertion that the city is a place of the dead, absolutely first rate frame composition with nothing going to waste in levelling an impact at the audience. “The Dead Walk” screams the headline in an abandoned newspaper, and that’s about the only obituary Romero is giving the human race. Must be a fun guy at dinner parties. Lori Cardille (Sarah) for mine felt slightly rough in places. It was almost as if Romero had grabbed someone off the set of Days of Our Lives and thrust a script into their hands. Either Cardille was nervous or she simply couldn’t work out a viable way of representing her character. Joseph Pilato (Rhodes) was almost stumbling over some of the dialogue he was delivering but was reasonably successful in presenting an army officer out of his depth. And Terry Alexander (John) just turned it on, absolutely loved that Jamaican accent mon. Special mention of Sherman Howard (Bub) who managed to give a zombie some emotion while maintaining the whole dead aura thing. For those after T&A, this is a Romero movie – he’s more interested in getting some messages across in amongst the gore going down. John Harrison laid down a score that I can’t work out if I liked or not. It was definitely hitting home in places but felt a bit too much “elevator music” in others. Sorry, jury out on this one, make up your own mind.
Summary ExecutionAfter three zombie movies, Romero still has me onboard his funk wagon and raring to go with the fourth one. Each of the movies thus far has worked in its own fashion independent of the other films in the series. Day of the Dead interested me in terms of themes and ideas rather than the action and gore of Dawn. Not the most accessible of the “dead” movies, Day is trying to make you think after the end credits roll rather than talk about that “gnarly death scenes”. Might have to think about it some more but this could well be my favourite of the Romero “Dead” series.United threw a budget of $3.5 million in Romero’s direction but wouldn’t have been happy with the $5 million the movie cleared in the North America market. With the rise of VHS as an alternative to cinema, a lot of international markets chose to go the “direct to tape” approach rather than schedule a fairly risky outing on the large screen. Clearly United managed to clear a profit in the long run but it would be quite some time before anyone said “play it again George”. As stated, Day is incredibly underrated but keeps on getting new releases as its cult status continues. Recommended film for those who don’t mind gore, as Tom Savini is up to his usual standard here. More of a thinking person’s zombie movie rather than simply turning a group of people into hamburger meat, Day of the Dead may not be the right thing to slot on if after a night of mindless mayhem. Worth a look if you have enjoyed other movies directed by Romero.
ScaryMinds Rates this movie as ... Completely underrated entry in Romero's dead universe.
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