Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.
The Pick
George A. Romero initially intended for the closing chapter of his original Dead trilogy to be “Gone with the Wind, with zombies”, with other accounts describing his original vision as a Raiders of the Lost Ark-style jungle epic, with the added factor of the living dead.
Romero’s defiant independent spirit and commitment to the hardest of hardcore gore meant that he couldn’t secure the budget for a project on that scale, and so his vision had to be whittled down to its barest essentials.
Day of the Dead received a somewhat muted reception on original release, and for a long while was considered the lesser-known, lesser-referenced, just generally sort of lesser, entry in the legendary Dead trilogy. The film came at a time when the zombie/cannibal boom of the 70’s and 80’s had largely faded out of style, the lumbering undead staying out of style until the early 00’s (a resurgence that still has not abated).
But time has been kind to Day, as mass culture seems at last to have picked up what Romero was laying down. After decades essentially remaking the “early outbreak” narratives of Night and Dead, zombie stories now frequently feel the need to push further, to explore the reality of life after the dead begin to come back, and all examples follow the Day of the Dead blueprint to a t.
The tale of a small group of scientists researching the zombie plague while entrapped at an underground base guarded by increasingly-hostile soldiers and surrounded by increasingly-hungry zombies, Day of the Dead features landmark gore and zombie effects by Tom Savini, as well as an iconic performance by Joseph Pilato as the loathsome Captain Rhodes.
We’ve discussed some of Romero’s work before, but given the master’s passing earlier this year, we can think of no better film to kick off our annual celebration of the macabre. — Brendan
Did you get a chance to watch along with us this week? Want to recommend a great (or not so great) film for the whole gang to cover? Comment below or post on our Facebook or hit us up on Twitter!
Next Week’s Pick:
TRICK OR TREAT!! It’s that time of the year when we roll out a veritable smörgåsbord of spooky Two Cents picks for YOU, dear reader, to feast upon during the month of October.
We couldn’t resist bidding another farewell to the great George Romero, and we’re paying tribute to yet another top horror director who recently passed, Tobe Hooper; as well as John Carpenter (who thankfully remains among the living). The underappreciated made-for-cable anthology film Body Bags has always been weirdly under-appreciated despite its incredible talent, inventive stories, gnarly cameos from horror legends, and Carpenter himself acting as our ghoulish host. If you’re one of the many who have overlooked this one, you’re in for a treat! Body Bags is streaming free on Vudu. — Austin
Would you like to be a guest in next week’s Two Cents column? Simply watch and send your under-200-word review to twocents(at)cinapse.co anytime before midnight Thursday!
Our Guests
Brendan Agnew
I waited a foolishly long time to get around to Day of the Dead. I imagine that, if I’d seen it as a teenager, it would have been perhaps my favorite horror movie ever. As it is, it rubs shoulders with both Night and Dawn in terms of how much I enjoy watching Romero’s original Dead films.
That’s not to say that Day of the Dead is quite as technically sound as its brethren. While all four main Dead films feel like they start in media res, Day is the one that almost feels like you’re coming in halfway through a season of The Walking Dead(except, you know, good). This mostly works really well, because it lets Romero throw himself into shorthand and visual storytelling that really help to smooth over the edges of a dramatically downsized production (from his original vision), but it also leads to some over-correction. There aren’t many personal interactions here that aren’t cranked up to eleven, and while this makes for a really nifty “bottle episode” feel of a pot in constant danger of boiling over, it also gets a tad repetitive in how shouty everyone is. There are a couple truly great quiet scenes to be found amidst the din, and a little more contrast might have helped.
That said, once the decayed flesh hits the fan, this movie is damn near peerless in terms of zombie gore. Tom Savini spend the better part of five years on Friday the 13th movies and still shows up for this like he’s got something to prove. Day may not have the nuance of some of Romero’s other work, but it’s a damn freight train of awesome monsters, gruesome gags, and features one of Romero’s better leads. The dead walk, indeed — and they rock.(@BLCAgnew)
Dawn of the Dead is the most underrated film in George Romero’s original zombie trilogy. Lacking the vérité-esque atmosphere of Night or the dark humor of Dawn, Day of the Dead is a stripped down approach to the subgenre that emphasizes the psychological toll of the zombie apocalypse on a small isolated group of survivors. While this is perhaps most obvious in the soldiers, whose instability amplifies the constant threat of violence, it also manifests in the scientists and civilians sharing the bunker with them. To this end, the film functions in part as a post-Vietnam critique of the military as their behavior becomes less rational and more reactionary as the situation worsens. This is especially clear in Joseph Pilato’s scene stealing performance as Captain Rhodes, who is something like a cross between Ahab and Kurtz. Among the scientists Dr. “Frankenstein” Logan (Richard Liberty) is in his own way just as obsessive/dangerous, despite the results he achieves. In addition to the science vs military dichotomy, the film also works as a critique of the self-destructive tendencies of hypermasculinity, particularly in how the various characters interact with the protagonist Dr. Sarah Bowman (Lori Cardille).
While perhaps the most emotionally uncomfortable of Romero’s Dead series, Day of the Dead also features some of the best zombie effects. Tom Savini returns, following his work on Dawn, and veers away from the cartoony style of that film to offer some truly grisly sequences, especially in the film’s third act. It almost plays like the Italian Zombi movies of the 80s, albeit with much more interest in character development alongside the gore. In addition, Savini deserves credit for his work on Bub the Zombie who, through combination of makeup and Sherman Howard’s performance, evokes something like the sympathy for Karloff’s monster in Frankenstein. Day of the Dead is very much not the zombie epic George Romero set out to make (although he mostly got there later with Land of the Dead). But its limitations in some ways make the film more powerful — I’d say Day of the Dead might even be more socially/politically relevant now than when it was first released. In any case, Day remains my favorite of Romero’s zombie films and any chance for me to revisit it is a treat. (@T_Lawson)
The Team
I have one beef with Day of the Dead and one beef only: the characters, specifically the soldiers, are so monotonously nasty and loud that it just becomes boring. Yes, there is a satirical bent to all of this, and it’s certainly ‘realistic’ that this is how people would react to such a stressful situation. But. Romero makes this point in the first ten minutes and the tone never really wavers for the duration. The varying levels of talent of these actors does not help the matter. The saving grace, as per usual, is the truly historic gore effects created by Romero, Savini and their team. Zombie have never been better rendered, and their kills have never been gloriously wetter than they are here.
This hiccup aside, there’s a ton to like about Day. The details of the underground lab and the systems in place to deal with the living dead, the research by “Dr. Frankenstein”, and, of course, the iconic Bub, the hands-down greatest zombie ever put on film. All show Romero putting more imagination and thought into his defining cinematic creation than any of the decades of rip-offs and cash-ins would muster. Romero actually thought through the implications and opportunities of this world, instead of just re-hashing the same siege set-up over and over again.
I do hold Day of the Dead as the weakest of the original trilogy, but that’s more a case of being least among equals and should in no way detract from what a landmark, singular achievement this film is. (@TheTrueBrendanF)
Despite its extensive reappraisal as a film which is “as good as” or in some assessments “better than” the previous installments of the Dead trilogy, I find Day of the Dead lacking. In fact, I much prefer the fourth installment of the series, Land of the Dead, to it. The social commentary remains pertinent and pointed, but the film’s pacing and some of the inadequate performances really seem to hurt it for me.
That said, watching a Romero film always bring joy to my heart. His willingness to push envelopes and never forego the importance of addressing race, class, and gender in his films is refreshing. I’m also a fan of vilifying authority, as the punk rocker and concerned citizen in me both want to see police brutality and abuses of military power exposed for what they are.
In short, Day is a mixed bag that I will return to and maybe appreciate more and more in time. For now, it’s a 3-star horror film and somewhere around 5 or 6 in the Romero pantheon. Even if Romero never made that 5-star film for me, that’s still high praise, as there is little to nothing of his I don’t truly appreciate.
More than anything, what this review represents to me is the early part of my favorite time of year. More Halloween, more horror, more zombies… I am a big fan of October, to say the least! (@ThePaintedMan)
I didn’t like Day Of The Dead the first time I watched it several years ago, owing mostly to the ugliness of the story and characters and, well, the musical score. So I was game for a rewatch to see how my perspective on these elements might have changed.
The score is actually pretty great at times. The “sentimental” parts still feel really sappy to the point of silliness, but the main themes are cool and it’s crazy that I didn’t like them before. The synthy parts evoke a European aesthetic, so maybe I’m just more receptive now thanks to watching lots of Italian horror over the years.
The story and characters are still deeply nasty, but that’s key to Romero’s world view. This probably seemed pessimistic to me, but I can absolutely appreciate it more now that things have gone to shit. Racism, sexism, and me-first attitudes are back out of the closet, but Romero was never fooled.
Day still remains the least essential of the first trilogy of Dead films, but the gap isn’t as wide as I had once believed. And watching (*spoiler*) Bub the zombie shoot the main baddie is perhaps the purest moment of pleasure of the entire series. (@VforVashaw)
Watch it on Vudu:
https://www.vudu.com/movies/#!content/463777/Day-of-the-Dead-Collectors-Edition
Next week’s pick:
https://www.vudu.com/movies/#!content/463777/Day-of-the-Dead-Collectors-Edition