Guest Author - Andy Boxall

Director: George A. Romero
Starring: Lori Cardelle, Terry Alexander and Joseph Pilato
Region 2 Arrow Films release, 2 discs.
Out Now

Night and Dawn had a social agenda underneath the scares and splatter and unusually for the horror genre, have both been analysed until nearly all the fun has been removed. Day on the other hand, is not talked about as often as its predecessors and this is a bit of a shame, as it is arguably the most grown up and ‘adult’ of the original trilogy anyway.

Society has all but crumbled away. The dead have driven what’s left of the living underground, where a military unit oversees a group of scientists who are conducting experiments that may lead to a better understanding of the condition. With the reversal of habitats (the dead walk the earth and the living are buried underground) and the tension between civilian and soldier, the line between civilized society and the walking dead becomes blurred.

Day of the Dead does away with the irreverence of Dawn and maintains a very bleak outlook. Humans are done for and they know it, it’s just a case of when it will happen rather than if. The highly effective opening sequence, from deserted streets to herding zombies, immediately introduces the tension between the characters and shows that male/female interaction has not changed since the zombie Armageddon.

The scientist nicknamed Frankenstein conducts tests to show how the zombies are evolving, where all around him the humans are de-evolving, oblivious to the fact that the doctor’s tests, however barbaric, are no different to anything they have done previously in their lives. If all this sounds a little too depressing, then don’t worry, as Day still conjures up a great story told by a good script and competent actors.

Special mention at this stage should go to Tom Savini’s fabulous special FX. This being the 80s there was no such thing as CGI, so instead we get the absolute pinnacle of prosthetic, blood bag and fake limb effects. There are more guts and gore in Day than the previous two put together and it is also a lot more convincing, adding even more weight to the adult nature of this movie.

Although there are no bad performances from the actors, Sherman Howard’s portrayal of Bub, the friendly zombie, is superb. Conveying true emotion without dialogue is hard enough, but when you are behind an inch of zombie make-up it’s even tougher, however Howard makes his Bub probably the most memorable character of the entire series.

Romero’s Day of the Dead may not have the following that Dawn does, but it’s no less impressive. It’s compelling, exciting and although not that frightening, it’s general outlook is quite disturbing. It deserves its place in your collection.

The Disc.

Arrow films nicely packaged 2-disc affair does the movie justice. The Amaray box is slip-cased and features basic, but effective artwork. The movie is presented in anamorphic widescreen with sounds in 2.0 stereo or a remixed 5.1 soundtrack. This track is loud with its fair share of bass, but it doesn’t excel in the surround area, making it hardly any different to the stereo track. The picture is also good, with only a few grainy sequences.

Disc one has the movie and a commentary on the special FX with Greg Nicotero, Howard Berger, Everett Burrell and Mike Deak. As Greg also starred in the movie, they still have plenty to say even when the screen is not drenched in fake blood and guts.

Over on disc 2 we are treated to the Anchor Bay documentary The Many Days of the Dead which is superb. The very best documentaries make the viewer wish they had been involved with the shoot, and this is one. At nearly 40 minutes it is informative, but I could have watched at least another 20 minutes of material as good as this. Elsewhere you can find the original behind the scenes doc, filmographies, a gallery and trailers.

Conclusion.

Another class act from Romero and a good release from Arrow Films. Criticism comes from those who can hear the iffy overdubs on certain parts of the dialogue, but newcomers to the film probably won’t notice. Other than that, this version is certainly the best available in the UK.