Day of the Dead
1985 Directed by George A. Romero
Horror Marathon 2024 Day 10 Film 20
The third film of the Dead series finds Romero utilizing the zombie hoard less as a means to be scary, but of the threat of death itself that civilization has to always contend with. The microcosm of all humanity is found inside a bunker with military vs civilian scientists. Most of the film the two groups are bickering, with the military leader being a one note blowhard going on about how they'll kill every last one of them- while the lead scientist has gone deep into studying the creatures. This establishes more information about the zombies- how they could possibly be taught or be managed like a subhuman workforce.
I mostly had forgotten this film since the last time I'd watched it-- the social diatribe with the head protagonist Lori drags some of the momentum of the film. She's not really heard by either side of the military vs scientist "sides" either, and finds herself with the ragtag assistance team that takes on a stance embracing the absurdity of their situation. They're all gonna die- so they may as well enjoy a moment on the beach with the sun.
Thankfully the finale brings in a mass upheaval of this small society. During the meandering first portion of the film the consistent soundtrack feels like a march to when the zombies finally break through. The special effects department really pours on an extravagant feast of pulled limbs and gnawing tissues. The makeup of the zombies is also campy, perhaps heightening the comic book feel to the movie. This campy tone is part of the melodramatic acting and the gun blasting finale. The military and all of the research is destroyed, and there are cute ridiculous moments with the pet zombie "Bub" being able to point a gun now and have basic thought and motor function.
The film feel more like 1950s campy sci-fi horror than scary, but it still revels in all the gross factor on screen. This is really the strength of Romero- even with a shift in the tone from previous films he doesn't betray the audience. They want their pound of flesh, and he delivers on the gruesome exploitation while making the gruesome spectacle fun. I've seen a lot of genre movies now that want to distance themselves from the genre itself- becoming too ponderous in their metaphors while losing the core emotions of horror.