Day of the Dead (1985)

 

There is no denying George Romero made the zombie film what it still is today. Coming swinging out of the gate with 'Night...' and then solidifying his influence with 'Dawn...', now there's 'Day...' but this is a slightly different beast altogether.

You'll soon see why.

The apocalypse is in full swing. Cities are decimated and a very small band of survivors is desperately trying to find out if there are any other people struggling now that the undead are everywhere. In an old underground military complex, a couple of scientists and some leftover soldiers are looking for a way to survive. Well, the scientists are trying to either discover if they can reverse the zombie outbreak, except for one.

See, the eldest scientist is attempting to understand how zombies work and to that end, he is almost domesticating one example he affectionately calls Bub. Bub does have traits that indicate he somehow remembers things from his past and he doesn't try to bite or eat said scientist. But things aren't looking too good, as the soldiers are stretched thin and fatigue and nervous breakdowns begin to creep up. 

It doesn't help that the new commander (the previous one got killed) is a complete psycho, but he does fit in nicely with the others who are close to becoming completely unhinged. 

Our lead Sarah is trying to keep it all together, but as nerves are frayed and tensions rise, it seems as though in fact everything is hopeless as it all slowly crawls to a horrifying end...

Sure, a global zombie outbreak is never the most joyous of occasions (well, maybe), but at least the previous two installments had some hope and even a bit of levity. This is all gone here. Just like the underground complex our survivors are stuck in, this film is bleak, oppressive and depressing. The anxiety it induces is real and you can see and feel everything breaking down. A good example of this is the soldier known as Miguel, who is clearly far from alright, but who has to keep on doing the work, leading to various mishaps and who eventually snaps. 

Just like captain Rhodes (a gleefully evil and twisted Joe Pilato) who goes bonkers in a powerhungry way, just because he's the last one left with any rank to speak of. 

The major bright spot is the relationship between the main scientist and Bub, which is in a bizarre way even endearing at times. Heck, Bub even takes his revenge on the man who killed his human friend in a satisfying manner (not like you might think). But besides that, this is one depressing story to watch and this makes it less engaging than the other ones. It is a bit too heavy at times. 

Nevertheless, if you like your zombies and can appreciate or love George Romero's work, then this is of course an essential part of one of the most classic horrorseries of all time. And even though it takes a while, the onslaught of gore and horrifying deaths at the end is totally worth it for all us gorehounds out there. Tom Savini's work is truly stellar, in that gooey intestinal sort of way.

Again solidly recommended, but be aware that this is by far the bleakest entry in the entire franchise.