You won't think Steve Miner's "Day of the Dead" remake is very good during its first 10-15 minutes or so. I just about barfed during the film's opening scenes, featuring a group of teens making out in a barnhouse. This was a zombie movie? With kids making out? At first the sight of Mena Suvari, former Miss American Pie, wearing a National Guardsman uniform, I wanted to give up. This movie was going to suck. I knew it.
Then the Second Act kicked in. Suvari and her buddies become holed up in a hospital where a massive outbreak has reduced almost every man and woman inside into puss-infested flesh eaters. These zombies leap, run, even crawl up walls in their ravenous hunt for human flesh. Without a loaded gun for support. they have to get out of the hospital and into a Humvee and get the hell out of there.
The film starts kicking ass here and never stops until the last frame. It's such a fun zombie movie, I'm amazed it didn't get a full theatrical release. It clearly has a budget worthy of a theatrical release: Great special effects, tons of action (zombies crashing through front car windows, a massive slaughter in a parking lot, total armageddon in a Colorado downtown) and even good actors. No, it's not as good as Zack Snyder's "Dawn of the Dead" remake, which clearly had an even bigger budget and ultimately led to Snyder helming the megahit "300". But it's a huge surprise how good this movie is given that it's only being given a DVD release in the U.S.
The storyline has very little to do wtih George Romero's original film, although there is a "Bub"-like good zombie and the climax does take place in an underground bunker. Unlike Romero's film, Miner's remake is packed with wall-to-wall action. In fact, it arguably has more action than Snyder's "Dawn of the Dead." Our protagonists -- Suvari as an unbelievable National Guardsman, her brother, his girlfriend and another national guardsman -- travel from place to place in their quest for survival. Rhames has a smallish role as her superior officer. His turn as a legless zombie is pretty memorable.
If I had some gripes about Miner's movie, they would revolve around the teen "Dawson's Creek" feel the movie has sometimes. But it makes sense it would suffer a bit from that. After all, Miner was behind "Dawson's Creek." There are also too many screaming teenage girls. Zombie films don't need screaming teenage girls. Maybe one or two screams, but this one has a half dozen or more. Even National Guardswoman Suvari screams like a girl, when she's not doing her darndest to play a Sigourney Weaver-like badass.
But this is minor stuff. "Day of the Dead" is made for the videogame zombie generation and it delivers in spades. The zombies in this film bear little resemblance to the Romero zombies of "Night of the Living Dead" through "Diary of the Dead." They're much closer to Snyder's zombies. They run and scream, and only a bullet to the brain will put them down. Unlike Romero's universe, where everyone on earth who dies becomes a flesh eater, in this story it's only the infected that rise from the Of course, this film is totally unoriginal -- borrowing as much from "28 Days Later" as it does from a myriad of living dead films.
But, in the end, it works as a damn good popcorn movie, and proof that remakes aren't always bad -- especially if they're remakes of classic George Romero movies.
I can't wait for the remake of "Land of the Dead."
To call this Day of the Dead is an fucking insult. More hyper dead what a bummer. Not looking forward to thia at all.
Posted by Watchman De Profundis on March 27, 2008
The person who wrote this must be joking or on methamphetamine. REMAKE LAND OF THE DEAD!? Jesus Christ, it was just released in 2005. Who wrote this review? "The story line has very little to do with George Romero's original film . . ." Wow, I bet you thought Michael Bay's "Transformer's" was the greatest thing ever captured on celluloid. It's because of mouth breathers like you we have all these crappy re-makes and mind-numbing plotless rehashes. Remake Land of the Dead, unbelievable!
Posted by Dagon on March 27, 2008
This movie is really really BAD... looks like Buffy with zombies... even worse!
Posted by DoKtor Frankensign on March 27, 2008
Ok who's responsible? Someone took a big nasty dump and this unknown reviewer pop out. Coz only a turd would mention a Land of the Dead remake. Somebody please flush this i'm quessing 20-ish horror fan poser wanta be.
Posted by A-One on April 12, 2008
Jesus, you D&D fags take stuff too seriously. The LOTD comment was dripping with sarcasm, obviously, the author was writing a bit over the heads of bookish little internet wanna be horror fans that can't form complete sentences.
I love hearing you people piss and moan about how this film was shitty, that film sucked, how you never get laid, etc. All the while, you do nothing with your lives except clocking in to your dull, lifeless, and soul sucking jobs that you will have until the day you die.
At least there are a few people out there busting their asses, making movies, writing books, and getting laid, while you folks sit on your thumbs crying about how you think everything sucks. The next time you watch a movie, and start whining about how much it sucks, just close your eyes, take two deep breaths, and say to yourself, "Hey, I'm just a clerk at a shitty gas station, and my opinion is worthless, as well as my taste in movies".
Maybe you should do society a favor and videotape yourself blowing your head off, then other people can watch and piss and moan about how much it sucks.
You can go back to your half empty bottle of Jergens and Japanamation videos now. Fags.
Posted by A-One fan on April 12, 2008
Well said A-One- that was funny!.
It is obviously TLOTD comment was a joke- The reviewer was probably just making a subliminal dig at how disapointing it was.
personally i'd love to see it remade- (well properly made in the first place!)
this film was fun to watch- if mis-cast- Mena is not convincing as a soldier at all!
What i think the morons above are trying to say with their limited intellect and teenage grunts of disapproval is that this would have been embraced for what it is (a fun zombie action flick) if it was just a zombie film and not a loose remake! Day of the Dead (Romero's last great film) is a classic- dark, gloomy political undertones and more importantly a Savini gorefest.
Watch this and enjoy with some beers -(when you kids are old enough) and try to forget what it's called- it's just a name after all!!
Off to sit on my thumb now!! lol nice one A-one! I look forward to reading more of your comments.
Posted by Clift on April 12, 2008
A_One for president..
lol
This is a fun zombie film- but am more of a fan of old school rotted slow zombies personally.
Each to their own- but the running dead are getting 'old' quickly!
Posted by Clift on April 12, 2008
A_One for president..
lol
This is a fun zombie film- but am more of a fan of old school rotted slow zombies personally.
Each to their own- but the running dead are getting 'old' quickly!
Posted by Evil Eddie on April 20, 2008
A pure and utter fucking shit fest from beginning to piss poor end...Steve Miner should have his knee caps shot off for making this crock of horse dung. There are sooo many bad things about this movie I don't know even know where to start.. I won't go into too much detail, but it's not the least bit scary, not the least bit original, not the least bit entertaining, and couldn't carry someone's attention even if it had a handle. Goddamn, I've seen bad acting before, but Nick Cannon couldn't act his way out of a fucking wet paper bag. His "acting" was so laughable I just shook my head in disappointment...and Mena Suvari, yeah she's hot, but a pretty face and a nice ass don't cut it here.
As for A_One, yeah this movie fucking sucked. Whether you agree or not, or whether you like my opinion or not, I really don't give a flyin' fuck. I get laid, have a pretty well paying, respectable job, hate Japanamation, hate D&D, and obviously know more about horror movies than you do, so eat me bitch if you don't like what I or anyone here has to say about this piece of shit movie.
Posted by Evil Eddie on April 20, 2008
Ya know what? On second thought, I will list a few things that made this movie suck. First off, I fucking hate running zombies. Second, not only can these zombies run after you, now they're able to leap ten feet in the air at you too. And if that wasn't enough, they can scale and climb walls like Spider-man now too to get you. But that's not all, these movie even features a zombie that can dodge machine gun fire. Yep, you read correctly. DODGES GUN FIRE!! Also, now zombies' heads explode, just by setting them on fire!?!?!? But that's not all, we have a vegetarian zombie that doesn't eat people; who doesn't even try to eat anyone. Oh, and zombies don't feel sympathy for their prey. They exist for one thing and one thing only...TO EAT!! Sweet Jesus this movie sucked balls! It's hard to believe that the same man that brought us such kick-ass horror films as "Warlock", "House", and "Friday the 13th" parts 2 and 3 brought us this stinking turd.
Posted by ex A-one fan on April 23, 2008
I've changed my mind-
Evil Eddie for president. lol
And the film sucks!
Posted by Bloodgod on May 20, 2008
Eh I think you're wrong about that, I found it rather interesting to see a running jumping wall clibming zombie. I was there in theaters when they released the original night of the living dead, fuckin sweet as it was. Lets face it this movie wasn't made for hard-core motherfucker oldbies of the horror click. It was made for our pussies footing new age shit for brain teen-agers who get scared by a hole in the wall, i dont think they'd be scared of a slow crawling zombie hoard that can be put down by a spray of full auto machine gun fire and a few frags.
Posted by gi on May 26, 2008
i havn't finished the entire day of the dead remake if you can even call this a remake and like the rest of the posters on this i am already disgusted, i mean come on people when you remake a movie you need to stay as close as possible to the source material. now i read teh first response to this review that way over glorifys this movie and they say it's a 20 something horror fan, well i can say that i'm a 26 year old zombie fan and base all zombie movies i watch off romero's origianls becuase it was his night of the living dead that started me on this genre in the first place. all this reviewer is, is a person that just doesn't know the differnence between qaulity and crap to anyone reading this before you watch rent or buy the original day of the dead it is available on dvd but watch the original before you watch this movie so that you can see greatness before you get disappointed. and remake land of the dead like another person said it just came out give the damn thing 20 years so that a new generation can complain about crappy remakes!!!
Posted by Tehz on June 16, 2008
A-one, you're a fucking idiot.
Posted by a pious atheists virtuous indignation on September 8, 2008
steve miners "day of the dead" is not only the greatest zombie movie ever made its the greatest horror film of all time, its incredible to think that "the dark knight" has made over 500 milion dollars in north america alone and its fucking unwatchable gargage, where-as miners film did not even get shown in cinemas and its about a thousand times better than that batman hogwash, i will never be able to understand the fickleness and hypocrisy of the american movie going public NEVER ! ! !, and by the way, i want to bugger mena suvari, that birds arse is pure gold.
Posted by Chris Denton on November 26, 2008
Its amazing how shockingly bad this movie was. Nick Cannon, Steve Miner and whoever the fuck wrote the goddamned script all need a good shooting. Take a girl from American Pie and put her in a horror...create a black character who is more racist towards himself than any white guys...and generate cheesy lines such as "we're gonna make it through, ok" and "maybe you shouldnt go down there alone" like its the 1960s. Fuck this. Zack Snyder is the man.
Posted by Chris Denton on November 26, 2008
in fact this wasn't just a bad movie...it was excrutiating. Directed specifically for mindless 16 year olds who want nothing more from movies than to wank over hot lead roles and watch blood spray the screen like the rain in England. Pathetic.
Posted by Dan on October 29, 2009
This movie was horrible....leaping, wall crawlling zombies are fucking retarded, acting was bad, real bad. Grade A review form the same guy who liked "Abortion Transfusion"......... or what ever that stupid fucking movie was called
Posted by Dan on October 29, 2009
Automation Transfusion was that stupid fucking movie
Posted by Zombiedude1588 on September 27, 2012
To say this movie was anything but a price of ahit is a slap in the face to Romero fans. Thisovie fuckin blew, and was gayer than gay. This review I read saying it kicked ass, was clearly written by someone who never saw the original.
Rank this film on a '666 scale' of one to six (left to right). Based on 2698 votes.
