As Day of the Dead opens, the world is overrun by zombies. It’s estimated that the living are outnumbered by a ratio of some 400,000 to 1. Heck, for all the few struggling survivors at a Florida research facility know, they could be all that’s left of the human race. Contact with the outside world seized long ago. Despite their best efforts, the researchers haven’t found any signs of human life. This small group of humans is part of a quickly assembled government operation to find a solution to the zombie problem. Working in an underground storage facility, on old decaying equipment, and a decreasing number of soldiers to help them, the scientists are about ready to throw in the towel.
Making the situation more difficult is the fact that the researchers don’t agree on how to approach the problem. Scientist Dr. Sarah Bowman (Lori Cardille) who may be the last woman alive, attempts to treat zombification as a disease. Taking a more morbid approach is Dr. Matthew Logan (Richard Liberty), who doesn’t believes there’s any way zombies can be eradicated, so he tries to domesticate them. He’s had success with Bub (Sherman Howard), a passive zombie he’s trained to perform menial tasks. The soldiers, whose devoured chain of command has left Captain Rhodes (Joseph Pilato) in charge, don’t give a damn about domesticating zombies. Slowly driven mad by the isolation and frustration over no obvious progress, Rhodes tyrannical leadership style eventually severs the unity of the entire group. In time, Zombies flood the base, leaving the humans to fight for survival against all odds.
A decidedly grim film that reportedly suffered due to budgetary constraints, characters frequently sit around waiting for something to happen. Nonetheless, it’s easy to see why Day of the Dead has become the favorite in the trilogy for some. It’s rare for such a ‘talky’ movie to so engaging and exciting. Jittery performances combined with excellent makeup special effects by Tom Savini, create a fun and absorbing experience.
Shout Factory brings Day of the Dead to Blu-ray in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. As anyone familiar with this film knows, it’s rather drab looking. Color wise, the palette is heavy on black, brown and gray. Needless to say, colors don’t really pop the way they might in another film. Some shots look a bit soft, but I tend to believe it has to do with how the film was shot. Skin tones look realistic, Detail, while not perfect, looks noticeably better than on previous releases. Aside from a few specks of dirt, the image is fairly clean, aside from a few specks. There’s no evidence of DNR or a lot of edge enhancement.
The audio is provided via a DTS-HD 2.0 Mono track. It sounds a bit thin in places and when the voices are louder some mild distortion is evident. Effects sound pretty good, considering the age and origins of the source. This mix won’t overwhelm you with power, but it’s fairly clean and balanced. Some may knock Shout for sticking to the original Mono, but it’s true to the film.
English subtitles are available.
The following special features are included:
- Audio Commentaries: There are two audio commentary tracks to choose from here. One is with Romero himself, Tom Savini, Lori Cardille and Cletus Anderson. The other commentary is from filmmaker Roger Avary. The former offers a good deal of information on the making of the film, from character development, to the difficult shoot. Well worth a listen. The latter with Avary essentially talks about how much he likes the film.
- ‘World’s End: The Legacy of Day of the Dead (HD, 1:25:25) This new feature-length documentary has interviews with almost everyone involved with the film that’s still alive: George Romero, Lori Cardille, Joseph Pilato, John Amplas, Gary Klar, Terry Alexander, Anthony DiLeo, Howard Sherman, Debra Gordon, Mark Tierno, Tom Savini and others are all present to offer their thoughts on the film. It’s really the definitive ‘making of.’
- Underground: A Look at the Day of the Dead Mines (HD, 7:37) This new short featurette provides at the underground mine for the film with “facility tech” Skip Docchio and Cult Magazine writer Ed Demko.
- Behind The Scenes: Tom Savini Archives (SD, 30:42) Taped footage from Savini’s archives shows effects test, makeup applications and how various things worked on set.
- Wampum Mine Promotional Video (SD, 8:12) A promo for the mine they shot the film in.
- Trailers (HD, 5:55) Four theatrical trailers.
- TV Spots (HD, 1:35) Three television trailers.
- Still Galleries (HD, 41:39) Four separate still galleries that play in a slideshow format. Behind The Scenes (225), Day Of The Dead Locations (50), Posters And Lobby Cards (108), Miscellaneous (126).
