Day of the Dead: A Remake Movie Review

Day of the Dead was the name of a 1957 movie, but the most popular usage of the title is probably the 1985 zombie movie as done by the legendary master of zombie tales: George A. Romero. Well, the year 2008 sees the release of another Day of the Dead, this one a remake of the 1985 movie, but not really. I am one of those who actually liked the remake of Dawn of the Dead so I gave Day a chance and the following review sums up what the flick did with said chance.

This Day of the Dead was directed by Steve Miner, who also directed Halloween: H2O. This time the story follows some survivors of a zombie outbreak in a small town, with the zombies being the results of a biological outbreak; darn those pesky scientists trying to make weapons in secret bunkers. The cast consists of: Mena Suvari, Michael Welch, Nick Cannon, Christa Campbell, and Ving Rhames amongst others.

In comparing it to the original and the remake value of Dawn of the Dead, this one leans more towards not being so good, however if you compare it to Land of the Dead (another of the series) it is the better film. Final verdict: borderline bad, but overall watch-able.

The acting is fine for the feature though I think casting Ving Rhames in it was a mistake because he was also in the Dawn Of The Dead remake playing a different character and that was just a little bit off. Also when Ving turns into a zombie, ooops did I ruin tha for you?, he apparently thinks this means he must act like a big dog. Yes, his growls as he chases his would be meals is to bark and woof like a dog.

There were a few moments in which the zombies and their CGI enhancements made things all too silly; such as zombies running across the ceiling chasing people. Why were they suddenly empowered with the skills of Spiderman?

I actually liked the idea of a zombie who was morally conflicted between protecting the girl he liked and possible eating her, though they did not actual show this inner struggle all too well; he basically was a "good" zombie, but surely he craved brains. There was also a funny line involving a guy trying to get laid and him making the girl feel like a prostitute.