Before all the Living Dead series fans come for me, there’s no disrespect here for the social importance of 1968’s Night of the Living Dead or the sheer inspirational power of 1978’s Dawn of the Dead. Both films are incredible, and both have been indisputably influential to the zombie subgenre and the horror genre as a whole.
With that being said, I wholly stand by that 1985’s Day of the Dead, which turned 40 years old this year, is not only George A. Romero’s best film in the Living Dead saga, but the overall strongest film of his career.
The third film in Romero’s trilogy (at the time) expanded on every aspect of the first two movies. The story hadn’t just progressed, but new characters were explored deeply, showing the effects the global zombie outbreak was having on the psyche of the few remaining humans we know are left in the world.
Looking at the story and characters alone, Day of the Dead widened the scope of the zombie disaster while still focusing on the isolation horror that the first two films displayed so well. The film opened with some extremely important exposition: a search up and down the Eastern seaboard showing that nothing was left but the undead, and that the specific group was unraveling at the seams, both from various levels of PTSD and an unstable command by the nefarious Captain Rhodes.
Most of the characters had their individual ways of adapting and coping with the situation. Dr. Sarah Bowman, played wonderfully by Lori Cardille, would regularly fantasize about a peaceful world long dead, only to have her dreams turn to the nightmarish horrors she faced while being awake. John, the skeptical helicopter pilot, created his own private paradise underground and didn’t see the point in prolonging the inevitability of the death of the human race.
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Dr. Matthew Logan, rightfully nicknamed Dr. Frankenstein, became obsessed with his work on the undead, to the point of experimenting on deceased soldiers, behind the remaining group’s backs, of course (which doesn’t end well for him).
Choke on ’em! Choke on ’em!
Joseph Pilato gave one of the greatest and most memorable villain performances in horror. His Captain Rhodes is vile, angry, and unpredictable. You never really knew what he was capable of through his threats until they turned to all-out murder. Even his final words of “Choke on ’em! Choke on ’em!” as he’s being deservedly ripped apart and devoured were evidence of his stubbornness.
Day of the Dead also explored the zombies. No longer were they just mindless, vicious flesh-eaters, but they retained pieces of their old lives and patterns. They were given a sympathetic symbol with Bub, who would essentially become the film’s mascot. The list goes on.
It wasn’t just the story aspects that made Day of the Dead Romero’s best. Still, to this day, Tom Savini, Greg Nicotero, and their team created the best-looking practical special effects of any zombie film. Jaws falling off, guts slipping out, severed heads chomping, vocal cords tearing, intestines being ripped and slurped… It’s all so disgusting in a gloriously horrific manner. The gore took zombie movies to a level they would never return from if they wanted to be taken seriously.
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Even John Harrison’s (who had previously scored Romero’s Creepshow) haunting musical score was better fitting for its film and is the catchiest score in the series. It matched the settings, transitioning from a mysterious blend of tropical sounds to intense, creepy synth work.
Where Day of the Dead truly separated itself from Night and Dawn was with its total bleakness. Granted, Night of the Living Dead has one of the most depressing endings in the genre’s history, but there was a hint of hope throughout the film, with the rescue teams (before Ben’s death) and Barbara’s escape. Day of the Dead had no levity like Dawn’s motorcycle gang infiltration of the mall. It was simply despair and death as far as the eye could see. It was unadulterated horror through and through. The ending was left in limbo. The survivors escaped, yes, but to what? Another day crossed off the list. Another day in hellish uncertainty.
While Day of the Dead may not have the illustrious remembrance of either of its predecessors, I think it’s telling that both of those films had successful remakes, and many horror fans (not me) prefer them, especially Zack Snyder’s gritty and fast-paced 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead.
Day of the Dead did receive a 2008 “remake” written by Final Destination creator Jeffrey Reddick, but even he stated it was much more of an homage with a fresh spin than a remake of the original film. It also received a SYFY series, which the Romero estate promptly disavowed. Day of the Dead never needs to be remade to be improved. It’s still intense enough, deep enough, and gory enough, even after four decades.
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