Blu-ray Review: George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead (Collector’s Edition)

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Decades before The Walking Dead dominated TV, moviegoers relished George A. Romero’s Dead films. Night of the Living Dead became a cult sensation when it was released in 1968. It played for years as a midnight movie since there was no way a broadcast channel could run a film about the undead rising from their graves and feasting on the living. Even in black and white, the images were stomach churning to timid viewers peeking between their fingers. Romero went even further in 1978’s Dawn of the Dead with full color grotesque attacks courtesy of special effects wizard Tom Savini. In a theatrical world obsessed with trilogies, it was only natural that Romero would return to his zombie universe with Day of the Dead in 1985. How was humanity doing nearly 20 years since the first corpse returned to a life? The answer can be found on the Blu-ray of George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead: Collector’s Edition.

Sarah (Lori Cardille) finds herself looking out for a sign of life that isn’t an animated corpse. She flies around the East coast on a helicopter with John (Terry Alexander) and McDermott (Jarlath Conroy). The only thing moving are the decaying zombies eager for fresh flesh. After another futile search, the trio return to their base which is a joint military-science operation. While there are walkers at the fence, the camp is secured deep beneath the ground in a massive bunker complex. They aren’t entirely safe since Dr. Logan (Richard Liberty) and Dr. Fisher (John Amplas) are trying to uncover the cause of the phenomena. They’re also seeing if there’s a chance to get the undead to act like they’re alive and do simple chores. In order to do this research, they’ve corralled quite a few zombies to stash in a holding area. Their prize pupil is “Bub” (Gary Sherman). He seems to be reacting well to a system of rewards for doing simple things. There’s also punishment for messing up. Bub doesn’t seem to care too much to being punished. The soldiers stuck deep below the surface are getting antsy about this whole process. They really don’t trust the scientists with their rehabilitation program. The life in the bunker is getting more and more tense. People are about to snap from subterranean cabin fever. Will anyone be alive if the undead ever break through security measures?

Surprisingly Day of the Dead didn’t do well at the box office. Why? Perhaps because it was too bleak. Night of the Living Dead was a great scary film with an audience not expecting the extreme for the time effects. Dawn of the Dead had a bit of comedy with the mall walking zombies. Day of the Dead lacks the comedy and the shock of the new. It’s a grim view of isolated survivors stranded in the middle of nowhere. There’s barely a glimmer of hope that the zombie situation is peaking. For all they know, they are the last people alive in the world. Is being stuck hundreds of feet under the earth the way they want to live? Dan O’Bannon’s comedic Return of the Living Dead came out a few weeks later and made over twice the box office as Romero’s zombie vision. But there’s no reason to wish for a lighter Day of the Dead. This is the attitude that needed to be presented at this stage of the Dead saga. This is the bleakness that has to come when there’s no quick fix for a Hell on Earth vision. What’s interesting is that so many of the aspects found in this movie have been used on The Walking Dead. Third season was all about people thinking that they can make the undead act like they did when they were alive. Such is the same case for Romero’s third installment of his Zombie saga. Day of the Dead is must see viewing for zombie lovers.

The video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The 1080p image brings out the depth of the bunkers and the beauty of Tom Savini’s rotting creations. The audio is 1.0 DTS-HD Master Audio. It’s a stark mix for a bleak movie. The movie is subtitled.

Audio Commentary is a reunion with Romero, Savini, production designer Cletus Anderson and star Lori Cardille discussing the film. There’s a second commentary track with Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction) admiring the film.

World’s End: The Legacy of Day of the Dead (85:25) is a really indepth documentary about the film. Everything gets explored as Romero discusses what happened during the production and release of his third Dead movie. He mentions that certain elements of the original script were slit into Land of the Dead.

Behind the Scenes Footage (30:42) are the videos taken by Tom Savini. The master effects maker wanted to see how things were looking before they got the film back from the lab.

Wapum Mine Promotional Video
(8:12) is the industrial pitch to the last hold out of humanity.The limestone caves do serve a purpose for industry.

Underground: A look Into the Day of the Dead Mines (7:37) is a visit to the mines with Cult Magazine. They talk with Skip Docchio, the facility tech for Day of the Dead. He has a few tales from the time Romero and crew set up deep below the Earth’s surface.

Theatrical Trailers (5:55) reminds the audience that Romero had previously made Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead. There’s even a cut gag involving a zombie in the movie theater.

TV Spots (1:35) are a trio of ads that will shock small children. The Film was rated so that no one under 17 was allowed in the theater.

Still Galleries
features behind the scenes photos, Locations, posters, lobby cards and oddities.

George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead: Collector’s Edition makes the case that the third installment of the series deserves the same respect as the first two film. This is the one that speaks of the loneliness that sets in when the miracle doesn’t happen and the world returns to normal. Humanity might be doomed. Make sure you get the original Day of the Dead Blu-ray and not the 2008 remake starring Nick Cannon (America’s Got Talent).

Scream Factory presents George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead: Collector’s Edition. Directed by: George A. Romero. Screenplay by: George A. Romero. Starring: Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joe Pilato and Richard Liberty. Running Time: 101 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Released: September 17, 2013.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.