When I started watching this movie I was a tad worried, it being a remake of one of my favourite zombie movies of all time, however, I found myself kinda enjoying it. That is, until the zombies came out to play. Really, what were the cast and crew thinking when they were making this? Nothing was done well, even the presence of Mena Suvari could not save the movie from the dregs of shoddiness. Bad CGI, wooden acting, zombies with super-human abilities, a lazy script and clichéd characters all contribute to make this "remake" a mess. I mention remake that way because it bears very little similarity to George A. Romero's dark, violent, claustrophobic 1985 film. The nods to the original include character's names, one line spoken by the main character and the last 20 minutes being set in an underground bunker.
Day of the Dead opens with four teenagers in the woods doing what any teen in a horror movie would be doing. Meanwhile, the army have got the city quarantined due to a flu outbreak (although we know it is so much more than that). Corporal Sarah Bowman (Mena Suvari) is put in charge of three younger soldiers (although one disappears after a minute introduction). She takes one of the them, Bub (Stark Sands) to pick up her sick mother and take her to the local medical centre. Along for the ride is her younger brother Trevor (Michael Welch) and his girl Nina (AnnaLynne McCord). When they arrive at the hospital, all hell breaks loose when the virus is unleashed and turns most of the town into zombies. From here on the movie is a standard action/horror flick with the survivors going from one place to another trying to find shelter.
First things first, the zombies in this film are stupid creations. I do not know who thought that zombies should be able to not only run, but climb walls and ceilings, jump out of two-story windows without damage, drive cars and shoot machine guns. These were like super-zombies that for some reason decayed massively when they turned, but lost no strength. No explanation was given for these zombies except for the fact it was a biochemical weapon (surprise). Not only were the undead unbelievable, but they were CGI...and bad CGI at that. I have never seen so much digital blood and gore, it was poor and only added to the straight-to-DVD feel. The entire cast were bad, Mena Suvari looked like she just needed the money as her performance was dull and by-the-numbers. Nick Cannon should never be allowed to act, but he was not assisted by the dumb script with some appalling one-liners ("by the power of grey skull"?) and rather confusing scenes of civilians becoming master gunman in mere seconds.
Basically, this is a bad movie whether you consider it a remake of Romero's film or a standalone zombie flick. It is not even "so bad it's funny," it is just bad. Sure, it is not the worst movie ever made and it is fast paced enough to never become boring, but there are so many other zombie movies out there that Steve Miner's Day of the Dead should be at the bottom of the need-to-see list.
½/5
Day of the Dead opens with four teenagers in the woods doing what any teen in a horror movie would be doing. Meanwhile, the army have got the city quarantined due to a flu outbreak (although we know it is so much more than that). Corporal Sarah Bowman (Mena Suvari) is put in charge of three younger soldiers (although one disappears after a minute introduction). She takes one of the them, Bub (Stark Sands) to pick up her sick mother and take her to the local medical centre. Along for the ride is her younger brother Trevor (Michael Welch) and his girl Nina (AnnaLynne McCord). When they arrive at the hospital, all hell breaks loose when the virus is unleashed and turns most of the town into zombies. From here on the movie is a standard action/horror flick with the survivors going from one place to another trying to find shelter.
First things first, the zombies in this film are stupid creations. I do not know who thought that zombies should be able to not only run, but climb walls and ceilings, jump out of two-story windows without damage, drive cars and shoot machine guns. These were like super-zombies that for some reason decayed massively when they turned, but lost no strength. No explanation was given for these zombies except for the fact it was a biochemical weapon (surprise). Not only were the undead unbelievable, but they were CGI...and bad CGI at that. I have never seen so much digital blood and gore, it was poor and only added to the straight-to-DVD feel. The entire cast were bad, Mena Suvari looked like she just needed the money as her performance was dull and by-the-numbers. Nick Cannon should never be allowed to act, but he was not assisted by the dumb script with some appalling one-liners ("by the power of grey skull"?) and rather confusing scenes of civilians becoming master gunman in mere seconds.
Basically, this is a bad movie whether you consider it a remake of Romero's film or a standalone zombie flick. It is not even "so bad it's funny," it is just bad. Sure, it is not the worst movie ever made and it is fast paced enough to never become boring, but there are so many other zombie movies out there that Steve Miner's Day of the Dead should be at the bottom of the need-to-see list.
½/5