In my review of the original DAY OF THE DEAD I suggested if there was a better screenplay and better actors it would have been a very good film . As it stood it was the least of George A Romero's zombie trilogy . I didn't know that there had been a remake until it appeared on tonight's schedule on one of the minor ITV channels so I checked it out on this page and was pleased to see its budget was quoted as being 18 million dollars , along with a cast featuring actors I'd seen in other movies . Certainly this made me optimistic that this version - if not surpassing the original in every field - would at least have improved production standards
One warning sign appeared at the opening credits . " Produced by Boaz Davidson " a man responsible for bringing such disasters to cable TV stations and DVD stores as CROCODILE 2:DEATH SWAMP and SHARK ATTACK 3 . This didn't look too promising , especially when you don't see the name of George A Remero appear . Early in to the film something else became painfully clear and that is it doesn't sit anywhere in the continuity of the DEAD universe . The original film had the entire human race facing its ;last days as the zombies outnumbered them 400,000 to every human . Here the movie starts with the National Guard quarantining an area of Colorado . I had thought maybe we'd be watching something similar to THE CRAZIES but the more the story continues the more you realise that Romero's subversive and nihilistic hand hasn't touched the film and is a straight forward zombie horror
Taken on its own terms then DAY OF THE DEAD isn't too bad but neither is it great . Danny Boyle was accused of ripping off the original DAY OF THE DEAD with 28 DAYS LATER and since then horror movie producers have returned the favour by making every zombie run faster than Usain Bolt on steroids . The ones seen here can also jump around like Carl Lewis which makes them extremely formidable foes for the humans to battle . The film works best when the people at the hospital become zombified and attack the humans . Watching this happen is similar to watching the alluded to scenes of 28 DAYS LATER when Jim lies in a coma . Unfortunately - and perhaps understandably - the film is unable to keep up this pace and just becomes a long sequence of " How are our heroes going to get out of this one ? "
So in conclusion DAY OF HE DEAD isn't so terrible but isn't great either . Romero's lack of involvement is very much a mixed blessing . He's not a great director but it he is a very good ideas man and one had wished he could have contributed to the screenplay at least . As it stands this isn't a remake , or even a reworking of it , and anyone coming to it thinking it has something to do with the DEAD trilogy might feel a little bit disappointed not to mention cheated
One warning sign appeared at the opening credits . " Produced by Boaz Davidson " a man responsible for bringing such disasters to cable TV stations and DVD stores as CROCODILE 2:DEATH SWAMP and SHARK ATTACK 3 . This didn't look too promising , especially when you don't see the name of George A Remero appear . Early in to the film something else became painfully clear and that is it doesn't sit anywhere in the continuity of the DEAD universe . The original film had the entire human race facing its ;last days as the zombies outnumbered them 400,000 to every human . Here the movie starts with the National Guard quarantining an area of Colorado . I had thought maybe we'd be watching something similar to THE CRAZIES but the more the story continues the more you realise that Romero's subversive and nihilistic hand hasn't touched the film and is a straight forward zombie horror
Taken on its own terms then DAY OF THE DEAD isn't too bad but neither is it great . Danny Boyle was accused of ripping off the original DAY OF THE DEAD with 28 DAYS LATER and since then horror movie producers have returned the favour by making every zombie run faster than Usain Bolt on steroids . The ones seen here can also jump around like Carl Lewis which makes them extremely formidable foes for the humans to battle . The film works best when the people at the hospital become zombified and attack the humans . Watching this happen is similar to watching the alluded to scenes of 28 DAYS LATER when Jim lies in a coma . Unfortunately - and perhaps understandably - the film is unable to keep up this pace and just becomes a long sequence of " How are our heroes going to get out of this one ? "
So in conclusion DAY OF HE DEAD isn't so terrible but isn't great either . Romero's lack of involvement is very much a mixed blessing . He's not a great director but it he is a very good ideas man and one had wished he could have contributed to the screenplay at least . As it stands this isn't a remake , or even a reworking of it , and anyone coming to it thinking it has something to do with the DEAD trilogy might feel a little bit disappointed not to mention cheated