Digital Dismemberment: Day Of The Dead Collector’s Edition Blu-Ray and DVD Review
Director– George A. Romero
Producer– David Ball, Salah M. Hassanein, Ed Lammi and Richard P. Rubinstein
Special FX– Tom Savini, Mark Mann, Greg Nicotero and Steven Kirshoff
Cast– Lori Cadille, Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato, Jarlath Conroy, Anthony Dileo Jr, Richard Liberty, Sherman Howard, Gary Howard Klar, Ralph Marrero, John Amplas, Phillip G. Kellams and Greg Nicotero
Released By– Shout!/Scream Factory
Release Date– 09/17/2013
The Premise: In this, the third film in the continuing saga of the undead from writer/director George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, Survival of the Dead), a small group of scientists and soldiers have taken refuge in an underground missile silo where they struggle to control the flesh-eating horror that walks the earth above. But will the final battle for the future of the human race be fought among the living or have they forever unleashed the hunger of the dead? Lori Cardille, Joe Pilato and Richard Liberty star in this controversial classic with groundbreaking gore effects by Tom Savini.
The final film of Romero’s original “Dead” trilogy has been a film that only recently begun to take its place in history with genre fans. The lowest grossing film of the original series, Romero’s original script was estimated at $7 million, but only if it was an R-rated film. He decided to go with an unrated version of the film with a $3.5 million budget. Many changes were made to the script, and several scenes and character development changed from his original vision considerably. In fact, the characters of Sarah, John, McDermott, Miguel, Dr. Logan, Bub, and Rhodes were the only original characters that made it from Romero’s original script. Tom Savini’s make-up work is at its peak, and we also see a young Greg Nicotero getting his chops. Romero does a fantastic job showing the isolation the scientists and soldiers share in the mines, and the impending madness and desperation that is starting to effect everyone. The acting, locations, music and overall sense of doom that hangs over the film lends well to its credibility and makes this film a true classic. While I would have loved to see George realize his dream with a $7 million budget, this incarnation of the film is was a fine way to give the Dead their Day…
Sarah looks up at the wall to the calender, and walks over to it. As she stares at the picture and gently puts her hand upon it, dozens of undead hands rip through the wall at her… Sarah snaps awake as the helicopter she is in lands to search for survivors. She and Miguel walk out into the street with a bullhorn, calling out for any survivors while John and McDermott call out over the radio. In the utter desolation of the city, their voices begin to draw the dead out from everywhere towards their location. In frustration, they head back to the helicopter and head back towards base. Upon landing in a gated area surrounded by zombies, they head underground where they run into Steel and Rickles, who demand that Miguel comes with them to round up fresh specimens for Dr. Frankenstein. Sarah, seeing that he is no shape, tries to take over but Miguel shrugs her off and in the process, almost gets Rickles killed by a zombie. After a small scuffle, we see the two zombies dropped off in a lab environment, chained to a wall. Sarah and Miguel are seen arguing, and he slaps her twice before she sedates him. She leaves him in the room alone and heads to a meeting with Rhodes and they argue over lab conditions and Miguel’s condition…
Fisher and Sarah head out to Dr. Logan’s lab, and he gleefully shows them several different experiments he is working on for “teaching” the zombies. They argue different theories for a few moments. At the meeting, they discuss the radio transmissions and various things going on until Sarah tries to leave. Rhodes threatens to have her shot if she does not sit down, and after a few tense moments, she does. Rhodes lays down how things are going to run from here out and continues to rant until Logan shows up. After berating Logan for a moment, the Dr turns it around on him and Logan convinces him to give them a little bit more time. A bit later, Sarah and Miguel fight again and she kicks him out. After going to get some aspirin, she walks through a fight involving several of the soldiers but is saved by McDermott. She goes and hangs out with him and John back at their camp. They discuss different philosophies and drink for a while until Sarah passes out. The next day, Sarah walks in to the lab and sees Fisher trying to work with an unresponsive zombie. Logan comes in and starts talking about rewarding the zombies. He takes them to see “Bub”, the zombie he is working with. He shows them that Bub retains some knowledge of his past life by using a razor, a toothbrush and a book…
Rhodes comes in and is appalled at what Logan has done with Bub. When Bub “speaks” some words, salutes Rhodes and then point an empty gun at him, Rhodes goes to shoot him until Logan steps in between them. A meeting is called and Rhodes wants everything killed while Logan argues for more research. More specimens are gathered, and one breaks loose from Miguel, biting another solider. That soldier accidentally shoots another, and Miguel is bitten in the process. He runs off in the darkness with Sarah in pursuit. They arrive outside of John’s and she amputates his arm as Rhodes and his men show up. They all pull guns on one another, but cooler heads prevail and Rhodes agrees to let them keep him there. They leave, and later McDermott and Sarah go for medical supplies. After hearing some of Logan’s notes on tape, they duck Rhodes’ men and watch Logan and Bub interact. Rhodes walks in and finds Logan feeding Bub remains from dead soldiers and kills him. Rhodes loses it and threatens to kill everyone if John does not agree to fly him to safety. Miguel escapes and lets the zombies into the complex before he is devoured himself. Will Sarah and her friends escape the wrath of Rhodes and his men while trying to escape the zombies, will Rhodes prevail and kill everyone or will the zombies have their day? You are going to have to watch to find out…
Bonus Features:
Audio Commentary Audio 1: Commentary with Writer/Director George A Romero, Special FX Artist Tom Savini, Production Designer Cletus Anderson and Actress Lori Cadille
Audio 2: Commentary with Filmmaker Roger Avary
Worlds End: The Legacy of “Day of the Dead”– (Run time of 1 hour 25minutes) New documentary with members of the cast and crew discussing one another and the making of the film. A wealth of information and insight is included in the discussions and would be worth the price of the disc itself. (New for this release!)
Behind the Scenes Footage– (Run time of 31 minutes) A behind the scenes look at the make-up in the film courtesy of Tom Savini’s Personal Archives. (New for this release!)
Wampum Mine Promotional Video– (Run time of 8 minutes) Old promotion video for the Wampum Mines.
Underground: A Look Into The Day of the Dead Mines– (Run time of 8 minutes) Cult Magazine takes a look at the current day mines that were used in the film. (New for this release!)
Theatrical Trailers
TV Spots
Still Gallery
Discs: 1
Format: NTSC
Color: Color
Rating: R
Aspect Ratio: 1080p High-Definition Widescreen (2.35:1)
Language: English
Shout!/Scream Factory Brings to us yet another genre classic to Blu-Ray DVD with Romero’s Day of the Dead. With the previous edition being released on Blu-Ray back in by Anchor Bay back in 2007, the question on everyone’s mind would was would another Blu-Ray edition of this film be worth it? The answer in my humble opinion, is yes! The wealth of special features alone make this edition the one to own. The brand new documentary, Worlds End: The Legacy of “Day of the Dead”, is a wealth of information and does not skimp on the detail. It was also nice to have the inclusion of Savini’s make-up footage, and the Wampum Mines video was a nice historical footnote that tied in well with the Underground: A Look Into The Day of the Dead Mines feature. The inclusion of several trailers and TV spots brings about a nice feeling of nostalgia as well! If there is any complaint about this disc, it is that to some, the transfer may look TOO CLEAN! While it is a minor complaint at best, this release is the perfect example of why Shout!/Scream Factory is the standard bearer for Blu-Ray horror releases!
Movie Rating: 4.5 out of 5
DVD Rating: 10 out of 10
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