day remake- a review...

[Mike70]

sort of. i just, ahem, acquired this:shifty: and have finished watching it. i am not going to go into any plot spoilers and so will probably sound/be general as hell in my comments. in depth discussion can come later when the majority of us have seen this "film"

anyway it sucks and it sucks real, real bad. the acting is cringe inducing, the dialogue is middle school play level in most areas, the cast are ridiculous in their roles and so terribly miscast that it is almost like a mel brooks movie. none of them are convincing as soldiers. mena suvari is woefully miscast and obviously uncomfortable in the role of sarah and it shows on the screen.

the zombies are interesting from a makeup standpoint and from a makeup standpoint only. the dead in this movie seem to get aweful fast and seem to stick to walls and the ceiling in certain situations.

the whole thing was a pretty much a horrid mess. it is isn't the worst thing i've ever seen all the way through, that would probably be "house of the dead", but nothing good either.

[capncnut]

Okay, I put a review here earlier this afternoon but I've revised it with this one I just finished on MySpace (http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog&pop=1).


Dead On Arrival - My review of Day Of The Dead (2008)

With George A. Romero's upcoming Diary Of The Dead ready to explode on our cinema screens, I thought I'd prepare myself by grabbing a sneaky peak at Steve Miner's straight-to-DVD remake of Romero's 1985 classic Day Of The Dead. This review contains a few minor spoilers so you might wanna skip some segments if you plan on watching this movie in the near future.

The original Day Of The Dead is the third movie in Romero's zombie tetralogy, which began with his masterpiece Night Of The Living Dead. It was a gruelling epic that dealt with mankind's inability to co-exist in the face of near extinction. Two warring factions - scientific and militaristic - are holed up in an underground missile silo trying to come up with a vaccine to combat the zombie plague that has taken over most of the world. At the time, it showcased state-of-the-art special effects and is fondly regarded by many fans of the genre. I wont go into the plot details here but I'll draw comparisons later in the review.

This isn't the first time that a Romero zombie movie has been remade, as the second episode in the series Dawn Of The Dead was given a makeover in 2004 by first-time director Zack Snyder. While being a worthwhile experience at the cinema, it didn't stand out visually on DVD and VHS. It did well at the box office but many fans weren't happy with it's glossy look and fast-moving zombies. It pales in comparison to the original Dawn, forcing me and countless others to wonder why a second episode was even being attempted. I'm not a fan of remakes and I'm not alone, very little of them have done the originals any justice whatsoever. Take a look at the abysmal remake of John Carpenter's The Fog if you don't believe me, it is a prime example of the unoriginality that plagues modern filmmaking today.

Anyway, on with the review and to kick things off, here's a few plot details from Day 08 to set the scene. In Colorado a deadly flu epidemic had broken out among the townsfolk of Leadville, causing people to cough, sneeze and have nosebleeds. In a bid to quarantine the virus, the military (led by Ving Rhames who plays the cold Captain Rhodes) seal off the area, advising everybody to go back to their homes. Sarah (Mena Suvari) and Private Bud Crain (Stark Sands) travel to her family home to collect her mother, who is presently suffering from the virus so that they can take her to a nearby hospital. Upon arrival, they find many people suffering from the flu who are spluttering and spewing up blood in the waiting area. Predictably, the patients soon turn into flesh-eating zombies and start rampaging through the hospital, turning the place into a full-blown massacre. This pours out onto the streets of Leadville and the town becomes a battlezone, with people fighting for their lives to survive the zombie uprising.

When you look at the basic synopsis from this angle, it doesn't sound half bad does it? Well take it from me, not all is what it seems and to be brutally honest, this movie is really quite bad. Here's why...

Firstly, the storyline. As you can see, much of the original Day storyline has been lost in the translation and is not all that dissimilar from Dawn 04 in the way that it has absolutely f**k all to do with Romero's movies. Some character names have been retained and the underground base makes an appearance fifteen minutes from the end but other than that, the two Day's are completely unrelated. The virus (which is different to Romero's) isn't explained fully until the last minute and the symptoms are utterly cheesy. First they develop a cold, begin sneezing/coughing, get a nosebleed, go into a bug-eyed trance (with the camera entering the sufferer's system CSI style to show you the molecular transformation that's going on) and then they just become, well... an English football hooligan! The way these creatures move almost had me in hysterics, kinda like when you're busting for a s**t but the nearest toilet is a mile away. Best summed up as a waddle but one that's noticeably sped up on film so that it looks like something from The Benny Hill Show.

Also, these are no ordinary zombies and possess superhuman strengths and abilities. They can run, drive cars, crawl on ceilings, jump off roof's and land in a sprint, really, it's so f**king laughable that I guarantee the viewer will be in tears. As I write this now, I am chuckling at the memories I have of them bouncing chaotically in the streets, pogoing headfirst into doors and driving into buildings. With that in mind, Day 08 is a real comedy treat!

Next, the characters. Underdeveloped and basic; Suvari is woefully miscast as army officer Sarah and her shifty gazes are present throughout, Rhames' Rhodes is frankly pathetic and his lines are delivered in the usual style we have come to expect from him, Private 'Bud' is baffling - in the original there was a loveable domesticated zombie called Bub and this has been repeated with disasterous consequences - this time he comes in the form of a cute vegetarian who dies and reanimates with his dislike for meat still intact (for god's sake!), the new handsome Dr Logan (Matt Rippy) pretty much does nothing but stand around looking like a poster boy for Brylcreem and lastly, the annoying Salazar (Nick Cannon), whose ghetto 'yeah boyee' babbling, needless racial quotes and childish nature are too overpowering to endure (at one point he finds a huge machete and holds it aloft, shouting 'by the power of Greyskull!'). Numerous other characters are given the same treatment and their limited screentime makes it difficult for the viewer to have any sympathy for them whatsoever.

On the filmmaking front, Miner has done a par job, guiding the story down the same path that many bad horror/action films take nowadays and scene switches are often accompanied by an audio 'whoosh' or static blip. If you have seen a Saw or Hostel sequel then you will know what to expect here. Also, there's some strange colour tones present throughout and, at times, it almost looks like one of those old black and white film colourisations that purists despise. I found the yellow, orange and green filters a tad too sickly for my liking.

Is there anything nice to say amidst this festering pit of s**t? Well actually there is. Some of the action sequences are quite spectacular, the pacing is very quick indeed and doesn't let up once in terms of violence. There's some juicy gore FX to boot, some decent looking zombies and the overall outbreak is quite epic, but still extremely silly.

To sum it up, Day Of The Dead will probably only appeal to a few select folks who appreciated the Dawn remake and will no doubt be criticised and laughed at by the serious Romero fans out there. It's a turd, but a spectacular one that would've benefitted more from having the Day tagline removed in favour of something more original (another complaint that dogged Dawn 04). When it's released on DVD this April I will buy it for collection purposes (I'm a bit of a zombie nut if you haven't noticed already) but I highly doubt it will be viewed unless a. I'm drunk or b. feel like having a good old laugh (or cry as the case may be).

If you can put your brain in a box and enjoy the gore for what it is, do so. If not, avoid this at all costs!

3/10

Title: Day Of The Dead | Year: 2008 | Running time: 87 minutes | Starring: Mena Suvari, Nick Cannon, Stark Sands, Ian McNeice, Ving Rhames | Director: Steve Miner

[kidgloves]

Go bro. Get the hatred out in the public domain. God, this film STINKS

[capncnut]

God, this film STINKS
Like the worst, sloppiest cats**t ever squatted, brother. :dead:

[ZombiePrototype]

Like the worst, sloppiest cats**t ever squatted, brother. :dead:
I haven't seen this movie yet, but from what I understand you are being way, way, way, too generous with this description.

[ProfessorChaos]

i forgot who it was that said it, but i've gotta second his hope that all the losers involved in this film are so insecure that they read postings like these to see just how much of a cluster-fu(k this movie is and how bad we all hate them for dragging romero and his work through the mud like this.

yeah, that means you, mena, ving, and nick. you guys are pathetic, and i hope this film is the end of all your "careers".

[capncnut]

yeah, that means you, mena, ving, and nick. you guys are pathetic, and i hope this film is the end of all your "careers".
To be fair, they were all miscast and probably tried the best they could under the circumstances. Miner (who I have had a slightly guilty respect for until this point) has churned out a real turd this time. What the f**k was he thinking?

My main beef is with the script, full stop. It's the sort of story a 13 year old kid would dream up after seeing Day for the very first time. :dead:

[Mike70]

To be fair, they were all miscast and probably tried the best they could under the circumstances. Miner (who I have had a slightly guilty respect for until this point) has churned out a real turd this time. What the f**k was he thinking?

My main beef is with the script, full stop. It's the sort of story a 13 year old kid would dream up after seeing Day for the very first time. :dead:

yes the cast how horrible were these choices??? every single person in this movie was hoplessly miscast. all of them. none of them seem like soldiers. nick cannon (who i had never heard of before this movie and never hope to hear about again) being among the worst offenders. he was so irritating that i just wanted to work him over with a cheese grater and a box of salt. mena suvari looked out of place and bored (or was it embarassed?) and ving rhames - not this time marcellus. on another note - how the frak did an actor like ian mcneice end up in this dreadful catastrophe? did he owe someone a favor or something??

capn i don't think you are giving 13 year olds enough credit for imagination. this script could've been the product of a 1,000 monkey's on a 1,000 computers - and they sure didn't come up with hamlet. jesus h. in a chariot driven side car, the old choose your own adventure books had more imagination and sophistication than the script for this movie - they were more interesting too...

oh and:

The way these creatures move almost had me in hysterics, kinda like when you're busting for a s**t but the nearest toilet is a mile away. Best summed up as a waddle but one that's noticeably sped up on film so that it looks like something from The Benny Hill Show.

this just killed me so here goes:

spz8_rpE0e0

[capncnut]

BWAAAHAHA! Good ol' Benny.


nick cannon (who i had never heard of before this movie and never hope to hear about again) being among the worst offenders.
"By the power of GREYSKULLL!" :lol:

[bd2999]

I have also had the chance to see it recently, normally I hate watching movies in this manner, but I feel no guilt this time.

Can't add much to what has been said except it is true. I think that even people who liked the Dawn remake are not going to like this much at all. That film had its flaws but I found it to be enjoyable on a certain level. This movie is just bad. The zombies were the funniest thing I have ever seen. I don't recall if it was here or on another board but these zombies move (Benny Hill is the best was to describe it). If Dawn of the Dead remake had olympic sprinters than Day has Flash wanna bes. I mean these suckers move lik no ones freaking buisness. Busting through walls, out of ceillings, tackling folks into electric fences and apprentyl are not harmed by electricity one bit because they kept right on eating and they ignited and just kept going.

Not to mention the instant decay. As mentioned above, we get to see the bacteria, I guess it looks like a bacteria, enter the CNS and go to town and as soon as that happens the person rots like they have been dead and eaten regardless of wether they have or not. Then the bust out the running stick and take down whoever is around them.

The characters have the names of the cast of the original but they are no where near the same. Really the only thing to say is that they have the same character names. Aside from that nothing. Not very good acting overall, the Sarah character went from an extremly strong female lead (A bit to strong in my opinion)to someone who you picture being a cheerleader scolding you for something. Bud is a joke and a half and not interesting. Never did like Nick Cannon and here is another reason.

Not sure what else to say aside from the fact that the movie sucks. It falls somehwere in the plathera of terrible zombie films of all time and really the only thing seperating it is the fact that there is a decent camera used and the "story" does move along. Thats all I can say really. This does not even hold a stick to any Romero film. Heck it is not even allowed ship the stick UPS accross country because that is to close. Maybe if it got as far as Jupiter or farther and the stick comes back to Earth in like a hundred years and does not burn up that is the only stick comparison I can see working.

[CapnRhodes]

I haven't seen this movie yet, but from what I understand you are being way, way, way, too generous with this description.

:thumbsup: