This film has problems, some major, some minor, however as just a zombie film it isn't as bad as people are making it out to be. The problem. the single biggest problem with this film is the title. Had it not been called Day of the Dead I don't think it would be getting the backlash it has been getting. had it been called Zombie Town, or some other zombie movie title I feel everyone would have had more positive things to say about this film, but because it is called Day of the Dead it has already set people off to hate it to no end.
Not sure if people would have positive things to say about it really. I mean for the Dawn remake I can see a different name helping opinions. With this one I think overall it was to miss directed. If it had another name it would probably just get a mention by folks to be maybe a guilty pleasure or something but most people would likely see it as bad. The fact that its called Day of the Dead makes people hate it.
The films other major problem was cast. Mena Suvari and Nick Cannon were probably not the best choice of actors for this film. They are too young, too crude, and overalll don't fit their roles. A lot of their corniness and ineptness I blame on director Steve Minor. He should have seen this on set and immediately put a stop to what was going on. However, the problem also lies within the script. It was poorly conceived, and executed.
Can't argue this point to much. The casting was not good at all and the script was not good either. Alot of sterotypes, which are not bad as sort of side characters or maybe a shade in a character but wow.
The film has some good points. Some of the zombie mayhem was actually really decent. The Gore was plentiful and the tone and mood of a city besieged by the dead was done pretty well. However, the back story was really a back story. There was no point to it, the build up of how everything went haywire was just terrible, but it doesn't make the film totally unwatchable. Even with all its good points the film doesn't drag that badly, in fact the first hour went by pretty quickly and I was very thankful it paced that well.
Not sure how much lack of explanation bothers most people, but alright. I always like the idea of showing things going crazy in the hospital. I am fine with that and the gore was alright, although as noted by Minion that there was ketchup bottle sound alot. I mean to me the tone did not change all that much. The panic was alright but what killed it was zombies as fast as Flash and becoming raptors.
I know some of you are going to say... Deej, zombies with guns, zombies driving cars, zombies running on ceilings and jumping out of 3rd story windows. Yes this film has all of that, but so what... why do zombies have to just shamble? Because Romero says so? Hardly. I love Uncle George, but this biased and worship from some fans is way out of control. This is not his Day of the Dead, so they filmmakers can pretty much go where they want with it. You as a fan may not like it but it doesn't mean that it stops George's movies from existing or being played when one so desires. All it means is someone chose to go a different direction.
No problem with the guns, its not like they are really aiming them, they were not really driving so much as holding the foot on the pettle and so on. I am not a giant fan of the running zombie, but I am not a hater anyway. I think 28 Days later (although not living dead) and the remake of Dawn and Return did running alright. Well Dawn they might have been a bit fast. But at best they should be as fast and strong as they were in life. Not get a super hero upgrade. I don't see most of those people being able to climb on walls and ceilling while alive and so they should not in undeath either. That is my huge problem with the movie. If they ran, great. Fine with me, if they ran as fast as the Dawn remake zombies. Fine with me. When they start becoming ninja is when I start to worry alot about what the crap is really going on here. Not to mention they roar like freaking dinosaurs. I can see more animalistic noises but can human vocal coards make that noise?
I see what you are saying and I like the shambling zombie more myself. In a "realist" (use the term losely) it makes more sense because they are dead, but if they must run I dont see the need to make them super agile and everything as well. If you do that might as well be vampires. Everyone should feel free to make the movie they want, but be willing to take the criticism too (not aimed at you dude). Not to mention they they dissolve in fire, that was strange... Every director who makes a monster movie has the right to change the rules as they see fit. If they do it and do it in the context of a good or decent movie there is less complaining. If you do it in a bad movie, or even in a supposed remake of a classic movie than you are more beholden to obey some of the preestablished rules from the original..
This films major suck point was the lack of visual style and the use of the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. There was too much action going on for this film to use such a narrow ratio and the director and DP should have scene this from the get go. The DP should have stepped up and said... "hey ya know we really don't have anything visual to look at", but because he did not we are stuck with a muddy looking and very dark picture.
Don't know that much about the specfics unfortunatly, but the movie was a bit dark when I saw it.
Here is my best advice. Forget that it is titled Day of the Dead, and just watch it for what it is. You won't be knocked off your chair, nor will you be singing its praises, but if you are a horror or zombie fan you should enjoy it for the zombie mayhem alone. You may roll your eyes a time or two, but even George has done that to us. The best way to take this is with a grain of salt.
I did this with the Dawn remake and it worked a little, its hard to erase the title of one of your favorite movies (the original that is), and I love zombie movies but to be honest. For me it was like watching Day of the Dead 2 or House of the Dead. Yeah, there are moments where you are almost like, that might have been a good idea or I wish they would have done this but overall you want to bash your head into something. I think this movie falls more into the later than anything else. The zombie mayhem would have been much better if they just did running zombies, and not ninja zombie 2000 running around there. I have read an exceptional prelude to the remake of Dawn in the fiction section here that is exactly how I have always seen in going with fast zombies in that situation. I think thats great. The problem is they were leaping like big cats. And I dont mean similar, I mean a tiger would be like "wow". That killed it for me.
To be honest, I know Romero has taken flack for Land and although I dont think its the best of the bunch by far it is still bounds better than the second tier. At best, being generous here, it falls somewhere in the middle low to low second tier setting. There are many movies that are better and several worse but not a whole lot. Thats why it has to go lower. Even as a guy who loves bad zombie movies. There has to be some standards (although different for everyone of course). Not that Romero is perfect but at least he hits the idea more times than not. In most low budget movies or foreign zombie movies if they hit a good idea or concept and support it during the movie with average acting and gore it is in the top second tier to be honest or up there. At worst the movie makes no sense at all.
As a guy who loves zombies I have to say that if you do you should see this movie to add it to the number of movies you have seen but that is it. After that never think of it again. Even if you ignore the title that might only move it up a little. If you think of the title you will hate it. Thats about all I can say about it really. It is a disaster of a movie from most technical standpoints (not an expert but the things you listed as cons are all true), but I think at best the pros you mentioned make the movie such that you dont want to lynch the director for wasting 85 minutes of your life. Yeah, it was short. Thank God.
At the same time its good to see a conflicting opinion. Conformity leads to more hatred and all of that rot.
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