Not that great
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Day of the Dead
ToastedCheese — 2 months ago(January 28, 2026 01:46 PM)
I find this third instalment the least of the trio of Dead films.
Night
is a classic,
Dawn
is a masterpiece,
Day
is just dreary.
It doesn’t have the spooky creep factor of
Night
, nor the epic and sublime social commentary presentation of
Dawn
. Its failure is perhaps deserved.
Tom Savini’s terrific make-up effects are the main reason to watch this film, but for some reason the story and characters surrounding them are prosaic. The setting is dull and claustrophobic, there is no atmosphere and the characters just seem to be going through the motions of what Romero’s screenplay/direction sets out without really bringing anything that appealing or even revelatory to their predicament.
There is the occasional interesting social observation made, yet the dialogue is just mostly mundane blah blah blah, or when it's not, its just obnoxious shouting at each other with mediocre to bad actors trying to mask their lack of talent.
The film also lacks a fantastical uncanny element of the dead rising to prey upon the living that was an integral part of
Night
&
Dawn
.
Day
is too busy trying to rationalise what is going on with lame science mumbo jumbo and it becomes boring.
Watch
Re-Animator - ‘85
instead from the same year. That one is a whole lot more fun.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
-
WarrenPeace — 2 months ago(January 28, 2026 01:59 PM)
It's an interesting departure from the other two.
What the three do have is a zombie attack in different settings, locations and scenarios.
Do they all happen during the same apocalypse or different ones?
There is no thread linking them with hero characters as there is with modern living dead franchise movies that are more about the action.
(Resident Evil comes first to mind.)
I had a hard time grasping the idea of how the military and science experiments on zombies is even being allowed together in the same space.
I was more on the side of the soldier leader and it turns out he was right.
While there is a lot of dialog and being stuck in an underground bunker with some control over the zombies is not as exciting as being in a shopping mall, I give some credit for trying an experiment or a different way to make another Dead movie.
They wanted to try a new setting and I guess this was the best they came up with?
"Please vote to preserve the unique character of Warren…" - Robert Duvall -
ToastedCheese — 2 months ago(January 28, 2026 02:07 PM)
Some good points made. I just feel they could have done better.
Another Dead movie was well anticipated by horror fans, especially of the first two, but overall it failed to ignite. By the time it came out, it had lost its lustre.
I had to wait 4yrs before it was released on vhs where I was living at the time. I had already seen a doco on its make-up effects. The novelty had worn off by then.
Norman! What did you put in my tea?
