Disappointing follow up to the classic Dawn
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Day of the Dead
ToastedCheese — 3 years ago(September 05, 2022 10:26 PM)
Quite flat and dry in presentation and for a film that is half an hour shorter than Dawn, it plays out duller too.
Dawn Of The Dead - '78
is a horror epic and while not really scary, the scenario is. Night was creepy. Day is neither scary or creepy and Romero's direction is stagnant. The characters are part of the problem too. They weren't interesting or likeable enough.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
AnthonySocksss — 3 years ago(September 08, 2022 02:02 AM)
A lot of the ideas they had for Day had to be scrapped because their budget was cut. There was going to be zombies being trained in gladiator arenas and stuff (which they later included in Land of the Dead)
Melton1 Wanted for Pedophilia:
https://i.ibb.co/6cnPmJVr/IMG-0830.jpg
https://m.youtube.com/shorts/Zjxk307CND0 -
WarrenPeace — 3 years ago(September 08, 2022 05:38 AM)
I like how the trilogy titles cover the different times of night and day.
I guess I would have to watch Dawn again to make a fair comparison.
I thought it was creative to use an empty shopping mall.
Are the zombies symbols of brain dead shoppers and a statement on consumerism?
"Please vote to preserve the unique character of Warren…" - Robert Duvall -
ToastedCheese — 3 years ago(September 08, 2022 06:17 AM)
Savini’s make-up effects were top tier, yet I feel the make up SFX we’re what the film was hinged from.
I also like the more antiquated and cheesy style effects in Dawn. The red paint blood, pale blue faces and rubbery latex actually gave Dawn it’s own unique appeal, along with the scenario and character interplay/conflicts. They evolved throughout.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
SpringheelJack1837 — 3 years ago(September 08, 2022 06:29 AM)
No doubt Dawn is better, but I enjoy them both - awkward Romero cheese and all.
I feel like both had their moments of going total moron with their character depictions. It’s pretty clear who we’re not meant to like in day, clear like the **** was surgically grafted to my eyeballs.
Then there’s that hilariously racist cop at the start of dawn
and later when the blonde dude starts going completely out of character and starts losing his mind during the truck scene.
And wtf is with that biker stopping to check his blood pressure on that machine while he’s running from zombies
Such a fun movie though. -
ToastedCheese — 3 years ago(September 08, 2022 01:34 PM)
Stereotyped characters, that I found more obvious in Day.
I see Roger as thinking he was invincible. He was a cocky swat team member and had lucky breaks. He paid a big price for not having his head screwed on in an instant. When Peter told him to get it together, he also mentioned that he was playing with his life as well. A good example of the character development and arcs.
That racist cop was a part of the psyche of many cops. Still the same today in some aspects of law enforcement.
That dumb bikie was in a sense doing a Roger, but in his own way. He would have been so used to getting it over on the zombies, that the tables just happened to turn. Besides, it gave Savini and Romero a chance to treat us to a well presented disembowling to an arsehole character.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
SpringheelJack1837 — 3 years ago(September 08, 2022 07:04 PM)
Hey, I love Dawn, but there’s no avoiding how awkwardly bad those character moments were. Explaining what Romero was going for doesn’t really help because he made his point painfully obvious
Especially the racist cop at the start.
Pretty sure it was the same with someone at the start of day.
He just makes them racist cocky assholes and dials it up to 310%, it’s all part of its cheesy charm.
But yeah, Day of the Dead wasn’t nearly as fun as Dawn. Really gave 0 ****s about the whole Frank (is that what they called the “intelligent” zombie?) storyline. -
ToastedCheese — 3 years ago(September 09, 2022 12:36 AM)
I never really thought too much about how the characterizations were presented in Dawn, just that they all seemed to work well within the context of the films theme.
Upon first viewing in the early 80's, I was impressed with the entire thing and hadn't seen anything like it before and it was already about 5yrs old.
I am not normally big on extended editions of films, yet here I prefer the original 140min version, that Romero then cut out approx 15mins for theatrical release.
I wasn't too fond of Argento's cut. I feel like it is missing too much and the music is different in parts, which I found jarring. What I was used too I suppose.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
cryptoflovecraft — 3 years ago(September 10, 2022 12:30 AM)
I love the film and think it makes the perfect ending to Romero's original Dead trilogy. Dawn of the Dead, its predecessor, was both scary and humorous. Dawn poked fun at our consumer culture while continuing to focus on the ever widening zombie apocalypse that was birthed in Night of the Living Dead. Both Night and Dawn were terrifying films for their time and offered an alternative world where zombies were taking over and the remaining humans were were left struggling to survive.
Day of the Dead, by contrast, is the darkest and most cynical of Romero's Dead films. Most of the zombie action takes place at the very beginning and end of the film. The rest of the film takes place in a dark bunker (the world above has become too zombie infested) and is largely character driven. The plot revolves around a group of scientists who are trying to hopelessly find a cure for the zombie epidemic. Pitted against the scientists are an increasingly hostile group of military men who simply want to kill all the zombies and leave the scientists to rot in the underground bunker. The taut drama that unfolds is interesting, the performances by Cardille, Pilato, etc. are good, and Tom Savini's special effects are some of his best ever (esp. Rhodes' final scene). The film is also notable for featuring "Bub", the first domesticated zombie.
I'll easily give Day a "10/10" rating. It's my third favorite zombie film after Dawn and Night. Land of the Dead, made nearly twenty years later, was a disappointing sequel but it was interesting to see how Romero's zombie apocalypse evolved. -
ToastedCheese — 3 years ago(September 10, 2022 01:03 AM)
The last time I viewed Land, which I forgot about being part of the franchise, I didn't like it at all. Day though isn't "interesting" character driven to me and like I have already mentioned, the film does rely on Savini's make-up effects as the raison d'être.
I would prefer Day to Land, but I also would rate Savini's remake of Night better than both of these.
Norman! What did you put in my tea?
