'Day of the Dead' (2008) DVD Review

Not in the same league as the Dawn of the Dead remake, but no worse than the original Day of the Dead.

The Movie

Zombie movies have had a hard time lately, with George Romero's Diary of the Dead forced to go the independent, limited-release route earlier this year, and now the remake of Romero's Day of the Dead being relegated to the direct-to-video pile. The updated version isn't a great film, but to be fair, neither was the original Day of the Dead. The remake does, however, have a solid budget with non-stop action and a sense of fun -- both missing from the original.

The story bears little resemblance to the Romero version (granted, neither did the Dawn remake) except for the presence of military characters and the "smart zombie" Bud. In this modern take, the military quarantines the town of Leadville, Colorado after the outbreak of a mysterious flu-like virus. All citizens are sent to the Army medical center, where the patients suddenly -- and I do mean suddenly -- turn into flesh-eating zombies. A small band of survivors, led by soldiers Sarah Cross (Mena Suvari) and "No First Name" Salazar (Nick Cannon), try to find their way out of both the hospital and the zombie-plagued town.

Zombie purists who've complain about the fast-moving undead of recent years will no doubt go ballistic about these souped-up zombies, who are not only fast (director Steve Miner actually speeds up the film), but also have the ability to DEFY GRAVITY by crawling on ceilings. These "super zombies" can even drive cars and shoot guns (though not well). As such, even with some nice set pieces, it's hard to take the action seriously in the film, and with thinly drawn -- and in Salazar's case, really annoying -- characters, it's hard to root for anyone. But that's the beauty of a straight-to-video release; you aren't expecting much, and in Day of the Dead's case, that's what you get.

The DVD

Special features include commentary and an alternate ending.

Movie: C
DVD: B-