Day of the Dead (1985)

Director:

George A. Romero

Writer:

George A. Romero (written by)

Release Date:

19 July 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Dead have waited. The day has come.

Plot:

A small group of military officers and scientists dwell in an underground bunker as the world above is overrun by zombies.

Plot Keywords:

Military | Scientist | Bunker | Florida | Death

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Lori Cardille	...	Sarah
Terry Alexander	...	John
Joseph Pilato	...	Capt. Rhodes (as Joe Pilato)
Jarlath Conroy	...	William McDermott
Anthony Dileo Jr.	...	Pvt. Miguel Salazar (as Antonè DiLeo)
Richard Liberty	...	Logan
Sherman Howard	...	Bub (as Howard Sherman)
Gary Howard Klar	...	Pvt. Steel (as G. Howard Klar)
Ralph Marrero	...	Pvt. Rickles
John Amplas	...	Dr. Ted Fisher
Phillip G. Kellams	...	Pvt. Miller
Taso N. Stavrakis	...	Pvt. Torrez
Gregory Nicotero	...	Pvt. Johnson
Don Brockett	...	Featured Zombie (chief)
William Cameron	...	Featured Zombie

Also Known As:

George A. Romero's Day of the Dead (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

102 min | Argentina:101 min | Norway:97 min | Australia:97 min | Canada:96 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (video rating) (1986) (cut) | UK:18 (video re-rating) (1997) | UK:18 (original rating) (cut) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (video rating) (1998) | Canada:(Banned) (Nova Scotia/Ontario) (uncut version) | Canada:R (Ontario) (cut) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Finland:(Banned) (original rating) | Chile:14 (uncut DVD version) | Canada:14A (Ontario) (Re-rated 2008) | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Denmark:16 | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Norway:(Banned) (original rating) | Norway:15 (re-rating) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Florida, USA

Company:

Dead Films Inc.

Trivia:

Cameo: [Taso N. Stavrakis]In 2 roles: Appears as a Cave Zombie who gets bashed on the head with wood by Sarah. Referred to as Knock-On-Wood Zombie. He also appears as a Biker Zombie as the Zombie battle begins.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At the beginning of the film, when the alligator crawls out of the bank, the band tying its snout shut can be seen.

Quotes:

[first lines]
McDermott: Nothing, nothing at all.
Sarah: Send again.
McDermott: I've been sending up and down the coast from Sarasota to the Everglades and still getting back the same dead air. There's nothing! There's nobody or at least nobody with a radio.
Sarah: All right then let's set down, we'll use the bullhorn.
McDermott: Set down? Wait a minute, that's not in our contract!
Sarah: It's the biggest city within 150 miles and we're going to give it every chance.
McDermott: Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Sarah: Set down, John!
John: I'll set us down. But I won't leave my seat and I'll keep the engine running. Now the first sign of trouble, I'm going up. If you ain't on board when that happens, you're likely to have a lousy afternoon.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in West Is West (1987)

Soundtrack:

If Tomorrow Comes

Dark and morbid climax to the Dead Trilogy

The third part of George Romero's masterpiece; The Dead Trilogy, is the darkest and most compact of the bunch, and while it never reaches the awesome highs of the previous two, it still stands on it's own as a more than passable zombie gorefest. Speaking of gore; this film has oodles! Because the film is darker and more unpleasant than the other two, the gore hits home more. Whether it be the nasty experiments of a man nicknamed "Dr Frankenstein" or the now legendary splatter soaked finale, you can always be sure that this film will have something up it's sleeve to shock and/or disgust you! The way that the trilogy has panned out is rather good, and George Romero has obviously put some thought into what would be the consequences of the events of Night of the Living Dead. This film takes into account the idea of humans not being able to co-operate with one another, which makes the people in the movie just as big a threat as the zombies. We follow 12 humans that are holed up in an old World War 2 bunker, and we see the threat that the humans cause themselves with the conflict between the scientific and military interests.

Romero has shown his inventiveness with the make-up effects throughout this series. In Night of the Living Dead, the zombies were hardly decayed at all. By Dawn of the Dead, they were more bloody and more decayed, and by the time of this film; it would seem that effects guru Tom Savini has been given free licence to create some of the most disgusting effects ever to be seen in a zombie movie! The often green and white skinned living dead walk around with dried blood caked to their carcasses, limbs and jaws missing; you name it, these zombies have it! Naturally, it's the make-up and gore that are the stars of this movie, and the human stars take a back seat. It's a good job that's the case as well; as the actors here aren't up to much. This is almost a benefit to the movie; however, as it gives it that low budget feel that many movies fans, such as myself, love. There are some elements of the movie that don't work - seeing the talking zombie always makes me cringe - but on the whole, this is an invigorating and inventive zombie flick and while it isn't as great as the previous two; it's still pretty damn good.