As the world is overrun by zombies, a small group of scientists and military personnel dwelling in an underground bunker in Florida must determine whether they should educate, eliminate or escape the undead horde.

Director:

George A. Romero
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4,458 ( 566)
2 wins. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lori Cardille ... Sarah
Terry Alexander ... John
Joseph Pilato ... Rhodes (as Joe Pilato)
Jarlath Conroy Jarlath Conroy ... McDermott
Anthony Dileo Jr. Anthony Dileo Jr. ... Miguel (as Antonè DiLeo)
Richard Liberty Richard Liberty ... Logan
Sherman Howard ... Bub (as Howard Sherman)
Gary Howard Klar ... Steel (as G. Howard Klar)
Ralph Marrero Ralph Marrero ... Rickles
John Amplas ... Ted Fisher
Phillip G. Kellams Phillip G. Kellams ... Miller
Taso N. Stavrakis ... Torrez
Greg Nicotero ... Johnson (as Gregory Nicotero)
Don Brockett ... Featured Zombie
William Cameron ... Featured Zombie
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Storyline

Zombies rule the world, except for a small group of scientists and military personnel who reside in an underground bunker in Florida. The scientists are using the undead in gruesome experiments; much to the chagrin of the military. Finally the military finds that their men have been used in the scientists' experiments, and banish the scientists to the caves that house the Living Dead. Unfortunately, the zombies from above ground have made their way into the bunker. Written by Matt Puskas <s0047192@monteagle.niagara.edu>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

When the dead rose from their graves... See more »

Genres:

Horror | Thriller

Certificate:

R18 | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening sequence was filmed in Fort Myers, Florida. This was also a location for the film Just Cause with Sean Connery and Blair Underwood. The film Gone Fishin', with Danny Glover and Joe Pesci was also filmed here. See more »

Goofs

Captains Rhodes, wears the U.S. Army Reserve 99th Regional Readiness Command patch and the U.S. Army uniform tape. Making him and all his men U.S. Army soldiers. Throughout the film you see them all wearing the "Bakers Cap" of the U.S. Marine Corps. They would all have had the Army baseball cap. See more »

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 ...
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Alternate Versions

The version released by Anchor Bay Entertainment is the complete uncut version, containing all the gore and violence. See more »

Connections

Featured in The FX of Dawn (2020) See more »

Soundtracks

Escape Invasion
(uncredited)
Composed by John Harrison
Performed by John Harrison
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User Reviews

 
Very gruesome and claustrophobic zombie movie.
4 October 2003 | by Aaron1375See all my reviews

In 1985 this zombie movie virtually went by unnoticed except for many Romero fans. It was virtually dead a week or two after it hit the theaters. Many attribute its failings to the other many horror films released that year including "Re-Animator", "Fright Night", and "Return of the Living Dead". All these movies were R though and day was not. Romero stuck to his guns and made a very gory movie. Unfortunately, when dawn was released there were still many independent theaters, but by 1985 the chains had taken over and one thing chains do is not show movies like this. So it went by unnoticed and those that did notice it usually had nothing good to say about it other than the zombies looked really good. So suffice to say, I wasn't expecting much when I bought this movie except the zombies would look good. However, I am happy to report that I was very pleasantly surprised. Granted, Dawn was still a better film as it had more likable characters than the ones featured in this film. This would be the final Dead film George Romero would do until Land of the Dead was released, but I do not count that one as part of his original trilogy as they seem to belong together because Night showed us the humble beginnings of the zombie outbreak, Dawn showed us the zombies beginning to overrun us and this film shows us a bleak world where the zombies now outnumber the living 400,000 to one.

The story has a group at the beginning flying a helicopter in the hopes of finding some survivors. All they find is the dead and quite frankly, any survivors out there would be better off keeping their mouth shut as they do not want to go back to the facility this group belongs to. It is like a bunker and in it we have scientists who have no clue what they are doing, army people in a rush to leave said facility even though there is no indication there are any people left, two civilian guys just doing their jobs and Bub the most awesome zombie ever! Tensions are running high in the facility as the army people want to leave and there is a lot of arguing; however, things take a turn for the even worse and the zombies that are topside begin to lick their lips!

This film has great looking zombies and it does a good job with its setting. Originally, George wanted to do something much larger in scope, but could not get the funding so he had to scale back immensely which is why we sadly on get the one shot topside in the city and get to see how much the zombies have taken over. Everything in this film is rather good, except the characters! Seriously, Bub who is a zombie is the most likable character and then civilian guys. Everyone else just wants to yell and rant and this film is not a good one to watch when you have a headache! The good news is that this creates a finale where you really want to see a few of these guys eaten and suffer, unlike Dawn where you just kind of get a random motorcycle gang out of nowhere.

So this film is good, just not as good as Dawn as this one just does not have the action of that film and for a good portion of the film the only thing you have to look forward too in between the shouting matches between the scientists and evil Bono are the Bub scenes. It does help build up the finale and like I said, you really want to watch these guys get eaten, but it also tends to get annoying as no one really seems right. That is just the way it goes though, mankind is pretty much lost here and so why worry about trying to cure something that cannot be cured when you can just try and live out your life the best you can.


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Frequently Asked Questions

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 July 1985 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Le jour des morts-vivants See more »

Filming Locations:

Sanibel Island, Florida, USA See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,700,000, 21 July 1985

Gross USA:

$5,000,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,000,000
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Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (Unrated Edition) | (Sci-Fi Channel) (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono | 4-Track Stereo (Zombieing Sound System) (Japan theatrical release)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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