Day of the Dead (2008)

When a small Colorado town is overrun by the flesh hungry dead a small group of survivors try to escape in a last ditch effort to stay alive.

Director:

Steve Miner

Writers:

Jeffrey Reddick (screenplay), George A. Romero (motion picture "Day of the Dead")

Stars:

Mena Suvari, Nick Cannon, Michael Welch

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mena Suvari	...	Sarah Bowman
Nick Cannon	...	Salazar
Michael Welch	...	Trevor Bowman
AnnaLynne McCord	...	Nina (as AnnaLyne McCord)
Stark Sands	...	Bud Crain
Matt Rippy	...	Doctor Logan
Pat Kilbane	...	Scientist
Taylor Saracho	...	Local Girl (as Taylor Hoover)
Christa Campbell	...	Mrs. Leitner
Ian McNeice	...	Paul - DJ
Ving Rhames	...	Captain Rhodes
Robert Rais	...	Mr. Leitner
Michael McCoy	...	Mr. Noble
Laura Giosh	...	Mrs. Noble
Vanessa Johansson	...	Receptionist

Storyline

In Leadville, Colorado, Captain Rhodes and his army seals off the town to contain an influenza-type epidemic. The locals are not allowed to leave the town and the Pine Valley Medical Center is crowded with sick people. Corporal Sarah Bowman was born and raised in Leadville and goes to her home with Private Bud Crain to visit her mother. Sarah finds that her mother is ill and takes her to the local hospital. However, the sick people suddenly transform in flesh eating, fast moving zombies which attack the non-infected humans. Sarah, Bud and Private Salazar get a jeep and head to the town exit to escape from the dead. But Sarah hears the voice of her brother, Trevor, on the radio and is compelled to go to the radio station where Trevor is hidden with his girlfriend Nina. The group of survivors drives to the isolated Nike missile site seeking shelter, where they discover an underground army base.

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Plot Keywords:

horror movie remake | zombie | psychotronic film | colorado | epidemic | 

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Taglines:

D-Day Is Coming

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong pervasive horror violence and gore, and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Radio Station is on the Elm Street. This is a reference to A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).

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Goofs

Private Crain did not attack the other survivors after he turned into a zombie. The explanation given (by Sarah) is that the zombies retain some portion of their former selves, and that he was a vegetarian, thus not interested in them for their meat. If we accept this explanation, then following the same logic, while walking in the woods not long after, he should be trying to eat the available vegetation (trees, flowers etc). However, he does not. Therefore, there is either an error in that he didn't eat plants when he would have done, or a plot hole in why he wasn't eating the survivors.

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Quotes

Sarah Bowman: You don't have to worry. Nothing happens in this town anyway.
Bud Crain: Yeah, it seems like a real shit hole. Where are we going anyway?
Sarah Bowman: My house.
Bud Crain: Oh, so you're from here?
Sarah Bowman: Born and raised.
Bud Crain: Well, it's kind of a charming shit hole.

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Alternate Versions

-** SPOILER ALERT! *** The alternate ending on the DVD has Salazar's character disappearing off screen after opening fire in the Nike missile silo. He screams, fires again, then the horde of zombies appears. The film continues exactly as it did in the theatrical release, until, as they escape in the SUV, they pass a building in the exterior of the missile base. Salazar emerges, screaming that he wasn't bitten, and muttering that everyone expects the black guy to die. He gets into the SUV, and they drive off. At that point, the screaming zombie pops into frame.

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Texas Chainsaw 3D (2014)

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Soundtracks

Stop, I'm Already Dead
Written by Dax Riggs
Performed by Deadboy & The Elephantmen
Published by Blebaby(BMI) administered by Wixen Music Publishing, Inc.
Courtesy of Fat Possum Records, LLC
By Arrangement with Music For The Masses

User Reviews

Horrid

Day of the Dead (2008)

1/2 (out of 4)

Remake of George Romero's film has a small town in Colorado being shut down for what they're told is some sort of flu virus. Of course, the government is lying and they're actually turning into zombies. It's no secret that I'm not a fan of the original film but it's a masterpiece compared to this thing, which is just another cheap rip off that ranks as one of the worst remakes out there but, to be honest, this isn't nearly as bad as the name-only sequel to Romero's film. I'm not one against remakes so that's not my problem with this film. My problem is that it's so incredibly cheap and poorly written that you can't help but be bored throughout the entire film. Once again we get horrid CGI effects, which are among the worst I've ever seen. The effects are so fake looking that you can never take them serious and why producer's opt for this poor effects is beyond me. Another problem is the direction, which makes for one incredibly ugly movie that never has any sense of direction. The movie also uses CGI effects to speed up the action and this again just makes the film look incredibly poor. The cinematography will certainly give you a headache as it moves around with no sense of what it's trying to show (or not show). The performances are all pretty standard and that includes Ving Rhames in his small role. As bad as the movie is there are a couple good moments including one where Rhames, turning into a zombie, eats his own eyeball. As for the zombies, they are all incredibly bad and lame. When the humans turn into the zombies, we get more CGI effects that transforms them in the matter of seconds but none of them have anything going for them. The gore effects are equally bad as well. This is more of a reimagined version of the Romero film but there are a few hold overs from that film including the character Bub, although he's called Bud here.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 April 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Day of the Dead: The Need to Feed

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$301,771

Company Credits

Production Co:

Millennium Films, Taurus Entertainment Company, Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films (EFO Films)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1