Day Of The Dead (1985 Film)
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''Day of the Dead'' is a 1985 American
post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...
zombie A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in w ...
horror film written and directed by George A. Romero, and produced by Richard P. Rubinstein. The third film in Romero's ''
Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven pe ...
'' series, it stars Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander,
Joseph Pilato Joseph Pilato (March 16, 1949 – March 24, 2019) was an American film and voice actor. He was perhaps best known for his performance as Captain Rhodes in the 1985 film '' Day of the Dead''. Early life He was born in Fitchburg in 1949 to an I ...
, Jarlath Conroy and
Richard Liberty Richard Liberty (born Riccardo Liberatoscioli; March 3, 1932 – October 2, 2000) was an American film and television actor. His film work included George A. Romero's '' The Crazies'' (1973), '' The Final Countdown'', '' Porky's II: The Next ...
as members of a group of survivors of a
zombie apocalypse Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack huma ...
sheltering in an underground bunker in
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, where they must determine the outcome of humanity's conflict with the undead horde. Romero described the film as a "tragedy about how a lack of human communication causes chaos and collapse even in this small little pie slice of society." Work on ''Day of the Dead'' began shortly after the release of the previous film in the series, '' Dawn of the Dead'' (1978), but was halted when Romero began work on other projects. It was developed as part of a three-film deal with that film's distributor, United Film Distribution Company (UFDC); Romero elected to make the two other projects outlined in the deal, '' Knightriders'' (1981) and '' Creepshow'' (1982), first. Although the filmmaker was given
final cut privilege Final cut privilege (also known as ''final cutting authority'') is the right or entitlement of an individual to determine the final version of a motion picture for distribution and exhibition. The final cut on a film can be held by film studio ...
, the screenplay was rewritten multiple times due to UFDC's concerns that Romero's ambitious original vision ― which he described as "the ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...
'' of zombie films" ― would need to be shot with the intention of receiving an R rating from the
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to ensure its commercial viability; Romero elected to make the film on a lower budget and release it without a rating. ''Day of the Dead'' was filmed in fall 1984, with above-ground scenes in the cities of
Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...
and Sanibel and underground scenes near Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Tom Savini Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and film director. He is known for his makeup and special effects work on many films directed by George A. Romero, including ''Martin' ...
returned to provide the film's special make-up effects; he was assisted by a team of artists that included
Greg Nicotero Gregory Nicotero (born March 15, 1963) is an American special make-up effects creator, television producer, and director. His first major job in special effects makeup was on the George A. Romero film ''Day of the Dead'' (1985), under the tutel ...
and Howard Berger, who later became known for their work on the television series '' The Walking Dead''. ''Day of the Dead'' premiered at
Hicksville, New York Hicksville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York. The population of the CDP was 41,547 at the 2010 census. History Valentine Hicks, son-in-law of abolitionist an ...
on June 30, 1985, and grossed $34 million worldwide against a budget of approximately $4 million. Although the makeup effects were praised, the film initially did not match the critical and commercial success of its predecessors; the series did not see another installment until the 2005 release of '' Land of the Dead''. Reception of the film has improved with time, and Romero deemed it to be his personal favorite film in the original ''Dead'' trilogy. Like its predecessors, ''Day of the Dead'' has garnered a cult following and inspired numerous parodies and homages. The film was remade twice: the first is the 2008 film of the same name, and the second is '' Day of the Dead: Bloodline'' (2018). A television series based on the film began airing on Syfy in 2021, while a stand-alone sequel, ''Night of the Living Dead II'', is in active development.


Plot

A
zombie apocalypse Zombie apocalypse is a genre of fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack huma ...
has ravaged the entire world. A handful of surviving humans live within a secure underground bunker housing scientists and soldiers in the
Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissim ...
. The scientists are trying to find a solution to the zombie pandemic; the soldiers have been assigned to protect them. Dr Sarah Bowman; her lover and soldier Private Miguel Salazar; radio operator Bill McDermott; and helicopter pilot John fly from their underground base to
Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...
in an attempt to locate additional survivors. They find only a large horde of the undead and return to the base, where they are told that the military detachment's officer-in-charge Major Cooper has died. Sarah becomes concerned over Miguel's worsening mental state. Dr. Logan, the lead scientist (nicknamed "Frankenstein" by the soldiers because of his grisly surgical dissections of the zombies), believes that the undead plague victims can be made docile and domesticated through training and conditioning. He keeps a collection of captive undead for use as test subjects in a large underground corral in the compound. Sarah vehemently opposes Logan's conditioning research; instead, she wants to search for a possible cure for the virus. Sarah discovers that Logan has been experimenting on the corpses of the dead soldiers, including Major Cooper. Scared that the other soldiers will turn on them, Sarah reluctantly keeps this a secret. The angry and unstable Captain Rhodes and his soldiers vehemently object to the dangers involved in capturing zombies and keeping them inside the compound. The tension between soldiers and scientists worsens in the face of dwindling supplies, the loss of communication with other survivors, and slow, uncertain progress in the research. During a meeting, Rhodes declares that he is taking command of the base. He only grants the scientists "some" time to prove results and declares that he will execute anyone who interferes with his leadership. He also threatens to abandon the scientists and leave the compound, cutting off their protection from the undead hordes. Disturbed by Rhodes' threats, Sarah discusses the situation with John and Bill. John professes his conviction that the zombie plague is a form of divine punishment against mankind, and suggests that the three of them should take the helicopter, abandon the soldiers, and fly to a
desert island A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereot ...
somewhere where they could live off the land and start a new life. Logan hopes to secure Rhodes' goodwill by showing him the results of his research. He is especially proud of "Bub", a docile zombie who remembers some parts of his past life and engages in rudimentary human behavior. Rhodes, however, is not impressed and loses more patience with the scientists. During a zombie roundup mission, a zombie escapes its harness when Miguel loses his focus, resulting in the deaths of soldiers Miller and Johnson. Miguel snaps and attempts to kill the creature, but another zombie bites him on the arm. With John and Bill's help, Sarah amputates and cauterizes Miguel's arm to stop the infection. Rhodes calls off the experiments and demands that all captive zombies be destroyed, as well as denying any further help from him and his remaining men. Sarah and Bill later go off to get medicine for Miguel, and discover that Logan had been experimenting on Miller and Johnson’s remains. Fearing that Logan has gone insane, Bill decides that they should leave in the helicopter immediately. Rhodes finds out that Logan has been feeding the flesh of his dead soldiers to Bub as a reward for his positive behavior. Furious, Rhodes kills Logan and seizes the remaining scientists and non-military personnel, stripping them of their weapons. Rhodes attempts to force John to fly him and his remaining soldiers away from the base, which John refuses to do. In response, Rhodes kills Logan's assistant Fisher, locks Sarah and Bill inside the zombie corral, and orders Private Steel to beat John into submission. Back in the laboratory, Bub manages to escape from his chains and finds Logan's corpse. In a display of human emotion, he mourns the loss of his instructor, then picks up a pistol and goes in search of revenge. Meanwhile, a suicidal Miguel heads off to the surface. While the soldiers try to go after him, John knocks out Rhodes, steals his guns, and goes into the zombie corral to rescue Sarah and Bill. Miguel opens the perimeter fence, letting in a horde of zombies, and allows them to tear into him before pressing the elevator remote, allowing the zombies into the complex. As the undead swarm the bunker, Rhodes leaves his men behind to be killed. Chased by Bub, he attempts to escape, but runs into a mass of zombies and is shot in the stomach by Bub, who mockingly salutes Rhodes as the zombies tear him apart. John, Sarah, and Bill make it to the chopper and escape to a tropical island.


Cast

* Lori Cardille as Dr. Sarah Bowman, a scientist researching the cause of the zombie outbreak *
Joseph Pilato Joseph Pilato (March 16, 1949 – March 24, 2019) was an American film and voice actor. He was perhaps best known for his performance as Captain Rhodes in the 1985 film '' Day of the Dead''. Early life He was born in Fitchburg in 1949 to an I ...
as Captain Henry Rhodes, an increasingly mentally unhinged soldier and the self-appointed leader of the military group * Terry Alexander as John "Flyboy", the group's helicopter pilot * Jarlath Conroy as Bill McDermott, the group's alcoholic radio operator *
Richard Liberty Richard Liberty (born Riccardo Liberatoscioli; March 3, 1932 – October 2, 2000) was an American film and television actor. His film work included George A. Romero's '' The Crazies'' (1973), '' The Final Countdown'', '' Porky's II: The Next ...
as Dr. Matthew "Frankenstein" Logan, the group's main surgeon and scientist * Anthony Dileo Jr. as Private Miguel Salazar, Sarah's suicidal lover and one of Rhodes' men (credited as "Antoné Dileo Jr.") * Sherman Howard as "Bub", a friendly captured zombie taught by Logan to engage passively in human behaviour (credited as "Howard Sherman") * Gary Howard Klar as Private Walter Steel, one of Rhodes' men * Ralph Marrero as Private Robert Rickles, one of Rhodes' men * John Amplas as Dr. Ted Fisher, technician * Phillip G. Kellams as Private Miller, one of Rhodes' men * Taso Stavrakis as Private Juan Torrez, one of Rhodes' men/Knock-on-wood Zombie/Biker Zombie * Gregory Nicotero as Private Johnson, one of Rhodes' men * George A. Romero as Zombie with scarf (uncredited cameo)


Production


Development

Romero originally intended the film to be "the ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...
'' of zombie films". Following budget disputes and the artistic need to release the film unrated, the budget of the film was cut in half, dropping from $7 million to $3.5 million. This forced Romero to scale back his story, rewriting the script and adjusting his original vision to fit the smaller budget. A total of five scripts were written as Romero wrestled with the film's concepts and the budgetary constraints. The first draft was over 200 pages, which he later condensed to 122 pages. This is the true original script, and to date no copies of it have come to light. This version was likely rejected because UFDC felt it was too expensive for them to produce even with an R rating. Romero subsequently scaled down the scope of this script into a 155-page draft (often erroneously referred to as the original version), then condensed it again to a 104-page draft labeled the 'second version, second draft' in an unsuccessful final attempt to get the story within budget parameters. When this failed, he drastically altered the original story concept and ultimately produced a shooting draft that numbered only 88 pages. The film was given a very limited release. This is chronicled in the documentary ''The Many Days of Day of the Dead'' on the two-disc Anchor Bay special edition DVD of the film. Some of the original concepts and characters remain, but the film differs greatly from Romero's original script, as stated by actress Lori Cardille:


Casting

Joseph Pilato Joseph Pilato (March 16, 1949 – March 24, 2019) was an American film and voice actor. He was perhaps best known for his performance as Captain Rhodes in the 1985 film '' Day of the Dead''. Early life He was born in Fitchburg in 1949 to an I ...
was cast as Rhodes, the film's antagonist. As stated by Pilato "He pretty much just gave it to me. I don't know if he auditioned other people, but it was very quick. I came in and it was like, "You got it!." Pilato had acted in two prior films directed by Romero, the first being Pilato's debut '' Dawn of the Dead'' and the second being '' Knightriders''; in between those films he played his first lead role in a film entitled '' Effects''. In an interview Pilato was asked if Romero "had him in mind", Pilato stated that one of the reasons why he got the role was because of the budget being scaled down from 7 to 3.5 million.


Filming

Filming took place in the fall of 1984 at locations in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. All above-ground scenes were filmed at several locations around Florida, where Romero was living at the time. The opening scene was filmed in the downtown area of Fort Myers, Florida. The fenced in compound with the helicopter landing pad was shot at a location called Bowman's Beach Helistop in Sanibel. Underground scenes were filmed in a former mine shaft located near Wampum, Pennsylvania, converted into a long-term storage facility for important documents. Though the mine maintained a constant temperature of about , its high humidity played havoc with the crew's equipment and props. Mechanical and electrical failures were a constant problem throughout filming, and caused several of special effects leader
Tom Savini Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and film director. He is known for his makeup and special effects work on many films directed by George A. Romero, including ''Martin' ...
's props to fail during the filming. Despite these failures, Savini was nominated and won the 1985 Saturn Award for best makeup effects. The remote location also complicated the transportation of crew members and equipment. Cast and crew would often sleep in the mine overnight to avoid the time-consuming travel to and from the shooting location. "Zombie" extras were recruited from among the citizens of
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
, with preference given to those who had worked on previous Romero films. Extras were paid $1.00 for their services, and given a hat that read "I was a Zombie in Day of the Dead".


Release and reception

Subsequent to its theatrical release, the film has grossed over 30 million dollars worldwide. ''Day of the Dead'' would earn most of its gross revenue when the film was released internationally on VHS format, and later
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and
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. This is in contrast to the film's poor box-office reception when it was released in cinemas. Based on 40 reviews collected retrospectively by
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, ''Day of the Dead'' has an 83% approval rating, with a
weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
of 7/10, making it the lowest-rated film in Romero's original ''Dead'' trilogy, with ''
Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven pe ...
'' having a 97% approval rating and '' Dawn of the Dead'' having a 93% approval rating. The website's critical consensus states that "''Day of the Dead'' may arguably be the least haunting entry in George A. Romero's undead trilogy, but it will give audiences' plenty to chew on with its shocking gore and scathing view of society." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
the film holds a score of 60 out of 100 based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". ''Day of the Dead'' had its world premiere on June 30, 1985, and was given a limited release on July 3, 1985. The film saw its wide release on July 19, 1985. Roger Ebert, who reacted favorably to other films of Romero's ''Dead'' series, gave ''Day of the Dead'' one and a half stars; he praised the special effects but was put off by what he referred to as "over-acting" in the movie, specifically that all of the actors screamed at each other for the entire film in a way that was not present in Romero's earlier films.
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
reviewer Almar Haflidason stated "It benefits from a far larger budget than its predecessors, but suffers from a story as malnourished as the zombies that are chewing it up," Haflidason would go on to give the film three out of five stars. As noted by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reviewer
Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...
"Yes, there are enough spilled guts and severed limbs to satisfy the bloodthirstiest fan. But these moments tend to be clustered together, and a lot of the film is devoted to windy argument." Allmovie reviewer Keith Phipps stated that: "The last, to date at least, of George Romero's living dead films is in many respects the least interesting, although it's not for a lack of ambition." ''
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'' wrote that the film was the most unsatisfying of the original three films and that "The acting here is generally unimpressive and in the case of Sarah's romantic partner, Miguel (Antone DiLeo Jr), unintentionally risible." Dave Kehr praised the film in his review for ''
The Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...
'', writing that "this time the focus is less political than philosophical. Beginning from a position of absolute misanthropy, Romero asks what it means to be human, and the answers are funny, horrifying, and ultimately hopeful." ''Day of the Dead'' would peak at 23 on the '' Billboard'' chart ''Top VHS Sales'' in 1986 a year after its initial release. The film grossed $5.8 million domestically. It fared much better internationally, grossing $28.2 million outside of the United States. ''Day of the Dead''s total gross is a little over $34 million. The film is also noted for its special effects work, notably
Tom Savini Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and film director. He is known for his makeup and special effects work on many films directed by George A. Romero, including ''Martin' ...
's make-up, he was honored with his second Saturn Award in 1985 for Best Make-Up, the first time being with ''Dawn of the Dead'' in 1980.
Jonathan Rosenbaum Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for ''The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008, when he retired. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has ...
placed the film in his personal canon of 1000 favorite films, one of two Romero films chosen by Rosenbaum. (The other was ''
Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...
''.) Romero himself cited ''Day of the Dead'' as his personal favorite of his original trilogy of zombie films.George A. Romero interview, ''The Many Days of Day of the Dead'', on ''Day of the Dead'' "Divimax
special edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...
" (
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.
Anchor Bay Entertainment Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures and Starmaker Entertainment) was an American home entertainment and production company. It was a subsidiary of Starz Inc. Anchor Bay Entertainment marketed and sold feature films, television ser ...
, 2003)
On May 9, 2012, the film headlined the 12 Hour Film Festival Hudson Horror Show V. Alex Stewart reviewed ''Day of the Dead'' for ''
White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...
'' #83, and stated that "Organized around a tough performance by Lori Cardille as the determined research leader, the movie is as much a study of the several inhumanities of science and the military as it is a feast of gore and putrefaction. After all, disembowelling is only one way, the most literal, of taking people apart."


Home video

The film was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on November 24, 1998 in the United States and on March 5, 2001 in the United Kingdom. Both the theatrical and an unrated director's cut were released as special editions containing identical bonus features, and the DVD was released in the United Kingdom in a region 2 DVD. The
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
version of ''Day of the Dead'' was released October 2, 2007. This edition includes many special features, including two audio commentary tracks with writer-director George A. Romero,
Tom Savini Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and film director. He is known for his makeup and special effects work on many films directed by George A. Romero, including ''Martin' ...
,
production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...
Cletus Anderson, and lead actress Lori Cardille. There is also a second commentary with fellow
filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
and self-proclaimed Romero fan,
Roger Avary Roger Roberts Avary (born August 23, 1965) is a Canadian-American film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. He collaborated with Quentin Tarantino on ''Pulp Fiction'', for which they won Best Original Screenplay at the 67th Acade ...
. It also includes two documentaries; the first one is entitled ''The Many Days of 'Day of the Dead'', which focuses on the original script and the budget, it also included information about shooting in the Gateway Commerce Center. What is also mentioned is the casting details. The second documentary, entitled ''Day of the Dead: Behind the Scenes'', focuses mostly on make-up effects. On March 29, 2010
Arrow Video An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers ca ...
released a 25th Anniversary Edition on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
exclusive to the UK. Shout Factory! released the film under its
Scream Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
label on September 17, 2013. The release is a Collector's Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack with all-new artwork and special features.


Popular culture

Near the end of the film version of ''
Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
'', the protagonist Alice walks outside of her quarantine into a ravaged city street jammed with traffic. The camera pans past a newspaper blowing in the wind stating "The Dead Walk!", a direct homage to George Romero's work on ''Day of the Dead''. One episode of ''
Stroker and Hoop ''Stroker & Hoop'' is an American adult animated television series created by Casper Kelly and Jeffrey G. Olsen for Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim. The series is a parody of buddy cop films and television series suc ...
'' featured the characters battling zombies using guns made by Double-Wide. They turn out to fire only sunlight, which he claims is because of zombies' vulnerability to sunlight, hinted at by the film being called ''Night of the Dead'' and not ''Day of the Dead''. Coroner Rick yells at him "That was the sequel!" The song "M1 A1", from the
self-titled An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...
2001
Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...
album samples the pulsing synthesizers and cries of "Hello! Is anyone there?" from the opening of the film. The song "Hip Albatross", also by Gorillaz, features a clip of Terry Alexander's dialogue. Furthermore, the artwork for the song "November has Come" off of the Gorillaz' 2005 album ''
Demon Days ''Demon Days'' is the second studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz. It was first released on 11 May 2005 in Japan and on 23 May 2005 in the United Kingdom by Parlophone and in the United States by Virgin Records. Produced by the band, ...
'' has a picture of a calendar pinned to a brick wall set to the month of October with all the dates marked off in red Xs (reminiscent of the opening scene in ''Day of the Dead''). The song "Battlefield", from the
This Is My Battlefield ''This Is My Battlefield'' is a 2004 album by the Norwegian industrial music project Panzer AG. Track listing # “Introduction Of The Damned” – 1:41 # “Filth God” – 4:45 # “Battlefield” – 5:00 # “Chemical Breed” – 4:05 # “ ...
2004 Panzer AG album samples Captain Rhodes asking Sarah in reference to Miguel's zombie bite: "You think he wants to walk around after he's dead? You think he wants to be one of these things?" The line "Sit down or so help me God I'll have you shot" appears once near the end of the song. The band
Through the Eyes of the Dead Through the Eyes of the Dead is an American deathcore band from Florence, South Carolina, formed in 2003. They have released four full-length albums, one EP, and one split album with The Knife Trade. History The band was formed by Justin Longsh ...
sampled a clip at the beginning of the song "Between the Gardens that Bathe in Blood", released on the ''Scars of Ages'' EP. The
Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...
song " Burning Inside" (from the album ''
The Mind Is a Terrible Thing To Taste ''The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' is the fourth studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on November 14, 1989 by Sire Records. The music took a more hardcore, aggressively guitar-driven direction, with Jourgens ...
'') features an audio sample of the military station's warning horn and a few notes of composer John Harrison's synthesized score. The song "Confessions of a Knife (theme part 2)," from the 1990 album '' Confessions of a Knife...'' by
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samples dialogue between Sarah and Captain Rhodes: Captain Rhodes: "I'll have you shot." Sarah: "Are you out of your mind?" Captain Rhodes: "No, ma'am. Are you?" Along with dialogue from Private Steel and laughter from Private Rickles that repeats later throughout the song. Steel: "Bang! You're dead!" followed by Rickles' laughter. The song "The Only Good God Is a Dead God," from the 1992 album ''Psychological Warfare Technology Systems'' by Terror Against Terror, samples Captain Rhodes' final screams "Choke on them... choke on them," with the sounds of the zombies eating him. American punk band the
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recorded a song about the film entitled "Day of the Dead" for their 1997 album ''
American Psycho ''American Psycho'' is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by Patrick Bateman, a serial killer and Manhattan investment banker. Alison Kelly of ''The Observer'' notes that while "some countr ...
''. In 2014, Sherman Howard's zombie character Bub appeared in a cameo in the fifteenth episode of Season 4 of the AMC series '' The Walking Dead'' Season 4 episode " Us", as one of the walkers encountered by the characters Glenn and Tara in a railroad tunnel, an homage to not only the character but also to the underground setting of ''Day of the Dead''. The first episode of the third season of ''
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'' sees the main characters sneaking into their local cinema to watch an early screening of "Day of the Dead". Seattle-based musical duo Little Black Bottles composed "Letter to Miguel", a tribute song to character Miguel Salazar, for their album ''Let Them Eat Red Velvet Cake''. In '' Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII'' the final DLC map for the Zombies mode is named "Tag der Toten" (Day of the Dead in german). It is a reimagining of the '' Call of Duty: Black Ops'' Zombies map, "Call of the Dead", in which Romero appeared as a boss zombie. In Tag der Toten his iconic glasses show up as a tribute.


Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on LP and cassette in the same year as the film (1985) by Saturn Records; it contained 6 tracks, all of which was composed and performed by
John Harrison John Harrison ( – 24 March 1776) was a self-educated English Carpentry, carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the History of longitude, problem of calculating longitude while at s ...
. The vocals came from Sputzy Sparacino who was the lead singer of the Pittsburgh R&B/Dance/Cover band ''Modern Man'' and Delilah, who was known at the time for being the lead singer of the Pittsburgh R&B/Gospel/Dance band Samson & Delilah on the tracks "If Tomorrow Comes" and "The World Inside Your Eyes". The album was re-issued in 2002 by Numenorean Records as a limited edition CD. The new edition was limited to 3000 copies and contained the original album plus five additional tracks from the music and effects reel (the only surviving recording of the film score). It also included a 12-page booklet with information from Harrison and Romero regarding the score. Waxwork Records later released the soundtrack on vinyl in 2013, making it the first album release with the complete movie score.


Prequel, remakes and television series

A prequel was released in 2005, entitled '' Day of the Dead 2: Contagium''. Although it is, by definition, an official sequel as Taurus Entertainment Company holds the rights to the original film, no one from the original ''Day of the Dead'' had any involvement in the film. The film also diverges from the continuity of the original in several respects. A loose remake of the film, ''
Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely obser ...
'', was released
straight to DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
on April 8, 2008. Little of the original plot exists, with only a few basic elements remaining; notably the underground army base near the end of the movie, and some of the characters' names. This marks the second time that
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makes an appearance in a remake of a George A. Romero zombie film, following '' Dawn of the Dead''. On July 10, 2013 it was announced that there would be another remake of ''Day of the Dead'', titled '' Day of the Dead: Bloodline''.
Christa Campbell Christa Campbell (born December 7, 1972) is an American actress and producer. Campbell is best known for her roles in '' 2001 Maniacs'', '' Mozart and the Whale'', '' Lonely Hearts'', ''The Wicker Man'', ''Cleaner'', ''Day of the Dead'', '' L ...
and
Lati Grobman Lati Grobman ( he, לטי גרובמן) is a Hollywood film producer. She acted as the producer and executive producer of several films, such as '' The Iceman'' (2012), ''Texas Chainsaw 3D'' (2013) and '' Eliza Graves'' (2014). In May 2005, G ...
, two of the producers behind ''
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'' have obtained the rights. Campbell, who had a small role in the first remake said "We want to keep it as close to the Romero version as possible. To make sure that his fans are happy. These are not going to be zombies climbing walls and doing back flips like in ''
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''.". Directed by Hèctor Hernández Vicens, it began filming in June 2016. The film was released on January 5, 2018, it was a critical failure. In February 2020, a television series based on the film was announced and will premiere on Syfy in 2021. The series will follow six strangers in the first 24 hours of a zombie invasion and director
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confirmed the series will have a connection to the original 1985 film. In July 2021, it was announced that Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, and Jarlath Conroy were cast in ''Night of the Living Dead II'', set for a 2022 release.


Comic

Stef Hutchinson wrote the 24-page comic ''Day of the Dead: Desertion'', which was exclusively released to celebrate the movie's 25th anniversary and shows the origins of Bub, before becoming a zombie.


References


External links

* * * * * * *
Homepage of the Dead

Original ''Day of the Dead'' script

Original ''Day of the Dead'' script At Horrorlair
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day Of The Dead (1985 Film) 1985 films 1985 horror films 1985 independent films American action horror films Films directed by George A. Romero Films adapted into television shows American independent films American sequel films American splatter films American zombie films American films about revenge Films set in Florida Films shot in Florida Films shot in Pennsylvania Mad scientist films Night of the Living Dead (film series) 1980s English-language films 1980s American films Films set in bunkers