Markus has blessed us with another comparison review, this time he takes a look at the original, awesome George A Romero film Day Of The Dead and it's so-called remake. Check it out....
I guess it's a generational thing which part of Romero's original "zombie trilogy" you prefer: Some still champion the first "Night of the living Dead", others don't get tired of rooting for "Dawn of the Dead" and the rest- including me- rate "Day" as the ultimate zombie movie.
I just wish Romero would have actually made one of those at the end of each decade as "Night", "Dawn" and "Day" are indeed smart comments on the politics of the 60's, 70's and 80's, with 2005's "Land of the Dead" following way too late, but still being pretty good.
"Day" is infamous for being a compromised version of Romero's far bigger scale original script (which should partially provide the inspiration for "Land of the Dead"), but in many ways, I'd say the restrictions did their part in enhancing the movie's claustrophobic feel in the underground base.
The film gets sometimes criticised for its lengthy dialogues, but particularly fans who're past their adolsecent gorehound phase will appreciate a zombie movie trying to deal with (almost) philosophical questions about "civilisation", with the living rather battling it out against each other instead of searching for a solution of the zombie plague, while some of the undead are seeming to be capable of showing more affection than the human characters.
The actors in this are way above average for the genre, with Lori Cardille's Sarah being one of the most believable strong female leads in a horror movie so far, Richard Liberty giving a scene stealing performance as Dr. Logan, who's trying to "educate" the zombies ("Reward is te key.") and Joe Pilato being the perfect baddie to hate as Captain Rhodes (though some don't stop accusing him of over acting- which he does!- but only to the benefit of the movie!).
"Day's" most iconic zombie is of course Dr. Logan's "pet pupil"- "Bub" (Sherman Howard), the character that probably sums up the best this movie's ideas and vision.
All that is crowned by the very best gore-, splatter- and zombie fx Tom Savini has EVER done for any movie! The body-ripping, arm- chopping, gut-soaked action on sight hasn't been really matched to this day in its graphic, handmade glory.
If I could only take one zombie movie with me on a remote island- it would be the original "Day of the Dead"!
5/5
George Romero's classic canon of "Dead" movies is probably the only movie "trilogy" so far to get the complete "remake" treatment.
While the originals present some of the most quitessential genre flicks in the evolution of modern horror, the updates are a fairly mixed bag with no stylistic connection to each other whatsoever despite the appearance of Ving Rhames in the latter two, albeit in different roles.
Tom Savini's '89 reworking of the groundbreaking b/w "Night of the living Dead" is the most faithful-to-the-original of the bunch, basically giving the '68 version a colourized and modernized alter ego with a stronger female lead and a new twist to the shocking conclusion offered in Romero's film.
A mostly underrated flick from the "dire years" of the genre, the "Night" remake has found something of a quietly growing re-appreciation over the years and should be checked out if you haven't seen it yet.
Zack Snyder's "Pimp my 'Dawn of the Dead'" followed shortly after the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" reworking by Marcus Nispel had gotten the remake craze going and confirmed mainstream audiences' growing appetite for glossy "reimaginations" of cherished 70's/80's horror faves.
"Dawn" (2004) only kept the setting and the zombies from the original and while it's by no means a bad movie, it's certainly a bit short on the social comment and satirical take on the "zombified mall rats" offered by the Romero classic. Here, Ving Rhames basically has to fill the big shoes of the Ken Foree role, but sadly never gets a chance to leave the same impact due to the increased number of characters and the main focus on a potential hero couple.
Fast forwarding to 2007, the demand for genre remakes has anythng but decreased. Nowadays, no title or icon is "safe" from getting the makeover.
A "Day" remake was probably inevitable and even though bad word of mouth had been accompanying the production from the get go, I still had some faith left in Steve Miner behind the helm.
Miner is hardly anybody's favourite horror director, but he's prooven his craftsmanship with a couple of highly entertaining, yet hardly groundbreaking flicks such as "Friday, the 13th Parts II and III", "House" and "H20".
Unfortunately, "Day" (2007) is the kind of movie which is getting worse the longer you think about it, so if you want to give it a go anyway STOP reading this review RIGHT NOW!
Frst off, I'm a HUGE fan of the original "Day", my favourite zombie movie of all time.
So changing the military into the "good guys" and twisting the story into a "Resident Evil"-esque direction, plus keeping a few of the original's character names without any connection to the Romero film, didn't do much to win me over.
Mena Suvari (of "American Beauty" fame) is a cute girl, but as a supposedly tough soldier as miscast as you could get.
Our beloved zombie Bub has been turned into a VEGETARIAN...so THAT'S why he's not attacking people in this one....
Whoever wrote the script should have penned "Resident Evil V" instead.
And what's CGI gore compared to the magic tricks Savini pulled off for the original...? Better not to think about it....
If you're sometimes in a really undemanding mood and get some entertainment out of flicks like the (imho better!) "House of the Dead", the new "Day" might be just what you need with yor crisps....otherwise, you have been warned....
I've still seen worse, so I'll leave it at...
2/5
I guess it's a generational thing which part of Romero's original "zombie trilogy" you prefer: Some still champion the first "Night of the living Dead", others don't get tired of rooting for "Dawn of the Dead" and the rest- including me- rate "Day" as the ultimate zombie movie.
I just wish Romero would have actually made one of those at the end of each decade as "Night", "Dawn" and "Day" are indeed smart comments on the politics of the 60's, 70's and 80's, with 2005's "Land of the Dead" following way too late, but still being pretty good.
"Day" is infamous for being a compromised version of Romero's far bigger scale original script (which should partially provide the inspiration for "Land of the Dead"), but in many ways, I'd say the restrictions did their part in enhancing the movie's claustrophobic feel in the underground base.
The film gets sometimes criticised for its lengthy dialogues, but particularly fans who're past their adolsecent gorehound phase will appreciate a zombie movie trying to deal with (almost) philosophical questions about "civilisation", with the living rather battling it out against each other instead of searching for a solution of the zombie plague, while some of the undead are seeming to be capable of showing more affection than the human characters.
The actors in this are way above average for the genre, with Lori Cardille's Sarah being one of the most believable strong female leads in a horror movie so far, Richard Liberty giving a scene stealing performance as Dr. Logan, who's trying to "educate" the zombies ("Reward is te key.") and Joe Pilato being the perfect baddie to hate as Captain Rhodes (though some don't stop accusing him of over acting- which he does!- but only to the benefit of the movie!).
"Day's" most iconic zombie is of course Dr. Logan's "pet pupil"- "Bub" (Sherman Howard), the character that probably sums up the best this movie's ideas and vision.
All that is crowned by the very best gore-, splatter- and zombie fx Tom Savini has EVER done for any movie! The body-ripping, arm- chopping, gut-soaked action on sight hasn't been really matched to this day in its graphic, handmade glory.
If I could only take one zombie movie with me on a remote island- it would be the original "Day of the Dead"!
5/5
George Romero's classic canon of "Dead" movies is probably the only movie "trilogy" so far to get the complete "remake" treatment.
While the originals present some of the most quitessential genre flicks in the evolution of modern horror, the updates are a fairly mixed bag with no stylistic connection to each other whatsoever despite the appearance of Ving Rhames in the latter two, albeit in different roles.
Tom Savini's '89 reworking of the groundbreaking b/w "Night of the living Dead" is the most faithful-to-the-original of the bunch, basically giving the '68 version a colourized and modernized alter ego with a stronger female lead and a new twist to the shocking conclusion offered in Romero's film.
A mostly underrated flick from the "dire years" of the genre, the "Night" remake has found something of a quietly growing re-appreciation over the years and should be checked out if you haven't seen it yet.
Zack Snyder's "Pimp my 'Dawn of the Dead'" followed shortly after the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" reworking by Marcus Nispel had gotten the remake craze going and confirmed mainstream audiences' growing appetite for glossy "reimaginations" of cherished 70's/80's horror faves.
"Dawn" (2004) only kept the setting and the zombies from the original and while it's by no means a bad movie, it's certainly a bit short on the social comment and satirical take on the "zombified mall rats" offered by the Romero classic. Here, Ving Rhames basically has to fill the big shoes of the Ken Foree role, but sadly never gets a chance to leave the same impact due to the increased number of characters and the main focus on a potential hero couple.
Fast forwarding to 2007, the demand for genre remakes has anythng but decreased. Nowadays, no title or icon is "safe" from getting the makeover.
A "Day" remake was probably inevitable and even though bad word of mouth had been accompanying the production from the get go, I still had some faith left in Steve Miner behind the helm.
Miner is hardly anybody's favourite horror director, but he's prooven his craftsmanship with a couple of highly entertaining, yet hardly groundbreaking flicks such as "Friday, the 13th Parts II and III", "House" and "H20".
Unfortunately, "Day" (2007) is the kind of movie which is getting worse the longer you think about it, so if you want to give it a go anyway STOP reading this review RIGHT NOW!
Frst off, I'm a HUGE fan of the original "Day", my favourite zombie movie of all time.
So changing the military into the "good guys" and twisting the story into a "Resident Evil"-esque direction, plus keeping a few of the original's character names without any connection to the Romero film, didn't do much to win me over.
Mena Suvari (of "American Beauty" fame) is a cute girl, but as a supposedly tough soldier as miscast as you could get.
Our beloved zombie Bub has been turned into a VEGETARIAN...so THAT'S why he's not attacking people in this one....
Whoever wrote the script should have penned "Resident Evil V" instead.
And what's CGI gore compared to the magic tricks Savini pulled off for the original...? Better not to think about it....
If you're sometimes in a really undemanding mood and get some entertainment out of flicks like the (imho better!) "House of the Dead", the new "Day" might be just what you need with yor crisps....otherwise, you have been warned....
I've still seen worse, so I'll leave it at...
2/5
Man, I always love it when Markus' stuff pops up. It's always cool to see a fan of 'Day', as most casual zombie fans seem to overlook it.
ReplyDeleteInsightful stuff, made me laugh and remember the good times. Shame about that shitload of fuck remake, but hey, nothing is sacred these days. I'm kinda shocked that they haven't remade 2001 in 3D yet.