Best Horror Movies

Day of the Dead (also known as George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead) is a horror film by director George A. Romero, the third of Romero’s five Living Dead movies. It is preceded by Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, and succeeded by Land of the Dead and Diary of the Dead. Steve Miner directed a remake which was released on February 15, 2008.

Day of the Dead deals with the fictional zombie assault on a military establishment, satirizing the military mindset in the process. The survivors in the film fear that they are the last humans on the face of the Earth. Day plays on the theme that humanity is a greater danger to itself than any outside threat. The living characters in the film are made up of three distinctive sects who have their own ideas regarding their predicament: soldiers who want to destroy the zombies, scientists who want to study them and find a resolution to the epidemic, and civilians who want nothing more than to live out their last days without care.

The film was widely criticized upon release, though in recent years, it has become a cult classic and developed a reputation as one of the best films in the series. Fans of the previous films were disappointed as the plot is less sweeping in nature and the film sported a much darker tone. The characters were also portrayed as unsympathetic and unpleasant.

The film is set within an underground facility that now houses two warring factions of the living: a small group of scientists who are studying the living dead in hopes of stopping whatever is reanimating them, and a small group of soldiers who are growing increasingly despondent and volatile. The commanding officer is the dangerous Captain Rhodes (Joseph Pilato), who is verbally abusive, progressively psychopathic, mentally deranged and shows signs of being on the verge of a complete nervous breakdown. Sarah is one of the main scientists, and her lover is a soldier named Miguel Salazar.

The helicopter pilot John and his friend William McDermott live in a small trailer deeper inside the tunnel, away from the others, and remain neutral in the disagreements between the two other factions. Sarah learns that John and William have a simpler outlook on the situation, believing that the scientists are wasting their time when they should be finding a way to enjoy whatever life they have left. They would prefer to find an island some place and live as comfortably as possible.

As the arguments continue, one of the scientists, Dr. Logan, continues to attempt to control the zombies. One of his main test subjects, named “Bub”, shows much progress, evident by his ability to resist eating Dr. Logan when he is given an opportunity, and eventually learning how to use a gun. Captain Rhodes however, becomes infuriated with the Doctor and when he learns that Logan has been rewarding Bub by feeding him the remains of soldiers who have died, he shoots Logan to death. Soon, a stand-off occurs between the two factions, while Miguel, who was previously bitten and had his infected arm amputated, intentionally allows the zombies to invade the military base, sacrificing himself in the process. As the zombies come down the elevator into the bunker, Rhodes runs and takes a mini electric car in order to escape faster and get more ammunition thus leaving Steele, Rickles and Torrez to fend for themselves. First Torrez is overpowered by zombies and he is torn apart then Rickles is seen struggling to keep them off with his gun, he is eventually pinned down and he starts to laugh hysterically as he is decapitated by the zombies. Steele is seen shooting at zombies as he heads for the lab corridor and sees that Rhodes has locked the door forcing him to shoot it open allowing the zombies to flood into the lab area as well. Bub, who had escaped from captivity and had also acquired a gun, starts shooting blindly in the corridor causing Steele to enter a side room. Bub then appears outside the door and as Steele prepares to shoot Bub, zombies attack Steele from behind. When Steele realizes that he has been bit blesses himself with his gun and then shoots himself in the mouth. Meanwhile Bub follows Captain Rhodes, shooting him multiple times. In a final turn of events, Bub salutes Rhodes as he is torn apart by the attacking zombies. Then Sarah, John and William escape to a desert island with their helicopter. The final scene shows Sarah marking the 4th of November on a calendar.