Day of the Dead (2008)
Director: Steve Miner
Where to get it: Millennium Media
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.
This isn’t my first dance with 2008′s Day of the Dead. And I will admit my first go around with the film wasn’t a very pleasant one. But that has been four years ago, and with the new release of the film on Blu-ray 3D I figured it was a good time to check it out once again. Now after having saw the film again, I will admit I didn’t dislike it with the same venom I had before, but I still find a few very big things wrong with the film overall. At the top of the list is of course that annoying CGI. That’s not an uncommon thing at all with movies these days, but here it seems to stand out a bit more. Anytime we have fire on screen it gets pretty bad. Also, any fans of the original Day of the Dead will probably not like what they do with the character of Bud. The film also seems to base it’s self a lot in the same style as the remake of Dawn of the Dead. It has running zombies, Ving Rhames, and that whole vibe going. Only the thing is, where as the remake of Dawn took the original’s base and added to it, this one seems to miss what made people like the original to begin with. But not all is lost.
The movie does give us actress, Mena Suvari, in the role of “Sarah”. She’s our star and that’s pretty much what she is in this film. I’d say she may be the best part. And yes, that means she tops Nick Cannon in his role. It’s not the world’s best performance in a horror film, but she’s good at what she does and she gets the job the done. The film does build up a little tension and drama that can at times make you really interested in portions. And I will admit, when the film isn’t using CGI, the gore isn’t too shabby. Also add in the fact it’s in HD and looks just fine with a 3D gimmick tossed in on top of that and you have something that may be worth you taking a look at. I still won’t say I love this remake of a classic, but I will at least say it worked a little better on me the second time around. Add in the fact that the HD and 3D gimmicks did help a little. So, even if you didn’t dig this movie the first time it came out, all the added stuff to the presentation might make it worth at least checking out again for some.
(5/10)
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