31 Days of Horror Movie Reviews - Day 1: Day of the Dead (1985)

The first movie that I would like to review after watching is George A. Romero's Day of the Dead from 1985.

Now I'd like to pride myself that I have seen every zombie movie out there from the very first one to the more recent TV shows. Granted some of them are lacking greatly and I would not even consider them a zombie movie given how the zombies themselves are portrayed.

However that is not this case with this movie because as sad as it sounds, I do not remember watching it and for that I want to kick myself for. This movie is a great zombie movie with plenty of gore to spare. However that does not mean that it does not lack in a few aspects.

Warning, this may contain spoilers so be aware.

First off, I'd like to address the stereotypical army captain. I'm sure you all know the one I'm talking about, "Do what I say or I'll shoot you" type. I swear it seems like every zombie movie has at least one of these guys and sometimes they're not even in the army. They tend to ware of my nerves a bit but overall I feel that this stereotype was pulled off rather nicely and the way that his existence was snuffed out was perfect. Also I have to give props for an epic final line from this character; even as death was gripping him in its' cold hard grasp.

Another was the female character in this movie. She is the only female character, well besides the zombies and she got on my nerves from the moment she opened her mouth. You've seen those types in other movies, the ones that think they know everything, that think that they can help anyone even when that someone doesn't need their help but still feels the need the push them over the edge in order to get their way. The ones that refuse to see the truth before their eyes when they know instantly that something isn't right but refuse to acknowledge it. Only to realize in the last ten minutes of the movie that none of this matters and only survival matters in any way shape or form.

There are a few more grievances that I could make but honestly they are little things that really can be overlooked. Now I want to get into what I absolutely loved about this movie.

I loved the fact that they never revealed how the virus was spread. Not one inkling as to how this all began and that makes me happy because I am so tired of watching more recent zombie movies/tv shows and for them to go into extreme detail on how the virus got started. I personal like the mystery of it as it keeps my interest on the movie instead of wondering how the writers even began to come up with that idea of spreading the virus.

Another thing that I loved was the amount of gore. It really wasn't scary at all but the gore made up for that. The attention to gore and the amount of time and effort that was put into each scene just makes me clap for everyone that was involved in this movie. It was as close to perfection as one could get for 1985.

Now I don't want to go into anymore detail but I highly suggest that if you haven't seen this movie, to watch it. If you've already seen it, watch it again in order to appreciate the work that went into this classic zombie movie as I see it.

Well that's it for this movie review.
Be on the lookout for another horror movie tomorrow!