You
know, I think I actually liked this more than the second one. I'm a
big fan of bunkers - Not just in film, in any fiction really. Like
space ships or jails, they're secluded. You can get some decent
character work in there, and there's plenty room for some mystery
apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic happenings up top. So I like this film
almost despite the script problems and the 80's campy elements that
are starting to feel tacked on (a warning of things to come for this
franchise).
There
are a few military and science people left in a bunker in Florida,
post-zombie victory event. That's all the set-up you need here, and
there was a lot of potential. The script needed work though, and
everyone was shouting at each other a little too much for my liking.
The whole smart zombie thing was alright, but I don't think it was
necessary and it started to mess up the universe as far as I'm
concerned I'd have just had Frankenstein do fucked up shit and not get anywhere with it. Then there's a little more sympathy for the army guys when they kill him, right? But I guess grey is bad. Anyway, I like my zombies classic. No flipping around and predator
mouth shit, no climbing up big walls in piles like ants, I was even
skeptical of the fast zombies in '28 Days Later' - but obviously
Boyle made it work for that.
The
characters are all a little too black and white too. I'd like to have
seen a slower burn where we see things working at first and then
crumble, where we can understand where each character is coming from.
A proper tragedy, basically. I understand that this would have been
boring to many zombie fans though, so fair enough.
The
action is spaced out more than you might expect, but it's decent and
the effects work is brilliant. I can't really over sell it - it's the
perfect mix of disgustingly gory and unrealistic that'll ensure
you're both laughing at it and trying not to throw up. People's skin
is apparently made of plastic bag material in Romero's universe, and
we get to see zombies tear through it a hell of a lot towards the end
of this jaunt.
I
get that it's totally under the winds of my own bias that I prefer this to 'Dawn
of the Dead' (and obviously 'Night of the Living Dead is a classic
too timeless for anything in this genre to get close to), but I just love the whole bunker
thing so much. I even liked that aspect of the 'Resident Evil'
series, though there was little else to enjoy there (I root for the
Umbrella corporation, rather than the random red haired lady who's
trying to kill all of them - and so kill the last bastion of
civilisation. Seriously, does no one else read those films like that?
I'm complaining about it now because I doubt I'll ever bother
reviewing them (how many are there now, fifteen?)). The characters
were sometimes cheesy, but no more cheesy than the ones in the last
one. I actually felt I connected with them slightly more, despite the
lacking script.
If
you're doing a Romero marathon stop here. I warned ya.
Day of the Dead: 76.1