Extreme Cinema: Day 6

(NOTE: Been a bit delayed with this one as, in the interim, I have seen Kick-Ass, the review of which I will post after extreme week. In the meantime, just know I thought it was very, very good).

Day 6: Day of the Dead (George Romero, 1985)

Fact: Dawn of the Dead is a better film. Characters, setting, social subtext, all of it is better than Day of the Dead (although the jury’s out as to whether it bests Night of the Living Dead). So why, I hear you ask, have I picked Day over Dawn? Well, this is extreme week and, lets be fair, in terms of flat out nastiness, Day is sick, boasting kills and gore that are still horrid even by today’s standards (and remember, the new horror generation has been fed on the likes of Hostel and Saw). And whilst it may also feature the most upbeat ending of the trilogy, the initial scenario is bleak, with Doc Logan stating that the hordes now outnumber the humans by 400,000:1. Those aint good odds.

But, despite being less intuitive as its predecessor, Day is my personal favourite in the same way as Die Hard with a Vengeance is my favourite Die Hard and Jackie Brown is my favourite Tarantino. It’s more polished and begins to tackle the idea of zombies being smarter than they appear (something Romero pursued in Land of the Dead). It also has buckets and buckets of gore.

As with all of Romero’s Dead films, this is not a direct continuation of Dawn. The characters and setting are different and we are now further along in the timeline. If Night was the beginning and Dawn showed the start of societies failings then Day is a world where all hope is gone. Humans are hopelessly outnumbered and now only exist in small pockets of civilisation. The world, as it once was, no longer exists. In a superb opening we’re shown a derelict Miami, there is nothing but the waste of humanity, where money lies useless in the streets and, oddly, crocodiles can run free. In essence, we’re fucked.

But, as with all of Romero’s Dead movies, including the latter, Land, Diary and Survival of the Dead, it wears its subtext for all to see. If Dawn was about consumerism then Day is about fascism and totalitarianism, a small scale version, if you will, of the social crumblings that lead to the end of the world. In Captain Rhodes we have a truly hiss-able villain whose rise to command at the start of the film, following the death of his immediate superior, gives him power that he abuses without question. His demise (“Choke on ‘em!”) is nasty and appropriate.

I have seen this film many times now, yet, despite being a resident gore hound, I still find much of the grue extreme. From the shot of the first zombie (whose lower jaw is missing, exposing his tongue) to the end carnage, it’s disgusting. It’s a testament to the intense nature of the violence that this still warrants and 18 certificate to this day, a feat that Land of the Dead failed to do upon release (it received a 15), despite faces being ripped off and tongues being pulled out. Guts are, quite literally, thrown everywhere and whilst looking at the great swathes of the undead fighting over whatever meat they can find, you really just want to throw up (the guy getting his eye lid peeled off as he howls is still a standout).

Some would argue that Day is far more grim than Dawn and they would be right, however I seem to be the only fan of Dawn that felt the custard pie fight was a little too…well, stupid. There is no deliberate comic tone here and I feel the film benefits all the more for it. There is no hope for these people and as their situation becomes all the more desperate, you feel that any attempt to place a comic edge on the proceedings would be ultimately pointless. Thankfully, Romero gets that too and whilst there’s still a grimy Grindhouse sensibility to the film, it also carries the air of a director who has grown up.

Dawn is the better film, Night is the best of the lot but Day will always be my favourite. It’s gruesome yet manages to stay on the right side of fun without being too campy or even too grim. In recent years, Romero has overdone his zombie work to the point of overkill but at least we can look back fondly on the swansong of his original trilogy.

I also want a Bub. I still come over all emotional when he finds Dr Logan dead. Whoever thought a zombie could still cry hey?

5/5