[Day Of The Dead 2008]
Plot:Remake of the third film in George Romeros "Dead" series where a small group of military officers and scientists take shelter in an underground bunker as the world above is overrun by zombies.

Cast:Ving Rhames, Michael Welch, Annalynne McCord, Stark Sands, Mena Suvari, Nick Cannon, Christa Campbell.

My Thoughts:Nice update with a few niks here and there.

Review:When a remake of George A. Romero's "Day Of The Dead" was first announced, it had many people worried. Although the remake of "Dawn Of The Dead" was...for the most part well received...a second time around certainly was not guaranteed to be a charm. Then it came to fruition that the remake wasn't going to theaters, but was instead going to dvd directly. A turn of events which had more people (myself included) worried. I mean after all, the last time we heard the name or read the title "Day Of The Dead" was in the followup to the Romero pic, "Day Of The Dead:Contagium".

A film which has been labeled as one of the worst zombie movies in history. But luckily, the remake of "Day" was in the hand of Steve Miner, a veteran of the genre, the man who brought us "Friday the 13th". Certainly not a man who is new to the game, or wet behind the ears. Starring Mena Suvari, Nick Cannon, and Ving Rhames...the remake sets up quickly with an outbreak of sickness hitting a small Colorado town, and the military being forced to quarantine the area...despite the protests of people who want to leave the town to get to a hospital, or escape the spreading viral infection.

Per usual in these sorts of movies, with these sorts of situations...the military thinks they know best, and won't allow anyone past the perimeter. There we meet Mena Suvari's character Corporal Bowman, who tells a couple trying to get to Boulder Co. that they'd be better off going to a local hospital to get help for their sick child. This after the child's father has a really intense verbal confrontation with Captain Rhodes (Rhames). Soon Nick Cannon's character Salazar, another military member comes on the scene to relieve Sarah who receives other orders. With the virus spreading fast, she's been reassigned to other duties.

But before that, she returns home to check on her family, learning soon that her mother too is one of the ill, and thus she has to take her to the hospital. "Day of the Dead 2008" starts out in typical Romero fashion, which is one of the many good things to say about it. It doesn't waste time setting up too much of a story, and within 15 minutes of the opening credits or less...we're thrust into full-fledged zombie chaos as a hospital full of sick patients, soon fully transform into ravenous undead zombies and begin eating the flesh of the living!

This is a pretty awesome and very well done scene, as we even get a special fxed look into the living cells of the infected person as they rapidly change to dead cells before the infected person becomes a full-fledged zombie. As chaos erupts at the hospital, and eventually throughout town as the infected begin to fully turn in droves, a group of survivors which include Sarah, her younger brother, his girlfriend, and Salazar...band together to try and find a away out of the hospital which is now basically undead hell. From here on, the film is a non-stop ride of blood, guts, flesh-devouring, death, carnage, and mayhem.

In a way...it's alot more action-packed than Romero's version, but minus the social commentary. But this movie really puts it's foot to the gass and doesn't let up. The zombies are everywhere, and there's never a scene in the film where one or more of the main characters are not in some sort of danger. Fans of blood and gore will revel in this film, as it has lots of it, just like a zombie movie should. Some may find "Day Of The Dead" predictable, because it follows the same sort of pattern as most other zombie movies do, by having a group of people start out during the zombie plague, and then dwindling that group down to a handful as people are picked off one by one within the group who aretrying to escape the town.

But isn't that exactly how Romero's version worked? So pretty much, no harm no foul in that area, plus..in this new version the deaths don't come quick and often and are more spaced apart and kept within the flow of events. There are some weaknesses in the update though, specifically with Nick Cannon's character who is typecasted as the typical smack-talking black guy, and while he does many heroic, badass things...his constant dialogue of slang, and smart-alecky remarks become tiresome after awhile. Then there's the addition of a BUB like zombie, which is a poor ripoff of BUB from the original "DOTD".

This new Bub isn't nearly as smart, nor helpful...but instead is a vegan in love with Suvari's character, which we're supposed to believe are two issues that keep him in check and from feasting on human flesh like the others. Pretty lame if you ask me. Other than that, and the stupid decisions made by Salazar and Sarah during the final 15 minutes..."Day Of The Dead" (2008) is a suitable and up-to-par remake which most genre fans should find fulfilling. It doesn't embarass the original, nor reach it's quality level...but rather makes itself a good companion piece instead.

Positives:Good performance by Mena Suvari, high levels of blood and gore, nasty looking zombies, and some very intense zombie-attack scenes.

Negatives:Cannon's character gets very annoying as the film nears the end. Also once again, like with most horror films, bad decision making by some of the characters in the final act.

Overall:Satisfactory remake.





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