Day of the Dead is a 2008 horror film about a virus outbreak which causes people to turn into violent zombie-like creatures. A number of elements draw inspiration from George A. Romero’s zombie film of the same name, the third in Romero’s Dead series. The film was directed by Steve Miner (Friday the 13th, Part II, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Lake Placid) and written by Jeffrey Reddick (Final Destination).
Plot:
Leadville, Colorado: Trevor (Michael Welch) and his girlfriend, Nina (Anna Lynne McCord), head back to their respective parents’ homes after a romantic encounter. They see a long line of cars at a military roadblock sealing off the city. There has been an outbreak and medical help is needed throughout the town. They are introduced to Captain Rhodes (Ving Rhames) and Corporal Sarah Cross (Mena Suvari).
Soon after, privates Bud Crain (Stark Sands) and Salazar (Nick Cannon) show up and Bud immediately falls in love with Corporal Cross. Cross takes Bud to go with her while she visits her sick mother. When she arrives, Sarah talks to her brother (Trevor) and checks in on her mother. She then goes to see Trevor’s friend, Kyle, after she learns his symptoms are similar to her mother’s.
When Bud and Sarah arrive at Kyle’s house, they find the mauled bodies of his parents stashed behind a curtain, with Kyle nowhere to be found. They radio Captain Rhodes and take Nina, Trevor, and their mom to the local hospital.
There, Sarah talks to Dr Logan (Matt Rippy) at the urging of Rhodes, while out in the waiting room all the infected become catatonic. Bud runs to alert Sarah when all the infected suddenly reanimate. They turn into zombies, transforming while catatonic…
” …lacks that heavy-handed social commentary (or any social commentary, really) of Romero’s film, this one more content to just run through the zombie movie motions, happy to just churn out bad dialogue, splatter gore, and show characters running around and shooting at zombies. It’s a decent but forgettable watch…” Blu-ray.com
“The new “Day” is an insulting sensorial experience; a cheap-looking, laughably mismanaged gore picture created by careless gentlemen who have no sense of timing, visual competency, or hold a basic command of cinematic language. It’s a pageant of stupidity that hopes gushing wounds and deliberate fanboy-catnip slices of ultra-violent cheese will mask the reality that it’s a worthless offering…” DVD Talk
” …once you realize how absolutely ridiculous this whole affair is, you may even start having fun just by seeing how far into the realm of idiocy the filmmakers are prepared to go. Heads explode, limbs fly, bodies are bitten and torn — albeit all in CGI, but still. You have got to at the very least appreciate the carnage.” Dread Central
Cast and characters:
Mena Suvari … Sarah Bowman
Nick Cannon … Salazar
Michael Welch … Trevor Bowman
AnnaLynne McCord … Nina (as AnnaLyne McCord)
Stark Sands … Bud Crain
Matt Rippy … Doctor Logan
Pat Kilbane … Scientist
Taylor Saracho … Local Girl (as Taylor Hoover)
Christa Campbell … Mrs Leitner
Ian McNeice … Paul – DJ
Ving Rhames … Captain Rhodes
Robert Rais … Mr Leitner
Michael McCoy … Mr Noble
Laura Giosh … Mrs Noble
Vanessa Johansson … Receptionist
Mark Coolidge Johnson … Sheriff Carver
David Pineda … Nervous Deputy
Sergio Buenrostro … Soldier
Miroslav Emilov … Young Punk
Alex Brown … Young Man
Hollie Dorrough … Young Punk girl
Brian La Rosa … Man in Woods (as Brian De La Rosa)
Filming locations:
New Boyana Film Studios, Sofia, Bulgaria (soundstage)
Pravetz, Bulgaria
Filming dates:
Begun 17 July 2006.
