PopHorror Let's Get Scared
When I was around 8 or 9, I was scanning the horror section at the video store. The case for Day of the Dead, stood out like a sore thumb for me. I was sold just on the cover art and had to have this. Then I learned there were more. I was a seasoned horror buff at this age and had to have this movie. couldn’t stress it enough. I was already in love. Back then, I didn’t know much about directors or this or that; I just loved horror movies, and this was the one I would dream about.
Love At First Bite
I ended up renting it, and as soon as I pressed play, I was a fanatic and learned as much as Romero as I could; he was a hero to me. What makes Day of the Dead different from his other films is the decaying ghouls who wait for you. Dawn of the Dead‘s were blue and still looking human. Day of the Dead showed what would happen years after a zombie outbreak. The survivors belted themselves to an underground laboratory. It was safe for them. I could wait for someone to die and get turned into like Return of the Living Dead style gore throughout, and I waited for the good parts to start, but every part was amazing to me.
Day of the Dead shows how different decay could be, and that kind of reflects on the creation. My only gripe is tht was still zombies coming out of their graves, hungry and slow-moving. To me, that made it more menacing. Then I met Bub, and I had a whole different outlook on zombies after watching this film. The film showed what the reality of zombies roaming the earth is. It is not surprising to see that the downfall of scientists and military personnel would get along. But I was still in love with Bub. I can easily say that out of all the films I had seen at the time, this quickly became my favorite.
Always Weird
My extended family thought I was the weirdest kid in the world, but it didn’t faze me at all. I had a movie to watch a million times. Day of the Dead is in constant rotation for me, even if it’s just background noise. Everyone has that one movie that did it. And though I wore out VHS copies of Return of the Living Dead and the Thriller VHS, I always had a soft spot for this film and put it to work so it could entertain me over and over. Day of the Dead almost stands out from the trilogy.
That’s because there was one scene that really got to me. Which is when they are ripping people apart, and you can hear his vocal cords stretch. That is my favorite scene of all time, even if I am a die-hard terror fan, Day of the Dead was not that kind of film. It stands boldly, mixing in with slashers and killer pets for me. I wish they made movies like this instead of super fast runners while their body is decaying? It sounds so silly, because it is.
It’s time we give the OG zombie films some more love. Even Tubi knows that.
