Day of the Dead is a Great Zombie Film that Focuses on Both the Hope and Downfall of Humanity

Day of the Dead is one of those zombie films that really stands out from the rest. Instead of following multiple moments of zombie action, we are given a huge cast of characters that are experiencing different kinds of tension.

We have a group of scientists who are desperate to find a way to control the zombies, soldiers who are losing their patience with the experiments, and two men who want to leave the underground compound for a better future.

It’s obvious that resentment is going to build up among the team, and we are given a damn good slow burn of characters slowly descending into madness and others hoping for a way out of their terrible situation.

I thought this was genius on the filmmakers, because it was definitely a huge risk to take. I’m one of those people who loves to watch zombie carnage, and I had doubts about watching a zombie film that features the gore and action until the last 30 minutes of the film.

The slow burn surprisingly works really awesome for the insane finale!

In the first hour of the film, we get a good introduction of every character.

I found myself really impressed with the dialogue among all of the characters. It was perfect to develop each character for the viewer, to get a good feel as to what kind of characters are stuck in this horrible situation.

One of my favorite scenes involves the tyrannical Captain Rhodes holding a meeting for his entire crew. The tension begins to develop so well here, and we already know that things are not going so good for the team.

Rhodes already threatens to murder the main character, Sarah, just because she refused to sit back down in her chair to participate in the meeting. That was wild to me.

I also felt so bad for the main cast, because they were determined to survive, but they were stuck with a crazy captain, and his soldiers that were loyal to him.

It didn’t help that the main cast kept getting threatened with death all the time, so it makes sense why they felt so much pressure all the time.

The actions of the soldiers and one scientist led to the horrible demise of the team falling completely apart.

The last 30 minutes of the film is a thrill ride.

We witness the captain and his whole team going down.

There are multiple deaths due to trust and hostage issues, and then the entire zombie horde that is brought to the base by one soldier who is determined to save the main cast.

And let me tell you…those zombie deaths are grisly.

I don’t struggle to watch people getting eaten by zombies, but this film is one of the few that will gross me out.

Every single death is shown in explicit detail, and the screams from each team member is hard to listen to. These actors perfectly portrayed how it would feel to get eaten alive, and wow, they totally nailed it!

Despite this unfortunate outcome, we are given a glimpse of hope in the ending of the film.

The movie ends with the main characters now living on an island.

I was so relieved to see the main three characters escape with their lives. They were the ones who always clung to hope, no matter how bad the circumstances became.

Watching them get their happy ending living on an island to start fresh was awesome.

This was the perfect example that even though times are tough in the end of the world, there will always be several people who are looking for a sign of hope.

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn