Day of the Dead (2008) (V)

*** SPOILER ALERT! ***

Plot: Residents of a small Colorado town are infected with a flu like virus that transform them into Zombies. Survivors band together to fight their way out.

Let us just get it out of the way. This is NOT a sequel to Dawn of the Dead. Ving Rhames was cast to screw with your head. He does not reprise his role from the previous Dead film. There was some commentary in the script that poked fun at the first film. That is about all they had to do with one another. This movie was not nearly as good as Dawn of the Dead.

Let us brush up on some zombie commandments. The director must have never heard of this because he failed to follow these rules.

1. Thou shalt not the Zombies smart.

We are talking about dead with reanimated cells. Zombies have basic needs. You, the living, on a platter. Therefore basic abilities are all they have to have to meet these needs. Run, jump, grab, groan. Nothing fancy. Problems solving is not allowed. The zombies have sheer numbers and the uncanny ability to smell you from far away. Problem solving is all the survivors get. Well besides fire, sharp objects, and guns. One the zombies start figuring things out, survivors can just throw in the towel. This movie was conflicting on the subject.

2. Thou shalt not humanize the zombie.

Mom, dad, sister, brother, Reverend Joe. It doesn't matter. Once zombified, you no longer classify as a person. We cry and mourn for you but quickly remove your head from your shoulders. Retaining any semblance of who you were before is a zombie movie taboo.

3. Thou shalt turn the zombies into gymnasts.

Back to that basic needs equals basic abilities thing. They might be stronger or run faster than you, but hurtle over five foot objects is out of the cards. A zombie that can jump onto the ceiling and run across it upside down like a ninja hamster is a big no no!

The only thing I can say for this movie is that they did try and give some explanation as to why the outbreak happened. A crappy, unoriginal explanation. If you cannot think of something better than "military bio weapon whoopsie" skip it and leave me wondering.

It felt very rushed. "oh no we all have the flu! No wait, not the flu we're zombies! Oh look, we're saved!" When a movie is over i do not want to be left thinking "Well that was quick. What are they whining for?"

***Trivia***

The alternate ending on the DVD has Salazar's character disappearing off screen after opening fire in the Nike missile silo. He screams, fires again, then the horde of zombies appears. The film continues exactly as it did in the theatrical release, until, as they escape in the SUV, they pass a building in the exterior of the missile base. Salazar emerges, screaming that he wasn't bitten, and muttering that everyone expects the black guy to die. He gets into the SUV, and they drive off. At that point, the screaming zombie pops into frame.