This Blog is Not Dead.

Just in case anyone is still checking back to read this blog once in a blue moon, first off let me say "thanks", and secondly let me assure you this blog is not dead. My output has been reduced over the last year or so to about a post a month, due to work and other real life stuff. But I've come to realize that these reasons are not the central ones behind the blasted heath this blog has become. I've been trying to do too much, and it has left me unfocused and confused as to what this blog should be about. Ever since I started writing down my thoughts on film, years before this blog even existed, I've always tried to write about every film I'd seen. Back when I was a teenager this was possible because I had no job or any "adult" concerns to get in the way, but now that I'm in my 30s and have been employed for some time, I have less and less time. It also doesn't help that my main focus has been on doing beer reviews on YouTube. Every time I watch a movie now, instead of writing a review, I put it on a list of reviews-to-write in the future. The list, of course, has gotten out of control (there must be over 100 films on it now), and when I finally have the time to write the reviews, most of the films have faded from my memory. It's a waste of my time and even a bigger waste of time for anyone reading my blog if I don't give a review my all.

So, in the next couple of months I will be going through my old reviews, keeping the good ones, editing or trashing the bad ones, and relaunching this blog with a new focus. I'm not 100% sure what that focus is going to be right yet, but it will be different and it will be better, and I won't just be posting shitty little blurbs on films I don't really want to talk about in the first place. I'm trashing my reviews-to-write list, and I hope to never have one again. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to stop reviewing films I think are beneath my attention, or whatever. I'm not going to stop talking about crappy films and trashing the really bad ones if they are worthy of such disdain, but I'm going to try and have more focus. I just can't review everything I see, and I no longer feel the need to.

The Hougly Film Journal will be back this summer.

RIP Roger Ebert.

Roger Ebert

June 18th, 1942 – April 4th, 2013

A very sad day for anyone who loves and advocates great film, and just great story telling in general. I did not always agree with Mr. Ebert's opinions on film, but not because I felt he was a smug asshole or in some way looking down on people. He just had an opinion and sometimes I had a different one than he did, and that's the way it should be. Imagine how boring life would be if everyone viewed and valued art in exactly the same way. Ebert always provided a smart, insightful and interesting point of view, and he helped promote great film and educate generations of the public on the subject. It was in his later years, with his battles against cancer, that he managed to shine even more in his blog posts. He further exposed to the world what a smart, witty, brave and honest human being he really was by opening himself up. What more else can you ask from a person? Rest in peace, sir. Many will miss you, and many to come will find value in what you had to say. I still do.

DVD Spotlight: Dawn of the Dead (Ultimate Edition).

Dawn of the Dead (Ultimate Edition) (1978)
DVD Release Year: 2004.
Released by: Anchor Bay Entertainment.
Region: 1.
Starring: Ken Foree; Gaylen Ross; Scott H. Reiniger; David Emge; Richard France; Jese Del Gre; James A. Baffico; Rudy Ricci; Tom Savini.
Directed by: George A. Romero.
Colour/127 Minutes/NR (US Theatrical Version); Colour/139 Minutes/NR (Extended Version); Colour/118 Minutes/NR (European Version)

Years after the initial outbreaks of the dead coming back to eat the flesh of the living, society is now quickly breaking down. The media is failing. Marshall law has been declared and the population has been ordered to leave the big cities and go to shelters. Fran (Gaylen Ross), a television-executive, and her traffic reporter boyfriend Stephen (David Emge), conspire to escape the chaos in a news helicopter with their friend Roger, a member of the Philadelphia police SWAT team. Along for the ride is Peter (Ken Foree), also a SWAT team member, whom Roger has just befriended after Peter was forced to kill a fellow team member who had gone nuts. As they make their escape the reality of limited fuel and food, and an immediate need for shelter hangs over their heads. They set down on the roof of a large mall. They discover that it's still with power and containing everything they need to survive. The only catch is that they need to clean it out of the resident zombies (former shoppers returning from the dead and back to their half-remembered daily routines) and to secure it from any other zombies, or less than honourable survivors, trying to get in and take the mall for their own.

After both The Crazies (1973) and Martin (1977), while good films, failed to really draw, Romero decided to do go full-on towards a sequel to Night of the Living Dead, which he had been planning to do for years anyway. Unable to get the funds from investors domestically, Italian film maker Dario Argento managed to find the project investors in exchange for international distribution and editing rights. With a $1,500,000 budget to work with Romero decided to go bigger and bolder than he had previously done in Night. Still, even back then, this was not really a big budget film, and like most of Romero's films, you see a lot of blood, sweat and tears in the finished project.

Bigger and bolder was indeed where Romero went. The film is very much intended to be both a rip-roaring, gory, comic book action picture, but it also expands on the themes explored in Night. The plot is actually pretty much the same, just on a grander scale. The farmhouse in Night is traded up for the mall. The internal conflicts between the survivors in Night are played out this time more so between our heroes and a gang of savage bikers who have been surviving on the road, pillaging for what they need. Racism rears its ugly heard early on as cheap housing in the poor parts of the cities, mostly occupied by Blacks, Hispanics and other minorities are raided by the police and national guard, trying to enforce martial law -- which in turn has given some bigots the idea that they have free reign to bust some heads to get the job done. Romero expanded his reach in this film, also taking on consumerism at its worst excesses. The zombies walking comically around their old stomping grounds in the mall is such an obvious visual metaphor that he might as well be hitting you over the head with a club with the words: "today's spoiled consumer is no better than a zombie". The amorality of the media depicted here, and its never ending spiral towards becoming more and more like a big business than an unbiased way to inform the public and keep the government honest, is sadly prophetic. Romero has never been all that subtle about what he believes and has no problem showing it to you with even less subtle ways, such as depicting rotting corpses getting their heads blown off. I'll always love him for it.

And speaking of gore and grue, a then up-and-coming Tom Savini shines here in his debut. Tons of fluorescent fake blood (keeping with the comic book feel Romero wanted) splatters everywhere. Mostly simple but effective make-up jobs, with some stand-out appliances for special zombies, manage to work very well on-screen. The combo of both amature performances from non-professional extras in the zombie roles, and Savini's effects, create characters that stand-out despite the fact that the zombies don't have lines, and when it's all said and done, these were low budget effects. But who can forget the nurse, nun, or sweater zombies? The zombie that steals Roger's gun? The obese zombie? The flat-headed chopper zombie? The Hare Krishna zombie? They help with the black comic undertone the film has going on as well, and they are part of the memories people take away from the film as a whole.

There are so many great scenes to talk about. Every fan will have their own personal favourites. There are several for me. Take the moment they fly over a horde of rednecks and national guard, out hunting zombies, pretty much for sport. It seems like the aftermath of Night of the Living Dead is playing out down there in its final, grand scale. How about the opening where the mass media is in total chaos? There is a real sense of panic and despair. Fran is correct in saying "we're blowing it ourselves". Perhaps the one real true scene of total horror in the film is after Roger has died and the rest of the group wait for him to come back as a zombie. Nobody wants to face what must happen next. In the background on TV, the last remains of the media -- now just so-called "experts" yelling at each other and the audience -- rise to a fever pitch; a frenzy; a craze. Everyone including the viewer has been given the final verdict: it is all over, there's no going back to the old world. They can no longer pretend everything is going to be all okay. It builds so perfectly and it grips me every time.

The soundtrack, although quite different between different cuts of the film, is an iconic blend of library tracks, cues, and songs from Italian progressive rock band Goblin, hired on by Argento. What can you say about it that does it justice? The original music and library tracks range from the traditional spooky horror stuff to electronic rock, heartbeat-like pulses, and daffy elevator music, the latter used to great effect in the actual mall scenes. There are as many variations of the soundtrack out there, it seems, as there are versions of the film, in both official releases and fan-compiled projects. Much like Popol Vuh in Herzog's version of Nosferatu, Vangelis' score for Blade Runner, John Carpenter with Halloween, and just about everything Ennio Morricone has done, it's a soundtrack I grew up listening to. It's always with me, there in my head.

I said previously that the best performances, over all, in the original three Dead films were found in Day of the Dead. I stand by that, but for me the leads in Dawn are far more enjoyable. Here the main characters are painted in slightly broader strokes, and done so on purpose to better bluntly put forward Romero's ideas. Fran is a modern, independent woman. She takes her job seriously when co-workers are fine with keeping out-of-date rescue station information on the air just to keep people watching, even if it means people are going to be sent to their deaths. She is very much the moral center of the cast and the most humane. Also of note is how much she resents being treated like a weak link by her male companions. She's determined to be treated as an equal and to hold up her end, even with a looming pregnancy to deal with. A true feminist in the best sense of the word. Peter is a take-charge, no-nonsense man, who is practical and coldly logical about the situation they are in. He is smart, tough, and a survivor with a solid moral core of his own. He's the strength of the group. Roger is also much like Peter, but he's also irrational, impulsive, and he's quickly losing it. His overconfidence and reckless behaviour is his ultimate undoing, and it puts the rest of the group in a bad situation after he is bitten by zombies. Stephen is caught between being there for Fran and being one of the guys. Deep down he's unsure, incompetent, and like Roger, he puts the group in danger. In his case it's because he can not let go of the mall when the bikers break in. Fran and Peter ultimately survive the mall because they can let go of it in the end. The "good life" the mall provided them is a dream; a falsehood; a trap, better left to the dead.

If one still finds oneself wanting after picking up this box set, I'd suggest inventing a time machine and going back to play a zombie extra in the original shoot. There is really no base not covered in the discs you get here. Much like Night of the Living Dead, this film has a long history of various mangled VHS cuts and some dodgy fly-by-night DVD releases. What we get in the three different cuts here will most likely interest and satisfy everyone. The US theatrical version is just that. This was previously released in a single-disc edition by Anchor Bay and retains all the same extras. The commentary, like most of Romero's, is casual, informative and fun over all. Love, affection and pride shine through from all involved. It, or something close to it is the cut most of us probably first watched and fell in love with. Still fairly epic in length, it better balances action and slow moments. The "extended version" is sometimes considered the "director's cut", which is false. Romero's preferred cut is the theatrical cut of the film. This cut is over ten minutes longer and was put together for the Cannes Film Festival. Romero has said that an even longer version once existed (over three hours!). Here the film has more of everything. More media chaos, more zombies, more mall footage, and generally just a lot more padding. As much of a treasure trove this is for rabid fans like myself, I can still honestly say the theatrical cut is superior. The extended cut takes a long time to get going and establish the main cast, and there are bigger lulls in action. Also of note is how much more library music is put in here instead of the Goblin soundtrack. However, one scene here -- an extension of the scene where our heroes encounter fleeing police officers while they try and steal a helicopter -- really should have been left in the theatrical version. The commentary with this version (producer Richard Rubinstein) is a tad dry and follows nothing going on on-screen, but it covers so much about the production and marketing, that's worth at least one listen through. The European version is very different in tone and length from the other versions. Called Zombi overseas and edited for the Euro market, this is Dario Argento's 118 minute cut, that guts the film of most of its humor, character development, and social commentary in favour of more action and a much faster pace. Here, most of the library music Romero used is dumped for more Goblin. However this is not an abomination, as many of the action scenes were extended, and other scenes used alternate edits, so for completests, this is a gem -- even if it's a bit of a tarnished one. Still, even if the film loses most of its impact in this cut, one can see how it directly influenced the Euro zombie horror craze (and mostly bettered every film to come from it). The actor commentary here is fun and light-hearted. Even more amusing is the confusion they sometimes have watching this cut, at first not realizing scenes they mention having fond memories of have been shortened or dropped altogether.



The documentaries disc is worth a separate review all its own (really, all the discs here could be separate reviews if I had the time). The Dead Will Walk is a new doc, seventy-five minutes long, and brings back the principles from the cast and production. A lot of this stuff is already covered in the commentaries, but this doc is a quicker way to absorb all of it, as well as the ton of extra info presented. It's a bit of an information overload, but a fantastic one, and no doubt Anchor Bay's best in-house produced doc. Roy Frumkes' Document of the Dead, a student film from 1989, is feature length, and much more about Romero and how he makes his films. It does not exclusively focus on Dawn of the Dead. In fact Martin and Two Evil Eyes pretty much get equal time here. Not as strong as The Dead Will Walk, but it's interesting and worth having. The on-set home videos is a rough, behind the scenes look at the production of Dawn, but it's a lot of fun and has commentary to guide you through what you're seeing in this 16mm footage. The Monroeville Mall Tour is a brief Greg Nicotero-shot film of Ken Foree and other cast members giving a tour of the famous mall, where the majority of the film is set and was shot, to fans. Fun stuff, and a nice book-end to one of the best DVD box sets ever produced, for one of the best films ever made.

DVD Information:

Disc One: US Theatrical Version
Video: 1.85:1.
Audio: DTS 5.1; Dolby Digital 5.1; DD 2.0 Surround; DD 2.0 Mono.
Subtitles: English.
--Commentary by George Romero, Tom Savini and Cris Romero.
--2 theatrical trailers.
--3 TV spots.
--9 radio spots.
--Posters, lobby cards and advertising gallery.
--Romero bio.

Disc Two: Extended Version
Video: 1.85:1.
Audio: Dolby digital 2.0.
Subtitles: English.
--Commentary by producer Richard Rubinstein.
--Monroeville Mall commercial spot.
--Production/behind the scenes/memorabilia stills.

Disc Three: European Version
Video: 1.85:1.
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1; DD 2.0 Surround; DD 2.0 Mono.
Subtitles: English.
--Commentary by actors Emge, Foree, Reiniger and Ross.
--1 Italian and 2 German trailers.
--2 UK TV spots.
--Poster & still galleries.
--Argento bio.

 Disc Four: Documentaries
--The Dead Will Walk (1:15:04).

--Document of the Dead (1:31:37).
--On-set home videos (with Audio Commentary from Zombie Extra Robert Langer) (13:25).
--Monroeville Mall Tour (11:28).

DVD Spotlight: Nosferatu the Vampyre & Phantom der Nacht (Two Disc Set).

Nosferatu the Vampyre & Phantom der Nacht (Two Disc Set)  (1979)
DVD Release Year: 2002.
Released by: Anchor Bay Entertainment.
Region: 1.
Starring: Klaus Kinski; Isabelle Adjani; Bruno Ganz; Roland Topor; Walter Ladengast.
Directed by: Werner Herzog.
Colour/107 Minutes/PG

An estate agent from Wismar, Germany, called Jonathon Harker (Bruno Ganz) is charged with selling a property in Wismar to a Transylvanian nobleman called Count Dracula. He's sent there on orders from his boss, Renfield (Roland Topor) and goes on the long four-week trip there, despite the protests of his beautiful young wife Lucy (Isabelle Adjani), whom has been having dreams full of bad omens that may potentially befall them both. When he arrives in Transylvania, Harker is warned by the resident population as well as the local gypsies that the Count is to be avoided. There are rumors of vampirism, but Harker dismisses this like he dismissed Lucy's bad dreams. He meets the count (Klaus Kinski) and finds him to be even more eccentric and strange in appearance and habits than he was rumored to be. Living alone, pale, bald, ugly, with large ears and, sharp, rodent-like front teeth, the Count seems like he's the end result of generations of noble inbreeding. The count appears withdrawn and mostly uninterested in the entire meeting until Harker accidentally cut his hand with a dull knife during supper. The Count becomes almost manic at the sight of Haker's blood and insists on sucking on the wound. The Count also becomes more excited about the real estate deal when he sees a picture of Lucy in Harker's locket. Indeed, Count Dracula is a centuries-old vampire, and thanks to seeing the picture of Lucy, his interest in moving to Wismar suddenly increases tenfold. That night he swiftly makes Harker one of his many victims, leaving him there as a prisoner in castle Dracula, slowly falling under his vampiric curse, as the Count himself sets out to Wismar by ship, stowed away in one of his many earth-filled coffins. Can Harker make it back home in time to save Lucy and stop Dracula from wiping out the town?

Werner Herzog has said he made this film as an attempt to connect two generations of German film makers who were separated by a gap the rise of Nazism created in Germany. He chose F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922) as he felt it was the best film to ever come out of Germany. Although a remake, it's also a re-imaging not only of Murnau's film but Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula, as well. Herzog changes several characters and elements in the film. Although the creepy, horror atmosphere, typical of a vampire picture, is present, the film does not paint Count Dracula as strictly being an evil creature. There is sorrow and pathos within this lonely creature, who can not die by his own hands. He was human once, but now he's cursed to walk the earth at night, alone and unable to connect with people on any significant level that is not followed by eventually consuming their blood. His search for love with the fair Lucy is a desperate attempt at regaining some of his humanity.

Sometimes a shot-for-shot recreation of Murnau's film, this version truly explores the real horrors of the vampire in a broader visual sense. There is scope and scale here visually that Murnau could never have hoped to accomplish in his time. Take the wide shots of Dracula's castle. From the outside it appears totally in ruins, almost like it's a smokescreen to keep away visitors, but once Harker arrives, one sees it's mostly still intact. The inside of it is full of dark, narrow passages, that almost feel as cold and lonely as the Count himself. Both the reality of the castle and its Count are strictly internal. Look at the fantastic opening where Herzog shot the real mummified corpses -- victims of an 1833 cholera epidemic -- at the Mummies of Guanajuato museum. Herzog doesn't give you any sort of verbal or visual connection between them and Count Dracula. One has to make up their own minds: is this just to foreshadow the death and disease the Count brings? Are these past victims of the Count, hidden away in some dark part of castle Dracula? The sequence effectively sets the tone for the rest of the picture. Then there's the real set pieces of the film: the hordes of grey rats that spill from the dead ship that carries Dracula into Wismar. The plague has come and it swiftly consumes the town. We see the aftermath as Lucy walks the mostly deserted streets (deserted of humans -- the rats are everywhere). Funerals and last suppers are the only town activities left. Over this plays the traditional Georgian folk-song, Ansambl Gordela's performance of Zinzkaro, one of the most haunting pieces of music ever used in a film, in my opinion. There seems to be no end to the sadness in those voices.

That brings me to another important piece of this film: the score is flawless and iconic. Perhaps not as iconic in a general pop culture sense, but who has not had this mix of classical (Wagner's Das Rheingold and Gounod's Messe Solennelle de Sainte Cècile) and Florian Fricke/Popol Vuh stuck in their brains after seeing the film? For me it's even more a piece of me now than the sublime combination of Goblin and Romero-selected library tracks that made up the music for Dawn of the Dead (1978). The Popol Vuh stuff is made up of tracks from their studio albums and several, up to that point, unreleased tracks. So there is a fairly wide spectrum of sounds here form a group that radically changed their sound from album to album in that period. Everything from romantic classical sounds to spooky gothic graveyard haunts, and mystic sounds from the middle and far East, populate and cycle back on each other through the film. The music to me, more than anything else, speaks of age. Specifically in connection to Dracula himself. Dracula may have very well been around when these musical styles were first coming to be.

I bring up the actual performances last, because although they are good (and in some cases great), they are almost secondary to Herzog's visual story telling. Kinski gets one of his signature roles here as the horrific and lonely Count. Interesting to note here is that his performance is restrained and reigned-in for once. He may be profoundly weird, but all the beats are pretty much from Herzog's drum. Given the love-and-hate history between these two, it may come as a surprise, but perhaps they both felt a different level of respect for the picture they were making here -- perhaps they felt it was about something bigger than each other this time out. Kinski, under the impressive make-up that recreates Max Schreck's iconic Count Orlok, is hunched over, rat-faced, and stalks his prey slowly, like a spider. Even his clawed-hands are like spiders themselves in the way they move. In his eyes and on his face are moments of profound sadness, weighing down on him. The scene where he stalks Wismar, and he pauses, hearing, smelling, and perhaps feeling the night around him, are wonderful touches. Isabelle Adjani, as Lucy Harker, walks through the film like a virginal ghost. Pure, good-hearted, and profoundly troubled by visions of bats. In the end she's willing to sacrifice herself in some small hope that it will end Dracula's curse. It's a nice performance, overshadowed at times by her physical beauty. Bruno Ganz's Harker is closer to the source material. He's an unknowing victim here. Presented a bit cold and rational. He's busy with his work, and willing to overlook Dracula's strange appearance and behaviour if it will seal the real estate deal. His politeness is his undoing. He tries to remain professional but inside it's obvious he's getting more and more nervous and worried. As the film progresses he seems to get sicker and sicker, especially after he's bitten. His boss, Renfield, is played unhinged from the start. His crazy little laugh and quick decent into madness as his "master" gets closer is one of those quirky things that stays with you. A most interesting choice is the change of Dr. Abraham Van Helsing here. Played by Walter Ladengast, he's not a fearless vampire killer of the novel. Here he's a meek man, afraid to do what his heart tells him is right, because his mind refuses to allow for it until it's too late. By the time he does take action Dracula is already dead and his curse has been passed on. He's left holding the smoking gun (in this case the bloody stake), although by that time the town's population is so small that there seems to be nobody left to arrest him!



This two-disc release of the film is really a re-release of a previous Anchor Bay double-sided one-disc release, which also contained both versions of the film and most of the extras. However the audio and video seems to have taken a slight bump up in quality here and this really should be the release you pick up. Herzog filmed both versions of the film at the same time with the actors actually speaking their lines in English, although dubbing was done in some cases. The performances in a non-native tongue do come off a bit cold and awkward, but at the very least this release of the English version is not cut by ten minutes, as it had been in the past, so you get the entire film no matter what version you choose to watch. I think it's no secret though that a true non-German speaking film fan will still want the German version with English subtitles. The German disc also has Herzog's informative commentary with Norman hill and an interesting, thirteen minute behind the scenes featurette showing footage not used in the final film, and the various trailers here are pretty damn cool.

Some will argue that this is not as good as Murnau's film overall, and perhaps that's true, but it's almost like comparing apples to oranges. I think one would be blind to not see Herzog has in-part improved, or at least expanded upon the original Nosferatu in a most positive way. Herzog never set out to top Murnau anyway. He only wanted to tell his version of the story, pay homage to a great film and bridge an artistic gap between generations. I think he succeeded. Given his budget, Nosferatu is both a great visual accomplishment and an understated classic addition to the horror genre.

DVD Information:

Disc 1: Nosferatu the Vampyre (English Version)
Video: 1.85:1.
Audio: Mono.
--Theatrical Trailer

Disc 2: Nosferatu Phantom der Nacht (German Version)
Video: 1.85:1.
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1; Dolby Surround 2.0.
Subtitles: English.
--Featurette: The Making of Nosferatu.
--Audio Commentary with Director Werner Herzog and Norman Hill.
--Theatrical Trailers.
--Talent Bios.

DVD Spotlight: Day of the Dead (1985).

Day of the Dead (1985)

DVD Release Year: 2003.

Released by: Anchor Bay Entertainment.

Region: 1.

Starring: Lori Cardille; Terry Alexander; Jarlath Conroy; Joseph Pilato; Richard Liberty; Sherman Howard; Gary Howard Klar; Ralph Marrero; John Amplas.

Directed by: George A. Romero.

Colour/101 Minutes/NR

Years after the zombie apocalypse has taken place, the undead now have overrun the world. Some of the last human survivors (a small combination of civilians, scientists and soldiers) are hiding in an underground army base in the Everglades, where the scientists are trying to both look for a solution to the zombie problem, as well as make contact with other survivors. The soldiers are there to protect them. However, there is a need to capture "live" zombies in order to do tests on them. This is costing the soldiers their lives, something they are not too keen on. The two civilians, John and William McDermott (Terry Alexander and Jarlath Conroy), the helicopter pilot and a drunk in charge of the radio respectively, are just keeping their heads down as tensions escalate.

There is division even between the two lead scientists. Dr. Sarah Bowman (Lori Cardille) just wants to find a "cure", or at least find some way to put an end to the zombie threat, as well as support her emotionally unbalanced boyfriend, Pvt. Miguel Salazar (Anthony Dileo Jr.). However, Dr. Matthew "Frankenstein" Logan (Richard Liberty), who has obviously gone bonkers, wants to find a way to actually control the zombies and use them. Because of this he's been burning through test subjects. However, he does keep one prized subject "alive", that being "Bub" (Sherman Howard), who has displayed an ability to learn and recognize things and concepts from his past, before he turned into a zombie. Logan thinks he's on the verge of a breakthrough.

But their time is short, and the fuse on the new military commander, Capt. Rhodes (Joseph Pilato), is even shorter. The previous commander has just died, and now Rhodes is in charge and not as interested in putting his men at risk for experiments that have failed to produce any real results. He wants to cease the look for a cure and find a way out of the hole they are in. He's quickly turning into a mad dog under the stress, and his men are no better. They seem like they are bottom of the barrel National Guard recruits rather than trained soldiers. Slobs, who don't trust Miguel to do his job (even making racist remarks towards him) and leering at Sarah, as she's the only woman in the base. It doesn't help matters when Rhodes starts to suspect Logan is up to something. And he is: Logan has been running out of regular zombies from outside the base to do his tests upon, and has been using the bodies of the recently dead soldiers to keep things going...

Day of the Dead is the most looked-down upon of Romero's original trilogy, and indeed there's not a lot that's new here from the previous film Dawn of the Dead. It's the same situation, but much worse. Society is totally gone now. Hordes of zombies walk the streets. The last people alive are very close together and isolated from the outside world. Tensions are as high as can be. Racism and sexism find a fertile breeding ground, and the zombies continue to wait, and wait. Eventually they will get in because the humans will leave the door open. Deep down the last survivors know it, and that only makes things more desperate for them. There is no hope anymore but to escape and live out their lives somewhere.

Romero and crew were faced with having a substantial amount of their budget cut from the film (from about 7 down to 3.5 million), so much of the original story got thrown out. This film was actually intended to be an epic to rival Dawn of the Dead. The subplot with Bub, and Dr. Logan learning to control the zombies was to be a much larger part of the original film. But most of that was lost, and sadly critics focused more on the scenes of stressed-out people yelling at each other in an underground bunker. Not enough action, not enough zombies. It's too bad, as I think Day deserves much better. The actors are good. This may be the best acting in any of Romero's zombie pictures, actually. I bought into each performance. Everyone is stressed and dealing with it in different ways. Sarah is not only being strong for herself, but for Miguel, who has fallen into a nervous breakdown. The soldiers are scared and have become mean, alcoholic bullies. Capt. Rhodes is a despot. Dr. Logan is clearly insane beyond reason. The civilians, John and William, have isolated themselves from the rest in an effort to hold on to their humanity and sanity. The zombie, Bud, is like an innocent child, and seeing part of his past humanity coming back to him through Logan's encouragement is touching (and heartbreaking when he discovers Logan's corpse later on).

Also of note are the locations used and the make-up effects. Much like the mall in Dawn was perfect, the underground facilities near Wampum, Pennsylvania, were exactly for what they needed here. The cast truly feels walled-in and isolated in this storage facility, full of the remains of a now collapsed society. They are in effect living in a tomb. The abandoned cities above ground are no better for them, as the scenes shot on location in Florida are just as claustrophobic when the walls of zombies show up. The effects work from Tom Savini and Gregory Nicotero are really quite impressive and only highlight why there should have been more zombie scenes in the film to spice things up ("Dr. Tongue" from the opening is a jaw-dropper in more ways than one!). There is, at least, a hell of a lovely slaughter when the zombies do finally make their way into the base. And Bub should also be mentioned here: he really comes alive with a perfect melding of physical performance and make-up design. He has stood out in the minds of fans over the years, and the "smart zombie" concept has lived on into Romero's Land of the Dead.

The film has gone on to have a lasting influence on the zombie horror genre, and in pop culture, although not as strongly as Dawn. But let's face it, that's a pretty big giant to slay. Anchor Bay's 2-disc DVD (also in single disc DVD and Blu-ray) is a perfect way to pay due respect to the film. The commentary track, like all of Romero's commentaries, is laid back, fun, and informative. This, along with the film looking and sounding great on DVD, is generally worth the price right there, but then you get an okay fan boy commentary from Roger Avary (writer/producer/director, who is best know for writing Pulp Fiction). Disc 2 gives you the expected extensive, and informative, documentaries and production supplements. You even get a physical extra in the form of Dr. Logan's "files", which is a fake ruled notepad with an essay on the film, artwork, and some of Logan's "notes". Sort of pointless, but good fun.

DVD Information:

Disc One: Feature Film

Video: 1.85:1.

Audio: Dolby Digital-EX 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 and DTS-ES 6.1

Subtitles: English.

--Audio commentary with writer/director George A. Romero, special make-up effects artists Tom Savini, production designer Cletus Anderson, and actress Lori Cardille.

--Audio commentary with filmmaker Roger Avary.

Disc Two: Bonus Materials

--The Many Days of Day of the Dead -- An all-new 39 minute documentary featuring interviews with writer-director George A.Romero, producer David Ball, special make-up effects artists Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero, production designer Cleatus Anderson, assistant director Chris Romero, and actors Lori Cardille, Joseph Pilato and Howard Sherman.

--DAY OF THE DEAD: Behind The Scenes -- 31 minutes of production footage from special make-up effects artist Tom Savini.

--Audio interview with actor Richard Liberty.

--Wampum Mine promotional video.

--Theatrical trailers.

--TV spots.

--Production Stills.

--Behind-the-scenes photos.

--Posters & advertising art.

--Gallery of memorabilia.

--Zombie make-up photo gallery.

--Continuity stills gallery.

--George Romero bio.

--DVD-ROM: Original screenplay and production memos.

DVD Spotlight: Night of the Living Dead (Millennium Edition) (1968).

Night of the Living Dead (Millennium Edition) (1968)
DVD Release Year: 2002.
Released by: Elite Entertainment.
Region: 1.
Starring: Duane Jones; Judith O'Dea; Karl Hardman; Marilyn Eastman; Keith Wayne; Judith Ridley; Kyra Schon; Charles Craig; S. William Hinzman; George Kosana; Frank Doak; Bill 'Chilly Billy' Cardille.
Directed by: George A. Romero.
Black & White/96 Minutes/NR

A diverse group of people find themselves trapped together in a farmhouse as the recently dead come back as flesh-eating ghouls. They must pull together in order to survive the night as the undead masses continue to grow larger outside, attempting to break into the house and eat them. The real threat to their survival, however, may very well be their own differences.

And there you have it: a premise so simple and effective for a number of reasons, both intended and accidental, that it went on to spawn four sequels, remakes, and remakes of its sequels -- not to forget the countless number of films that make up the modern zombie film genre. A lot of people who have seen other zombie films before Romero's look back and wonder what's so special about this cheap, black-and-white, indie effort from a bunch of professional local filmmakers from the Pittsburgh area, who before this were mostly making television commercials. Why would the Library of Congress select this film for preservation in the National Film Registry, as a film deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant"? Because is was a bit different and it came out at a perfect time. It was gory, violent, it had some nudity. Not really new, but at the time it was pushing limits and it was shocking, and it did a lot to define what the modern horror film was to become. It was, in a way, the next step after the era of the Universal monsters all the way to Hammer's re-imaging of those classics. People went in not expecting to see walking corpses actually eating guts, and the living shooting and beating these ghouls back into death.

The combination of both professional and amature actors, the setting, and the grainy black and white (done because it was cheaper to make the film this way, not for artistic reasons), gave the film an almost pseudo-documentary feel to it. These were not the zombies of past films. These creatures were not safe or clean. These were monsters out of nightmares -- and with a strong literary influence (Richard Matheson's I Am Legend). Some aspects of this film's success critically, over the years, really only fell into the filmmakers laps...and being smart to see what they had, they ran with it. Romero and crew swear to this day that there was no grand design for the racial subtext many people would later cite as being the most significant aspect of the film. The casting of Ben as a black male lead, who was obviously an intellectual and a humanist, trying to be rational in this crisis, was more Duane Jones doing than the actual script, which had called for a traditional tough-guy (in this case a truck driver), who would take charge, beat the monsters, and get the girl. It's so obvious it was a happy accident when we see that these young, liberal, filmmakers still had the female lead (Judith O'Dea) diminished into near-insanity within the first half of the film...a traditional helpless female victim if there ever was one, although an understandable one given what she went through. There was to be no happy ending for any character in this film other than the good ol' boy hunting parties and their brute indifference, that come to the "rescue" at the end of the film. We would learn ten years later in Dawn of the Dead, that they were just as doomed as the rest of us. Romero's nihilistic vision was born here and spread its wings in several of his still-to-come films. Like it or hate it, you can not deny the impact this film had on the horror genre, generations of people, and on a culture in general.









While officially out of print, Elite's Millennium Edition is still fairly easy to get online or by special order at your local DVD seller. If you're really lucky you can find it in a cheap bin or second hand. After the countless horrible DVD and VHS versions that have been released over the years, this is nothing short of being one of the best DVD releases outside of most of Criterion's output. Forget the colourized versions, the censored versions, and the horrible re-cut and musically abused 30th Anniversary edition. This is what you want and this is what you must own if you're a fan. You get the best possible picture and sound you could hope for. You get all the standard production and promotional-related bells and whistles. The two commentary tracks alone, both fun and casual, also provide everything one could ever hope to know about how the film came to be, how it was made, and what happened behind the scenes between the people involved. It's really eye-opening to realize just how damn good this little movie really is when Romero and crew point out every little error they made, which you've probably missed during the many times you've seen the film. The real gem in the extras is the Duane Jones interview. While audio only, it sheds some light on just why the late actor's role in the film was so effective: because so much of this man was put into what was originally a one-dimensional character. He became real. And, of course, at the time you didn't really see a strong black lead in a film that didn't pander to some sort of stereotype. Romero would catch on and use this to great effect in his next two zombie films as well. There's a lot to take-in here, and a lot to drool over.

DVD Information:

Video: 1.33:1.
Audio: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (Dolby Digital 5.1).
Subtitles: None.
--Trailers/TV Spots.
--Dual Commentary Tracks featuring creator/director George Romero and the entire cast.
--Film Parody Night of the Living Bread.
--Still Photo Gallery, featuring rare colour photos.
--The history of Romero's company -- The Latent Image.
--Scenes from the “lost” George Romero film, There’s Always Vanilla.
--Video interview with Night of the Living Dead's Judy Ridley.
--Final interview by star Duane Jones.
--Foreign and Domestic posters and collectibles.
--Original props.
--The entire original shooting script.
--Cast members’ personal scrapbooks.
--George Romero directed TV spots and short films.
--Full colour insert featuring liner notes by Stephen King.

My Top 20 Favourite Horror Movies.

Great, another blogger with a list post. But hey, they make for easy content when one is short on time, and they make for quick reads, which can be a plus some times. At any rate, here's my favourite horror movies. I dare not say "of all time", as the list very well could change, but for the most part it has stayed fairly solid over the last few years. I've tried to focus this list on films that actually scare me, or in the very least creep me the hell out in a very serious way. But some selections are just there because they are awesome films that suck me in every time I watch them. Hopefully I'm not alone in some of the more slightly esoteric selections found here. Oh, and happy Halloween.

20. Near Dark (1987) | Directed by Kathryn Bigelow.

One of the more original and best modern takes on the vampire. This deserved to be the classic '80s vampire film that The Lost Boys is often hailed as being. A young man and a female vampire fall for each other and her "family" try to integrate him into the clan, but he soon learns the life of a vampire is not a life of glamour and fun, but a filthy, nomadic existence on the outside of society, living off its garbage. A solid cast, with memorable characters and a couple of really stand-out scenes. A very nice contrast to Anne Rice's lame romantic vampires.

19. From Beyond the Grave (1973) | Directed by Kevin Connor.

For me, the most enjoyable of Amicus Productions horror anthology releases. Four segments based on the short stories of R. Chetwynd-Hayes, held together by Peter Cushing, as an antique shop proprietor who deals out fate to his customers, based on how they treat him in their business transactions. A great group of genre vets round out the cast. Only one story is slightly out of place and the rest are delightfully morbid. For my money, the best made, and best looking of the Amicus anthologies.

18. Jaws (1975) | Directed by Steven Spielberg.

Like just about everyone else, this film made me think twice about taking a swim at times. It plays on the very real fear we all have of the unknown -- specifically the ocean and the alien horrors, real or imagined, which exist there. The great white shark is the perfect movie monster: A heartless eating machine, with cold black eyes, and no intention of stopping to consider if it wants to eat you. It has existed for millions of years, pretty much unchanged. You are nothing to it but food.

17. The Children (2008) | Directed by Tom Shankland.

I'm still blown away over this really shocking film about innocent children becoming killers against their will, and their parents inability to deal with this reality in a proper fashion. How does one kill their own children? In this case, it may very well be the right thing to do, but most normal people are hard-wired against such a solution. The film heaps tragedy upon tragedy and leaves me shaken up.

16. From Beyond (1986) | Directed by Stuart Gordon.

Truly one of the great, gory, fun house rides of the genre. Gordon takes his love of Lovecraft and updates it for the '80s with sex, comedy, and relentless grue. Genre stars abound and even if the film often steps outside of Lovecraft's conventions at times, it pays proper respect to his major themes -- the most obvious being that man is small in this universe, and perhaps he should be content to know his place.

15. The Haunting (1963) | Directed by Robert Wise.

The perfect example of minimalism in horror, based on Shirley Jackson's classic The Haunting of Hill House, is also just the best damn haunted house story ever put on film. Are there ghosts in Hill House, or are they all in Eleanor's fragile mind? Avoid the stupid remake and watch this one. This is how you build suspense and atmosphere without depending on effects and blood.

14. Tombs of the Blind Dead (1971) | Directed by Amando de Ossorio.

The first and best of what, honestly, isn't a great series of films. However, the Blind Dead -- the skeletal revenants of satanic Templar Knights -- are a truly scary mix of Romero zombie, vampire, and old school ghost. The way they hunt and surround their victims is creepy as hell. Watching them ride their undead horses is both campy and chilling.

13. Shock Waves (1977) | Directed by Ken Wiederhorn.

I had to have Nazi Zombies on here somewhere, didn't I? Well here's the best of the damn lot so far. Creepy androids, relics of an insane experiment the Nazis could not control. Given the budget and some of the spotty acting in the film, one would expect these undead uber-creeps to not really be creepy at all. But they are. Slow, silent, and deadly, with a unique look. Much like the Blind Dead in their films, it's the zombies here themselves that have mostly made this film a classic to this day.

12. Just Before Dawn (1981) | Directed by Jeff Lieberman.

Not really writing a new chapter in the book on slasher films, Just Before Dawn at least adds a paragraph or two. One of the best copycat slasher in the woods films to come out of the early '80s, there are some neat twists here. What stands out here, you ask?: a creepy score; a fairly unique twist regarding the killer; one stalk and kill scene that implies very nasty things without showing them; and even a bit of a twist on the final girl formula, all help prop this up above the standard trash.

11. Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) | Directed by Peter Sasdy.

Apart from having the best title for a horror film ever, this is my favourite of the Hammer Dracula films. It's, of course, well-acted and everything looks good, but it also features a very smartly-written script that critiques Victorian-aged hypocrisy and highlights the clash between the older generation and its children. Christopher Lee hardly says anything in this one (he was brought back in at the last minute to reprise his signature role) but manages to be quite menacing as he takes a terrible revenge on those who have wronged him.

10. Horror Express (1972) | Directed by Eugenio Martín.

This could be watched on a double bill with The Thing, as it holds in common the central theme: people isolated with an alien intruder who could be anyone. Here they are isolated on a train and the alien is sucking peoples knowledge from their brains in order to better itself and survive. Throw in Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as rival British men of science who are forced to work together to save the day, and a fantastic cameo by Telly Savalas, and you have a classic film in my book.

9. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) | Directed by Tobe Hooper.

The bleak underbelly of the love generation being eaten up by Vietnam war era America. A road trip far off the beaten path in rural America. A relentless encroachment of death upon hapless young men and women who learn that life isn't fair or safe. Shocking for its time and still effective today, despite it not being as bloody or violent as everyone seems to think it is. The film makes you believe you're seeing more than you really are.

8. Don't Look Now (1973) | Directed by Nicolas Roeg.

Shocking moments: the loss of a child, the breaking up of a marriage, and an uncanny series of events that somehow relate to it all, leads Donald Sutherland's character down a path towards a grim fate. Often we mistake warning signs and take the wrong direction home. Here it seems as if there was no other choice but to go down the wrong path.

7. The Blair Witch Project (1999) | Directed by Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez.

I can't understand how anyone, except for those with motion sickness problems, can not see this as a creepy minimalist classic of the genre. Unanswered questions are scary. I don't want to know for sure if there was a witch, or a serial killer's ghost, or if one of our main characters was not what they seemed. I want to ponder it forever. That's what this film offers true horror fans: the unexplained and the horrible possibilities of what happened to those three students.

6. The Shining (1980) | Directed by Stanley Kubrick.

A brave move to strip Stephen King's central themes in his novel out of the script and insert a much more creepy haunting in the Overlook Hotel. It's not so much the break down of the family Kubrick is concerned about here, but with the white man paying for his sins over and over again for what he did to the native population. At least that's what I'm convinced of after seeing this many, many times. In effect the evil spirits here are our own. The clues are all there.

5. The Thing (1982) | Directed by John Carpenter

From my original review: "The movie sets out to scare and it does. Taking elements from Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians, the film actually stays more faithful to the original story than the first film adaptation did, and the Thing is one of the most interesting and outright scary monsters to ever appear on screen. Who has been taken over? Would you even know if you had been? The film is a shining example of how to blend horror and sci-fi together and make it work".

4. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) | Directed by Philip Kaufman.

A theme that scares me over and over. Your friends and loved ones changing and turning on you over night. Losing your identity. What is more scary than that? This is a smart update that takes advantage of the growing isolation and urban paranoia of its time. It has many creepy moments, but the final scene stands out and still scares me, even though I know it's coming.

3. Dawn of the Dead (1978) | Directed by George A. Romero.

Romero dumps his ghouls into a semi-comicbook action picture, set in a world gone mad. Society is breaking down, everyone is at each others throats for power and survival...and all the zombies want is to eat those throats. The first epic zombie picture and the true classic of the genre. As much of an action picture that it is, it's also a fairly obvious, but spot-on critique of consumerism, capitalism, racism, and authority in the wrong hands. All the usual stuff Romero likes to bitch about. But on top of all of that, it's gory and it's fun.

2. Halloween (1978) | Directed by John Carpenter.

Iconic. The little movie that could. The Shape (the ill-fated from the start Michael Myers) is not explained by the heroic Dr. Loomis in any regard other than he's pure evil. All that was human has died. That's all you need to know as we watch The Shape stalk three smart, interesting and likable young girls on Halloween night. You like them and you don't want them to die. This separates the film from many of its imitators, which feature throw-away teen fodder to be hacked up after smoking pot, drinking beer, and getting naked. The scenes where we see The Shape in the same frame as the characters he's stalking -- the soon-to-be victims totally unaware -- still works perfectly to this day.

1. Nosferatu: The Vampyre/Nosferatu: Phantom Der Nacht (1979) | Directed by Werner Herzog.

Herzog made this film wanting to pay tribute to a generation of German film makers that vanished before or around the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany. He picked F.W. Murnau's classic and somehow has improved upon it. Sometimes a shot-for-shot remake, this film truly explores the real horrors of the vampire. The undying isolation and loneliness that Klaus Kinski's Count Dracula feels is thick in the air. The viewer feels sorry for this monster, but is revolted at the same time. The scenes of a deserted and nearly dead plague-ridden town, all thanks to the coming of Dracula and his army of rats, stand to this day as some of the most effective scenes ever put to film.

Some Honourable Mentions:

Night of the Living Dead (1968) | Directed by George A. Romero.
Martin (1977) | Directed by George A. Romero.
Pan's Labyrinth (2006) | Directed by Guillermo del Toro.
Rogue (2007) | Directed by Greg Mclean.
Wolf Creek (2005) | Directed by Greg Mclean.
Psycho (1960) | Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
The Innocents (1961) | Directed by Jack Clayton.
The Mist (2007) | Directed by Frank Darabont.
Session 9 (2001) | Directed by Brad Anderson.
Let the Right One In (2008) | Directed by Tomas Alfredson.
From Hell (2001) | Directed by Albert Hughes & Allen Hughes.
The Hills Have Eyes (2006) | Directed by Alexandre Aja.
Black Christmas (1974) | Directed by Bob Clark.
Deathdream (1974) | Directed by Bob Clark
Alien (1979) | Directed by Ridley Scott.
The Fog (1980) | Directed by John Carpenter.
Horror of Dracula (1958) | Directed by Terence Fisher.
The Funhouse (1981) | Directed by Tobe Hooper.