Day of the Dead (2008) Review

This was one of those movies that's so bad it's almost enjoyable. Filled to the brim with recognizeable but mediocre actors, Day of the Dead is, in name at least, a remake of the George A. Romero classic. In name at least I believe it's supposed to be a sequel to Zack Snyder's FAR superior Dawn of the Dead remake (as was in the case in Romero's series). Miner elects to go with a hybrid zombie: he uses the running zombies from 28 Days Later, but adds in a bit more intelligence and problem-solving skills (ala Land of the Dead), the ability to jump tremendous distances (ala I Am Legend) and to climb on walls (I guess like The Exorcist rerelease); the lack of hard and fast 'zombie rules' here is somewhat frustrating. Nick Cannon is not a good actor, but some of his deliveries are kind of amusing in a so bad it's good sort of way. Mena Suvari is miscast as a hard boiled soldier (as an aside why does the film make a big deal about why she carries an unloaded gun and her drama with her brother throughout the early going and neither is ever resolved?). Ving Rhames has far too small a role, really a glorified cameo, to really do much with it; he was put to far better use in Snyder's Dawn of the Dead (he plays a different character here). The best performances are probably from the typical 'escaping from the zombie young couple,' Michael Welch and AnnaLynne McCord, who at least seem to be trying to put some emotion and effort into their performances (McCord more effectively). Oh well, what else should I expect from a film the studio decided wasn't worth releasing in theaters? Not the worst zombie movie ever made but not even remotely in the class of Snyder's Dawn or the 28 Days/Weeks movies as recent zombie flicks go.

Overall Score: 3/10