My Wife & One of Our Favorite Hobbies
A pastime that me and my wife have enjoyed for a few years is visiting horror conventions. The first convention we attended was Walker Stalker Con in the ATL. We went for The Walking Dead but, learned quickly we had no time or money for that. As you entered the convention hall, folks were passing a pioneer but not us. Judith O’Dea was set up first booth. We talked to her for about half an hour as thousands passed us not knowing that without her, there would be no The Walking Dead. Her role in George Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead would start a series of movies by this legendary director and horror visionary that revolutionized the zombie. Day of the Dead, which will be the subject of this week’s blog, was one. Put on your mining helmet, turn on the light, and let’s go.
John A. Russo, The Night of the Living Dead, and Public Speaking Class
Early in my college career, I had to take public speaking and chose to discuss Night of the Living Dead as a topic for a speech. I was able to interview a friend who had seen it in the theatres when it came out in 1968. My research then led me to the idea that these movies were a representation of society. The first suggested that the country was consuming itself, the second was about consumerism, and I don’t recall what the third one, Day of the Dead, was supposed to represent. It doesn’t matter for a very good reason though. At a horror convention many years later in Rock Hill, SC, I would meet John A. Russo (writer) who completely debunked this. Russo said it was complete “s*%$.” According to him directly, they just wrote the movie, at least the first one.
Day of the Dead Fan Art on Hard Hat and Welding Hood
About a year ago, I was commissioned to do some Day of the Dead art on a hard hat. It was well received, and an additional commission came in to paint a welding hood in the same theme. Naturally, this led me to watch this movie again. Why not go ahead and add it to the blog list? Easy enough. I have to say that I am not at all let down by any of Romero’s early work. By early work, I mean Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and Day of the Dead. I have not seen all his movies but, I have watched all three of these many times. All three have unique qualities but, we will talk specifically about the third today, Day of the Dead. As usual, I mean the original one from 1985. I was 3 years old.
"Where would you go?" - Hopelessness in Day of the Dead
Zombie movies almost always present a sense of hopelessness and Day of the Dead is no different. A group of scientists, military personnel, and civilians are trapped in a small underground compound. Their existence is confined to this concrete prison. Their occasional escape is a helicopter which they use to look for other people and supplies I suppose. I don’t think the film ever says. There are a couple of scenes where the dialog shows how hopeless they are. The characters go on about their lack of new equipment and fight each other rather than unite, which is a characteristic of hopelessness – they have given up. One of my favorite characters, a doctor they call Frankenstein, has a great personality to contradict the loud lead by terror military commander. He calmly reminds him, “Where would you go?” He was right, there was nowhere to go – they were hopeless.
The opening scene of Day of the Dead also embellishes the sense of hopelessness that Romero creates. Our crew lands the chopper, and 2 members get out to look around, with clear instructions that the engine stays running and at the first sign of trouble they are back in the air with or without the scouting party. The city at first seems abandoned but as the team starts to make noise with a bullhorn, the shadows, doorways, ticket booths, etc. come alive with the blue-gray living dead. Like turning the lights on in a roach-infested room, the walls come alive. If you’ve ever seen this, that’s what it reminded me of. This opening scene shows some of the iconic zombie actors from Day of the Dead and a crocodile too, which I found odd. This is what is left of modern life as the crew knew it.
Leadership in an Apocalyptic Scenario
About that military commander, he irritated me. I have never been in a situation like the one presented in Day of the Dead, obviously, but I can imagine based on what I know about people that there are some accuracies in its story. Here’s what I mean. You would need to have leadership and subordinates, period. It’s no different than the workplace or a home, you need someone in charge. The idea of too many chiefs and too few Indians is a truth. Choosing the right leader is key. An alpha male jerk may or may not be the right choice but, this personality type tends to take over. Compare Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead to Captain Rhodes in Day of the Dead. Rick got things done and was clearly in charge but, he wasn’t rule by fear and aggression. Rhodes got what he deserved.
A Couple of Rules For Me to Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse
Another idea I noticed and appreciated was the foreshadowing in the early scenes. The crew has been on an expedition and lands their chopper inside of their fenced-in base. A Jamaican chopper pilot says the bird is running on fumes and they need to refuel it. The female, the only one in the story, insists that they get underground and do the fueling at night to attract less attention and the pilot concedes. Not me, that bird would never be sitting empty. I don’t like leaving my truck on less than half a tank. If you have a chopper in a zombie apocalypse, that joker better always be sky ready. There would be many fuel caches spread out too. Ma’am, I would have to strongly and politely disagree and fuel my bird up. Guns always loaded and chopper always sky ready – surviving a zombie apocalypse rules to live by.
Something else that always frustrates me is the action in these movies. Not just action but how they use their weapons specifically. Let’s frame this up. If I’m in the zombie apocalypse and I have access to firearms, I am going to treasure those tools and use them sparingly. Remember, we’re in the apocalypse. Have you tried to go buy ammunition close to a tough election? If so, imagine that multiplied by 100 because you would have to find whatever ammo you got. Stores wouldn’t be open and certainly not in an underground bunker. Whatever is there is what’s there. So, you make precision shots – one shot, one kill. There wouldn’t even be a need for a thumb switch. We see both ideas in Day of the Dead. The right way, single headshots with a revolver and military folks, who should be trained, spraying wildly and emptying magazines.
From Human to Zombie Back to Human Again
I think the big idea in Day of the Dead was the progression from zombie back to human. Perhaps hordes of dead people walking slow, and groaning needed a little updating in Romero’s eyes. After all, he is the reason we have zombies today as we know them – the slow-walking groaners I mentioned. To me, I didn’t enjoy this aspect of Day of the Dead even though I don’t think it hurt the film. The main zombie “Bub” is an interesting character but, I don’t see the walking dead being humanized again. Of course, if this situation were real, there would be someone who would try this…if enough people lived. One could compare this to someone like Cesar Milan who gets in a fence with a pit bull that has mauled 15 people. You’re rolling the dice, and I don’t know that it’s a set I want to roll.
Muted Color in Day of the Dead - VHS Quality at Best
Artistically speaking, this movie is both interesting and challenging to paint from because I like color. First, the movie was filmed in the 80s so you only get VHS quality at best. Color in Day of the Dead is muted and seems to be more grayish-green and blue than anything else. This film’s zombies seem to have been down for a while. Watching Romero’s work this time around, I had on 2 pairs of glasses. One, I knew I was going to blog about it and the second pair was a unique frame. They were my “I’m going to paint from this” specs. Through the second set of eyewear, I looked at color and for subjects too. This allowed me to notice things I haven’t up until now. For instance, I noticed a clown zombie whose once bright red and blue suit was muted heavily.
Florida, Safe Places, and Closing Thoughts on Day of the Dead
I enjoyed the ending of this movie for a couple of reasons. First, the man that everyone picks on gets his revenge. He’s also the one that the doctor has advised needs to take a break but, isn’t allowed to. There are a lot of lessons here. Anyway, he bites the bullet, commits suicide, and purposefully allows the base to fill with zombies. For a movie, this makes a climactic ending. Real-world, why would you do that? An underground bunker and a remote island are two safe places in an apocalypse. On a good note for Day of the Dead, Romero’s signature gore picks up at this point. To add to this and a cool piece of trivia, I understand that Tom Savini was responsible for the special effects. Most of you reading this would know him from my favorite, Friday the 13th.
In closing, I enjoy Romero’s work and always have. His vision of this once voodoo lore creature has become a huge genre and one that I and many others enjoy. If anyone knows why there was a random crocodile in this movie, please let me know. There must be a reason for something so odd happening. You can read more about the filming locations here. It turns out that some of this was filmed in Florida. If I find myself in FL, I’m going to scope them out. I was there a few years ago but was ignorant. While you’re on my page, check out some more blogs here, my artwork here, and link up with me on social media here. I encourage you to follow my YouTube channel. As I start the upcoming welding hood, there will be videos. Feel free to comment and Peace.