Day of the Dead 

Written and directed by George A. Romero

Released in theaters July 3, 1985

Streaming Sept. 17, 2013

Currently available from various streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime

The Plot 

Trapped in a missile silo, a small team of scientists, civilians, and trigger-happy soldiers battle desperately to ensure the survival of the human race. But tension inside the base is reaching the breaking point, and the zombies are gathering outside…

What I Didn’t Like About It 

All of the drama between the main characters. It felt like Romero was trying to elevate the movie into something more than what it was. A bit of that would have been fine. But it constituted nearly half of the run time, thus taking away from…

What I Liked 

The unbelievably great special effects. I’m talking about what one looks for in zombie movies. Gushing blood, the tearing of flesh, headless bodies moving, bodiless heads talking… even rib cages falling out of torsos. And this is not digital manipulation. This is real old-fashioned special effects!

Critical Reception 

* “[The Day of the Dead] affords Mr. Romero the opportunity for intermittent philosophy and satire, without compromising his reputation as the grisliest guy around.” (Janet Maslin, New York Times)

* “It’s an intelligent, well-written, excellently played movie, with top-flight gore/horror effects, perverse humour, and a provocatively bleak vision.” (Kim Newman, Empire Magazine)

* “The third of writer/director George A. Romero’s ‘Living Dead’ trilogy benefits from a far larger budget than its predecessors, but suffers from a story as malnourished as the zombies that are chewing it up.” (Almar Hafidason, BBC)

You can watch the original trailer here.