A couple of years ago director Zack Snyder and writer James Gunn did the unthinkable and took on a new version of George A. Romero's classic zombie opus Dawn of the Dead. Despite fan backlash, the film turned out utterly amazing and won over the hearts and brains of most horror fans, originally opposed to the idea. It was smart, scary, and downright funny.

A few years later, it was announced that the morons behind the in name only sequel to Day of the Dead, titled "Contagium" would be giving us a redux of Day of the Dead. Again, I found myself opposing the idea, given who was behind the project. But, they actually put a good director, writer, and cast (minus Nick Cannon) in the film... so I actually had my hopes up a bit.

In the new version of Day of the Dead, a government contained city is infected by zombies when people who are bitten by zombies are taken to the local hospital. Meanwhile, the remaining survivors take cover in an underground tunnel. Day of the Dead opens with a Military road block securing a small town Colorado highway. We quickly become acquainted with Captain Rhodes (Ving Rhames), Corporal Sarah Cross (Mena Suvari), Privates Bud Crain (Stark Sands) and Salazar (Nick Cannon); all of whom are preparing to surround and secure the infected city.

The remake is a total departure from the original, and the new cast includes a few recognizable faces like Rhames, who bears no relation to his character from Dawn. But given the fact that he had talked about a brother in Dawn, I was a bit surprised they didn't play this connection up. I guess it came down to rights issues.

Nick Cannon almost killed the film for me with his typically black rhetoric, but the rest of the cast, including the new "Bub" (now named "Bud") pull it off. Especially Mena Suvari, who looks so much hotter with her hair over that massive forehead.

Director Steve Miner wastes no time getting to the major mayhem that breaks out all across the city, as the ever-increasing reanimated corpses outnumber normal people. The one thing I didn't get is why as soon as they changed from human to zombie, they instantly rot and start wall crawling? This I didn't like at all.

So, despite the bad... It is actually well directed, and full of great gore gags and some pretty tense scenes. Nothing new here, but it is a fun and I found myself enjoying it as much as I wanted to hate it. Day of the Dead is a solid horror film, well-acted, and an above average example of a horror remake.

'DAY OF THE DEAD' (2008) A Film by STEVE MINER
Starring MENA SUVARI - NICK CANNON - VING RHAMES - ANNALYNNE McCORD - STARK SANDS & MATT RIPPY
Screenplay Written by Jeffrey Reddick, originally George A. Romero. Directed by Steve Miner.

[DISCUSS ON OUR FORUMS] [Review By John Gray]