Movies you've just watched

[GaijinPunch]

Thoughts on Alien (1979)

Spoiler

Just like William Friedkin and Stanley Kubrick, Ridley Scott is a man in love with architecture: all sets and special effects. And like those same directors, watching Scott's stuff makes me feel like the script and the acting are an afterthought. And that's where I find the movie struggles.

Aside from Ian Holm's performance as the suspicious Ash and his resurrected interrogation where he admits to his admiration of the alien creature (his words complimenting a face covered in white liquid), the movie's filled with pedestrian acting and dialogue. Nothing has been done in the writing to make me care about these people (they're just walking jobs), and they don't act with any serious urgency to everything they've seen in the alien ship which, if I was there, would've been enough to make me sh!t my pants and nope out. Not here. No, the show must go on. It's all MUH COMPANY REGULATIONS from there. The script is literally in service to the spectacle, and so when I saw they weren't scared until the writing required it, I wasn't scared at all. That's what makes something like The Blair Witch Project so effective for me: because the movie takes its time to let me get to know the characters--doesn't matter if I like them or not. (Hell, even Hostel took the time to do that, and I hated those characters!) So, when they start to fight and lose their minds--all cold, lost and scared--I care about them, and then the same effect happens to me. And I can't help them! Now, that's scary!

And since all that money and effort is spent on those sets and special effects, with Scott taking his sweet time lingering over every inch of it... I'm restless long after I've got the point already and start glancing over at the clock. (It starts feeling more like a museum piece at the halfway mark.) So, what I'm left with are false-alarm jump scares, music cues and a camera so in love with these creations, you can't help but notice in several shots that the alien is actually just a guy in a suit. (The way the alien went BOO! with his hands at Dallas in the air duct nearly made me laugh.)

Thankfully, the good news after was twofold: Carpenter came along in '82 and showed us how it's done... and we all know how Dan O'Bannon redeemed himself six years later with his smash cult hit.

If this movie had to happen in order to get those gems, then... thanks, I guess?

Harsh. I always felt it felt quite real - you do realize it was summed up as "truckers in space"? The fact that an Ian Holm is in there is kind of a bonus.

[RGC]

Thoughts on Alien (1979)

Spoiler

Just like William Friedkin and Stanley Kubrick, Ridley Scott is a man in love with architecture: all sets and special effects. And like those same directors, watching Scott's stuff makes me feel like the script and the acting are an afterthought. And that's where I find the movie struggles.

Aside from Ian Holm's performance as the suspicious Ash and his resurrected interrogation where he admits to his admiration of the alien creature (his words complimenting a face covered in white liquid), the movie's filled with pedestrian acting and dialogue. Nothing has been done in the writing to make me care about these people (they're just walking jobs), and they don't act with any serious urgency to everything they've seen in the alien ship which, if I was there, would've been enough to make me sh!t my pants and nope out. Not here. No, the show must go on. It's all MUH COMPANY REGULATIONS from there. The script is literally in service to the spectacle, and so when I saw they weren't scared until the writing required it, I wasn't scared at all. That's what makes something like The Blair Witch Project so effective for me: because the movie takes its time to let me get to know the characters--doesn't matter if I like them or not. (Hell, even Hostel took the time to do that, and I hated those characters!) So, when they start to fight and lose their minds--all cold, lost and scared--I care about them, and then the same effect happens to me. And I can't help them! Now, that's scary!

And since all that money and effort is spent on those sets and special effects, with Scott taking his sweet time lingering over every inch of it... I'm restless long after I've got the point already and start glancing over at the clock. (It starts feeling more like a museum piece at the halfway mark.) So, what I'm left with are false-alarm jump scares, music cues and a camera so in love with these creations, you can't help but notice in several shots that the alien is actually just a guy in a suit. (The way the alien went BOO! with his hands at Dallas in the air duct nearly made me laugh.)

Thankfully, the good news after was twofold: Carpenter came along in '82 and showed us how it's done... and we all know how Dan O'Bannon redeemed himself six years later with his smash cult hit.

If this movie had to happen in order to get those gems, then... thanks, I guess?

Harsh. I always felt it felt quite real - you do realize it was summed up as "truckers in space"? The fact that an Ian Holm is in there is kind of a bonus.

It's not a perfect film. I mean, it does have slightly dated FX in places (alien=clearly a dude in a suit, Ash dummy head awkward video splicing with Holm view, chest burster = penis on skateboard), but to me these are really minor concerns. 'Bored' is never a word I'd use in the same breath as Alien and I've never not found it totally engrossing. In terms of the fear the crew experiences, as I recall Lambert is pretty much a nervous wreck from the moment it all kicks off. I don't remember them seeming laid back between scary events, but maybe I'm misremembering. I do prefer The Thing as a standalone horror (it's the platinum standard as far as I'm concerned), but I also love the rich universe the original Alien creates.

Edit: point taken about films like The Blair Witch Project giving us more character insight and therefore greater opportunity for empathy. But in that example there are only three characters, and one of those is doing the filming. Taking into account the raw, up close and personal "home video" shooting style and the continuous commentary, we're bound to feel closer to them than we do the Nostromo crew. Always enjoyed TBWP though, almost as much as Alien.

[Sumez]

I've not watched this yet, but a friend of mine who works for an NPO is pretty tight with him as he is a philanthropist now... or at least a section of his business is focused on that. He's apparently a great guy - nice to know all the dough didn't make him an asshole like it could have.

This is probably the first time I've ever seen anyone try to claim that Henk Rogers isn't a massive asshole
I wouldn't hesitate to claim the guy has done nothing good for Tetris, and arguably made everything worse. I haven't watched the film, but I'm really not interested in seeing something trying to whitewash him as some kind of hero for weaseling his way into his own capitalist licensing empire that's allowed him to print money for free throughout decades at this point.

Eggers Nosferatu. Really bad.

Wow. That's a take.
Sure, it's not on the level of masterpieces like The Northman or The Lighthouse. But few things are.

[GaijinPunch]

This is probably the first time I've ever seen anyone try to claim that Henk Rogers isn't a massive asshole
I wouldn't hesitate to claim the guy has done nothing good for Tetris, and arguably made everything worse. I haven't watched the film, but I'm really not interested in seeing something trying to whitewash him as some kind of hero for weaseling his way into his own capitalist licensing empire that's allowed him to print money for free throughout decades at this point.

So Disclaimer: I've never met him. He also seems to have devoted a piece of his life to philanthropy. Note that my connection to him is someone that probably barely knows what fucking Super Mario is, so anything up until recent times they'd be quite oblivious, too. Take that as you will.

I also partied balls with Richard Garriet once, who is eccentric as most people probably know, but to be honest, quite hospitable - at least 30 years ago.

[sumdumgoy]

Harsh. I always felt it felt quite real - you do realize it was summed up as "truckers in space"? The fact that an Ian Holm is in there is kind of a bonus.

Yaphet Kotto, Tom Skerritt and Henry Dean Stanton as truckers? Sure, I can see that.

But John Hurt as a trucker? That's a new one!

Edit: point taken about films like The Blair Witch Project giving us more character insight and therefore greater opportunity for empathy. But in that example there are only three characters, and one of those is doing the filming. Taking into account the raw, up close and personal "home video" shooting style and the continuous commentary, we're bound to feel closer to them than we do the Nostromo crew.

Matter of fact, taking PC Engine Fan's trivia about the chestburster scene into account about the cast's genuine reaction, behind the scenes The Blair Witch Project was literally that throughout the whole picture. The directors left them daily notes pinned to a tree to the effect of: "Here's what your characters need to do today." Then, when the directors and crew messed with them, we're left with nothing but genuine reactions, completely ad-libbed, which worked towards the terror aspect and made it more believable.

Maybe if Scott had done more of that instead of sticking the actors and actresses within the rigid confines of a mediocre script, we may have had an alien horror picture that worked the whole way through, and not just the first half.

Or, you know... write a better script.

[GaijinPunch]

Harsh. I always felt it felt quite real - you do realize it was summed up as "truckers in space"? The fact that an Ian Holm is in there is kind of a bonus.

Yaphet Kotto, Tom Skerritt and Henry Dean Stanton as truckers? Sure, I can see that.

But John Hurt as a trucker? That's a new one!

Was it at the time though? He also didn't last too long.

[sumdumgoy]

Was it at the time though? He also didn't last too long.

[GaijinPunch]

Terrence Stamp in Priscilla -- weird things happen in this business of show.

[Lord British]

Terrence Stamp in Priscilla -- weird things happen in this business of show.

He's fucking awesome in that

[GaijinPunch]

Yup. I rarely buy the "X as Y?!" comment. It's acting - the whole point is to be something different.

[Lord British]

Yup. I rarely buy the "X as Y?!" comment. It's acting - the whole point is to be something different.

Those people need to get a life

[sumdumgoy]

Yup. I rarely buy the "X as Y?!" comment. It's acting - the whole point is to be something different.

Those people need to get a life

You're both reading me wrong. Just because I didn't picture Hurt playing a trucker doesn't mean I couldn't picture it. It was an entirely new idea to me.

Besides, he can't now, can he? And in Alien, he wasn't.

[Lord British]

Yup. I rarely buy the "X as Y?!" comment. It's acting - the whole point is to be something different.

Those people need to get a life

You're both reading me wrong. Just because I didn't picture Hurt playing a trucker doesn't mean I couldn't picture it. It was an entirely new idea to me.

Besides, he can't now, can he? And in Alien, he wasn't.

No I'm referring to General Zod as a trans-gender

[vol.2]

Terrence Stamp in Priscilla -- weird things happen in this business of show.

Which I haven't seen yet. One the local theaters is playing it for a revival on June 4th, and hopefully I can make that. The Senator has an enormous screen (40'); it's really a fantastic theater.

Spoiler

[sumdumgoy]

Those people need to get a life

You're both reading me wrong. Just because I didn't picture Hurt playing a trucker doesn't mean I couldn't picture it. It was an entirely new idea to me.

Besides, he can't now, can he? And in Alien, he wasn't.

No I'm referring to General Zod as a trans-gender

My apologies then. I hate it when that happens.

[RGC]

The Exorcist III / Legion (1990) Dir. William Peter Blatty

Spoiler

Fifteen years after the death of Father Karras, his former close friend Lieutenant Kinderman (George C Scott), investigates a series of grisly murders around the city linked by both method and (anti-Catholic) motif. After another close associate of his gets killed, Kinderman's attention is drawn to a mysterious patient in the hospital, bound in a straight jacket, who claims to be the infamous “gemini killer” reborn.

For those unfamiliar with the source material (like me), to comprehend the story may take a couple of viewings. I'm still not sure I fully understand it. There's some symbolism at play, and a weird dreamlike aesthetic. I saw the theatrical release, which is said to have a forced tie-in with the original Exorcist, and then went on to watch the Director's Cut, where some of those contrived elements were removed. As a reworking, I gather the latter is more faithful to Blatty's novel, Legion. Sadly, the footage that was edited out for the theatrical release then subsequently restored for the extended version has not been cleaned up. So if you're watching the 2k restoration these dark grainy moments do break the immersion a little. There's some good stuff in there though.

Despite the film’s numerous murders, it feels somewhat slow and, until the third act, almost devoid of action. But I'd say the pace is necessarily measured. Any faster and it would be even harder to make sense of; it's a psychological slow burn, for sure. The brotherly kinship between cynic Kinderman and Father Dyer is full of warmth and great humour. George C Scott plays his part with a kind of honest depth of emotion rarely seen in fictional detectives. Not sure which cut I prefer over all. One has a more abrupt ending that feels rushed but is a more sensible conclusion; the other has the studio meddling that doesn't fit with the rest of the story, but we get to see more of Karras. Dourif shines in both versions.

[Randorama]

Priscilla also includes Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce as the other two drag queens. I believe that both were up and coming Oz actors that risked quite a bit by accepting those roles. At the time, Australia was a rabidly homophobic society in which ultra-toxic views of masculinity were praised ("wifebeater" was basically a compliment...). Things improved quite a bit over time, though.

Incidentally, Hugh Jackman played the role of an ultra-rugged Outback trucker who secretly developed a career as a writer of sweet and sensible rom-com books for women (!), in one of his early movie roles.

A general "Australian" complaint about this movie is that Jackman is a city boy from Manly, a rich suburb of Sydney, and therefore he looked and sounded out of place. Priscilla also attracted similar criticisms as it feels like it denigrates Oz suburbanites (“fibros”) and Outback people. I partially agree with these views, also because Jackman's Wolverine sounds like an Australian clumsily trying to sound Canadian, and some passages in Priscilla did not a certain contempt for anyone outside Sydney's CBD, where most of the LGBT people lived at the time.

You might need subtitles if you struggle with other dialects of English, by the way.

[sumdumgoy]

The Exorcist III / Legion (1990) Dir. William Peter Blatty

Yeah, both cuts of the movie are a mixed bag, unfortunately. Such wasted potential. It could've been a horror masterpiece.

The fact that Kinderman's character needs the Faith so badly (he's reading the Bible on his offtime), but seems only most convinced in the possibility of God's existence when faced with acts of horrifying evil. Sure, he needs to solve the case... but his visits with Venamun feel more motivated by his need to get answers about why such evil exists. The bitter irony is that III's best parts also turn out to be its biggest curses, because both endings fall terribly short of the concept: a fascinating idea that the devil is using catatonics to carry out unnatural, blasphemous murders that defy logic and challenge the detective's agnosticism.

Of course, it helps that the performances are all top notch, that many characters feel fleshed out by Blatty's writing, and some of the studio's tinkering in the theatrical cut resulted in strengthening Dourif's performance, like adding that extra-effective audio work on his voice. (So much creepier than in the Legion cut.) His portrayal of supernatural evil incarnate is one for the cinematic history books. Not just in his voice and dialogue, but in other ways that show the Devil's trickery, such as a constant stream of tears running down his face, no matter his disposition, just to play on our sympathies and make us feel sorry for him. (Jesus didn't call him the father of lies for nothing!)

Trouble is, what's on the screen eventually becomes unrealised by the end; we get no resolutions, only...

Spoiler

...the shoehorned priest & exorcism scene, Kinderman "freeing" Karras/Venamun with assisted suicide (Karras' second attempt since the first movie?) and Kinderman himself (and the audience, too) left feeling unresolved.

Still, having said that, Blatty's writing is so strong that the movie rewards repeated visits, because there's so much to chew on. So much story possibility. (Maybe I need to read the novel....)

As an aside, I wish I could revisit my favourite movie of his, The Ninth Configuration, but unfortunately, the only version available outside of the original VHS tapes is the one with Blatty's preferred ending, known as the "Director's Cut." And I hate it. (If anyone's got a spare 35mm theatrical cut stored in some film cans somewhere, please message me. You've got an interested buyer!)

[RGC]

The Exorcist III / Legion (1990) Dir. William Peter Blatty

Still, having said that, Blatty's writing is so strong that the movie rewards repeated visits, because there's so much to chew on. So much story possibility)

Great points! I can see myself returning to this to see what else is revealed. One thing I was left scratching my head over was the scene where...

Spoiler

Dr Temple rehearses line-by-line how he'll tell Kinderman about patient X. That was so bizzare that for a brief moment I considered the doctor might not be who he claims, or it was a deceptive cover story. In hindsight, I think he was just dealing with his own uncertain grip on reality, delivering the story in a way that allowed him to remain at a safe, rational distance from it. With everything else going on at the hospital, he was fast becoming a neurotic mess by that point.

I'm sure the book reveals exactly what's going on there, but yeah that scene was almost Lynchian.

Side note: There's a blink-and-you'll-miss-him appearance from Sam L Jackson in one sequence. He would have been almost unknown at that time, playing background characters in loads of successful films. Only four years later, he would explode into public consciousness.

I have other unanswered questions about the story, some of which may have no definitive explanations, I accept. I would add Legion to my reading backlog, but the shelf is already creaking. It still contains an unread copy of the original Exorcist!

[Sumez]

My take on Legion from a year or so ago when I watched it

Finally The Exorcist III. I wasn't too well informed about this and expected enjoyable shlock. Instead I got a grounded police procedural with a supernatural twist, a mature and patient pace, littered with brilliant bits of dialogue and captivating details. Not only written by the same guy who wrote the original Exorcist novel, but also directed by him. One of the best classic/classy horror movies I've seen, easily, carried all the way by George C. Scott as the grumpy, battle-hardened detective who just wants to see this whole thing dealt with.
Aside for a couple of returning characters, the connection to the first Exorcist movie feels a bit tacked on and unnecessary. And as a bit of research would reveal, it turns out it was something introduced via reshoots later in production, but everyone seems to agree that the original ending is boring, so ultimately it's probably for the better. I'm sure this is common knowledge to horror fans, but I'm not much of a buff, and to be honest the original Exorcist never really did much for me, even hough I respect it. This one is phenomenal however.

[RGC]

My take on Legion from a year or so ago when I watched it

Yeah I really loved the dialogue, especially between Kinderman and Dyer, and the way they gently mock each other. Also, the humour:

Spoiler

Dyer (to nurse): Go in peace my child. And may the Schwartz be with you.

And...

Over lunch, Dyer tells the university president he's seen his favourite film (It's a Wonderful Life), 37 times, and asks whether he has a favourite movie. The president answers dryly, "The Fly".

Not sure why, but I was quite tickled by this

[sumdumgoy]

Spoiler

Dr Temple rehearses line-by-line how he'll tell Kinderman about patient X. That was so bizzare that for a brief moment I considered the doctor might not be who he claims, or it was a deceptive cover story. In hindsight, I think he was just dealing with his own uncertain grip on reality, delivering the story in a way that allowed him to remain at a safe, rational distance from it. With everything else going on at the hospital, he was fast becoming a neurotic mess by that point.

Yeah, the doc' was a real weird one, for sure. Then again... working in the same building with Patient X might drive us mad, too.

Yeah I really loved the dialogue, especially between Kinderman and Dyer, and the way they gently mock each other. Also, the humour...

Spoiler

Lol, Kinderman's dilemma about the carp in his bathtub. "Now, you're standing very close to me, Father, have you noticed? Yes... I haven't had a bath for three days."

Or the exchange in the restaurant:

Father Dyer: "You wouldn't want to live forever."
Kinderman: "Yes, I would."
Father Dyer: "No, you wouldn't. You'd get bored."
Kinderman: "I have hobbies."

And if you think this dialogue is good... man, The Ninth Configuration is endlessly quotable; easily Blatty's best script. Also, Scott Wilson plays the lead patient in Ninth, instead of a doctor! Jason Miller's terrific in there, too, trying to teach a Komondor Sheepdog the way to play Hamlet.

[NYN]

I am now informed that there will be a release of Spinal Tap 2 this very year and it is not a joke. And I don't know how to feel about it. After the 11 follows the 12, right? What are the hours?!

[BIL]

DIRTY BRIEFS DONE DIRT CHEAP

Oh Christ I've followed through <-- VINTAGE ROCK JOURNO HUMOUR

Hm. tbh my first reaction is not a grimace of disgusted resignation, but an oh well ok will prob suck lmao. Those are some talented dudes, and Michael McKean at least remains sharp, as of his formidable Better Call Saul turn.

And tbh, ~teh scene~ might be even riper now than it was in the early 80s. Muhfuckas be jurassic out here nowadays. Just coming in from a video on Pentagram's 71y/o singer going to jail for slapping his 87y/o mom. God gave rock n roll 2u!

IMAGINE ALL THE DEPENDS™ JOKES NYN-SAN (´ω｀)
HUMAN FRAILTY AND/OR VANITY LMAO (´・ω・)

They try the cucumber trick, but! The cucumber is obscured by his Depends™

Or maybe they will be TOUGH AND COOL like Paul Weller and Ray Davies, or best Rock Dad Knopfler-sama

STAY IN CONTROL (■｀W´■)
Girl, I want, you here with me (｀ω´メ)
But I'm really not as cool as I'd like to be (◎ω◎;)

Spoiler

So rad (*'ω' *)

I'm really just happy to learn Rob Reiner is still alive. Little things. (´・ω・`)

[Some guy]

I recently watched City Hunter: Angel Dust. It was... Ok. The tone was inconsistent the animation at times was a bit clunky, not off model but some of the action scenes were slightly incoherent because of the way they were cut or characters moved though they were well choreographed, so to speak. More of Ryo's backstory is also revealed. The ending implies there will be a sequel but who knows, I could just read the manga but there isn't an official English translation and my Japanese is nowhere near good enough to read the original.

[vol.2]

I recently watched City Hunter: Angel Dust. It was... Ok. The tone was inconsistent the animation at times was a bit clunky, not off model but some of the action scenes were slightly incoherent because of the way they were cut or characters moved though they were well choreographed, so to speak. More of Ryo's backstory is also revealed. The ending implies there will be a sequel but who knows, I could just read the manga but there isn't an official English translation and my Japanese is nowhere near good enough to read the original.

I absolutely love the original City Hunter, but that's a tall order to make a decent film out of it in 2023.

A lot of what makes City Hunter so good is the tone that it has, and that it completely tied to the 1980s and boom era Japan. As a story, it kind of lives in the 1980s and it can't leave without fundamentally changing the stuff it is made of (to me).

[RGC]

A Real Pain (2024) Dir. Jesse Eisenberg

Spoiler

Two cousins go on a “holocaust tour” through Poland in memory of their beloved grandmother, a survivor from one of the darkest periods in human history. Throughout the tour, the pair smoke weed, argue over their personality differences, make up, argue some more, and finally make up again. Much of this commotion is inflicted upon the tour group, who would rather quietly process their feelings, but who as a result become agitated, embarrassed and sympathetic, by turns. Ultimately, the party is relieved to see the pair disappear as they return to their separate lives. Of course, they feign a newfound bond with the young men, especially towards the mouthy one (Kieran Culkin), who is very up and down emotionally, to put it mildly, and needs placating the most. He has a knack for making everyone nervous with his outbursts, demanding that others experience life and express themselves the way he does. This stems from his own vulnerability (and general instability), as they seem to acknowledge when his back is turned. He's a real pain, and he's in real pain. Clever.

If you liked Culkin as Roman in the excellent show Succession, you'll probably like him here. His Benji Kaplan is a similar character; less of an overt prick, but underneath suffering similar levels of trauma and grief. He gives a really, really great performance, but sadly the overall spell of the movie didn't quite work for me and this was no fault of Culkin's. Everything felt too obviously set up by the writer and director (Eisenberg on both counts), to emotionally manipulate the audience. Of course I was moved by seeing the concentration camp - ffs, you'd have to be inhuman not to be. But I don't think you can just drop that into a film, play some piano, then claim credit for moving audiences. I didn't care enough about the characters or the lives they would return to after the tour was over. Personally, I could watch Culkin play this kind of character all day, but against a backdrop that feels a bit less clumsily crafted.

[GaijinPunch]

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Had a long haul flight and was just getting over the flu, so subtitles were out for me. I downloaded this off of Max. Didn't hear much about it, other than it was good but didn't do great at the box office. I don't think I've seen one movie with Chris Hemsworth but I'm obviously conscious of who he is... so didn't have high hopes. Anyway, this was about what you'd want from a Mad Max flick, which is entertainment. Pretty much on par w/ Fury Road in terms of stunt work and whatnot. Hemsworth's over-the-top villain was actually pretty funny and not too overpowering.. Did I need the back story? No, not really, but I guess I don't need most movies at the end of the day.

[Vexorg]

Moana 2: **1/2

Fairly average animated Disney fare for the princess crowd, but after the disasters that were Strange World and Wish (and the ongoing $270 million slow motion trainwreck that is the saga of the newly released Snow White remake) "Fairly Average" can be considered a win. This was reportedly intended to be a series for Disney+ that was later shifted to a theatrical release, and it's pretty easy to see why: The film rushes through a choppy and disjointed plot in a short 100 minutes of runtime, leaving the feeling that most of the intended story got left on the cutting room floor. That said, the animation in this film that puts it a level or two above other recent mediocre Disney animated films, and you can tell that the animators seemed to enjoy working on this. The end result should be OK for a "Watch it with the kids" movie but will probably end up lumped in with all the Michael Eisner-era "Cheapquel" dreck in the long run.

[sumdumgoy]

Day of the Dead (1985)

Spoiler

"So, what you're doing is a waste of time, Sarah... and time is all we've got left, you know."

Deep into a zombie apocalypse, a dozen-or-so survivors remain alive, holed up in an old underground WWII bunker somewhere in the Southern States. The group is split into the two last vestiges of secular progress: the scientists and the army. They reside together by necessity under an increasingly stressful situation: they've been there too long, no more survivors have been found, and the disagreements between these brainy intellectuals and brute-force instinctuals are at an all-time high. ("There is no one else, lady. We're it.")

The scientists are desperately trying a find solution to the zombie problem; one by seeking to reverse the problem, the other looking to condition the herd into being "good little girls and boys" that can be controlled and conditioned into a truce with the humans. The problem with both solutions lies in unsanitary working conditions (with limited equipment) and the seemingly endless amount of time needed for their studies... not to mention the army's help in procuring live specimens for their experiments, where they keep losing more and more of their precious remaining men to the dangerous task.

And the more men they lose, the angrier they get. These army men are a pack of hammerhead goons that see every problem as a nail; useful for survival, yes, but largely impulsive characters fueled by their own base desires for drugs, alcohol, sex and violence. This is best epitomised by the pairing of meatheads Steele and Rickles, whose non-stop sex jokes and loud demeanour represent the kind of guys ripe to become unruly. Even worse, the Major of the army troop has recently died, leaving an unreasonable, megalomaniacal Captain to take his place... and further accelerate tensions by threatening to execute whoever dares to disobey his tyrannical command.

Under this stressful situation lies a couple of outliers: John and Willie (a helicopter pilot and an electrician), who both don't believe in what either side is doing. Their alternative is to escape and find an island someplace, to simply reset back to human basics and go from there. Sarah sees this as incredibly selfish and means to stay and continue her work towards a solution to save the world. But things keep getting worse between the groups, stresses are running high, the rule of the new Captain is bringing things to a boil, and time is running out.

At its core, we have the inner conflict of Sarah, one of the last remaining scientists (and the only woman left) who has to double-up on her duties by also helping find survivors and round up specimens. Rendered hard and unfeminine by necessity, she's strong to keep her demeanour, both to prevent an emotional breakdown and as a prickly defence against the harassment of the army men. She's witness to the insanity of both sides: how Dr. Logan's research and experiments are leading nowhere, and the looming threat of Captain Rhodes' impatience. True, both sides have their points, but neither side has the answer, and Sarah finds herself repelled by them all. She wants to find a solution, but she also has doubts that her own research will lead to one any time soon. Adding to that, she's scared, stressed and tired.

So, one night after a breakup with her soldier boyfriend, she bumps into Willie and goes with him to visit John for a drink at their little trailer paradise, The Ritz. This is the first time we see Sarah smile, gazing upon the comforts of their home sweet home. "Welcome to civilization, Sarah, the last holdout," John says in a living room furnished with beach chairs, umbrellas and a tropical backdrop. "Not a bad idea," she remarks.

Sarah then accuses both him and Willie of being inactive, doing nothing to help out. And John gently rebukes her with a fantastic monologue about how this underground facility is filled with remnants of the past that no one in future is going bother with, same as her new research, and that the zombie problem will never be figured out "just like they never figured out why the stars are where they're at." She says that what she's doing is all that's left. "Shame on you, Sarah. There's plenty to do!" And he reiterates how, as long as there are survivors like them to come together, they can start over. "Get some babies... and teach them never to come here and dig these records out." This gives Sarah some pause.

Meanwhile, Dr. Logan is hard at work with his star pupil, a zombie he nicknamed Bub who is remarkably docile compared to the rest of the horde. Arguably the most fascinating zombie ever put on film, Bub damn near sells the idea that there is some remnant of humanity left in these creatures that could be reasoned with, that progress is being made. But that does nothing to convince Rhodes, who knows (as well as the audience) that, fascinating as Bub is, he's an anomaly. There's not one other zombie in that horde who's obeyed as he has, so how can Logan's pet research project come to any viable solution on the whole?

Then, the sh!t hits the fan: Sarah's ex Miguel gets bitten during a roundup, and two more army men are killed in the process. He runs away screaming in fear and pain, and Sarah chases him back to The Ritz, where Miguel is knocked out and Sarah makes the necessary cut by severing his arm beyond the bite. Eventually, Rhodes and the men catch up to where they are, and even though Sarah insists she got the infected area in time, Steele is about to pull the trigger on them. That leads to John and Willie drawing their guns, everyone held still in a standoff. "We'll keep him here, with us," John says, and the men leave. Sarah, holding the torch that she cauterised Miguel's wound with, stands there trembling... and when she turns to look at John, it's the breaking point. She can't hold it in anymore and breaks out crying.

Once they get Miguel safely into the trailer, John makes an offering to Sarah: a shirt to replace the one she was wearing and had to use as a last-minute, makeshift cauterising torch. With this one simple act, we see her vulnerable, but thankful... they pause to look at one another before apologising for their earlier words. Nothing romantic, but... the realisation that this simple act of charity and acceptance has revealed they still have their humanity. And in this moment, Sarah looks truly beautiful for the first time. She's no longer hard or confrontational, because here she needs no more defences; she knows she's with the only men she can trust. And in this very moment, Willie remarks in passing, "Well, whaddya know... we are heroes after all. What a relief!"

And a relief for us, as well. Finally, for the first time in Romero's trilogy, we have a troupe of real heroes who have all tried to do the right thing by everyone and ended up the only ones escaping the horror... so, when they make it out at the end, it feels heroic. They've earned it through their suffering.

Romero's third of his famed zombie trilogy, Day of the Dead is about humanity lost and humanity gained. The zombies that have lost it, how that same loss affects others and makes them lose their own, and those holding onto their humanity and finding hope in a hopeless situation. The director had it in mind to make the biggest zombie epic ever, and after revisiting both Night and Dawn, you can feel his buildup to it: respectively, that you can't win by standing your ground, and you can't win by taking what isn't yours. You have to be the good guys; your actions matter!

Unfortunately, Romero kept running out of budget to work with, and he had to keep cutting down the script more and more. Yet, the core of the epic remained in his writing, budget be damned, and those trims ended up resulting in his best and most focused script. Even though the movie is rather dialogue-heavy for a picture classified as horror, it's never boring, and for those who aren't hooked into the dialogue, there's a lot of quality stuff in every other regard to keep horror fans holding on. Like The Shining and The Thing, no other horror movie has rewarded multiple viewings like Day has.

For starters, there's not a bum performance in the whole main cast, and everyone here gives it their best. I'd talk more in specifics, but aside from our hero trio, Joe Pilato's Rhodes makes for an unforgettable villain (holding back just enough from chewing up all the scenery), Sherman Howard mesmerises and amuses as "Bub" the zombie, and Richard Liberty's turn as Dr. Logan nails that kind of scientific obsession which leads many into madness. (The group didn't nickname him "Frankenstein" for nothing.)

The underrated music score by John "Creepshow" Harrison suits the movie well and then some; in fact, I listen to it outside of the movie every now and then, either on the road or at work. There's something about that dual theme of survival and hope in the melodies (repeated in the tropical-getaway motif) that seems to me timely and relevant in a world gone mad, and it encourages me in my own life's purpose. And if music be the soundtrack of our lives (as David Geffen once opined), then Day's score sometimes seems like mine. I never get tired of hearing it.

But wow, how about those unbelievable make-up effects by Tom Savini, who worked together with his understudy Greg Nicotero on this project? If he was teaching his student how to be the master, then man, did he ever prove it. Putting aside the main showcases, even simple gunshots look incredibly impressive! I believe Savini was at the top of his game here, so when I heard him say in the making-of doc' that he considered his work on Day to be his masterpiece, it's not the ego talking. The man is speaking from experience, and besides that, it's absolutely true. The effects never fail to shock every time I see them.

In short, Day of the Dead is not only my favourite Romero picture, but easily in my Top 10 horror movies list.

Nah, strike that... it's in my Top 5.