Day of the Dead (1985): Collector's Edition - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

For me, Day of the Dead ranks as the goriest and bloodiest entry in George A. Romero's Living Dead series. Granted, Dawn is pretty gruesome and extreme, as well, but what was considered groundbreaking in the first sequel is pushed even further and taken up a notch in this cult follow-up classic. 

Tom Savini is at the height of his special make-up and practical effects at this time, which Romero teases in the first few minutes with a jawless zombie whose tongue hangs over the neck. This is later followed by a conversation between Dr. Matthew Logan (Richard Liberty) and Dr. Sarah Bowman (Lori Cardille) inside his macabre laboratory, where we not only see a corpse with its entrails falling out, but there's also another corpse with a fully exposed brain and spinal cord. And as tensions rise between the scientists and soldiers locked inside a secret military base, the gore also escalates, especially once the inevitable happens and those aforementioned soldiers meet their grisly demise. Captain Henry Rhodes' (Joseph Pilato) graphically brutal death is my personal favorite comeuppance. 

But, as with Romero's other Living Dead films, Day of the Dead explores some very interesting and worthwhile themes. Taking place less than ten years after the zombie outbreak, civilization has all but collapsed, and a handful of scientists and soldiers are barely surviving in an abandoned but secure underground bunker. Unable to find more survivors or communicate with the outside world, everyone is feeling apprehensive and becoming more hostile. This leads to conflicts between military authority and the role of scientific inquiry while in the midst of societal breakdown, and these conversations also touch on ideas about the decline of human behavior and the loss of civility. 

In the end, my love for the third entry, other than Savini's gore effects and Sherman Howard's performance of the iconic "Bub," is Romero's commentary on the psychological strain of people facing an existential threat as they also struggle with feelings of hopelessness, their morals and their mortality. 

For another take on the film, read our review of the 2013 Blu-ray release.

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
The dead walk in 2160p for George Romero's Day of the Dead Collector's Edition from Scream Factory as a four-disc 4K UHD + Blu-ray set. The 4K is pressed on a UHD100, a Region A BD50 is reserved for the 1080p offering, and two more Region A BD50 discs are reserved for the expansive bonus features collection. The discs are housed in two clear standard Blu-ray cases showcasing the original poster art and classic video artwork. The 4K and 1080p are in one case while the two bonus feature discs are in the other, and each disc sits on its own panel without stacking. Also included is a collection of postcard-sized art cards. The whole set is held together in one big, burly, hardstock slipcase. The discs load to a static menu screen with standard navigation options. The new Dolby Atmos mix is the default track for both the UHD and BD discs.

The zombies rise to take over Ultra HD with a stunning and remarkable picture that was sourced from an interpositive, which appears to be in excellent condition. The first few minutes are a bit of a mixed bag, but as soon as the opening credit sequence is over, things dramatically improve with an improved contrast and brightness balance. 

The HEVC H.265 encode comes with clean, brilliant whites and tight, crisp specular highlights, allowing for plenty of visibility within the underground bunker. Accurate, inky black levels supply rich, velvety shadows that penetrate deep into the screen without obscuring the finer details, providing the 1.85:1 image with an appreciable three-dimensional quality. The Dolby Vision HDR presentation yields a vibrant, sumptuous array of colors, from animated reds, energetic blues and lively greens to a bold selection of secondary hues in the clothing, furniture and make-up effects of the zombies. Facial complexions appear healthy and natural with a lifelike peachy-rose tone in the cast while revealing pores, wrinkles and negligible blemishes beneath the heavy make-up. The native 4K transfer also boasts razor-sharp clarity with distinct, striking details in the fabric of costumes, furniture and in the finer aspects of the bunker. (Dolby Vision HDR Video Rating: 94/100)

The cult classic lurches its way to home theaters with a highly impressive and terrifically satisfying Dolby Atmos soundtrack that shockingly does the movie justice while still remaining faithful to the original design. 

Maintaining a front-heavy presentation throughout, dialogue reproduction is precise and crisp with excellent intonation in all the performances, and background activity spreads across the entire soundstage with convincing movement and balance. The midrange is surprisingly extensive with superb clarity and definition into the higher frequencies, and the low-end delivers some palpable weight to several sequences. Although not a heavy sound effects actioner, the engineers did a remarkable job in extracting specific aural cues and expanding them into the other channels. The echo of voices very lightly bleeds into the top front heights, the music softly widens into the overheads and surrounds, and a few select atmospherics are occasionally heard above the listening area, such as water dripping from the ceiling of the tunnels. Overall, this object-based mix is an astonishing complement to the visuals and an awesome option for enjoying the movie. 

The movie also comes with three more listening options, all in English: the original design in DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono, a DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround mix and the Laserdisc DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo track. (Dolby Atmos Audio Rating: 92/100)

After thirteen years, Scream Factory rises from the grave, delivering a massive trove of new and archival extras. Virtually everything from previous releases is ported over, save for the Roger Avary commentary track that was originally produced by Anchor Bay; have to imagine that was a lapsed rights issue. With that, the same excellent cast/crew commentary returns with a new track from Daniel Kraus and Drew McWeeny that's a solid, informed listen if you're curious. Best of all, though, we have about two hours and fortyfive minutes of new cast/crew interviews featuring Lori Cardille, Greg Nicogtero, John Harrison, Ernst Dickerson, John Amplas, Ruzanne Romero, and Tina Romero. Most of these are zoom interviews, but they're all interesting, a lot of fun, and everyone has some insight to share. Even Tina Romero, who was just learning to walk during the production! After that, we get a really cool look at the hunt for original elements and the detailed restoration effort of this film to 4K. All told, you're looking at over five and a half hours of new and archival materials before the commentaries! 

4K UHD / Blu-ray Discs

• NEW Audio Commentary featuring Daniel Kraus and Drew McWeeny
• Audio Commentary featuring George Romero, Tom Savini, Cletus Anderson, and Lori Cardille
• Music & Effects Track (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono)

Bonus Disc One

• The World's End: The Making of Day of the Dead (HD 1:25:26)

Bonus Disc Two

• NEW Interview with Lori Cardille (HD 26:32)
• NEW Interview with Greg Nicotero (HD 34:54)
• NEW Interview with John Harrison (HD 28:41)
• NEW Interview with Suzanne Romero (HD 25:58)
• NEW Interview with John Amplas (HD 8:22)
• NEW Interview with Ernst Dickerson (HD 15:27)
• NEW Interview with Tina Romero (HD 24:45)
• NEW Monstermania: Restoring Day of the Dead (HD 29:21)
• NEW Stink of the Dead (HD 8:51)
• Underground: A Look into The Day of the Dead Mines (HD 7:37)
• Behind-the-Scenes Footage from Tom Savini's Archives (SD 30:42)
• Wampum Mine Promotional Video (SD 8:12)
• Photo Gallery
• Theatrical Trailers
• TV Spots

While arguably not as good or compelling as its two predecessors, George A. Romero's Day of the Dead is nonetheless a strong and effective entry to the franchise, largely remembered and beloved for Tom Savini's brutally graphic make-up effects. But Romero's story is also intriguing as it explores themes of the psychological effects of civilization's collapse while battling the roles of military authority and science in a world without a future. Courtesy of Scream Factory, the cult zombie classic lurches to 4K Ultra HD as a four-disc collector's edition, powered by a stunning Dolby Vision HDR presentation and a highly satisfying Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Featuring a wealth of bonus features to keep fans busy for hours, the overall UHD package is Highly Recommended. 

All disc reviews at High-Def Digest are completed using the best consumer HD home theater products currently on the market. More about the gear used for this review.