...of the Dead

[Scary Gary]

In par with the recent Romero shows the boys are doing, tell us your favorite Romero Dead film and why.

[misterd]

Not voting in your own poll, Gary?

Night for me, hands down.

1. Black and white, feels like archived newsreel footage, just heightens the reality and mood.
2. Probably because the casting was accidental, the message is an effective subtext.
3. The ending. Fucking brilliant.

Why not Dawn?
1. Sorry, I've never felt the "anti-consumerism" theme was handled in a particularly subtle way (unless you compare it to later Romero films).
2. Blue zombies?
3. Too long. Or maybe that's the extended cut?
4. Speaking of, too many cuts. Which is the one I should be voting for (or against)?
5. Never been a fan of the pie fight.

Why not Day?
1. No single reason, really. Just not as good a film as the first two, though the viscera is magnificent.

Why not Land?
1. Now we're really hammering home the message. Pretty much blunt force.
2. I think some of the messages are a bit dated. The 60s are over, he needs to let go of some things.
3. Dead Reckoning? A little too Damnation Alley for me.

Why not Diary?
1. It sucks.
2. The acting is awful.
3. The writing is weak.
4. Romero has no clue how to make the kind of film he set out to make.

Why not Survival?
1. I haven't seen it yet.

[Scary Gary]

Nah. It's a secret.

Night is my favorite.

I'm a fan of Dawn and Day as well. Not so much the others, though I will watch them. I'm definitely not a fan of the progression of zombie "intelligence." If not for that, I'd be hard pressed to decide between the original three.

[bigmac]

It will always be Dawn for me. It was my first introduction to zombies and it changed the way I looked at horror films. I appreciate that the movie takes time developing the characters, and doesn't throw massive zombie battles at us every few minutes. The effects simply blew me away. I'd never seen anything like it. And the scene in the basement as the SWAT team takes over the building still chills me.

Night: Close second. Great movie, very gritty, but just not as much of a life changer for me as Dawn.

Day: Again, great film with simply stunning effects. But the soldiers are too black and white. While the others in his trilogy have their unpleasant characters, they aren't as stereotypically villainous as in this one.

Land: I like this one and felt it summed up the original trilogy well. Plays well as an action film, but I like the additional class commentary injected into the script.

Diary: Again, I liked this film. I'm glad it wasn't just another found footage type film, and the plot explains we are watching an edited production. The moral is very heavy handed, but some of the humor is pretty fun and the pool scene was freaky.

Survival: Haven't seen it, but I will.

[Captain Midnight]

Each is flawed and each has it's moments. I'm mulling the subject over for a big article for my blog.

[mudoogul]

In order of preference:

• Dawn of the Dead
  
• Day of the Dead
  
• Night of the Living Dead
  
• Land of the Dead
  
• Survival of the Dead
  
• Diary of the Dead
  

[DeadAlive]

It's so close between the first three films but Dawn just about wins out. Night is a close second though.

I can't say I'm a fan of Land or Diary, and I'm yet to see Survival.

[necronomics]

Day is my favorite but Night is a better film

[squiggles003]

Night is the best one and to this day still one of the best zombie movies out there

[bubba522]

Having worked in retail most of my adult life, I can only pick "Dawn." Messages about consumerism aside, this movie, more than any other, shows what it's really like to work in a mall. It has everything from how corporate bosses look at business to the rise of mall-walking. Forget "Mallrats," DOTD is a TRUE representation of the retail industry. Take that, Kevin Smith.