by Steven Duarte
This month’s Hi-Def Blood column will cover another Romero zombie classic, “Day of the Dead.” This film is my personal favorite of the “Dead,” series. I know I’m probably in the minority by saying that but anyone who disagrees can eat a mouth full of Greek Salad. Now onto the review of this Blu-ray release. Having owned the previous Divimax and original DVD release from 1998, I can say that this film has never looked better. The picture quality has been drastically cleaned up and improved from the original DVD release. This improvement in quality is not as drastic with the remastered Divimax edition but you can still tell the difference when comparing the two. I mentioned in last month’s Hi-Def Blood column that the improved picture quality caused the special effects to really show their age. This is not the case with Day of the Dead as the extra lines of resolution only add to the comprehensive special FX work done by Tom Savini. Every flesh tearing, eye gouging, gut munching scene is displayed in full high def glory. The outdoor scenes especially benefit from the upgrade in picture quality showing natural flesh tones and bright earth colors.
The sound also gets high marks from me as the Dolby Digital surround sound mix really makes use of your surround speakers. This film takes place underground in a salt mine and the improved soundtrack really immerses you in the film. The echoes of the cave and the moans and groans of the zombies can be heard from the rear surround speakers, adding to your movie experience.
A majority of the extras included in the Blu-ray version of the film were carried over from the Divimax version. The Blu-ray version does have an exclusive extra that was not featured on any of the previous DVD releases. The “Fast Film Facts,” feature has little boxes that pop up during the movie giving you additional insight into the film. Considering that you are getting majority of the extras from the Divimax version this Blu-ray exclusive is a nice little bonus.
Final verdict
I would definitely recommend this title on Blu-ray. This verdict is not as hard as last months since there really have not been many different releases of the film on home video. The Divimax version of the film on DVD is the closes runner up but you would need to own this Blu-ray to truly own the ultimate version.
………….For next month’s Hi-Def Blood column I take a break from zombies to visit our old friend in Haddonfield with my Blu-ray review of Halloween (1978).
--Steven M Duarte
