Why Day Of The Dead’s Sequels & Remakes Are So Bad

Horror master George A. Romero’s zombie classic Day of the Dead has received a terrible sequel and two awful remakes, and here’s why they suck. As the creator of the modern zombie genre, Romero’s name is generally associated with excellence when it comes to the undead. Sadly, that isn’t the case for the various films that have attempted to piggyback off the name Romero established with 1985’s terrific Day of the Dead, a film that wasn’t huge at the time of its release, but has since gained high levels of esteem from zombie lovers.

It’s no secret that Romero’s original script for Day of the Dead was a much bigger, more extravagant take on the zombie apocalypse that the director himself dubbed “the Gone with the Wind of zombie films.” Still, after those plans fell through due to lack of funding, the stripped down Day of the Dead that Romero ended up making was pretty great in its own right, presenting a battle between scientists and the military as to what should be done to solve the flesh-eating problem.

Unfortunately, Hollywood is full of legal wrangling and rights quirks that often lead to bad outcomes. In the case of Day of the Dead, its moniker ended up outside of Romero’s control, leading to zombie movies that were horrific for all the wrong reasons.

Why Day Of The Dead’s Sequels & Remakes Are So Bad

Sadly, the mid-2000s saw the rights to the Day of the Dead name end up in the clutches of Taurus Entertainment, along with fellow George Romero movie Creepshow. It’s not entirely clear how the company, run by James Dudelson and Ana Clavell, ended up accomplishing this feat, but it would be far from the first time rights issues dealt Romero’s films a bad hand. Taurus has actually produced only a handful of films, and well, their output is almost universally considered to be awful. Their films are made on tiny budgets, usually have poor acting, and sport plots more likely to cause an eye-roll than a jump scare.

Taurus Entertainment has so far produced three films seeking to cash in on the Day of the Dead name, despite having no connection to Romero’s film or anyone involved with making it. The first was 2005 sequel Day of the Dead 2: Contagium, which despite its title is arguably a prequel, not that it really matters, as little effort is made to try and maintain continuity with Romero’s original. Then, 2008 saw Taurus produce a remake of Day of the Dead, which again had almost nothing in common with the original. It did, at least feature a few recognizable actors in Ving Rhames, Nick Cannon, and Mena Suvari, although it’s unlikely this is a film they boast about starring in. Most recently, Taurus was behind 2018’s second Day of the Dead remake, called Day of the Dead: Bloodline. Needless to say, it’s highly recommended zombie fans avoid all three of the aforementioned efforts.

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