Day of the Dead and RoadsMary's Baby

31 Days of Drafts and Darkness: VOL 2!

"Day of the Dead" (1985)

Hard to talk about zombies without bringing up George Romero. His "Night of the Living Dead" and "Dawn of the Dead" are twin horror classics that influenced literally hundreds of zombie movies. Each film is heavy on both gore and the social commentary. Romero's zombies are sort of like his paints or canvas. These shambling corpses just so happen to be how the director expresses his opinion on film.

"Night" focused on racism. That the African American hero meets his demise not at the hands of the undead, but human vigilantes, coldly drives the point home. "Dawn" was about skewering commercialism, it's mindless hordes returning to the same shopping centers they did as mindless sheep in life.

And then there's the underdog of the group: "Day of the Dead".

Released in 1985, "Day" came out during the 80's hey-day of macho action and war movies. America was in love with stories about a lone soldier annihilating swaths of enemy troops. The one-man army. It's this theme that Romero goes after.

"Day of the Dead" is about the collapse of mankind in the absence of law. It's really a tale of two sides: soldiers and scientists, and how their inability to communicate leads to mutual destruction. Without leadership, the soldiers have devolved into a group of petty thugs, pushing around the scientists to feel like they still have control of a world that's fallen apart. They know only violence, hoping to outgun an enemy they can never fully destroy.

The Plot:

The zombie apocalypse began approximately one year ago. In the days since, society has collapsed. What's left of mankind now survives in small groups, constantly on the lookout for other people. Most search missions result in nothing.

Underground in an old military bunker, a tense existence is held between struggling scientists and power-hungry soldiers. The scientists are trying to understand the undead, literally studying them in cages and labs in an attempt to find a cure. Dr. Logan, one of the chief scientists, has been driven near-mad by his work. The extremes to which he'll go to produce results is disturbing. He's even trained a zombie by the name of Bub, who actually displays a bit of intelligence.

 The soldiers are basically the law of this makeshift society. Led by Col. Rhodes, an utter sociopath, the soldiers want nothing more than to wipe out all the zombies. They're just too damn many, with hundreds gathered just above their facility alone. They begrudgingly allow the scientists to experiment on the undead, even helping them restrain the creatures. But a lack of direction and purpose breeds resentment in the ranks.

Despite the millions of zombies crawling over Earth's surface, the biggest threat to mankind's survival is not from the undead, but the fragile state of this relationship. Unless the people involved can communicate and work together, no cure will be found.

The Flavor:

"Day of the Dead" is a zombie movie. There are dozens of the mindless dead-heads stumbling around the wasteland of what was once Earth. But while they cover the scenery, they act almost like a force of nature, essentially the inevitable. As mankind, what's left of it, bickers amongst itself, the zombies draw ever nearer.

Without a formal system of government, what's left of the armed forces basically goes renegade. They start calling the shots because they're the ones with the guns. Even though the scientists are humanity's best hope for survival, the soldiers feel the need to mistreat them just to maintain a semblance of control. With little else to do and no judicial force to lead them, they essentially devolve into bullies, mankind at his most primal.

Contrast this to the attitude of the scientists, constantly trying to figure out why and how the zombies rose. They know there's no point in fighting the undead, so they seek to understand them. Their research is about the future of the species, while the troops want immediate results.

Neither side works on its own. Without direction, leadership, and an eye on the future, mankind reverts back to survival of the fittest. The biggest and strongest survive. Only the present moment matters and one's future is uncared for. 

Without order and organization, people lose their grip on reality, going to even terrible lengths and claiming the ends will justify the means.

*Whew!*

Okay, that was a lot of heavy content to cover. While I could go on, I think that basic summary covers the film's point. You may think all that metaphor takes away from the zombie action, and wow, would you ever be wrong.

As a stand-alone zombie movie, "Day of the Dead" puts most modern efforts to shame. The effects are all practical, all convincing, and even more brutal than those of "Night" and "Dawn". When the zombies attack, they don't just bite. They tear, rip, pull-apart, and eviscerate. Some of the kills are the goriest and most creative I've ever seen in a horror film, and they are certainly not for the faint of heart! But for fans, they're glorious.

Another point I have to mention is the concept of zombie-evolution. "Dawn" played with this concept a little, as its zombies instinctively returned to places they remembered from life. Here, the idea is taken further. The zombie Dr. Logan trains, Bub, is a large character in this film and given quite a bit of sympathy. Yes, Bub will not hesitate to feast on brains when they're offered, but his nature is more curious, more contemplative than that of his fellow walkers. This growth will be carried on even further into "Land of the Dead", but not with quite the soul it's given here.

Best Paired with:

Like zombie films? You'll love this.

Enjoy practical effects, make-up, and gore? Especially without a trace of CGI? Give it a watch.

Looking for a well-made scary movie with some brains behind its blood and guts? Check it out.

Squeamish?...Close your eyes for the nasty parts.

Accompanying Brew:

Both zombie films and pumpkin beers are numerous. There are dozens of options. "Day of the Dead" is far deeper than your average undead movie, so let's find a pumpkin beer with some depth all its own...

 Name: Roadsmary's Baby

Brewery: Two Roads

Where Brewed: Stratford, CT

ABV: 6.8%

Style: Pumpkin Ale, aged in Rum Barrels

Color:  A slightly-hazy nut brown shade, like a mix of orange and ruby colors.

Aroma: The entire array of Fall spices are there. With them are a mix of sweetness and dry pumpkin flavor

Taste: Starts out much like a typical pumpkin ale. The spices wash over the tongue and are one of the first things you taste. They're strong in flavor, as can be expected, but not overly expressed. The beer isn't sweet, so the spices don't go into cloying or syrupy territory. As the spice flavor settles, a nice dry pumpkin flavor arrives. If you're a pumpkin fan, you'll be happy, as this pumpkin flavor is fairly robust and comes through well even among the spices.

Here's where it gets interesting. The spices and pumpkin are par for the Halloween-course, but along with them comes the sharp, slightly-sweet sting of higher alcohol. This sweetness has a bit more body to it, coating the mouth moreso. It's the rum, my friends. If you're a spiced rum fan, this brew's the perfect seasonal treat. Because many of the spices used in rum are already present, both the pumpkin and rum go very well together. Plus, the sweetness is restrained enough to keep the beer tasty, complex, and interesting.

Aftertaste: After you swallow, the spice and pumpkin character stick around for quite a bit. It's also at this time that some of the boozier qualities of the rum come out moreso. I'd almost venture to say the rum is more pronounced at the end of a sip than at its beginning or mid-point. The hop profile is hard to peg, as there are so many other flavors. It's there, but very subtle.

Body: The brew shares the light-to-medium body of most other pumpkin ales, but it's weight is upped by the higher ABV and rum, which gives it a distinct 'mouth-coating' quality usually shared by, unsurprisingly, higher ABV brews and liquors. It certainly helps spread the flavor around the mouth, and there's a lot of flavors to distribute.

Pair: With the season, itself. This is fantastic and would go equally well with pizza/wing night as it would roast pork or chicken. So far, my favorite seasonal beer for 2014!