It goes without saying that George A. Romero is universally recognized as the godfather of the modern-day zombie film. The independent filmmaker and Pittsburgh native made several horror movies in his time, but will always be remembered for his seminal zombie outings such as Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead. Even the third leg in his zombie series, Day of the Dead, is Romero's personal favorite despite being the least successful financially.
Day of the Dead was released in the U.S. on July 19, 1985. The film centers on a throng of military survivors holed up in an underground bunker as a rabid army of flesh-starved zombies invades from the outside. Though it initially received middling reviews, Day of the Dead has since been vindicated by time to become a bona fide cult classic. For more, here are 10 behind-the-scenes facts about George A. Romero's Day of the Dead.
The Original Concept Was Epic In Scope
Coming off the massive success of Dawn of the Dead, Romero set out to make "the Gone with the Wind of zombie films." The epic scope of the original conceit involved a spate of scientists living in a fortress above ground bolstered by electrical fences while the military remained underground. A much more graphic ending and a small unit of army-trained zombies was also planned.
Alas, Romero could not secure the budget to realize his epic vision which resulted in Day of the Dead's more confined and claustrophobic setting. Instead, he waited 20 years and recycled many of these concepts into fourth Living Dead film, Land of the Dead.
The Movie Went Through Five Rewrites
Romero penned a total of five scripts for Day of the Dead, each one decreasing in length to accommodate his small budget. The first draft was 200 pages long, which was then subsequently reduced to 122 pages. When the script was deemed too expensive to make by the United Film Distribution Company (UFDC), Romero reshaped the 200-page script down to 165 pages, which was then truncated to 104 pages.
With all four iterations of the script rejected on the count of being too pricey to film, in the end, Romero whittled his epic story down to a filmable and more practical 88-page script.
The Movie's Gore Cut The Budget In Half
When UFDC finally greenlit Romero's shortened screenplay, the filmmaker was given a budget of $7 million to make it. Problem was, the money came with a massive caveat. Romero was told by UFDC that if he delivered an R-Rated movie, he would get to use all $7 million of the originally allotted budget. However, if Romero went overboard with the gore and turned in an unrated film, the budget would be slashed in half to $3.5 million.
Of course, Romero couldn't resist making one of his goriest films of all and was docked a cool $3.5 million for his disobedience.
There Are Recycled Extras From Dawn Of The Dead
Romero was so taken by the locals in his time making his prior zombie movie Dawn of the Dead in his native Pittsburgh that he reinvited many of the extras on that film to return the favor on Day of the Dead. This is why many of the background zombies look so familiar in both films.
For their services as extras on the film, the background actors were paid one dollar, given a copy of the newspaper prop seen at the start of the film, and a hat that reads "I played a zombie in Day of the Dead." Needless to say, it was worth it.
The Underground Bunker Was An Old Mining Site
The underground bunker that most of the movie takes place in was not filmed on a soundstage, but rather an old limestone mine located in Wampum, Pennsylvania. The structure spans 2,500,000 square feet and has been used to store sensitive documents.
While filming in the mining site, the temperature was constantly regulated to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Even so, the humid conditions underground were extremely problematic for the equipment, props, and FX crews. Several electrical mishaps prevented Tom Savini's FX from functioning properly. Many crew members even slept in the mine to avoid daily travel to the remote area. The scenes above ground were filmed in and around Fort Meyer, Florida.
The VFX Failed More Than Once
Speaking of Savini's vexed FX work, the dream scene in which Sarah (Lori Cardille) is attacked by a horde of zombie arms punching through the wall had to be redone from scratch. During the first attempt to film it, the wall wasn't sturdy enough and it with several zombie extras came plummeting down on Cardille.
Also, the scene in which Sarah performs surgery on Miguel's arm had to be redone after the surgical prop recoiled from the rubber flesh. Savini recreated the prop out of wax and the effect worked impeccably.
Real Pig Intestines & Blood Was Used For The Gore
For the more graphic stints of gore seen in the film -- most notably in Captain Rhodes' (Joseph Pilato) grisly disembowelment -- real pig intestines were used. Pig's blood and guts were obtained from a local slaughterhouse for use in the scene.
Unfortunately, a staff member on set accidentally disconnected the refrigerator holding the pig's blood and intestines, causing the contents to spoil. As a result of those coming in contact with the contamination, several crew members become physically ill during the production. That, and filming the gory scenes was a nightmare due to the guts' intense stench.
George A. Romero Has A Cameo
Romero's lower-half makes a cameo appearance in the film as a zombie schlepping a shopping cart across a parking lot. He can be seen just as the finale zombie smorgasbord takes place. Although his face remains shrouded, Romero can be identified via his trademark plaid scarf swaddled around his waist as he ambles in the foreground.
Other cameos in the film include KNB Makeup and FX guru Howard Berger, who appears as the zombie who spins around in the cave before being shot by John. Also, the American band New Rhythm and Blues Quartet (NRBQ) appears as zombies in the bunker.
Bub Made Zombie History
Day of the Dead bears several unique historical markers within Romero's venerated zombie film series. For instance, the character of Bub (Howard Sherman) is the first zombie in a Romero flick to utter a line of dialogue when he says "Hello Aunt Alicia."
The film also marks the first time a zombie-clown was featured in Romero's zombie films, something he would recreate in his subsequent films Land of the Dead and Diary of the Dead. Also, Bub is the first zombie in Romero's canon to kill out of vengeance rather than for food or instinct.
The Movie Originally Ended With A Gigantic Explosion
Romero initially conceived an ending that was far different than the events depicted in the final cut of Day of the Dead. Initially, the ending was to have all of the scientists die a fiery death after being caught in a chemical explosion in the laboratory. As grim as this may seem, it actually offered a bit of hope when it's shown that one of the men who died during the explosion fails to reanimate as a zombie, inferring that the outbreak is finally over.
When the budget was slashed in half, this FX-laden sequence proved too expensive to film. Romero reworked the ending into an abrupt dream sequence that still ends on a hopeful note, with the few remaining scientists escaping to a desert island free of the undead.