I am fully prepared to admit that I might be the problem here, because horror purists absolutely worship this movie. But I have to be completely honest: Day of the Dead (1985) is just not a good film.

Let us start with the absolute only redeeming quality of this movie, which is the only reason it earned any points at all: the practical effects. The gore is spectacular. When characters finally get chomped on by zombies, it looks incredibly visceral. That is all thanks to special makeup effects legend Tom Savini, who did such a phenomenal job that he won a Saturn Award for it. The man is a genius, and the visual horror holds up perfectly.

The rest of this movie, however, is a tedious, awfully acted screaming match.

The acting from the military characters is excruciatingly hard to watch. It is just constant, theatrical shouting. And before anyone tries to throw the classic defense at me—"Remember, it was the 1980s, that is just how movies were!"—I am absolutely not letting that sentiment slide. I will not be gaslit. There are plenty of phenomenal military movies made in the 1980s that feature incredible, grounded acting. Platoon came out in 1986. Full Metal Jacket came out in 1987. Those actors managed to wear military fatigues without screaming every single line of dialogue like they were in a chaotic high school play.

Furthermore, the character dynamics in this underground bunker left me completely flabbergasted. The toxic soldiers constantly make crude jokes about the lead scientist, Sarah, sleeping with the soldier Miguel Salazar. If you were sitting there confused about their relationship, you are not alone. Miguel is technically her boyfriend, but because he is suffering a massive mental breakdown, Sarah just acts like his fierce protector. They have absolutely zero romantic chemistry, making the whole dynamic feel incredibly strange.

Meanwhile, John the pilot and McDermott the radio operator—who live together in a tropical-themed trailer away from everyone else—absolutely exude domestic couple energy. The entire social ecosystem of this bunker is a baffling mess.

I do not have many more good things to say about this film. The movie overall kind of sucked, dude. I am giving it a 4 out of 10 purely to respect Tom Savini's legendary practical effects.