Ummmm, I'm sorry, did you say Day of the Dead 2: Contagium? Huh? Did I miss something? Wha?

Actually, I remember hearing about this one months ago, scratching my head in confusion and disgust...Now that I've finally seen it, I'm still scratching. Let's get something straight here. Day of the Dead 2: Contagium has absolutely nothing to do with Romero or any of his films...like I had to tell you that anyway. Absolutely nothing to do with them. And when you consider the level of sheer audacity that goes into the making of an indie film like this....it's enough to cause collective head spinning amongst horror geeks across this great land of ours.

All I knew about this title (up until now) was what I had read about its evolution and 'making of' stories on the net. Needless to say, but advanced word on this flick was far from positive. I'm willing to give just about any flick a shot so I went into this one with as much of an open mind as my conscience would allow. Originally titled Day of the Dead: Contagium, the '2' was apparently added to help clear up some of the 'misconceptions' about the film.

Oh, I see, much clearer now. Thanks for that!

Ugh. It's not looking good here.

The cover art has been directly lifted from the original film. As far as first impressions go, I'd have to say that this isn't a very good one. We're off to a seriously bad start here folks. It's glaringly obvious that the filmmakers are attempting to work off of brand recognition here, not talent. It comes across as slimy and deceitful and I don't like it. Why not just call the film Contagium then? Oh, I know why, because it would still be a shitty fucking film, that's why. At least with this title under your belt, you have a fighting chance of possibly selling something and maybe even turning a quick profit...especially when Anchor Bay is handling your distribution. Shame on all involved. I know it may sound like I'm making assumptions here, but the truth of the matter is that this is a vibe set off by this film before it's even watched.

The film opens in Pittsburgh in 1968, at a hospital that seems to have been taken over by Russian occupancy. A vial of zombie plague is brought into the mix and mass hysteria ensues. In the mean time, one soldier (or hospital employee, I'm not quite sure what's going on here actually) grabs a thermos containing a vile of the death virus and attempts to sneak it out. Why? I'm not entirely sure, but I'll bet it has something to do with the remaining 90-minutes of the film. Right? I mean it's gotta! Naturally he doesn't make it out alive, but the thermos is dropped and never recovered.

Present time, and the hospital is now a loony bin playing host to a stereotypical lot of crazies. Out for some sun (and some sort of work duty, once again, I'm not entirely sure), the loonies find the thermos and eventually let loose the contagium that apparently started it all. I'd tell you some of their names, but it doesn't really matter.

Once the 'contagium' is set free, it takes a while to come to full effect. About an hour or so to be exact. So in the mean time, these nut jobs traipse around the hospital, make out with their nutty girlfriends and deal with disorderly orderlies. Pretty soon their faces start to peel and they exhibit signs of some sort of infection until finally (within the films final 20-minutes of a 100+ minute film mind you), there is a full blown outbreak. Are they zombies? I dunno. Because they all exhibit different abilities. Some limp and drag themselves along, some walk or run at a more brisk pace. Some are oblivious as to their surroundings while others appear to be quite aware as to what's happening. The whole thing is quite boring and tedious to be honest, so it really doesn't matter in the end. A few severed limbs and 25 extras spitting up blood is just not enough to save this dreck. This film is boring, uninspired, lacks artistic integrity and was obviously made for one reason and one reason only - profit.

Amazingly enough, I didn't hate this film because it's cheap or poorly put together. Quite the contrary, it actually looks like there was some money behind it. Whether or not there actually was a substantial budget is besides the point, cause it looks like it did. That being said, this is a competently shot production. And looks pretty good for what one would refer to as an 'indie' film. I wish I could say the same for the acting and effects however, which are strictly bargain basement all the way.

Would you believe that the most entertaining piece of this film is the opening scene in the military hospital? I thought so. Words cannot describe how utterly boring and pointless this film is. Tack on the Day of the Dead title and it really just stands to make me angry. The two held responsible for this 'film' are co-directors Ana Clavell and James Glenn Dudelson, and they both come across as quite pretentious about their work. From what I can tell, they're not fans of the genre (I have to even question if they've ever even seen a Romero zombie film in its entirety). They're obviously trying to forge ahead with their careers and they are attempting to use this name brand recognition as a jump-start. It sucks, plain and simple.

Picture quality is stunning, which is quite understandable when you consider the fact that this film was probably never even run through a projector. It looks great, which is a real shame. Same for the Dolby Stereo track. What a waste. Extras include a 12-minute behind-the-scenes segment. And I'll admit, the cast and crew seem enthusiastic about the project, but at the same time, they could just be really happy to be working...period. Then there's the audio commentary with co-directors and writers Ana Clavell and James Glenn Dudelson. Only listen to this track for one reason...and one reason only. If you want to sit and listen to these two pat one another on the back for 100+ minutes, because that's all they do. They don't talk about their inspirations for the project or their love for the genre. They congratulate each other on properly composed or lit shots and point out their self-serving cameos! They even go so far as to define the word 'contagium' for us - gee thanks, I get it now! When they refer to the film by name, they refer to it as 'Day of the Dead' - I can't fucking believe it! It's still ringing in my ears, they're patting themselves on the back referring to their film, Day of the Dead! Stop the insanity!

This film is a wreck. It plays off as an overly bloody movie of the week, and a really bad one at that. Do not support this film. Do not buy it, do not rent it and if it's on the Sci-Fi channel, do not watch it. The same duo are apparantly now in post-production for Creepshow 3...god help us all. The sooner I erase this whole sordid affair from my memory, the better. Don't poison your minds for godsakes!