History Film / DayOfTheDead1985

* ApocalypticLogistics: Justified; the movie takes place on a military installation, supplied with food, ammunition and fuel (and not that many people left to use any of it) meaning that resupply or scavening isn't an immediate issue, but it's already becoming a point of friction, as Rhodes doesn't think the civilians are pulling their weight and earning their use of the supplies.

* ItCanThink: Rhodes is seriously freaked out when the MadScientist demonstrates that zombies can remember things from their pre-zombification lives. Such as saluting an officer if said zombie was a veteran. Or operating an [[ChekhovsGun M1911 .45 pistol]]. Miguel mentions seeing a zombie trying to drive an inoperable car on a highway, implying that other zombies retain some minor recollection of their past lives, though Bub is by far the smartest.

* ApocalypseLogistics: Justified; the movie takes place on a military installation, supplied with food, ammunition and fuel (and not that many people left to use any of it) meaning that resupply or scavening isn't an immediate issue, but it's already becoming a point of friction, as Rhodes doesn't think the civilians are pulling their weight and earning their use of the supplies.

* TheAlcoholic: [=McDermot=], who is DrowningMySorrows. He also just happens to be Irish...

** As the film progresses, it becomes clear that the scientists are pretty much just wasting their time; there is no cure for the zombie plague, and attempting to pacify and domesticate the undead is likewise a wasteful effort, particularly as Logan's method involved [[spoiler:feeding the flesh of the recently dead to zombies as a "reward" for their good behavior]]. And as the zombie pandemic has grown so out of control that physically exterminating them is no longer possible, there is only one realistic way left for the remaining human population, however few or many of them there may be, to survive the apocalypse, which is indirectly alluded to by both Logan (who posits that it might take 10-12 years for the zombies to decay to the point of immobility) and John (who repeatedly states his desire to just drop everything and take off for an island to live off the rest of his days): To hunker down and wait for the zombies to rot away, no matter how long it takes.

* GoMadFromTheApocalypse: Set decades after the apocalypse had hit and while many of the characters in the film are reaching their breaking points, it's Pvt. Miguel Salazar who goes over the edge. The film opens with Sarah being forced to amputate his arm to save him from a zombie bite, and in his recovery he slowly goes mad, ending the film by [[spoiler: letting all the zombies into the base.]]

* ItCanThink: Rhodes is seriously freaked out when the MadScientist demonstrates that zombies can remember things from their pre-zombification lives. Such as saluting an officer if said zombie was a veteran. Or operating an [[ChekhovsGun M1911 .45 pistol]].

** [[spoiler: Steel is bitten on the shoulder by a zombie while attempting to kill Bub, and a big group of them starts swarming in on him through the door. Though he shoots himself to avoid this fate, his corpse is still devoured immediately afterwards]].

* ItHasBeenAnHonor: Of the deeply ironic sort, with Bub's salute. Earlier in the film, Bub the zombie had saluted Rhodes when asked by Dr. Logan, but Rhodes had refused to return the gesture. When Bub [[spoiler:shoots Rhodes twice and then leaves him to be eaten by the other zombies]] Bub gives what is obviously a sarcastic salute.

''Day of the Dead'' is a 1985 horror film by director Creator/GeorgeARomero, the third of his ''Film/LivingDeadSeries''. It is preceded by ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'' and ''Film/DawnOfTheDead1978''. Romero has described the film as a "tragedy about how a lack of human communiction causes chaos and collapse even in this small little pie slice of society". Steve Miner directed [[Film/DayOfTheDead2008 a remake]] which was released on February 15, 2008, and there is an official prequel called ''Day of the Dead 2: Contagium'' from 2005 which nobody from the original movie had any involvement with. 2018 saw a loose reboot/remake/whatever of the original entitled ''Day of the Dead: Bloodline''.

** Also applies to John and Bill. Both are established as capable at their respective roles, but unwilling to take major risks that will put them in harm's way. They also isolate themselves and stay as clear of the drama between the scientists and soldiers as they possibly can, as John feels he and Bill are in a CantKillYouStillNeedYou situation. [[Spoiler: He's right about himself, but as it turns out, not Bill. Subverted in the end when they take Sarah's side, offering to house Miguel and refusing to let Rhodes and the others execute him after he's been bitten and Sarah has amputated Miguel's infected arm. The subversion continues after Logan is killed by Rhodes and John refuses to fly Rhodes and his men clear and abandon Sarah, Bill, and Dr. Fisher.]]

* HiddenDepths: Two notable cases.

* DaylightHorror: The word "day" is even in the title. Multiple scenes showcasing the bunker's exterior show the very clear day... and the endless zombie hordes surrounding the place.