If you love Romero's zombie films like I do, the name of Captain Rhodes will be very familiar to you. Yes, he's the very angry bastard in DAY OF THE DEAD (1985), the most underrated of Romero's first three Dead movies. In 2011 I interviewed the man who played Rhodes, Joe Pilato, who also has the honour of suffering what is in my view the most memorable death in horror history. We spoke about Romero, the legacy of Day of the Dead, and the character of Rhodes. Joe sadly died in 2019, but he has a reserved place in horror history.
So here is the interview...
"CHOKE ON 'EM!"
25 years on do you think Day of the Dead is finally getting the credit it deserved?
Yes, I do. We were side blasted by Dawn of the Dead. Everybody wanted the shopping mall and we gave them the cave under some budgetary restrictions. George keeps saying it’s one of his favourite films. It had a very claustrophobic situation and you had characters coming from a complete point of view. So, it stands and it will always stand because not only is it horrific, not only does it make you ‘stay scared,’ it’s also intellectually complete and George took what he had – his budget was cut in half – and he chose to go into the world of isolation. What he couldn’t do visually he did “literally.” He had points of view in collision: Logan, the mad scientist; Sarah, the buffer; Rhodes, the military man whose job was just to exterminate. So, it was a sense of confinement and ideas. People were not stupid.
George took a sense of confinement, which was opposed to his original script. He took a sense of confinement and claustrophobia where it met mindlessness. I personally think we were originally dismissed by the press for not repeating the shopping mall scenario but instead we continued with the evolution of the story.
Why do you think it was not as well received when it was released?
For Dawn, the concept of the shopping mall at that point in time was so ingenious. But nobody concentrated on the shopping mall. They concentrated on the characters. The concept of the shopping mall was brand new at the time and a sociological statement. When you look at Land of the Dead, it’s about time shares. And, I don’t think George starts with these concepts. You look at Dawn and it’s the shopping mall and if you look at Land it’s either about assisted living or timeshares. I don’t think any great writer or director starts with a concept. I think George had a story to tell and the zombies had to evolve. If you create a species like George did, and you want to continue the story, there’s an evolution. Look at Dawn of the Dead then look at Land of the Dead and you traverse between the shopping mall and you see the journey to timeshare. With Day, I think at the time the claustrophobic concept was lost on audience’s expectations for another Dawn.
How does it feel to be part of horror history?
It really feels great. Not because of any sort of infatuation of always being accessible on DVD and other formats. The thing is the genre fans. I have never met a genre fan I didn’t like. Genre fans ask great questions. In so many ways, a family has developed, and without that family, I’m just a piece of celluloid. I have the great fortune, as well as many of my colleagues do, of having an astute and knowledgeable film family. Because of the film, I’ll be around for a longtime. But, it’s the genre fans that have been a big part of the experience. They are the people that make this thing tick, and I love them to death. With them, we are an ongoing experience and I sincerely believe that.
Do you ever see any of the rest of Day of the Dead's cast?
Yes, absolutely. I stay in contact with all of them. I’m really close with everyone. We meet up at conventions. It’s always a great celebration. Geographically, we live in very different locations. Gary, Lori, Tim and Jarlath are on the East coast, I’m on the West coast so we meet at conventions and when we do it’s a wonderful thing. I speak with them by phone at least once or twice a month. It’s funny because not until – let’s see the movie was made in 1984... until Fangoria did a reunion years later, I hadn’t seen Gary or Lori since we made the movie but have stayed in touch with them ever since. They have been a great resource in my life and I believe I’ve been a great resource in their lives and that doesn’t happen very often in film. We spent a lot of time underground and got close. And we’re still close.
So it’s silly to ask if you ever get tired of being tied to Romero's films?
Absolutely not. I had the opportunity to work with one of the greatest directors whose work is in the archives of the New York Museum of Modern Art.
Finally, what is your view on Rhodes as a character and do you really think he was such a bad guy?
Rhodes was not a bad guy. You go to the airport today you either get put in a chamber or strip searched or hand searched. This is the beauty of George. Rhodes is the military point of view. Sarah and Logan were the medical point of view. It’s a tough choice, we live in a tough time. I think Rhodes was like, ‘shoot ‘em in the head,’ and that’s always going to be the military point of view. Unfortunately, Major Cooper died, Rhodes would have been second in command but when Cooper died, Rhodes had to take over and it was ‘Alright. Kill ‘em. Don’t domesticate them.’ In the small circle of isolation, we had the scientific point of view, voodoo point of view – which came from Terry’s character, and of course the military point of view. And, that was the job I was given. I’m not so sure I believe it today AND I’m not so sure I don’t believe it today. Strip search me at the airport - I’d rather do that than go through the box because of the radiation - but protect me. George was always a visionary.
So here is the interview...
"CHOKE ON 'EM!"
25 years on do you think Day of the Dead is finally getting the credit it deserved?
Yes, I do. We were side blasted by Dawn of the Dead. Everybody wanted the shopping mall and we gave them the cave under some budgetary restrictions. George keeps saying it’s one of his favourite films. It had a very claustrophobic situation and you had characters coming from a complete point of view. So, it stands and it will always stand because not only is it horrific, not only does it make you ‘stay scared,’ it’s also intellectually complete and George took what he had – his budget was cut in half – and he chose to go into the world of isolation. What he couldn’t do visually he did “literally.” He had points of view in collision: Logan, the mad scientist; Sarah, the buffer; Rhodes, the military man whose job was just to exterminate. So, it was a sense of confinement and ideas. People were not stupid.
George took a sense of confinement, which was opposed to his original script. He took a sense of confinement and claustrophobia where it met mindlessness. I personally think we were originally dismissed by the press for not repeating the shopping mall scenario but instead we continued with the evolution of the story.
Why do you think it was not as well received when it was released?
For Dawn, the concept of the shopping mall at that point in time was so ingenious. But nobody concentrated on the shopping mall. They concentrated on the characters. The concept of the shopping mall was brand new at the time and a sociological statement. When you look at Land of the Dead, it’s about time shares. And, I don’t think George starts with these concepts. You look at Dawn and it’s the shopping mall and if you look at Land it’s either about assisted living or timeshares. I don’t think any great writer or director starts with a concept. I think George had a story to tell and the zombies had to evolve. If you create a species like George did, and you want to continue the story, there’s an evolution. Look at Dawn of the Dead then look at Land of the Dead and you traverse between the shopping mall and you see the journey to timeshare. With Day, I think at the time the claustrophobic concept was lost on audience’s expectations for another Dawn.
How does it feel to be part of horror history?
It really feels great. Not because of any sort of infatuation of always being accessible on DVD and other formats. The thing is the genre fans. I have never met a genre fan I didn’t like. Genre fans ask great questions. In so many ways, a family has developed, and without that family, I’m just a piece of celluloid. I have the great fortune, as well as many of my colleagues do, of having an astute and knowledgeable film family. Because of the film, I’ll be around for a longtime. But, it’s the genre fans that have been a big part of the experience. They are the people that make this thing tick, and I love them to death. With them, we are an ongoing experience and I sincerely believe that.
Do you ever see any of the rest of Day of the Dead's cast?
Yes, absolutely. I stay in contact with all of them. I’m really close with everyone. We meet up at conventions. It’s always a great celebration. Geographically, we live in very different locations. Gary, Lori, Tim and Jarlath are on the East coast, I’m on the West coast so we meet at conventions and when we do it’s a wonderful thing. I speak with them by phone at least once or twice a month. It’s funny because not until – let’s see the movie was made in 1984... until Fangoria did a reunion years later, I hadn’t seen Gary or Lori since we made the movie but have stayed in touch with them ever since. They have been a great resource in my life and I believe I’ve been a great resource in their lives and that doesn’t happen very often in film. We spent a lot of time underground and got close. And we’re still close.
So it’s silly to ask if you ever get tired of being tied to Romero's films?
Absolutely not. I had the opportunity to work with one of the greatest directors whose work is in the archives of the New York Museum of Modern Art.
Finally, what is your view on Rhodes as a character and do you really think he was such a bad guy?
Rhodes was not a bad guy. You go to the airport today you either get put in a chamber or strip searched or hand searched. This is the beauty of George. Rhodes is the military point of view. Sarah and Logan were the medical point of view. It’s a tough choice, we live in a tough time. I think Rhodes was like, ‘shoot ‘em in the head,’ and that’s always going to be the military point of view. Unfortunately, Major Cooper died, Rhodes would have been second in command but when Cooper died, Rhodes had to take over and it was ‘Alright. Kill ‘em. Don’t domesticate them.’ In the small circle of isolation, we had the scientific point of view, voodoo point of view – which came from Terry’s character, and of course the military point of view. And, that was the job I was given. I’m not so sure I believe it today AND I’m not so sure I don’t believe it today. Strip search me at the airport - I’d rather do that than go through the box because of the radiation - but protect me. George was always a visionary.