This one finds a group of survivors, mostly made up of military men and scientists, hiding out in an underground bunker. The military men are portrayed as fascist thugs, with the scientists being oppressed and forced to conduct their research under strict limitations. There are those who say that the film is Romero's take on Reagan-era politics and U.S. tensions with the Soviet Union. Some say it also served as a prelude to the disaster at Chernobyl. Legitimate observations, certainly, but we believe the film succeeds on a much more personal level.
The scientists have been experimenting on one of the undead, whom they've named Bud. Their goal is to learn how to tame, control and humanize the zombies as much as possible. Bud has learned to respond to certain commands and communicate with the simplest of words. He has also come to experience fractured memories of his past as a human. By becoming more humanized, however, Bud also eventually learns how to use more advanced methods of violence.
