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So, I saw Land of the Dead.
Thank you George, for bringing zombies to the world!!
One can assert that George Romero invented the zombie genre as we know it today. Of course, there were other zombie movies before Night of the Living Dead. Mostly though, these dealt with African tribes and Voudon ritual and while scary, did not really bump up against contemporary society. Putting zombies in America, and especially someplace like rural Pennsylvania makes zombies much more terryfying than they would be otherwise. One could logically assume that such would be the case this time, as Land of the Dead is set "today" in a city with a lot of rich people separated by plenty of poor people.
This movie does some things very well. There is a solid plot, plenty of excellent gore, compelling characters and lots of shit blowing up. George makes great strides in both the development of zombies, and in the progression of society (breaking down and the weak being preyed upon by the powerful). LotD also advances the concept of the "lead zombie" which is another distinctly Romeroesque convention.
My problem? It wasn't scary. We never got to know any of the characters well, and most of the leads were never in any serious jeopardy. In fact, most of them live all the way to the end. Of course, Romero's zombie films don't normally have a lot of character development, and in a way, they joke thier way out of having people give back stories. Therefore, it's a directorial choice and not an oversight. So who am I to second guess George freaking Romero?? The problem though is that there was very little in terms of actual suspense. You pretty much knew when someone was being set up to die, and there were no surprises. No one bad lived, every negative move was consequenced. So in a way, it was the most moral of his films...or rather, it would be if there wasn't pot smoking and boozing in every non-combat scene.
I had a smallish problem with the zombies being so physically strong. Smarter makes sense, although I'd have liked to hear his ideas on why this progression occurs. With Bub (Day) he is being taught to fire the gun, so he learns it. We see the butcher with the meat cleaver so we assume he knows how to swing it. So all of the progression of zombie communication, memory, and development is supported by the other films. But logically, zombies should get physically weaker, not stronger.
High points include cameo's by Tom Savini, Simon Peeg and Ed Wright. Other high points include the clever zombie proofed vehicles, the use of fireworks as a distraction, and the tasty frozen cherry coke I enjoyed during the film.
Low points include the 20 fucking minutes of trailers and commericals, Dennis Hopper not actually getting torn apart by zombies or poor people--either would have been better than quick and painless. The soundtrack did not stick out as memorable, but that's also on par for a Romero zombie fest. And I was the only person tonight who dressed up or did zombie makeup. Asia was beautiful as always but her accent kept busting through.
Still and all though, a new Romero zombie movie is like a holiday!! Celebrate it, Fuckers!
And so it is, I remain...
You are a Romero Zombie.You walk the earth because
there is no more room in hell. You feed on
living flesh - anything you can get your
decaying hands on. You can be killed by damage
to your rotting brain.
What kind of Zombie are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
One can assert that George Romero invented the zombie genre as we know it today. Of course, there were other zombie movies before Night of the Living Dead. Mostly though, these dealt with African tribes and Voudon ritual and while scary, did not really bump up against contemporary society. Putting zombies in America, and especially someplace like rural Pennsylvania makes zombies much more terryfying than they would be otherwise. One could logically assume that such would be the case this time, as Land of the Dead is set "today" in a city with a lot of rich people separated by plenty of poor people.
This movie does some things very well. There is a solid plot, plenty of excellent gore, compelling characters and lots of shit blowing up. George makes great strides in both the development of zombies, and in the progression of society (breaking down and the weak being preyed upon by the powerful). LotD also advances the concept of the "lead zombie" which is another distinctly Romeroesque convention.
My problem? It wasn't scary. We never got to know any of the characters well, and most of the leads were never in any serious jeopardy. In fact, most of them live all the way to the end. Of course, Romero's zombie films don't normally have a lot of character development, and in a way, they joke thier way out of having people give back stories. Therefore, it's a directorial choice and not an oversight. So who am I to second guess George freaking Romero?? The problem though is that there was very little in terms of actual suspense. You pretty much knew when someone was being set up to die, and there were no surprises. No one bad lived, every negative move was consequenced. So in a way, it was the most moral of his films...or rather, it would be if there wasn't pot smoking and boozing in every non-combat scene.
I had a smallish problem with the zombies being so physically strong. Smarter makes sense, although I'd have liked to hear his ideas on why this progression occurs. With Bub (Day) he is being taught to fire the gun, so he learns it. We see the butcher with the meat cleaver so we assume he knows how to swing it. So all of the progression of zombie communication, memory, and development is supported by the other films. But logically, zombies should get physically weaker, not stronger.
High points include cameo's by Tom Savini, Simon Peeg and Ed Wright. Other high points include the clever zombie proofed vehicles, the use of fireworks as a distraction, and the tasty frozen cherry coke I enjoyed during the film.
Low points include the 20 fucking minutes of trailers and commericals, Dennis Hopper not actually getting torn apart by zombies or poor people--either would have been better than quick and painless. The soundtrack did not stick out as memorable, but that's also on par for a Romero zombie fest. And I was the only person tonight who dressed up or did zombie makeup. Asia was beautiful as always but her accent kept busting through.
Still and all though, a new Romero zombie movie is like a holiday!! Celebrate it, Fuckers!
And so it is, I remain...
You are a Romero Zombie.You walk the earth because
there is no more room in hell. You feed on
living flesh - anything you can get your
decaying hands on. You can be killed by damage
to your rotting brain.
What kind of Zombie are you?
brought to you by Quizilla