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Amazon.co.uk Review
Bolstered by the success of 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, the Resident Evil movies and the hit remake of his own Dawn of the Dead, George A. Romero returns to the horror subgenre he invented with Land of the Dead. The fourth installment in Romero's zombie cycle (and the first since 1985's Day of the Dead) presents a logical progression of events since 1968's horror classic Night of the Living Dead: Zombies (also known as "stenches" for their rotting odor) are the dominant population, and they've begun to show signs of undead intelligence and gathering power. The wealthiest survivors live comfortably in a luxury high-rise within a barricaded safe zone, ignoring the horrors of the outside world while armed scavengers stage raids in the zombie-zone to gather much-needed food and supplies. Simon Baker and John Leguizamo play mercenaries-for-hire; Dennis Hopper is their nefarious boss; and horror favorite Asia Argento (daughter of Suspiria director Dario Argento) plays a former hooker recruited into Baker's scavenger squad. While none of this seems particularly fresh or inspired, Land of the Dead benefits from hints of the social satire that made Romero's earlier zombie films so memorable. Not so much funny as gruesomely peculiar, Romero's plot isn't as inventive as it could've been, but as a big-scale B-movie, Land of the Dead delivers a handful of shocks and horror-celebrity cameos (including gore-masters Tom Savini and Greg Nicotero) that should keep horror buffs happy until the next zombie opus comes along. --Jeff Shannon
Synopsis
Zombie movies slip in and out of fashion, but it's always a special occasion when the man who helped turn the undead into a worldwide phenomenon decides to add an instalment to his ongoing saga of flesh-eating films. George A. Romero's zombie movies have all appeared in different decades, beginning with Night of the Living Dead in 1968, Dawn of the Dead in '78, and Day of the Dead in '85. Romero skipped the '90s, but a zombie renaissance in the early 21st century (28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead) finds him back in the directors chair. Often seen as allegories for their times, Romero's films have been connected to societal events such as the consumerism of the '70s (Dawn of the Dead) and the spread of the AIDS virus in the '80s (Day of the Dead). With 2005's Land of the Dead, Romero positions the bulk of his story in a giant skyscraper which houses the last humans left on the planet; although his intentions are foggy this time, Land appears to be Romero's commentary on the post-9/11 political landscape. The zombies only bother crews who venture outside the makeshift city for supplies, but the people are kept sedated by their leader, the irascible Kaufman (Dennis Hopper), who exaggerates their threat. What Kaufman doesn't realise is that the zombies are learning skills they half-remember from their old selves, leading to some impressively blood-soaked scenes of tumult. In an unusual move for Romero, Hopper is joined by name actors such as John Leguizamo and Asia Argento. The film greatly benefits as a result, successfully portraying an atrophied civilisation that has regressed to a primitive state, allowing its undead tormentors to sense that a free lunch may be just around the corner.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Land of the Dead is far from perfect, but - if we're to be honest - neither were Romero's other zombie movies.
Before anyone takes umbrage with the fact that I can pick faults in Classics of the Dead, please let me point out that I'm a massive fan of Romero's work, and the attraction of his films lies in their energy, invention, character development and general 'feel' rather than airtight plot or production values.
On the subject of production values, Romero has proven long ago that he can make an epic from nothing, and that's stood him in good stead with Land of the Dead. The success of 28 Days Later and the Dawn remake might have secured the movie deal and given him a larger-than-average budget for this kind of film, but the technology for creating new worlds and special effects has taken quantum leaps since Day of the Dead was released in the mid Eighties. The result is that Romero can finally produce a movie on the kind of scale we all wanted while still working within a modest budget.
I haven't read many comments from Romero following the release of Land of the Dead, but I get the impression that too many corporate fingers were in the production pie, given the way he ran off to go guerilla-indie with Diary of the Dead. If there was corporate interference on this project, it honestly hasn't detracted from the fun of the film. It's a thoroughly entertaining piece of work.
Yes, the learning zombies are a tad cheesy, and yes, some of the less sympathetic characters are left quite one-dimensional, but the overall effect is a great piece of escapism. You can take all sorts of social or political allegories from it if you want, but in the end, it's a bloody good rollercoaster ride.
Before anyone takes umbrage with the fact that I can pick faults in Classics of the Dead, please let me point out that I'm a massive fan of Romero's work, and the attraction of his films lies in their energy, invention, character development and general 'feel' rather than airtight plot or production values.
On the subject of production values, Romero has proven long ago that he can make an epic from nothing, and that's stood him in good stead with Land of the Dead. The success of 28 Days Later and the Dawn remake might have secured the movie deal and given him a larger-than-average budget for this kind of film, but the technology for creating new worlds and special effects has taken quantum leaps since Day of the Dead was released in the mid Eighties. The result is that Romero can finally produce a movie on the kind of scale we all wanted while still working within a modest budget.
I haven't read many comments from Romero following the release of Land of the Dead, but I get the impression that too many corporate fingers were in the production pie, given the way he ran off to go guerilla-indie with Diary of the Dead. If there was corporate interference on this project, it honestly hasn't detracted from the fun of the film. It's a thoroughly entertaining piece of work.
Yes, the learning zombies are a tad cheesy, and yes, some of the less sympathetic characters are left quite one-dimensional, but the overall effect is a great piece of escapism. You can take all sorts of social or political allegories from it if you want, but in the end, it's a bloody good rollercoaster ride.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I don't think I'd have watched this film if a friend of mine hadn't made me. It seemed that it would be a bunch of slow-walking lame actors saying things like "brains" and catching credulous bimbos who do not have the good sense to run.
Not only is this film more than that, it is actually a very watchable film. Having not encountered a George Romero film before (except via many inaccurate parodies), I wasn't aware that there is proper direction and a decent plot at its heart.
Although occasionally you may shout at the screen as the charactors end up splitting up or abandoning safety for stupid reasons, it is still compelling viewing and there is enough suspense, gore and horror to make a highly entertaining film.
It's also worth mentioning that there is almost a Greek fable quality to the film, with stupid selfish humans ending up being horribly mauled while the more enlightened humans escape the zombies' clutches.
Lastly there is the acting, with the guy who plays The Mentalist doing a sterling job as the lead, and Dennis Hopper doing his usual best as the villain of the film. Furthermore, none of the acting comes across as hammy, and I didn't see any scenes which were stilted or not believable.
To sum up, although slow-walking Zombie films may seem ten-a-penny, really the work of an original master is beyond the sordid cliches of his imitators.
Like watching an original Wes Craven movie (as opposed to a franchised sequel), the watered-down version often marrs the original.
But if you're fearing this film is a lemon, then don't worry - it's not.
Not only is this film more than that, it is actually a very watchable film. Having not encountered a George Romero film before (except via many inaccurate parodies), I wasn't aware that there is proper direction and a decent plot at its heart.
Although occasionally you may shout at the screen as the charactors end up splitting up or abandoning safety for stupid reasons, it is still compelling viewing and there is enough suspense, gore and horror to make a highly entertaining film.
It's also worth mentioning that there is almost a Greek fable quality to the film, with stupid selfish humans ending up being horribly mauled while the more enlightened humans escape the zombies' clutches.
Lastly there is the acting, with the guy who plays The Mentalist doing a sterling job as the lead, and Dennis Hopper doing his usual best as the villain of the film. Furthermore, none of the acting comes across as hammy, and I didn't see any scenes which were stilted or not believable.
To sum up, although slow-walking Zombie films may seem ten-a-penny, really the work of an original master is beyond the sordid cliches of his imitators.
Like watching an original Wes Craven movie (as opposed to a franchised sequel), the watered-down version often marrs the original.
But if you're fearing this film is a lemon, then don't worry - it's not.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This movie is not quite the epic it could have been but for an entertaining slice of zombie action it will do just nicely. The main actor in it is not bad considering i ve never heard of him and he gives it his all which puts the movie up a notch. the touch of hamminess(on purpose) from Hopper is a good addition and the effects are as guesome as ever. On its own merits i was pleasantly surprised by this next installment from Romero and i dont think it should be compared with the others, although saying that it probably edges out Day of the Dead on most aspects. Yes o.k it has its flaws, its not involving enough and the ending feels rushed but it has a certain sweet irony and cleverness that sets it above most horror trash thats out these days, A good effort indeed!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Who is the Zombie Daddy?......
(THE FILM)Now that zombies have taken over the world, the living have built a walled-in city to keep the dead out. Read more
Published 2 months ago by S. F. husseiny
I couldn't believe this was a Romero film...
As a huge fan of Night, Dawn and Day of the Dead I anticipated for years for Romero to make another zombie movie. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Colonel Decker
Another 'of the dead'
Land of the Dead is George A Romero's 4th zombie film and the first in his second (not so good) trilogy. Read more
Published 7 months ago by rohall
Shocking... ly bad!
First time I've written a review, but I watched this on TV this week, and it was the worst film I've seen in years. Read more
Published 8 months ago by SheFellOver
A Good Zombie Film
This is a good zombie film because they have the zombies learning new skills and ability which is quite funny to watch a decent storyline and cast loads of gore and blood the way i... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Craig
GROSS!!
lots of violence and tons of gore, if your a big fan of repulsive scenes (like me) you may wanna give this a shot. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. A. Uddin
Romero lines up the Bush administration for à la carte eats.
Land Of The Dead is directed & written by George A. Romero and it's the fourth film in his Zombie based series of film's. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Spike Owen
Predictable but fun
'Land' comes across like a middle episode of a trilogy - it starts with Zombies already pretty much everywhere, with an enclave of survivors in a New York-like city. Read more
Published 20 months ago by L. Hennessy
Down with zombie hugging!
I don't know why Romero is so highly rated, yes the original Dawn of the dead is good (so is the remake), Night of the living dead is awesome (again so is the remake), as for all... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Sephy
Pretty enjoyable zombie movie.
I have to admit I didn't expect all that much from this latest effort from George Romero but it was indeed a fairly enjoyable hour and a half. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Valen's Shadow
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