Note: this is a spoiler-free review.
The inventor of the modern zombie movie has come back, to prove nobody else can do it quite the way he does.
It's arguably true that other horror filmmakers might make their zombies more gross, or more evil, or faster-moving. But all their zombies lack a certain purity of purpose found only in a George Romero zombie.
In Romero's films, zombies are a natural disaster, no more "evil" than a hurricane or an earthquake. They don't want to scare or kill anybody. They do plenty of scaring and killing, make no mistake about it, but that's all accidental. Their one and only goal is to devour the flesh of the living. Their hunger has a terrifying purity, utterly unclouded by malice or apology. They just don't care how much it's going to hurt.
When denied the chance to snack on human flesh, these zombies shamble about in a pale imitation of the life they lived before. Clearly they have some awareness, some residual memory of being alive, making them more human than alien. Their aimless eccentric creepiness when left to themselves somehow renders them far more disturbing than they would be if they spent all their time filled with rage and malice.
Romero never makes the mistake of trying to explain his zombies too much. Even the bit of speculation I've indulged in here is much more than he ever says in his films about why the zombies exist and what their motivations might be. Sometimes his human characters speculate a bit, but he keeps his narratives aloof from all the attempts to understand the zombies, even back in the original Night of the Living Dead when some scientists try to trace the cause of the disaster to radiation from a satellite.
This George doesn't muddle matters with anything like midichlorians to explain why the impossible can happen. He doesn't try to tell us why the dead walk the earth. He just lets them do the voodoo that they do so well.
Land of the Dead is Romero's fourth zombie movie, and in many ways the best of the four. He clearly had a better budget to work with this time around. So we get to watch several excellent well-known actors take on the zombies, including Simon Baker, Dennis Hopper, John Leguizamo and Asia Argento in the major roles. The makeup effects are top-notch, and if there are any digital effects they are so seamless as to be practically invisible, another benefit of a decent budget.
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Article comments
1 - SFC SKI
I saw the film last night, and I was very pleased, though I found Simon Baker to be a little too clean cut as the hero. I'd have put someone like Michael Wincott in there. Other than that, I enjoyed it very much, and the walk home late at night through the parking lot and the empty streets was more exciting than usual.
I like the force of nature analogy, you might as well try to fight a tornado as resist the unending tide of the zombies.
Dawn of the Dead is still the tops of the four in my book.
2 - Nick Jones
I must bring up, once again, since so many zombie fans (and professional movie critics, who should know better), that the first quick zombies were introduced in The Return of the Living Dead (1985), which was itself a take-off of the Romero premise (and the source of "Brrraaaiiinnnsss!").
Nice nondisclosure review. Keep up the good work.
3 - Victor Plenty
Thanks for the correction, Nick. I've changed the necessary sentence to reflect it.
Oddly enough, I'm more a fan of Romero's work than a fan of horror or zombie movies in general. That is why I am not quite so up to date on zombie lore as many hardcore horror fans probably are.
I tend to like most of Romero's work. His best film overall, of the ones I've seen, is Knightriders. Dawn of the Dead and Land of the Dead are approximately tied for second now, although each is good in a different way.
4 - Nick Jones
I remember seeing Knightriders and liking it (with Stephen King's hilarious acting debut as a beer-swilling oaf), but I really can't compare it to my favorite of the zombie films, Dawn of the Dead (I like the remake equally well); they exist in two different universes to me. Incidentally, there was a character, perhaps a bard - it's been years - played by a Brother Blue. I don't know how Romero hooked up with him, but he was a street performer and storyteller in the Boston area at the various times I lived there, quite well liked by public and critics alike. I'll have to do a search to see if he's still around.
5 - Nick Jones
The Story of Brother Blue
6 - Victor Plenty
Yes, I remember Brother Blue. He did a great Merlin parallel in the Arthurian re-enactment of Knightriders.
7 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
victor, this pleases me no end. the fourth romero zombie number has been such a non-started for years its hard to believe that the damn thing now exists. needless to say i'm beside myself with anticipation. great review.
8 - Victor Plenty
Ah, Duke, you are more a connoisseur of horror than I could ever hope to be. (Nick and SFC Ski probably are as well, but I haven't read as many of their film reviews as I have of yours.)
So your feedback is very helpful to me. Thank you.
I'll be keeping an eye peeled for your review of Land of the Dead.
9 - gonzo marx
thanks for the Review!
now i can safely put it on my list as something to see at the drive in this summer
nothing can ever take the place fo the Original, but it is good to hear that this one lives up to it's heritage
also good to read is that i am not the only one that knows/loved Knightriders
this one made my morning, thanks again...
..:::bows, hand over fist:::..
Excelsior!
10 - Triniman
2/5
This movie compares poorly to Shaun of the Dead, 28 Days Later and the remake of Dawn of the Dead.
Look for the brief scene with the zombie who looks exactly like Burton Cummings. I kid you not!
There are the requisite funny gore scenes, some good one liners, but overall, I was underwhelmed and wouldn't buy the DVD or see it again. But, if you're a zombie fan, go see it. Just don't expect it to be really good.
11 - SFC SKI
Th Burton Cummings zombie you refer to is most like Tom Savini, known as the make up artist who pioneered a lot of the bloody techniques first used in the Dead series.
12 - Victor Plenty
If you mean the zombie wearing a leather jacket and carrying a machete, yes, that's definitely Tom Savini. I recognized him right away and the ending credits confirmed my perception.
In fact this role of "Machete Zombie" is a sly reprise of his role in Dawn of the Dead. The setting of both films is Pittsburgh, so it's perfectly natural for him to show up in both of them.
Well, as natural as anything gets in a movie where the dead walk the earth.
13 - Matt Schafer
I saw the movie and I was kind of overwhelmed. And I didn't really care for the drive off into the sunrise ending
14 - Victor Plenty
So, Matt, if you review a mystery novel, do you give away the ending to that too?
"I didn't really care for the end, when it turned out the murderer was actually Professor Plum."
Granted, what you've done here isn't quite so cruel as giving away the big surprise in a movie like The Sixth Sense or The Crying Game. Still, the general tone of the ending is one of the only surprises you ever get in a horror movie, so it's not kind to just casually toss around that information when fans in some locations still haven't had the chance to see it for themselves.
Especially in a case like this, where it's a movie many fans have been waiting decades to see.
15 - alethinos59
Vic! Your review was very professional! I am not in any way a horror fan - except for the obligatory Halloween watching of something along these lines... But your review almost makes me want to run over and see it!
Almost...
But still, a darn good review!
16 - Bo
I was disappointed.
Being a fan of the living dead movies (and also Dennis Hopper) I had big hopes for this movie.
It was just too cookie cutter and the whole 'Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome' plot just didn't do it for me.
Romero will always be the father of the living dead series and I respect him for that.
In my opinion DAWN OF THE DEAD 2004 is not only the best zombie movie but probably the best horror movie i've ever seen.
Great review Victor- just not my cup of tea.
17 - Victor Plenty
Thanks, Alethinos. I never really thought of trying to persuade non-horror-fans to see this movie, so it's a compliment to learn I almost managed to do that anyway.
Had I known that might happen, I would have spent a few words on warnings about the high level of blood and gore. Most of Romero's fans demand such fare, but I tend to tune it out, since it's not really what I watch his films for.
And Bo, your reaction is not surprising, given your stated preferences. I suspect most people who prefer the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead would not like this movie very much. Those who prefer the original version from 1978 are more likely to get at least some enjoyment out of Land of the Dead.