Land of the Dead Review

Written by: BlackTequilaKiss   

Why this doesn't get a lot of love surprises me because I love it. Romero was and still is foremost the granddaddy of Zombie movies and Land of the Dead continues that in great vein. I think the smartest aspect of this movie was taking the Zombies themselves and giving them back a part of their intelligence as it completely swung the movie in another direction.

This a enjoyable and entertaining 93 minutes that pass by very quickly.

Plotline: Zombies now thrive around the world and survivors have barricaded themselves into a walled city to keep the Living Dead at bay. As the wealthiest of survivors hide away in Skyscrapers, chaos rules the streets and it us up to the remaining survivors to stop the evolving zombies from breaking the barrier in to the city.

Pure Zombie madness. I love so many of his films and consider Night of the Living Dead '68 a classic so Land of the Dead had a lot to live up to. Whilst never going to recapture the classic status of past Romero films, this is still a lot of fun and also a much greater success in the zombie films than most of late.

The cast were fantastic.

Simon Baker as Riley was a brilliant choice. Baring a striking resemblance to Thomas Jane, he is an actor with a lot of promise who puts everything into the role given to him. His tough attitude throughout the movie was the right way to play the character and he gave an added ambience to the entire film. Great actor in my opinion.

Asia Argento as Slack- Wow, what a woman! Tough attitude and sexy women rolled into one. She was perfectly cast in the role, I admit at the beginning I was not too sure. She starts off unsure of herself but as time grew she began to exert an attitude that was perfect for the movie, all the other actors did an decent job even the hammy over acting of Dennis Hopper which is why I loved him so much in this film!

The score for the movie was actually quite good, it seemed like a merge of new music and some of the older scores used in Romero films. Therefore the music seemed different but oddly nostalgic, reminding me why his films have such impact. It was a smart decision and the soundtrack made the shock, grab of the movie even more inspiring.

Cinematography was actual nice. The dire state of areas already infected by the spread of the zombies looked harsh but very true. Then the combination of the sky towers against the backdrop of a miserable and lonely existence below was quite alarming to seen.

Now to the meat of Romero's movies. The Bloody Special Effects.
Let's face it, this is where Romero truly shows his gold. Yes he uses interaction between characters to key, he uses plots that are different but with added weight and he cares about the passion and structure that goes into his movies, however the gore is just as big a component.

In this? Let's face it, it still rules! Mayhem reigns. Tearing of necks, disembowelling and then the many explosions that rock the screen. The side plot doesn't really matter as you are very quickly thrown into the deep end, through hoards of zombies and smug top end people who think money can save them from all that is happening. You know what is going to happen to them though, don't you?

I brought this movie on a whim a year ago. I decided to review it after hearing the mixed views on this movie. I'm possibly one of few who liked it. Ok yes it is not on the terms of "Outstanding" but it is still a good all rounder. The intelligence they give the zombies is a smart move because things are no longer as clear cut but it is a fun, fun ride. My one complaint is I wish I could have seen this on the big screen.

The ending was rather docile which was a little of a let down but as an whole this is just pure blockbuster fun. IF you expect this to be like his past movies then yes it could potentially be disappointing. But if you want pretty but tough women, many, many explosions, and plenty of added gore to boot then this is definitely worth the time and money.

I still think this is not as bad as some see it. It contains some very great moments of Romero laced humour, the zombies look like zombies and the movie runs at a steady, smooth pace.

This sits in my DVD collection proudly and it ought to with every horror fan.

Watch it without comparing it to other films he has done and you will most likely walk away pleased. Just blistering, hot and fast fun. This is worth the price to at least own on DVD.