Land of the Dead (2005)

Director: George A. Romero
Format: theater / DVD
DVD Features: featurettes, music video, deleted scenes, commentary
Starring: John Leguizamo, Simon Baker, Robert Joy, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento
Trailer

Surprisingly, it’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a horror film or in fact, even watched one. So, it feels good to revisit the genre, especially since it’s one of my favorites. The reason that the venue above is listed as both theater and DVD, is that I originally visited the theater when the movie was released and then saw it more recently again on DVD. For a long time after my love affair with horror began, I continued to steer clear of zombies. I didn’t find them very exciting or frightening at all. But, two movies changed my opinion forever and now I have become a gung-ho zombie enthusiast. Those two movies were 28 Days Later and the original Night of the Living Dead. The latter was, in fact, directed by the famous George A. Romero as well and I know that this recent installment of his Dead series was much anticipated amongst his fans.

During the opening credits of Land of the Dead, snippets of news reports provide background for the current state of affairs. The living dead have taken over the majority of the land. Only one non-dead oasis remains, shielded by rivers, walls and troops. And in the middle of this motley city, full of the poor and destitute remainders of the living, stands a towering complex called Fiddler’s Green wherein the elite and well-to-do dine on fine foods and sip their single-malt scotch. A group of soldiers, headed by Riley (Simon Baker) and including Cholo (John Leguizamo), make forays outside of the city to scavenge food and supplies.

While Cholo is raiding the abandoned liquor stores for a means to profit, Riley and his sidekick Charlie (Robert Joy) notice some disturbing behavior (more so than normal) starting to show in the zombie population. As if droves of flesh-eating monsters aren’t dangerous enough, it seems that the undead are exhibiting signs of intelligence. They’re starting to communicate and organize. One zombie in particular, Big Daddy, seems to be the ringleader, showing the others how to use tools and operate machine guns. Once the mass of creatures realizes that they can cross the river, the refuge of the living is f*cked.

There’s more than one threat to the city, however. Cholo, who thought that doing favors for head honcho Kaufman (Dennis Hopper) would earn him entry into Fiddler’s Green, is very disappointed to discover that his kind isn’t welcome. In retribution, he has stolen the tank-mobile called Dead Reckoning and is threatening to blow up the tower unless he gets paid back with interest. And who does Kaufman send to go after Cholo and his expensive machine? That’s right, it’s Riley. Riley, Charlie, former prostitute Slack (Asia Argento) and an escort of Kaufman’s troops are sent out to intercept Cholo and Dead Reckoning before they blow everything to kingdom come.

It’s tempting to try and debate the ramifications of zombies forming a union. Do these new signs of intelligence indicate that there may be a path to recovery? Should zombies be given basic human rights? How can zombies evolve if they don’t reproduce? It’s times like this that I remind myself of one of my favorite phrases, “suspension of disbelief”. Sometimes it’s important to remember that scrutinizing details like these for realism, when the movie under scrutiny is about walking corpses, is kind of silly. It can be entertaining to ponder such things, but it’s not necessarily a point upon which enjoyment of the film should rest.

One of my favorite elements in any horror movie is gore. And gore seems particularly prevalent when those that each human flesh are involved. Land of the Dead has scene after lovely scene of beheading, blood gushing, and intestine chewing to enjoy. The effects crew did a fantastic job of making it all nauseatingly realistic as well. It’s almost too much to land MPAA approval and I’m mildly surprised that certain parts of this movie made it into the final cut. More shocking a revelation, however, is that Tom Savini, the Godfather of Gore, is not credited for any work on the film’s special effects, although he makes a brief cameo appearance. Two recent celebrities who also appear fleetingly in the background of Land of the Dead are Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. It was admirable of Romero to recognize the two creators of the cult favorite Shawn of the Dead. Look for them as zombies at the photo booth.

Though Land of the Dead is entertaining and dripping with blood, I do have a couple of negatives to point out. One of them is the script. Robert Joy’s character, Charlie, is particularly irritating. That’s not because he’s slow and not because he follows Riley around like a lost puppy, but because he tirelessly repeats the same humorless catch phrases throughout the entire movie. None of the dialogue is particularly inspired and the actors seem to realize it. The best characters come from Hopper and Leguizamo. However, neither actor steps out of his boundaries or gives an unusually stellar performance. Sometimes filmmakers seem to forget that terrible acting is not necessarily a required element of horror, The Shining being a case in point.

While intelligent zombies are a new take for movies of the like, the plot in Land of the Dead is a little unfocused. The undead take a backseat, at times, to the storyline involving Cholo and Kaufman. It’s almost as if they’re just an inconvenient backdrop rather than a serious threat. Until, of course, they storm the city and wreak havoc on the citizens. The movements of Big Daddy and the rest of the undead are in and out of focus in relation to the conflicts elsewhere in the film.

I don’t mean to knock Romero and I don’t presume to tell the master of zombie films his business, even with those few drawbacks I’ve pointed out. The director remains the legendary figure he has been since 1968, his reputation intact. My overall impression of Land of the Dead was that it was a pretty decent horror movie. But, I don’t think it outshines Romero's previous filmography.

Overall Rating: 3 ½
Hottie Rating: 2 (for Argento)

Alternate viewing: 28 Days Later
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Austin Chronicle review

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