Land of the Dead

Now, I'm a lazy slob, but I'd have to be a truly lazy scum to not drag my ass out within the first week of theatrical release for George Romero's capper to his Dead series, Land of The Dead. And so I did.

Trying to reestablish my credibility as a lazy scum, I've waited a couple months to post my review.

Box office didn't live up to the expectations of fans who wanted Romero to cash in on the current zombie craze he created. Maybe DVD sales will make up for it. I know I'm buyin' the Unrated cut.

Land of The Dead may be too intelligent or quirky for the garden variety zombie fan; it's another thing entirely.

Dennis Hopper plays an evil wealthy dude selling false security to a bunch of richies who would like very much to wall themselves in, isolating themselves from the hordes of flesh-eating reanimated ghouls staggering around Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile John Leguizamo and other fools are forced to loot groceries from the outside to keep the richies happy and well fed.

There, zombies gradually learn to do things, launching an assault against the richies. People get eaten.

Romero's Dead movies have never been short on social commentary, and this one packs plenty allegories to go with the gory. When Hopper tells a crony that he "doesn't negotiate with terrorists" you may view him as a G. W. Bush caricature, with the tenants of his upscale zombie-free resort as rich conservatives.

Leguizamo's underfunded crew does the dangerous dirty work, collecting food and fighting off zombies for the upper crust. Meanwhile the zombies continue their evolution from disenfranchised, blind consumers to class-conscious consumers. That is; they're ready to chomp down on some high-class victuals. Viva la revolucion!

A light touch keeps what is almost a coy love letter to Romero's fans from being too pedantic. And Romero is doled out enough rope by the studio to go nutty, swinging assuredly from action movie clichés to comedy to flat out horror within the first ten minutes.

The only obvious concession to studio money is the don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it gore. Romero managed an R rating by mitigating the tone and by relying on fast cuts, rendering the gut-munchings, decapitations, skull-crushings, esophageal distentions and people getting blown apart (in detail) by hand-grenades into fleeting suggestions.

Land of The Dead skirts the ultra-grim tone of Day of The Dead, adopting an oddly lighthearted attitude. Maybe Romero's getting soft with age, but it's nice of him to finally deliver his message of hope. It takes a lot of guts.