Land of the Dead
Directors Cut
DVD Review
You like Disney? You almost cried when Bambi's mother got shot?
You couldn't watch Hitchocks "The Birds" without covering your
eyes? You jump if someone shouts "Buuh"? Well then you better
stop reading now, because then George A. Romero's "Land of the
Dead" is surely not the kind of movie you like to watch. You
never know when the next undead will jump from a closet or sneak
around the corner to give you a decent bite...
The undead are "ruling the world" and the last human survivors
are living in cities which have been fortified and improved to
strongholds with electrical wiring, drawbridges, watchtowers and
armoured outposts. The wealthy live in a sealed off skyscraper
while the poor live in slums on the streets. The government of
the humans is Romero's version of the Bush administration and
pretty soon it gets clear that only one man - played by Dennis
Hopper - holds all the power inside the city. While he is trying
to keep his status and money an army of undead is gathering
outside trying to force their way inside.
Still looking good, that's about to change really soon...
Romero is said to be the one to invent the Zombie movie and
perhaps he is also the one to carry it a bit further. "Land of
the Dead" contains some really cool ideas how to make fun with
and out of Zombies. Also the realism on the Zombies itself as
well as the detail is absolutely stunning, and there is nothing
to complain about the special effects. Also the story is going
on quite well, never stopping always advancing at a steady pace.
Beside that I think it was a nice idea to use the main actor
from "Shaun of the Dead" to play one of the chained Zombies in
the bar, where you can get a photo of you and the zombie.
So what's different? George A. Romero's new Zombies are looking
very good, every detail is worked out quite well and they are
starting to become a little bit intelligent. They won't get a
Nobel Prize for sure but during the movie they learn to use
tools as well as remove barricades and stuff. The beginning of
this development is shown right at the start of the movie, when
they begin to communicate with each other...
Like in the previous Romero movies the Zombies move slowly, like
they are kind of stiff which gives you the usual zombie feeling,
this way they can also be targeted from the distance and this
adds a nice bit of blood and gore to the movie. Unfortunately
this also makes some of the scenes very hard to believe, since
even a child could outrun such a zombie. Only if the escaping
victims are trapped somewhere these zombies would have a chance
to get a bite. The remake of "Dawn of the Dead" is far more
frightening since these zombies are really quick, so if you plan
to watch several zombie movies at the same evening you better
watch "Land of the Dead" first because the other way around will
spoil this one.
Just stay for a bite...
Compared to the "Dawn of the Dead" remake I have to admit that
Romero's movies have some connectional flaws. In Romero's movies
dead people return as zombies even when they haven't been bitten
previously, so he is still sticking to that ridiculous "when
there is no more place in hell, the dead return to the earth"
bullshit, which was used in the seventies to explain the sudden
appearance of zombies. Well what I really liked in later
attempts like "Dawn of the Dead", "28 Days Later" or the
"Resident Evil" series is the fact that these movies come up
with a reasonable explanation for the phenomenon, which is in
all cases a virus. This seems to be the best possible way to
explain why bitten people turn into zombies themselves while
people dying of a "natural cause" stay dead. It also adds a lot
of logic to the whole story even when the virus in itself is
pure fiction.
But let's get back to "Land of the Dead". I can't tell much
about the story without spoiling the movie, however what I can
tell you is that I like the movie. In wide areas "Land of the
Dead" is a real gore fest, but you wouldn't expect less from a
real Romero. The old man still knows how to do the job. This DVD
is surely a buy for me. Also it contains a shitload of bonus
material, which I am normally not after, but found somewhat
interesting in this case. Go for it...
Cyclone for Alive, 2006-01-16
Appendix A
Main Cast for Land of the Dead (2005)
Directed and written by George A. Romero
Simon Baker ........... Riley
John Leguizamo ........ Cholo
Dennis Hopper ......... Kaufman
Asia Argento .......... Slack
Robert Joy ............ Charlie
Eugene Clark .......... Big Daddy
Joanne Boland ......... Pretty Boy
Tony Nappo ............ Foxy
Jennifer Baxter ....... Number 9
Boyd Banks ............ Butcher
Jasmin Geljo .......... Tambourine Man
Max McCabe ............ Mouse (as Maxwell McCabe-Lokos)
Tony Munch ............ Anchor
Shawn Roberts ......... Mike
Pedro Miguel Arce ..... Pillsbury
Sasha Roiz ............ Manolete
Krista Bridges ........ Motown
Alan Van Sprang ....... Brubaker
Phil Fondacaro ........ Chihuahua
Bruce McFee ........... Mulligan
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