Land of the Dead

monte

monte

Bag of Douche
Ok - so I just got back from seeing this - and I'm going to write a quick review, since I have to go to a party (not the good kind of party with half naked chicks, bur the kind with - like... well you know)

Anywho - here's my quick little take on it.

The opening sequence was pretty cool in my opinion and it really got the movie off to a good start without relying on "old frantic news footage" although it did make the movie seem more like a movie and less like reality. Whatever, I'm probably looking too closely into it.

So we get into the actual movie, and it seemed to me - right off the break there's instantaneously a bunch of zombie nut stomping going on. We're treated to some peaceful zombies being pussies and blowing on trumpets / other stuff they did in their normal lives. Then BAM fireworks and guns. That's about it for the first 20 minutes, fireworks and guns.

So without giving too much away, the movie seems to be fairly straightforward, nothing happened that wasn't explained (cough star wars) you knew what the motivation was for all the characters, and the only thing I really didn't like plotwise were the zombies and the ending. I guess those are two kind of big parts to it... whatever

The look of it - well tons of the gun hits were digitally composited in, and I actually like how it looks, although it screams "I'M A COMPOSITE" I still liked it. My friend hated it, to quote him, "It was fake blood, goddamnit!" Whatever.

Majority of the movie is full of crushed blacks, as it almost is constantly at night, which I thought looked cool and moody, but nothing new or amazing looking. In my personal opinion I love George for what he has done with the genre, but I really don't think he should be doing the directing. There were a few things that were put in there for comedy, where there shouldn't be... kind of took everybody in the audience out of it (belly button ring scene anybody?)

Anywho I didn't think it was that bad, but not something I'm going to buy - well maybe if the DVD has a bunch of extras on it.

Just to give you a little scope - I wasn't too displeased but my friend was pissed off about it, saying it was horrible. So results may vary.

-Monte
 
I am still trying to put together what I think about this film; it's like "I love it." but I don't. It is hard to describe. There are so many elements in this film that work for me and so many that do not. I have always said "Romero claim to fame is that he happens to be responsible for one of the most popular horror cult classics in cinema history." Does this make him a great filmmaker and screenwriter? I say no.

The IMDB lists the Cinematographic process as anamorphic with an Aspect ratio of 2.35 : 1 I watched this in 19:9 or 1:85. It did not feel like 2:35:1 at all and the image seemed distorted as if they squuezed a 2:35:1 image into a standard 16:9 frame. No really. I doubt anyone in the theatre sensed this but at times I found my eyes playing tricks.

The films starts immediately with Zombies walking through a park and we see as Monte mentions Zombies doing human activities; playing musical instruments (not really playing but going through the motions; like my brothers marriage for example.) There is even a ZOMBIE couple and what turns out to be a semi leader of the zombies gas attendant. Now I had a problem with this; in the beginning they show the zombies doing what they used to do I presume? This zombie dude is working the gas station and even has on a mechanics outfit; but later in the show he picks up a jack-hammer and it's obvious it is a big deal as he seems pleased to be using it; So is he a gas station attendant or a road worker? Little things like this plagued me throughout the film.

Then the films proceeds into a 'guns-a-blazing' sequence as bands of gangs go out to scavenge for supplies; canned food and alcohol or whatever else they can find. They use this ridiculous vehicel called the Dead Reckoning (The original title of this story). I have no problems with a fortified vehicle; lord knows I'd attempt to soup up an RV but this thing has missles on it and computer equiptment that is pretty ****ing advanced with GPS; it just comes across as cheeesy as any other film you'd see something like this in; Tango and Cash for example. It is just an over-the-top vehicle to have in it for me.

The gore is not at all on the weak side. If I hear anyone complain that it lacks in this category then you need to seek medical attention. This film pushes the Rated R boundaries more than any film I have seen with this rating. Heads severed, guts ripped out; you name it it's got it.

This film lacks any one sequence that had me pumped. I remember watching the opening sequence of Dawn of the Dead 04 and was just blown away by it. This film at times seems staged and contrived and never has the ominous feeling the Dead have taken over the planet; it is missing the feel of Death's Landscape. There are times when I wondering why there seem's to be more alive people than undead people when it should be the other way around. It lacks the ZOMBIE numbers that a title like LAND OF THE DEAD would imply. This film really misses the beat on the LAND engle; where is my WORLD of the DEAD? Where is the vast scale of ruins and death? I got the sesne in NIGHT OF THE COMET it was more deserted.

I'm torn on the Zombies learning aspect although it is handled with great care and not at all insulting. I do not agree with the Undead being aware on any level but if I had to I would do it how this film handles it; Romero doesn't lame it up. But I have to disagree out loud with this angle and evolution

Overall the film does not dissapoint. It is classic Zombie. Is it the best ever? I don't think so. I found it as enjoyable as DAWN 04 and 28 DAYS even if on a different level. I thought this would be the OPUS of ZOMBIE films and it doesnt come close; maybe they are waiting for my I AM LEGEND film to stake its claim.

Dennis Hopper's character just sucks. He never get's it going, they never really explore it. He just is some Big Man in a Tower and you never really find a reason to hate him; you're just suppossed to because the locals say you have to. ON the inside you have the rich and on the streets are people like us. Again, we're suppossed to hate the rich but there is no reason other than we see them living the good life? That bastard is having a LATTE TRIPLE MOCHA MACCHIATTO! I just didnt get it. There is one building in the city called Fiddlers Green that is a huge skycraper where the privledge live while everyone else 'suffers' on the streets; yet there are hundreds of other large buildings to make home with. Why hasnt anyone fixed some places up? This just didnt work for me. You have scavengers that are going out and supplying FIDDLERS GREEN with stuff; food, alcohol, supplies, luxuries but they cant go out on their own? I dont know.

Simon Bakers character is played pretty straight forward and I dig it. The charcter isnt too complex and they dont try and make it that way. But my favoritie character is Charlie played by Robert Joy; this actor brings a nice touch to the piece. It feels real and not at all contrived. It is human and you care about the character; John Leguizamo is much better than I anciticapted. He does well in the role. Later he is bitten by a zombie that magically jumps out at him and he tuirns and then is offed; Later we do get to see Asia Argento who I'll never complain about; Simon BAker rescues her from some Thunderdom looking cage from two Zombies at a circus like event. She kicks ass; my second favortie character. There are no other characters worth mentioning as they are lame fodder.

The zombies walk but magically are able to catch people. I have nevr gotten this unles you were cornered or hurt or trapped but these zombies are cathing people left and right. Its like HOW? You have 2 legs; use them.

I prefer running zombies; remember, for me its the fresh factor.

The Zombies are some of the best looking I have ever seen; maybe even the best period. Wow. There are a few that I am sure are puppetry but they look so real in a dead emaciated decomposing way; its great. One zombie's head is hangin on by a thread and its ****ing rocking.

We see the cameos from the boys in SHAUn but at one point BUD makes an appearance from DAY OF THE DEAD in an abandoned liqour store. That was kind of cool.

The direction is average at best; I wished a more skilled helmer got his hands on this film. At times it seems amatuerish; how many times they cut away to a gag had me rolling my eyes. Special FX should serve to enhance but as usual they show the B Shot or INSERT SHOT of the effect in question. At one point after 4 or 5 in a row it seems like an FX reel and not in a good way. Nothing cinematically stands out for me in this; it doesn't even look that good. (The DP is someone I have never heard of)

Overall the film is kind of a let-down. I liked it; I'll own it. But it si not Oh MY ****ing God You Just Have to See This! and it should have been. If you're into Zombies and Horror; yes go see it. IF you can wait for DVD you aint missing nothing.

I give this film 2 out of 5 Hudson Stars
 
You're right about the film not developing Dennis Hoppers character. Infact there's almost no character development (Can you say "Oops" Mr. Romero?) The film was a measly 90 minutes. I wish we could have seen more of how the people of Fiddler's Green lived and how the Kaufman character interacted with them. But we never see it unfortunately, infact we see only as much as if we were the zombies or people on the outside. I don't know, maybe that was on purpose. But it still make the movie feel really empty. I didn't like it AT ALL when I walked out of it. I was still piecing together what G.A.R.'s sociopolitical undertones were. Then I started getting it that night and I would say I would rate it higher now. I don't want to explain it right now because I'm off to sleep. But did you notice two direct references to terrorism?

1) Dennis Hopper's character referred to people on the outside as "terrorists"

2) John Leguizomo said he would go "jihad" on Fiddler's Green

Think about it... :grin:
 
Hopper's character even quoted Bush directly with the "we will not negotiate with terrorists" line.

I think this is a movie that I will like more as the years go by (much like Day). I already like it a lot.
 
I loved it. I hated it. With a certain amount of hesitation- I will buy it on DVD.

Hudson pretty much covered most of my issues with the flick, so there's no sense in repeating. Here's a few other problems; firstly, and this was killing me the whole time: it was not based enough on reality.

How long had that settlement been there? At least 3 years because of Cholo's remark. When a dead body decomposes, the flesh dries up and falls off, and the bones turn to dust. There's no way in hell that those zombies could have been around long enough to start developing basic motor skill.

ALSO, when you die, you do not decompose right away. So when Cholo went to attack Kaufman, he shouldn't have looked like that. Dawn 04 had it right: When you are first bitten, the only thing wrong with you is the wound that caused you to become a zombie (and the eyes) Than a couple weeks go by, and the blood has become dry and black, and you skin starts getting tight around your bones. Within a month or two, you are basically falling apart.

Cholo was a stupid name. I just didn't like it, though I was enjoying the character... sort of.

They wasted a LOT of ammo. You would think that people in that kind of situation would learn to conserve.

"They're just looking for a place to go, same as us." WRONG! They are looking for human flesh, that's the only thing that drives them! You would think that someone who's been through all that would understand set point.

Reocurring zombies: cool. Zombie leads: crap.

The composited missles were PAINFUL to watch.

Okay, enough complaining. I did enjoy the flick (more or less.)
 
Yah I hated that, "They're just looking for a place to go, waste all the **** now, we're not going to need it where we're going"

Um, ok - lets waste all the fireworks as we drive off into the sunset even though where we're going the new zombies might never have experienced that before... and will probably still fall for the ****ing trick, Jesus Christ man.

The compositing, especially when the main character was climbing across the top of the truck as it was driving was fugly as all hell. Goddamn...

I just wish it was less "different" I wish it stayed truer to... well like I don't know I just thought that it would have been cool if the zombies didn't think and use weapons (I literally had to stop drinking my pop when I saw the zombies playing the trumpets, seriously, I didn't want it to come out of my nose)

Also, running zombies would've helped. Alot. Oh yah, and some less cheesy lines. "Cholo you're dead. *Cholo comes into the light, revealing his zombie-fied face* Oh my god, YOU'RE DEAD!"

Just some more thoughts after a night of sleep.
 
The flick is kind of a let-down overall. But I still dig it for Zombiage. Weird they didn't get it right; should not have let ROMERO direct!

Exactly TC

I totally like the FRESH FACTOR approach. In my vision of an Undead Nation the decomposing process slows drastically but also basically stops at one point due to them being a kind of re-animated dead.

Cholo was a stupid name completely. And Asia's character was Slack, and one charcter is Big Daddy and one is Pretty Boy and Mouse and and and......................... Lame.

"They're just looking for a place to go, same as us." Yeah this line seemed a little too "Key Dramatic End Music" for me.

Yeah; I enjoyed it too. I mean hell, it's a Zombie Film. I'll own it. But, let me make I AM LEGEND; someone! Please!

Interesting insight on the Terrorist angle; I think George is buying into the hype. I have never believe that Night of the Living Dead was as political as everyone makes it out to be. I have always thought it simply a horror film about zombies. Period. But everyone makes it out to be "social commentary". Whatever; I think some critic started saying this and the filmmakers were like "Yeah. that's the ticket!" The only thing I got out of it was that THe Rich are ****ing The Poor which is the way it has always been) Except the Gap is widening and the Middle Class is almost non-existent)

Horse is right; as years go by we'lll come to love it; DAY is my favorite anyway.
 
Good call John. It is a zombie flick, and I love it for that.

One more thing I thought of, not necesarily bad or good. Romero has had a LOT of time to think about ideas, it seems like he had tons of em, and tried to cram them all into a film.
 
I have to say I found the opening scene with all the zombies walking around and playing instruments to be completely funny. I busted out laughing and so did most of the theater. I think most of the movie was laughable. The gore and all was good, but the story was pretty weak.

Truth is, I think this was actually a zombie propaganda film. G.A.R. is actually a zombie and he's fighting for zombie rights. Notice the viciousness of the humans slaughtering the poor zombies beneath those oh-so-lovely "sky flowers". Ah, pretty. Then, those evil humans have the nerve to belittle those silly zombie bastards for purposes of entertainment. Oh, these dirty humans deserve what they got coming.

WAIT! What's this zombies can learn? I thought . . . oh . . . pretty . . . pretty flowers . . . flowers in the sky . . .

Where was I? Oh yes, the ending. "No, don't . . . they're just looking for a place to go". See guys? Zombies are just like us, so what if they ate your cousin. Just give them a chance, Zombies are people, too . . . or at least they were people . . . too.

I can totally see where this franchise is going. Next, there's a revolution for zombie rights. Humans join the zombies struggle, zombies agree to only eat lawyers and politicians. Finally, zombie and man can coexist in peace. But wait . . . oh no . . . what's this. The final battle. Zombies and humans unite to defend the planet from alien invaders. I smell an Oscar!!!
 
I have to agree with everybody, and add one more thing. What the hell happend to zombies being scary? These were the most un-scary zombies ever. The only "scare" that you get are cheep startling silence to loud sound that isn't so much scary but a normal human reaction to hearing a lound noise. This whole movie just seemed cheap to me. Not budget wise, but the plot, the zombies, the whole dang movie just seemed like normal run of the mill holywood fun.
I don't want zombies that can learn, or have feelings! And the worst thing about that is, now the zombies were killing just to kill, not to eat brains! What happend to the zombies that just wanted to eat? These zombies were the most unscary thing I have seen in a while. John, your short zombie film was ten times scarier, becuase it used atmosphere and story to depict a very bleak future. This movie was just the opposite, it was no different than a natural disaster movie "guess we'll just have to find a new place to live, and start a new civilization" blah blah blah.
Sorry to be so harsh, but I'm pissed that I got so excited for this movie and was greatly let down.
 
This movie was great. It had tremendous social commentary with humor and fun characters. Great gore as i would expect.

It was way to short...i wanted to learn more about the characters....and the ending was made for a sequal. Other than that it was brilliant. Much better than WOTW's and also better than the overrated BB.
 
I have to agree with everyone here...
I watched this last night and thought "wow, that was the beginning and end of something" I felt that he didn't go into character development at all...in fact "you don't have a story?" "nope" he says it in the movie!
In the end, a zombie flick is a zombie flick, there wasn't too much I liked or didn't like about this, compared to House of 1000 corpses...
But there was something different about the new Dawn of the Dead, and I loved the comedy behind Shaun of the Dead...
John I gave it a 2 out of 5 too...
 
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