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Movie Description
Zombie movies slip in and out of fashion, but it's always a special occasion when the man who helped turn the undead into a worldwide phenomenon decides to add an installment to his ongoing saga of flesh-eating films. George A. Romero's zombie movies have all appeared in different decades, beginning with NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD in 1968, DAWN OF THE DEAD in '78, and DAY OF THE DEAD in '85. Romero skipped the '90s, but a zombie renaissance in the early 21st century (28 DAYS LATER, SHAUN OF THE DEAD) finds him back in the directors chair.
Often seen as allegories for their times, Romero's films have been connected to societal events such as the consumerism of the '70s (DAWN OF THE DEAD) and the spread of the AIDS virus in the '80s (DAY OF THE DEAD). With 2005's LAND OF THE DEAD, Romero positions the bulk of his story in a giant skyscraper which houses the last humans left on the planet; although his intentions are foggy this time, LAND appears to be Romero's commentary on the post-9/11 political landscape. The zombies only bother crews who venture outside the makeshift city for supplies, but the people are kept sedated by their leader, the irascible Kaufman (Dennis Hopper), who exaggerates their threat. What Kaufman doesn't realize is that the zombies are learning skills they half-remember from their old selves, leading to some impressively blood-soaked scenes of tumult. In an unusual move for Romero, Hopper is joined by name actors such as John Leguizamo and Asia Argento. The film greatly benefits as a result, successfully portraying an atrophied civilization that has regressed to a primitive state, allowing its undead tormentors to sense that a free lunch may be just around the corner.
Industry Reviews
"[A]n excellent freakout of a movie....One of the enormous pleasures of genre filmmaking is watching great directors push against form and predictability, as Mr. Romero does brilliantly in LAND OF THE DEAD."
New York Times - Manohla Dargis (06/24/2005)
"[The film] reveals that Romero remains the master of a genre he reinvented."
Los Angeles Times - Kevin Thomas (06/24/2005)
"[The film] does have an 'old friends' dimension that warms the heart as its familiar-looking zombies eat hearts..."
USA Today - Mike Clark (06/24/2005)
"This is zombie infestation writ large, hundreds lurching through a nocturnal wasteland, photographed in an impressively desolate palette."
Uncut - Uncut Staff (10/01/2005)
"Paradoxically, this is the most hopeful film in the series, in that it presents a genuine movie-style hero in Simon Baker's handsome and compassionate Riley..."
Sight and Sound - Kim Newman (10/01/2005)
3 stars out of 5 -- "[The franchise] sprouts a new one, and a good one....[Argento] comes off like a tatted-up Meg White..."
Rolling Stone - Peter Relic (10/20/2005)
"Mr. Romero is one of the great form-givers of the horror genre....The fresh element here is that the zombie underclass has evolved a leader of sorts, who possesses both a sense of historical self-awareness and an ability to use automatic weapons."
New York Times - Dave Kehr (10/18/2005)
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