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So what's George Romero, writer and director of Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978), and Day of the Dead (1985) been doing for the last, oh, 20 years? Well, not a heck of a lot, according to his credits...a few films here and there, a couple of remakes, and so on...but would he ever return with another film in the `Dead' series? That's what most of us wanted to know, `most of us' being fans of his past work...rumors swirled for years, perpetuated by the fan rags and later websites, but there seemed little in the way of any real concrete information...until, I believe, the summer of 2004, when the deal was signed between Romero and Universal to make another `Dead' film...for better or worse...written and directed by George Romero, Land of the Dead (2005) features Simon Baker (L.A. Confidential, The Ring Two), John Leguizamo (Super Mario Bros., Romeo + Juliet), and Dennis Hopper (Speed, Waterworld). Also appearing is Asia Argento (B. Monkey, xXx), Robert Joy (Ragtime, Amityville 3-D), and Eugene Clark (Turn It Up, Wilder).
As the story, set in the present, begins, we learn the living dead phenomena has spread worldwide, forcing people to seek refuge within outposts, some utilizing geographic boundaries such as rivers (such as the one in this film) to maintain a perimeter from the hungry dead, or `stenchers', as they're referred throughout the film (presumably because they smell bad, a result of the rotting flesh and poor hygiene skills). Within this one particular enclave, there are two classes, the wealthy, which populate a shiny skyscraper called `Fiddler's Green', and the laborers who live in the slums around the building (they basically do all the day to day work to keep Fiddler's Green running). I suppose the zombies themselves could be considered a third class, sort of the disenfranchised rabble, but anywhoo...the city seems to depend on raiding parties that scour the surrounding, zombie infested small communities for supplies, with a fellow by the name of Riley (Baker) overseeing the operation, his second in command being Cholo (Leguizamo). Turns out this is both Riley and Cholo's last foray, as Riley is planning on heading north, while Cholo, sort of a lacky for the man (the man being Mr. Kaufman played by Hopper), is planning on taking residence in the opulent Fiddler's Green community. Well, events conspire to spoil both men's plans, as Riley's deal falls through, and the slightly sleazy Cholo's given the runaround by the bigoted (among other things) Kaufman (heck, even I knew the brown skinned Cholo had no chance in hell of gaining entry into the highly exclusive community). Anyway, Cholo hijacks the Dead Reckoning, a heavily armored, packed with weapons (including missiles), battle wagon designed by Riley to not only defending the city, but also assist in the raiding parties in dealing with the zombies (think of it like that personnel carrier from the 1986 movie Aliens, only bigger, but not as sophisticated). Cholo now threatens to use the weapons against Fiddler's Green, unless Kaufman pays up, but Kaufman has other plans as he makes a deal with Riley to take Cholo out...oh, by the way, the zombies have begin to develop rudimentary cognitive abilities and are mobilizing, preparing to march on the city...
If you're just interested in the bloody entrails spewing, bone gnawing, flesh peeling (there's a particularly memorable scene where a victim gets his face peeled off), blood spurting, limb-rendering gore often found in movies like this, then this is definitely a solid four star film. The special effects teams did really amazing work with not only the make up, but also the nastier bits, many of which I've already eluded to...I've seen worse (the 1980 film Cannibal Holocaust, for one), but the visceral action is still pretty heavy duty here, especially for the uninitiated...and I do believe `Unrated Edition', which has about four minutes of extra footage, features extended sequences of these grisly scenes, pared down for the theatrical release. Now on to the stuff that didn't suit me...I guess it was sort of natural to expect an evolution of the zombies (or else a gimmick to differentiate this film from the others), in terms of them developing very simplistic, cognitive skills, but I didn't swing that way...zombies have always been a mindless automaton horde with one goal, to eat the flesh of the living. They're not good, they're not evil, they just are...inuring them with certain sensibilities, as was done here, seemed wrong, unnecessary, and pointless. Romero's `Dead' films have generally stuck to a formula, featuring imagery reflecting the quasi-sociological atmosphere of the time, but here seems more obvious than before, as the undead begin to organize, ultimately revolting against the unjust treatment heaped on them low these many years...rise up my desiccated, rotting brethren, and fight the power! Fight the power and eat the brains! Whatever...I don't mind that filmmakers infuse their own ideas and beliefs into their stories, but find a way to do it so it doesn't screw things up. Everyone's got an agenda, just be wary how you foist it upon your audience. As far as the characters go, the only one I cared for was Asia Argento's as Slack, and that was only because she was very easy on the eyes, and not because hers was actually an interesting character. Did anyone like Simon Baker's character? I thought he was annoying, wishy washy, and I doubt he would have survived as long as he did in a world populated with the undead. Supposedly he was responsible for the vehicle Dead Reckoning, a highly sophisticated battlewagon, yet he's unable to secure a simple automobile to leave the city. This guy seemed hardly the hero, but more like a secondary character, one who dies a nasty, hurty death early on...as far as Leguizamo, I'm still hurting from that role of his as Luigi Mario in Super Mario Bros. (1993). Some wounds never heal...Hopper plays his role surprisingly subdued, which was a refreshing change of pace from his normally overblown, over the top villain characters seen in films like Waterworld (1995)...oh wait, Hopper also appeared with Leguizamo in Super Mario Bros., as King Koopa...the nightmare continues...overall I enjoyed the film, and the action was paced well throughout, the effects amazing and brutal, with the story lacking, and the characters disposable. My favorite scene had to be the zombies rising from the river...very spooky. As far as my rating goes, 3 stars for the film, and one extra for the special features and a decent effort put forth.
I won't go into all the special features included with this release, as the Amazon website details them well enough, but I feel I should warn people there are a number of different releases available for this film, primarily fullscreen and widescreen, and the Amazon website doesn't do that great of a job differentiating the two for the causal buyer. If you really look, you can determine which version is the widescreen, but the fullscreen version isn't as clearly defined. I've listed as much as I know below...
ASIN: B000B2YR7Y (97 minute Extended version Fullscreen, aspect ratio 1.33:1)
ASIN: B00005JO16 (97 minute Extended version Widescreen Anamorphic, aspect ratio 2.35:1)
ASIN: B000B2YR7O (93 minute Theatrical version, aspect ratio unknown)
Cookieman108
If I learned anything from this film it is zombies like fireworks...and a zombie growl is actually a form of communication.
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Customer reviews
Im here to write about the umd and the arrival of the package. First of all I was expecting the umd to arrive in its original box, unfortunately it came inside of a cardboard. Secondly,the umd casing is all scrathed up but the disc its self is pretty clean. I was expecting the movie to not work but surprisingly it did. 2 stars only because the disc was clean and because I enjoyed this film.
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Top reviews from other countries
Montague Smith
“Zombies, man,” says Dennis Hopper. “They creep me out.”
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 22, 2021Mr. J. E. Reed
A so so sequel to Dawn of the dead.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 19, 2022
Mikael Belcic
Love this one !!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 27, 2020
Red Storm
Weakest 'Of The Dead' titles
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 5, 2021
