Cesiumsponge
Member
I went to see the new Land of the Dead movie tonight like any good zombie and Romero fan. I even revisited Night earlier in the day. There is only so much you can do and explore with a zombie film and I felt Land did fairly well given the latest resurgence of the zombie film genre. I'm sure some people unfamiliar with Romero's name and legacy will pass it off as a "ripoff" of 2004's Dawn of the Dead or 28 Days Later. Whatever.
I would have to say this new film played out more like an action film than a horror film. Romero inserted some of his trademark social and political commentary. He sets up and concentrates on a post apocalyptic society with two classes-wealthy and not. There is even a Mad Max-like cage fighting scene in the movie. The ending dialogue bugs me a bit and gives me the impression that we're supposed to sympathize with the braindead horde. I tried to justify it as "leave them alone here and they might not follow us", but somehow I don't think that was the intention of the lone uttered line. Everyone in the theater was chanting "kill them!" at the end of the movie or giving a questioned sigh.
The zombies return to a slow and bumbling demeanor rather than the ultra extreme supercharged marathon zombies we've seen lately. The only downside is that there are no real scenes where I get a genuine feeling where a lone zombie or two were regarded by the film's characters as not very dangerous. The zombies might be slow and meandering like in the old xxx of the Dead films, but they're fairly quick to grab anything that comes near them which wasn't as typical in the older Dead films. There isn't any discussion or revelations on how to kill them (headshot) since in the setting of the movie, they've been around long enough for it to become common knowledge.
Usually, one would have to make a pretty large mistake to get boxed in or had to fall for the "hidden zombie behind a box" trick and that it takes a large group of stumbling zombies to give you that feeling of slow doom. The zombies in Land however slow they might be on foot, have seemingly fast reflexes with occasional abilities to leap and tackle people. However, I think the general slower nature of the zombie gives it a more inhuman quality and prefer it to the marathon zombie of new.
The filming was a bit dark (physically) but the atmosphere works well. There was typical intestines, brains, decapitations, limbs flying, and the usual gore present. There is also the typical dark humor inserted here and there. Those who have seen it will remember Dennis Hoppers "look out behind you!" scene before he pulls out his gun and does his thing.
There were, of course, guns, blunt instruments, cutting implements, and plain punching and kicking. There are also mechanized vehicles with heavy weapons attashed to them. I think there were a few "endless bullets" scenes but I didn't bother trying to count or solve them and instead watched the film for what it was. I know how mistakes bug people but I wanted to absorb it all before going back to nitpick details.
Having seen Night earlier today, there was a large buildup of dread when the zombies started to amass around the farmhouse. This feeling was absent from Land, possibly because large masses of zombies weren't utilized enough, and people in the movie had access to motor vehicles while those in Night were basically stationary. There wasn't emphasis on sticking together in groups, depending on one another for different skills, or surviving on wits and guts alone considering mechanized vehicles were available to mow down hordes. There was teamwork, but it wasn't an essential priority in this film.
As mentioned earlier, it played out more like an action film than a horror, but I still felt it was a fun movie and has plenty of zombie.
I would have to say this new film played out more like an action film than a horror film. Romero inserted some of his trademark social and political commentary. He sets up and concentrates on a post apocalyptic society with two classes-wealthy and not. There is even a Mad Max-like cage fighting scene in the movie. The ending dialogue bugs me a bit and gives me the impression that we're supposed to sympathize with the braindead horde. I tried to justify it as "leave them alone here and they might not follow us", but somehow I don't think that was the intention of the lone uttered line. Everyone in the theater was chanting "kill them!" at the end of the movie or giving a questioned sigh.
The zombies return to a slow and bumbling demeanor rather than the ultra extreme supercharged marathon zombies we've seen lately. The only downside is that there are no real scenes where I get a genuine feeling where a lone zombie or two were regarded by the film's characters as not very dangerous. The zombies might be slow and meandering like in the old xxx of the Dead films, but they're fairly quick to grab anything that comes near them which wasn't as typical in the older Dead films. There isn't any discussion or revelations on how to kill them (headshot) since in the setting of the movie, they've been around long enough for it to become common knowledge.
Usually, one would have to make a pretty large mistake to get boxed in or had to fall for the "hidden zombie behind a box" trick and that it takes a large group of stumbling zombies to give you that feeling of slow doom. The zombies in Land however slow they might be on foot, have seemingly fast reflexes with occasional abilities to leap and tackle people. However, I think the general slower nature of the zombie gives it a more inhuman quality and prefer it to the marathon zombie of new.
The filming was a bit dark (physically) but the atmosphere works well. There was typical intestines, brains, decapitations, limbs flying, and the usual gore present. There is also the typical dark humor inserted here and there. Those who have seen it will remember Dennis Hoppers "look out behind you!" scene before he pulls out his gun and does his thing.
There were, of course, guns, blunt instruments, cutting implements, and plain punching and kicking. There are also mechanized vehicles with heavy weapons attashed to them. I think there were a few "endless bullets" scenes but I didn't bother trying to count or solve them and instead watched the film for what it was. I know how mistakes bug people but I wanted to absorb it all before going back to nitpick details.
Having seen Night earlier today, there was a large buildup of dread when the zombies started to amass around the farmhouse. This feeling was absent from Land, possibly because large masses of zombies weren't utilized enough, and people in the movie had access to motor vehicles while those in Night were basically stationary. There wasn't emphasis on sticking together in groups, depending on one another for different skills, or surviving on wits and guts alone considering mechanized vehicles were available to mow down hordes. There was teamwork, but it wasn't an essential priority in this film.
As mentioned earlier, it played out more like an action film than a horror, but I still felt it was a fun movie and has plenty of zombie.
I'd be happy to own either.