Land of the Dead

In the late 60's, George A. Romero shocked the world with his crudely terrifying, Night of the Living Dead. He would later go on to make his masterpiece, the zombie film/social satire, Dawn of the Dead. Then to round off the trilogy he made the truly abhorrent Day of the Dead. Now nearly forty years after he first frightened the world, he releases the latest entry into the series. I admit, I love a good zombie movie and this is easily Romero's best film since since Dawn of the Dead (which this could most easily be compared to). The dead have taken over, and the living have barricaded themselves in remote places in the middle of large cities as the rest of the world is infested with the living dead. Occasionally groups are sent out in heavily armed vehicles to raid small towns in order to obtains supplies -- food, ammo, booze, etc. But it seems that in one town, a zombie is beginning to evolve, he is learned to how to think in basic cause and effect (a trait which they have not had up to this point). This is not good news for the living. There's a shot in the film in which an army of the dead rises out of the water of a river which was supposed to separate them from the city of the living -- it's a shot that reminds of the underwater, Nazi zombie film, Shock Waves. In addition to some welcome gore (and there's plenty to go around), Romero blends in some of his particular blend of social satire of the class system, capitalism, and the exploitation of the proletariat. It's almost worth the price of admission just to watch Dennis Hopper ("zombies man, they freak me out"). While Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later remains the modern highlight of the genre (though some argue that it's not actually a "zombie" film), this remains a welcome addition, clearly made by a man who understands the potential of the living dead.