Dir. George A. Romero, 2005, USA, 93 mins
Cast: Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento
Twenty years after the previous instalment in the sporadic series, George A Romero's fourth Zombie horror yarn sees the director using the walking dead to satirise American foreign policy as well as delivering the usual gratuitous blend of grotesque gore, bloodshed and black comedy.
Following opening titles that surmise the set up detailed in the original movies (quite simply the dead walk the earth; there's no explanation proffered as to why) events show how surviving humans live a relatively normal life within the confines of a city heavily fortified against zombie attacks. When a renegade soldier steals the cities best defensive weapon, a heavily armoured bus, a group of mercenaries are despatched to retrieve it. All the while the zombies are becoming smarter and more resourceful in their attempts to breech the city walls.
The zombie film has seen some highs (28 Days Later) and lows (last years Dawn of the Dead remake) and some genuine left field surprises (Wes Craven's underrated the Serpent and the Rainbow, Shaun Of The Dead). Best of all a wildly successful video game series, Resident Evil (later turned into two disappointing movie versions) has captured the uncanny horror of the dead resurrected and shuffling towards the living. Land Of The Dead taps into the video game element (at one point a character remarks "Just like a video game!" while gunning down a hapless zombies) delivering scant plot but plenty of action and scares.
While Land Of The Dead is Romero's most cinematic and indeed most expensive looking work to-date, his work is infinitely superior when produced on a low budget. There is something a bit too glossy and polished about this production. In order to believe that civilisation has crashed to a halt characters need to look malnourished with unkempt hair and dirt under the fingernails. Instead, given a significantly higher budget the mise-en-scene is spoiled by implanting gloss and polish, unrealistically given the circumstances. The zombies lack the mud caked feel of the originals, often looking as well turned out as the humans.
An early scene which sees the zombies exploited for entertainment (having their photos taken with paying customers and being forced to fight in gladiatorial arenas) has the potential of a good idea but is soon dropped in favour of a banal run around. The parallels between this and the shocking photographs from Abu Ghraib are not subtle but there seems to be an idea there that is not fully allowed to germinate.
The performances are fairly standard for the genre, with tough guys, amiable cowards and loyal sidekicks all familiar stereotypes. It is perhaps this familiarity that leads to Dennis Hopper delivering a villainous turn that seems cribbed from his many other very similar performances. Simon Baker makes for a bland hero who is impossible to care about. Asia Argento is effective but given little to do, despite her well known links to the genre.
As a Saturday night no-brainer, the film just about succeeds but there is a feeling of a once legendary director trying to give the fans what they want rather than challenging perceptions. The sense that Romero has already said everything he set out to say 20 years ago is palpable. Let's hope that this time the zombies can truly be laid to rest.
Jonathan Wilkins
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