Starring: Simon Baker, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento and John Leguizamo
Region: 1
Out Now
When George A. Romero makes a zombie picture, people sit up and take notice. When he made Night of the Living Dead back in the late sixties, he created the template for almost every zombie movie made since. His follow up zombie-fest Dawn of the Dead is considered to be the definitive movie of the genre and still stands tall today. Day of the Dead was a more cerebral affair, but still packed a heavyweight punch.
Now comes the fourth installment in his series, Land of the Dead. Whilst Romero claims it is not a sequel, it does continue the story of the dead taking over the earth. The living now survive in small pockets, scavenging supplies from long abandoned stores. The privileged live inside stunning fortified buildings and the poor struggle on the streets. Land is set in an unnamed location; clearly modeled on Pittsburgh, where Dennis Hopper controls the wealth and Simon Baker, Asia Argento and John Leguizamo control a huge truck/tank named Dead Reckoning. All around them the dead are evolving and starting to remember what it was like to be alive.
Times have changed since George made Night, Dawn and Day, but time has not dulled his ability to cut an exciting, stylish movie with those trademark political undertones. The opening sequence is great, allowing newcomers to his films to catch up quickly and although the plot is thin, it moves along briskly, never leaving the viewer wishing for more involvement.
Simon Baker’s passable hero Riley is the strong, silent type and is supported by Asia Argento’s tough Slack. But it’s supporting cast members Robert Joy as Charlie and John Leguizamo who excel, with the best lines and the most interesting character backgrounds. Dennis Hopper is fine (remember kids, no one says the F-word quite like Uncle Dennis!), although he is not given anything to do other than playing Dennis Hopper.
What was refreshing to see in a modern day horror film was the use of proper special effects. Of course, CGI was used in the movie, but very rarely for anything meatier (literally) than backdrops. The gore effects are effective and not over-used. Horror fans should also watch out for several cameo roles including FX maestro Tom Savini and Shaun of the Dead creators Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright.
Land of the Dead is not perfect, as mentioned before, the plot and characters are a little thin, but overall it’s a highly enjoyable return for the zombie master.
This region 1 DVD is presented in 1:33:1 and naturally looks great, with no complaints for the menu screens or the picture quality in the movie. You can chose between a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and a seriously loud DTS track, which sounds fantastic. The extras are a little skimpy, a few featurettes, deleted scenes and a feature commentary with George Romero.
The commentary is good, with plenty to learn about the way the movie was shot and how cold it was in Toronto on the arduous night shoots! John Leguizamo introduces a fun featurette, showing off his personality and emphasising how much fun this movie was to make. Finally, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright of Shaun of the Dead fame chart their progress as zombies for a day in their own mini-documentary.
