2005
Written and directed by George A. Romero
It's becoming apparent that if you're a director of films whose first name is George and you're responsible for a genre-defining trilogy, you're going to go completely nuts later in life. It's patently true of George Lucas and it seems the same fate has befallen George Romero.
To be fair, Romero has always be a little cuckoo. Night of the Living Dead is, of course, the canonical zombie movie, but Dawn of the Dead (the original) and Day of the Dead are camp classics, at best. The later two neglected their characters in favor of broad political statements, which, since the acting wasn't exactly Oscar worthy, meant both films suffered. When Romero's name appeared in the credits of the Dawn of the Dead remake, it seemed he'd seen the light and was ready to embrace what most of us love about the zombie genre - silliness and cheap thrills.
As anyone who saw Land of the Dead can attest, Romero has seen no such light. Nay, the blockbuster success of the remake seems only to have provoked his ire at peoples' inability to truly grasp the nature of the zombie.
Land of the Dead is probably the most political movie George Romero has ever made. The characters are dull and useless, they tell rather than show, they do inexplicable things. (Dennis Hopper is great, but he's just being Dennis Hopper.) Mostly they shoot a lot of guns or get eaten. Though it's clear someone helped with the plot, the screenplay, the effects, etc., the thinness of the plot wasn't really designed to carry more than its heavy handed political message.
Which is this: Zombies are people, too.
Of course, even as a suggestion, that idea totally ruins any zombie movie. Zombies scare us because they used to be human and are now devoid of everything that makes humans what we are. They don't even have instincts, save the instinct that tells them to eat human flesh. They can't be reasoned with. They don't take pity. They don't fear. Their irrationality makes them unpredictable and worse than any other type of monster. Moreover, they still look like former loved ones and associates.
I'm getting off track... Zombies are scary. Land of the Dead zombies are not scary because, all of a sudden, they have feelings. After being used for target practice by mercenaries/looters, they decide to revolt. They begin to grunt messages at one another. They make strategic decisions. They use weapons. They become a lot like pissed off apes.
This movie is thoroughly disappointing. Unless you really hate zombie movies and have been waiting for the day you could watch the genre go down in flames, don't see it.
I think DejaMorgana's writeup nicely sums up the basic quibble I see between a lot of horror fans and a lot of zombie fans. Horror fans are not scared of stupid monsters. I think they are failing to consider what a mass of mindless zombies could do, but this is still their perogative. Zombie fans, however, are most scared of monsters that cannot be reasoned with and have no concern for themselves. Those whose singular purpose is to eat your braaaaaaains. Agree? Disagree? I'm actually interested in this, not just being a butthead, so please let me know your opinion.