Land of the Dead film review

certificate_15

LAND OF THE DEAD

George A. Romero's career is like the zombies he's so obsessed with: it keeps coming back and doesn't know when it's dead. Thirty seven years after the writer and director made his debut with the horror classic Night Of The Living Dead, Romero has returned to prove he is still the ghoul master. In the intervening years he has reminded us with such Grand Guignols as Dawn Of The Dead and Day Of The Dead. Land Of The Dead is every bit their equal and with the advancements in special effects, the gore factor is even greater and the zombies more gruesome this time around if that's possible.

Romero brings a style and wit to complement his blood lust. There is also an intelligence and political element not normally found in such schlock horror fare. His apocalyptic vision of a world inhabited by the walking dead is more than a veiled indictment of America's arrogance and globally destructive stance. "We don't negotiate with terrorists," states Kaufman (Dennis Hopper) the corrupt leader of a city under siege from zombies.

The city is one of the last human strongholds. Surrounded by water and guarded by an electric fence, the population try to maintain a semblance of normality. Riley (Simon Baker) and Cholo (John Leguizamo) head up a special army unit who forage nightly in a heavily armoured vehicle beyond the city boundaries into the land of the dead to gather supplies. The opportunist Cholo uses the excursions to steal luxuries like alcohol and cigars for Kaufman, who secretes himself away in the luxury confines of his penthouse apartment.

While Cholo dreams of enjoying the high life, Riley has less materialistic aspirations. "I'm looking for a world where there's no fences." When Kaufman betrays Cholo, the once loyal minion turns on his boss and threatens to destroy him and his ivory tower. All of which is Romero's warning against the perils of greed. But it's the perils of zombies that are his forte and they offer plenty to be frightened of.