Land of the Dead (2005)

Tagline: The dead shall inherit the Earth. See what George A. Romero did there? Eh? Eh?

Curiosity: Is it a late period cash-in or a belated masterpiece?

Plot: Set long after the events of Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead finds humanity eking out an existence, however small-scale. Entrepreneurs, led by Paul Kaufman (Dennis Hopper), have convened on Pittsburgh, Pa. (no surprise there), fortifying it on all sides against the long-rampant zombie threat. In true American fashion, capitalism is still in full effect, as the select few wealthy families profit off the poor, who are either beaten down or forced by social circumstances into the armed forces. Among them are good guy Riley Denbo (The Mentalist’s Simon Baker, who’s pretty good here, even though it’s weird now since he’s the freaking Mentalist) and reckless lone wolf Cholo DeMora (Super Mario Bros.’ John Leguizamo). Cholo dreams of one day making it into the elite inner circle, while Denbo just wants to finish his service contract and head somewhere better… like Canada. When Cholo goes nucking futs and threatens to destroy Pittsburgh with a giant tank because whitey won’t let him into their country club, Kaufman calls in Denbo for one last mission (Ain’t that always the way?). With his friends Charlie (Robert Joy) and Slack (Asia Argento, daughter of horror icon Dario Argento, who just so happened to help Romero get together Dawn of the Dead. Circle of life), Denbo must save the second best city in the commonwealth (Go Phillies!).

Oh yeah, and zombies are rapidly learning how to use tools. Like guns and knives and shit. That may or may not factor into the fate of the city.

Thoughts: Overall, Land of the Dead is my second favorite Romero zombie movie, next to the game-changing Dawn of the Dead. There’s so much anti-Bush propaganda going on, which of course appeals to me, a liberal youth during the Bush 2.0 administration. The army uses fireworks to distract zombies – that’s shock and awe. The rich exploit the poor into armed servitude – that’s some Fahrenheit 9/11 shit right there. And then you’ve got douche bag Kaufman quoting Bush when he refuses to meet Cholo’s demands: “We do not negotiate with terrorists.” Well, that and, “Zombies, man. They creep me out.”

At the same time, though, the film is subtle about its political message. I’m honestly not sure how obvious it will seem to future generations, but for me Kaufman and Bush share the same fate. Even if the symbolism doesn’t carry across, the plot surely will. Romero reboots the franchise a little (and to much better effect than in the disappointing Diary of the Dead) by giving the human race a boost. Day of the Dead pretty much had us at the moment before extinction, but Land of the Dead presents plenty of fresh meat. The film also further explores the “trainable zombie” idea from Day with much greater success, although it does come off as a little forced in its speed.

Still, though. Good gore (Belly button piercing. ’Nuff said), good cameos (Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, and Tom Savini, who reprises his role as Blades from Dawn of the Dead), and good story.

Reflection: While I haven’t seen Survival of the Dead yet, I’m pretty sure that this is where Romero should have retired the concept.