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"LAND OF THE DEAD"
(2005) (Simon Baker, John Leguizamo) (R)

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QUICK TAKE:
Horror: Various humans try to survive attacks by increasingly smart and resourceful zombies in a post apocalyptic world.
PLOT:
In a post apocalyptic world, undead zombies rule the land, with pockets of humans managing to live in fortified cities protected by heavily armed soldiers. And within those, there are the haves and have-nots, where the likes of corrupt businessman Kaufman (DENNIS HOPPER) have their hands in everything and look down on the less fortunate survivors as lower-class citizens.

He utilizes a bunch of mercenaries -- including leader Riley (SIMON BAKER) and his sidekick Charlie (ROBERT JOY), as well as the number two man Cholo (JOHN LEGUIZAMO) and his team members such as Foxy (TONY NAPPO) -- to make supply raids in the unprotected, outside environs where ordinary fireworks distract the zombies -- such as Number 9 (JENNIFER BAXTER) and Butcher (BOYD BANKS) -- while the humans get what they need.

Riley has recently rescued hooker Slack (ASIA ARGENTO) from several zombies but dreams of getting far away from all of the mayhem. That's a sentiment shared by Cholo who's hoping to cash in his favors to Kaufman in exchange for a spot in the gated high-rise known as Fiddler's Green. When Kaufman rebukes him, Cholo decides to take his boss's heavily armored transport vehicle and get his revenge, prompting the corrupt leader to send Riley and his team to find and stop Cholo.

As all of that unfolds, the various humans must deal with the discovery that one of the zombies, Big Daddy (EUGENE CLARK), seemingly is trying to organize the other "walkers" into a unified strike on the humans. As the undead then make their way toward the city and Fiddler's Green, the humans try to stop the assault and avoid being turned into zombies themselves.

OUR TAKE: 4 out of 10
Although zombies had been seen lumbering about in movies for decades, George A. Romero practically reinvented the horror film sub-genre all for himself with his low-budget, but ultra-creepy "Night of the Living Dead" way back in 1968.

Two sequels ("Dawn of the Dead" and "Day of the Dead") followed in 1978 and 1985 respectively, but beyond scripting a remake of the first entry in 1990, the director seemed to have laid the subject matter to rest. Just like a lumbering zombie, however, you can't keep the undead down and thus the filmmaker has shown up on the public's doorstep for more zombie mayhem with "Land of the Dead."

With a bigger budget and a better cast than that found in his previous entries, Romero delivers more of the same old, same old zombie violence. Namely, slow-moving members of the undead attacking and feeding on humans when not getting mowed down by machine guns or dispatched in any number of other graphic ways. Fans of the director, his films and their combination of horror and satire will probably be in zombie heaven. For everyone else, however, the reaction will probably be notably less enthusiastic.

And that's due to several rather glaring issues. One concerns the fact that since the filmmaker last had the undead shuffling along, arms outreached and heads cocked to the side, about a gazillion other zombie films have been released.

Some have been good, many have been awful, and one was even a remake of Romero's second film (that being last year's "Dawn of the Dead"). Noting that slow and dimwitted killers aren't particularly scary nowadays, those behind such efforts considerably upped the ante, whether it be swift action in that recent remake as well as "28 Days Later," or the comedy stylings found in "Shaun of the Dead."

Then there's the fact that considering all of the above, there just about isn't any new way to tell the zombie story or put a fresh spin on it. Thus, no matter how bloody or gory the related violence turns out to be, any "standard" zombie film -- even from the legendary master of such matters -- simply can't escape the "been there, seen that before" reaction that many viewers will likely have.

Throw in non-engaging characters, and an otherwise weak and repetitive plot and the result is a rather blasé horror flick. Sure, you may recoil and/or laugh at the exaggerated blood and gore (where such reactions are expected and desired), but in the end, that doesn't amount to much.

The only real twist here is that the undead are starting to learn under the guidance of unofficial head zombie Big Daddy played with menacing muteness by Eugene Clark ("Turn It Up," various TV movies). Most of them may still be as dumb as rocks (thus offering some of the film's humor such as seeing a few remaining members of a pavilion band still trying to play their instruments.

Yet, in something of a Darwinian approach, they start to learn how not to be distracted by fireworks (that the humans use when making supply runs) and that machine guns are better for killing their prey than slowly lumbering and tearing them limb from limb (although a lot of that still occurs).

Romero, who also penned the screenplay, continues his trend of including satirical social commentary in his proceedings, although it's not as successful as it was in "Dawn of the Dead" with his scathing attack on consumerism (the shopping mall is the setting for that film). Here, thematic elements such as social strata and gated communities fall within his sights, but such material feels a bit too forced and heavy-handed this time around.

While filmmakers seem to realize that audiences for these sorts of pictures simply want to see zombies killing or being killed, the core problem with this one (like so many of its predecessors) is that the humans under attack are not portrayed in a sympathetic enough fashion to make us care. The more engaged we are in a character's plight, the scarier and more suspenseful the offerings become.

Since we don't care about the characters played by the likes of Simon Baker ("The Ring Two," "Red Planet"), John Leguizamo ("The Honeymooners," "Assault on Precinct 13") and Asia Argento ("XXX," "B. Monkey") , the suspense factor is thus substantially reduced. Throw in the repetitive material and slow moving monsters, and all we're left with is a rather boring gore-fest.

Dennis Hopper ("Knockaround Guys," "Hoosiers") plays the obligatory head villain, but he overacts to such a degree that he looks, sounds and feels as if he's in some straight to video, B movie rather than a major Hollywood release.

About the only interesting character -- who's barely explained or explored -- is that played by Robert Joy ("Joe Somebody," "Sweet November"). Embodying Baker's sidekick, he's labeled as "retarded" by others (due to an apparent speech impediment), is quite the shot with his old single-shooter and he's the only one who managed to pique my interest. Alas, his character is underdeveloped and never really goes or grows into anything noteworthy.

Of course, he's just one small cog in this big meat grinder of a movie. For those who love horror special effects, the work here is appropriately gory and gruesome. Yet, such effects alone simply cannot carry a film like this. While Romero's approach at telling a zombie tale may have worked way back when, nowadays it simply feels like lukewarm, barely reheated leftovers.

Essentially just for fans of the filmmakers' take on the horror sub-genre, the picture may offer a few shocking and/or disgusting moments along with a few decent laughs, but this effort ends up feeling like one of its lumbering subjects. It's slow and jerks around here and there, but doesn't adapt fast enough to make much of an impression. "Land of the Dead" rates as a 4 out of 10.




Reviewed June 21, 2005 / Posted June 24, 2005


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