In a lazy attempt to recreate the horrific feel of the 1968 film, "Night of the Living Dead," George A. Romero wrote and directed "Land of the Dead."
This film has a similar plot to the previous release: Zombies begin to take over the world, biting and eating the flesh of their victims. Once a person has been bitten, they then become a zombie. A key change in this film versus "Night of the Living Dead" or its various sequels is that the zombies seem to become smarter and adapt as the film goes on. The film turns into a battle between humans and zombies over who will control the world. Another change from the original is that this film is disappointing from the beginning.
The plot throughout the film was not well thought out. It lacked much substance as it seemed all Romero cared about was the blood and gore of the film. The story line was unrealistic. As the zombies seemed to get smarter, they were led by one specific zombie. Even in the land of horror movie rules, it isn't plausible that only one zombie would get smarter and not the rest.
The acting was nonexistent. The actors and actresses never seemed to truly step into their roles and identify with their characters. Their acting never made the audience feel any emotion or fear they were trying to convey. If Dennis Hopper was trying to revive his career by taking this movie, he is in some serious career trouble. At times, Hopper has lines that bring a chuckle rather than a sense of fear.
Keeping in mind that this is a horror film, it still has too much gore to be effective. Many times during the film, blood and guts is added without a point. But the biggest complaint about "Land of Dead" was that it didn't end powerfully. It had a weak ending - as if the film fell off the reel. Romero could have finished on a much stronger note.
One bright spot was that the makeup effects on the zombies was better than the original. In "Night of the Living Dead," the makeup was caked on the zombies like goop and didn't enhance the film. At times in the recent version, the zombies were scary with their decrepit bodies and blood red eyes.
This movie was a disappointment. Keeping in mind the time gap and cultural differences from then to now, Romero has failed at re-creating the horror of his 1960s production. The movie would have been better if there was less gore and more of a plot.
The viewer would be more moved from watching the original black-and-white classic "Night of the Living Dead."
