Land of the Dead

I like zombie movies, I like them a lot. I'm also not a fan of horror movies. Given the fact this focuses purely on the zombie apocalypse and not trying to constantly jump scare instead makes it very fun to watch. The idea of a high class society is quite novel although it will never stop being frustrating to see the poor attempts people make to stay alive. It's quite old now, but still pretty good.

Pretty much Romero pulling influence back in from all the people he’s inspired with his original living dead trilogy. I see hints of Raimi, Craven, Snyder and Wright all over this. Unfortunately, he’s also lost what made these films interesting to begin with in the process. It’s louder and more bombastic than the original trilogy, but there’s also more of a bland, by the numbers feel to it. The satire and symbolism, which were once sharp and subtle, are on the nose and heavy handed here. I’m also missing the personal signature Romero once brought to the table, as the directing here feels very anonymous (no atmosphere, sound and score choices feel more Raimi/Wright than Romero, no interesting stylization to the dialogue or acting). I guess it’s watchable as a watered down, commercial horror flick with no real inspiration behind it, but that shouldn’t be the bar here, especially given that it’s Romero. It’s still somewhat effective on a surface level though (some good moments of building tension, great make-up, couple of surprising twists, the acting’s fine despite a lack of characterization). 4/10