TIFF 09: GEORGE A ROMERO'S SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD Review
Why is it that George Romero has chosen to include his name in the title of his latest film? Could it be that he's aware that without it all you're left with is a mediocre at best zombie picture, one unlikely to attract a second glance? No mistake about it, the creator is the attraction here, not the film, and it is frankly time to acknowledge that the Romero well has run dry and it's past time for the man to move on to greener pastures and fresh ideas if he wants to continue making films without damaging his own legacy.
Building around a minor character from Diary of the Dead, Survival follows a small band of soldiers who have abandoned their posts to try and find themselves a safe place to live, a contained place, a place where a low population will mean an equally low potential for undead attack. And they think they have discovered just the place with Plum Island.
But the undead aren't the only threat in this world and Plum Island is already populated by humans, a pair of clans - the O'Flynns and the Muldoons - that have been clashing for generations and see no reason to stop now. Wars weren't enough to stop their aggression, so why should a few zombies?
With Survival of the Dead Romero attempts a return to form - a move away from the large scale epic of Land of the Dead and experiments in form with Diary of the Dead in favor of a film more in his classic style, one that fuses comedy with horror and graphic gore with social commentary. But rather than being a triumph, Survival just feels flat and tired, a film failed by a weak script and even weaker performances.
The thrust of the satiric element is clear - the futility of conflict and mankind's self destructive nature - but the execution is incredibly clumsy, the clan conflict that rests at the center of the film extraordinarily cliched. None of the characters are ever allowed to grow beyond caricature, their aims and goals implausible in the extreme. While the gore quotient is certainly high enough to satisfy most horror fans - and there are several very inventive kill sequences - the effects are only mid-grade and the performances and script weak enough that it is difficult to engage with any of the characters enough to actually care much about what happens to them on screen.
When Romero returned to the zombie genre with Land of the Dead it was met with much excitement by fans only to be widely turned on and declared unsatisfying. And while Diary of the Dead generally fared a little better, old school fans were still not convinced and the film did little to draw new fans into the fold. And with Survival coming in as the weakest of the three someone simply needs to point out to the aging master that its time to stop. He's adding nothing to his canon with these films, accomplishing nothing but diluting his own body of work.
Building around a minor character from Diary of the Dead, Survival follows a small band of soldiers who have abandoned their posts to try and find themselves a safe place to live, a contained place, a place where a low population will mean an equally low potential for undead attack. And they think they have discovered just the place with Plum Island.
But the undead aren't the only threat in this world and Plum Island is already populated by humans, a pair of clans - the O'Flynns and the Muldoons - that have been clashing for generations and see no reason to stop now. Wars weren't enough to stop their aggression, so why should a few zombies?
With Survival of the Dead Romero attempts a return to form - a move away from the large scale epic of Land of the Dead and experiments in form with Diary of the Dead in favor of a film more in his classic style, one that fuses comedy with horror and graphic gore with social commentary. But rather than being a triumph, Survival just feels flat and tired, a film failed by a weak script and even weaker performances.
The thrust of the satiric element is clear - the futility of conflict and mankind's self destructive nature - but the execution is incredibly clumsy, the clan conflict that rests at the center of the film extraordinarily cliched. None of the characters are ever allowed to grow beyond caricature, their aims and goals implausible in the extreme. While the gore quotient is certainly high enough to satisfy most horror fans - and there are several very inventive kill sequences - the effects are only mid-grade and the performances and script weak enough that it is difficult to engage with any of the characters enough to actually care much about what happens to them on screen.
When Romero returned to the zombie genre with Land of the Dead it was met with much excitement by fans only to be widely turned on and declared unsatisfying. And while Diary of the Dead generally fared a little better, old school fans were still not convinced and the film did little to draw new fans into the fold. And with Survival coming in as the weakest of the three someone simply needs to point out to the aging master that its time to stop. He's adding nothing to his canon with these films, accomplishing nothing but diluting his own body of work.
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