Sneak Preview of George Romero's Survival of the Dead at Fantastic Fest 09
Responses to Romero's post trilogy films have been mixed but mostly based on unreasonable expectations that the new films would not only be of the same quality but that the audiences wouldn't have changed. Classic horror films like Psycho, Last House on the Left and Night of the Living Dead were made great not just by their filmmakers but by the degree to which audiences were prepared (or perhaps unprepared) to be shocked.
That said, Land and Diary are fine films. Compare them to the trilogy, and they may come off as a bit weak. Compare them to the best films of the genre in recent years (both big budget: 28 Days Later, Dawn remake, [REC]; and low budget: Hide and Creep, The Zombie Diaries) and they are actually quite strong. Compare them to the great mass of films in the genre (Zombiez, Day of the Dead remakes 1 and 2, Zombie Wars, Return of the Living Dead 2, 4, and 5, American Zombie, Redneck Zombies, Zombie Nation, Zombie Nation, Zombie Night, Zombie Campout, Undead or Alive, Dead and Deader) and Romero still comes off as a genius.
Land, despite the disappointing hi-budget look, works as well as his earlier films as a potent political allegory. In fact it's far more incisive. Americans may be able to take some ribbing about their mindless consumption. But let's face it, most of us go berserk when told that we were complicit in the attacks on 9-11 through our exploitation of third world countries. And Diary, tho not the first to explore either hand-held video cameras or media criticism, nonetheless provides a critique of the new media and its intersection with reality construction as relevant as films like Medium Cool and A Face in the Crowd were in their day.
http://fantasticfest.bside.com/2009/films/survivalofthedead_fantasticfest2009
From the press release:
George Romero Live in Person!
In 2007, Fantastic Fest was honored by the presence of one of the true masters of horror, George A. Romero. Now, two years later, we are thrilled to welcome back the undisputed champion of all things undead for his latest blood-drenched thrillride, SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD. When the idyllic retreat of Plum Island falls victim to the zombie plague, a new breed of clan war breaks out. On one side is the camp who want to exterminate all undead with a wickedly diverse array of brain-splattering headshots. On the other, devoted family members take the stance that “zombie-ism” is a disease, the undead have rights and they must be kept alive until a cure is found. Unable to simply “agree to disagree,” the two clans go to war and make their island microcosm a whole hell of a lot bloodier. An undead parallel to the tribal wars that are plaguing our own society today, SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD exposes the futility of such conflict and the need for tolerance of the beliefs of others. Plus it’s got zombie horses in it!
From the very beginning, Romero has been making more than simple gore films. To be sure, he’s amazing at delivering “the blood-red goods,” but what makes his films classics are the underlying social and political threads interwoven with the rampant gut-munching. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD played with themes of Vietnam-era paranoia, DAWN OF THE DEAD poked fun at mass-consumerism all the way up to DIARY OF THE DEAD which took aim at the journalistic and new media ethics (or lack thereof). Raise a glass of scotch, ladies and gentlemen, and toast the triumphant return to Texas of one of the few working legends of cinema, Mr. George A. Romero. (Tim League)