Land of the Dead (2005)

Director:

George A. Romero

Writer (WGA):

George A. Romero (written by)

Release Date:

24 June 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The dead shall inherit the Earth.

Plot:

The living dead have taken over the world, and the last humans live in a walled city to protect themselves as they come to grips with the situation.

Plot Keywords:

Skyscraper | River | Truck | Mercenary | Sequel To Cult Favorite

Awards:

7 nominations

Cast

Simon Baker	...	Riley
John Leguizamo	...	Cholo
Dennis Hopper	...	Kaufman
Asia Argento	...	Slack
Robert Joy	...	Charlie
Eugene Clark	...	Big Daddy
Joanne Boland	...	Pretty Boy
Tony Nappo	...	Foxy
Jennifer Baxter	...	Number 9
Boyd Banks	...	Butcher
Jasmin Geljo	...	Tambourine Man
Maxwell McCabe-Lokos	...	Mouse
Tony Munch	...	Anchor
Shawn Roberts	...	Mike
Pedro Miguel Arce	...	Pillsbury

Also Known As:

Dead Reckoning (USA) (working title)
George A. Romero's Land of the Dead (USA) (complete title)
La terre des morts (Canada: French title)
Land of the Dead - Le territoire des morts (France)
Twilight of the Dead (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong violence and gore, language, brief sexuality and some drug use.

Runtime:

93 min | 97 min (director's cut)

Country:

Canada | France | USA

Language:

English | Spanish | Italian | Polish | French

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

New Zealand:R16 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Portugal:M/16 | Philippines:R-13 | Taiwan:R-18 | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | Indonesia:Dewasa | Hong Kong:III (director's cut) | Peru:14 | Czech Republic:15 | Malaysia:18SG | Ireland:15A (re-rating on appeal) | Ireland:18 (original rating) | UK:15 | Iceland:16 | Chile:Y7 | France:-12 | Canada:18A | USA:R (certificate #41825) | Ukraine:(Banned) | Mexico:C | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Australia:MA | Denmark:15 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Finland:K-18 | Norway:15 | Singapore:R21 | Argentina:13 | Brazil:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Germany:18 | Singapore:M18 (cut) | Japan:PG-12

Filming Locations:

Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

John Leguizamo's character's name "Cholo" is a pejorative word used in South American Spanish to refer to Ecuatorians, Peruvians, and Bolivians who have strong Indian features.

Goofs:

Plot holes: In the scene when the stenches break down the wire mesh gate (about 37 minutes in), a guard in the tower throws a rope and slides down (to be eaten by stenches), even though a perfectly good ladder can be seen on the tower.

Quotes:

Charlie: Nice shooting.
Riley: Good shooting, Charlie. No such thing as nice shooting.

Movie Connections:

Spin off Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler's Green (2005) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Bombardment

Has Romero out lived His Cult Status?

I wanna start off by saying this: I feel very defensive of Romero since I was raised very close to where NOTLD was filmed as it was being filmed. I was 8 years old when it came out and it scared the living *$&@ outta me when my parents took me to see it at Echo drive-in theater. I was a PA on DOTD when I was between HS and college. I remember taking a date to see the movie on Easter Sunday and her being so grossed out she thought she was going to hell for watching. I had related all this to a friend of mine who I had talked into going to see what I was certain would be a more evolved zombie films from the first three Romero did. I mean...they had to be right? A director couldn't try and put out the same style of film he did 15 years ago, could he? I was so psyched for this movie my buddy was tired of hearing about it.

That is the last time I do something stupid like that. About the time Dennis Hopper was doing his usual crazy Hopper thing my buddy leaned over and asked me if I was actually enjoying this. I said. 'ya... it's OK.' I lied.

I was so let down I can not tell you. This movie is not good. Not scary. In no way original. Kinda silly over all. NO matter how much you are a Romero fan this movie stinks on ice. Where do I start? How about - I think we are all over social commentary being so in your face. Subtle more complex commentary is need these days as MOST film goers are more savoy than they when the first two (NOTLD and DOTD) came out. Plus, my face kinda got red (and not from anger) when I saw Romero still using theme zombies. I know that was cool 'in the day' but it again seems stupid now. I mean honestly.

Let me tell you through the eyes of my kids. My 12 old daughter (who frightens easily and was dreading being dragged to this) wondered what I was hoping to get out of this lame movie. She was bored.

My 15 y/o son felt the same about the zombies. Boring and made no sense in reality. It sounds like the trite comment I have heard for years from non-fans of zombie movies but he is right...and I never thought I would ever agree or say this about a Romero zombie...'just out run the damn things or burn em up. Jeeze. Or wait it out until they just decay in a few weeks.'

I used to be so caught up in the films that I would not care about such common earth bound rules. In this film. I was looking for a way out of the zombie world gone mad Romero failed to effectively create. My belief was not suspended for one frame of film. Romero, I do feel, was just using the same bag o' tricks with the same slow moving theme zombies and stupid or angry people stuck behind doors.

I was very disappointed. The only thing worse than this is that I just heard a new updated remake called 'Night of the Living Dead 3D' is being released (not affiliated with Romero.) Am getting too old for this? I know Romero certainly is.