"Land of the Dead" Life (and Death) Marches On

The odd paradox about all of George Romero's "Dead" films is that they actually are much more about the "living" characters than the dead ones. From the bleak, isolated house in "Night of the Living Dead" to the dead-infested shopping mall in "Dawn of the Dead" to the military bunker of "Day of the Dead", all these films keyed into human concerns and conflicts amidst the apocalyptic rise of the dead. I suppose that's the reason they are so popular, and will always remain a cut above most other zombie films; they are about something other than blood and guts. There's a subtext to the gore and a philosophical bent to the characters, setting and dialogue that even the most gonzo of gore fans has to recognize as original and important.

In the "Night", Romero included toyed with racial themes and the overlying question of how best to approach society's problems; i.e. the "hide in the basement theory" vs. the "stand and fight" theory. In "Dawn" he examined the phenomenon of modern purposelessness, exemplified by the spectacle of zombies shuffling aimlessly through the mall. Again the human characters are faced with the choice of staying in a situation that is bound to kill them eventually or risk a much swifter death by trying to escape to a safer area. In "Day", Romero dealt with the notion of man attempting to pervert every new natural (or unnatural) phenomenon into selfish (in this case, military) use. In "Land" Romero tries to say something about the conflict between the haves and the have nots in our society, with the dead (and many of the living) being shut out from the Trump-like plaza created by industrialist/gangster Kaufmann (Dennis Hopper). Kaufmann employs squads of soldiers/underlings to patrol the city and keep the dead away from his property. The film follows the exploits of the leaders of two of the squads, Riley and Cholo. Riley is a moral, world weary soul played by Simon Baker. He works begrudgingly for Hopper but dreams of a world where everyone is equal and even consorts with protesters against Kaufmann. Cholo (John Leguizamo) works so he can try to buy his way into Kaufmann's world, or at the very least, accumulate enough dirt on him so that he can blackmail his way in.

The other major plotline involves the revelation that the dead seem to be able to learn and communicate with each other. One of them in particular, a large black man, is seen using weapons and tools and more or less "leading" the other zombies in their actions. This is never explained; like most of the facts regarding the dead, we are largely left to interpret these new abilities. It's probably best that we don't get some kind of "zombie rules". Somehow it seems more real that this would be a phenomenon that would remain largely a mystery, though some basic guidelines would help the keep the writer's of the series honest, and make them conform to some kind of continuity.

With the dead phenomenon four films old, the zombies murderous attacks are taken for granted. The film tries to concentrate on the people who have to live in this world and how they react to it. We have Riley's more idealistic view that somewhere, somehow things have to be better vs. Cholo's view that the only real salvation is through accepting the awfulness of the world and exploiting what is left behind for your own physical comfort.

In many ways, "Land" is really more of a science fiction film than a horror film. There are certainly scares (and gore) galore, but the main thrust of the film deals with the notion of a futuristic world turned upside down by the zombie plague. It's ideas are more about survival and human interaction than trying to tap into the human subconscious and locate fear centers.
This is a welcome direction for me; there's no reason that genres can't be mixed, and while it's often a dicey proposal, it pays off here.

I enjoyed the acting by all the principles; Baker is really impressive as a man who still dreams but doesn't want to admit it, and Leguizamo is suprisingly good as the coldhearted Cholo, who's so bitter about his station in life that he's become as remorseless as those he professes to hate. Hopper is also surprisingly good; I have a tendency to sigh when I see him in a film because he seems to be determined to inherit Rod Steiger's mantle as the Most Scenery Chewing Actor in Hollywood. But here he is fairly restrained (and not overused) as , a man who is taking advantage of the world's horrible state by insulating himself from it's problems with his money and power. Asia Argento is impressive as a hooker/scientist that Riley saves from becoming zombie food; like Hopper's, her role isn't overplayed but she nails what she is given quite well. And Robert Joy as Riley's friend and right hand man Charlie is terrific. This could have easily been a cartoonish role but hits all the right notes as a man who seems to be dependent on Riley but understand that their relationship is much more complex than that. as the lead zombie is pretty frightening; for one thing, he's huge and for another he plays those moments of "learning" just right and unnerves us each time we see the light go on in his undead brain.

The gore scenes are relatively few here but when they come, particularly near the end, they are absolutely effective; there were several sequences I actually recoiled from. As always, it's hard to really hate the zombies as they are just "us" turned into cannibalistic corpses, through no fault of their own. But it IS easy to be afraid of them. They seem to shuffle a bit quicker in this film and are apparently learning some survival skills beyond reaching and biting.

If you're looking for constant action, you might be a bit disappointed. Writer/director Romero isn't afraid to slow things down and develop his characters and setting through dialogue. But these moments serve the greater whole by making us care about the characters and make their world believable. I like Romero's ear for dialogue and the way he draws out characters personalities through their interaction, with the dead always shuffling about in the background, waiting for their chance of course.

"Land" is a very successful entry in this series, positing a world of desolation and despair brightened only by the still flickering hope of some of the characters' essential decency and goodness. As the end credits rolled and the surviving characters went off to whatever destiny awaits them, I remember thinking that I wouldn't mind seeing these people and their world in a weekly television series. It's never going to happen of course, but it's a testament to the appeal of the story that they are interesting even beyond this specific tale.

As long as Romero keeps this film series interesting, I'll keep watching. Then again, if he holds to his present schedule, we won't see another entry for many years (it's been twenty since the last one!). Let's hope he creates another installment in much quicker fashion; as repulsive as it is on the surface, I like visiting this world and especially the people that populate it.