Asia Argento entertains in Romero's Land of the Dead!

The fourth installment in George A. Romero's 'Living Dead' saga, and notably his best funded, Land of the Dead also boasts a prominent cast. Regarded as the most 'commercial' venture within the series, some followers saw Land of the Dead as a sellout. This reviewer, however; seeks to contradict this notion, as the Director's integrity is obviously intact. Anyone can land a budget, if they are so fortunate. But, can they deliver a story that is fresh, substantive, and capable of evoking the original message in an entertaining perspective? Land of the Dead is a sequel, yet, it belies a new and as yet, ascertained scenario to the state of the human condition.

Land of the Dead is predominately the story of the 'Have's and Have Not's', as well as the 'Have even Less's'. There are at least four factions of people's at play within the story, each having a side, or a standard of life, which they mean to keep, or improve upon. There are the filthy rich, the people living within the slums, whom are divided, and the 'undead' themselves, all struggling to survive in a world that threatens all of their particular stations.

As touched upon within Romero's Day of the Dead, the premise of the 'undead' being capable of capturing some semblance of their former selves is expanded upon within this feature. The Zombie's no longer exude a simplistic state of idiotic flesh-eating; rather they reach an understanding of themselves, under the tutelage of a wiser, more evolved member of their ilk, 'Big Daddy' (Eugene Clark). As if by some sort of retained memory, Big Daddy 'understands' that the root of the Zombie's Holocaust is spearheaded by the ivory tower within the city's landscape, called Fiddler's Green. With this vague understanding, the groaning re-animated corpse leads his brethren towards the living population, and revolution.

In the way of the impending zombie horde, lies 'Dead Reckoning', a multi-million dollar mobile assault fortress, led by its designer Riley Denbo (Baker). Riley has the admiration and respect of Pittsburg's less fortunate citizens, having utilized Dead Reckoning for the purpose of obtaining valuable resources, such as food and medicine. Though his mission has been to prolong and sustain the lives of those not so fortunate, his second in command Cholo DeMora (Leguizamo), has other aspirations. Cholo seeks to improve his lot in life by doing the dirty work for Paul Kaufman (Hopper), the financier of Fiddler's Green and Dead Reckoning.

The status quo of Pittsburgh reaches an impasse, as Riley finds himself in jail, for saving the life of a prostitute called 'Slack' (Argento), whom had been sentenced by Kaufman to the zombie arena. Denbo and Slack, however; are soon released, but, under the condition they take custody of Dead Reckoning, which has been hijacked by the disgruntled DeMora, upon learning that Kaufman wouldn't allow anyone of his stature to move into Fiddler's Green. Adding to this predicament, is the situation of Big Daddy, whose hoard of undead followers have reached the city's barrier, and have broken through.

Cameo's galore encompass Land of the Dead, as actor Alan Van Sprang makes his debut within the film. Van Sprang would also play a small part within Diary of the Dead (2007), and his character from that venture would achieve a starring role within Survival of the Dead (2009). Also appearing in a brief cameo, are Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, of Shaun of the Dead (2004) fame. The two generated the rumor that they would be participating in Romero's film, and upon hearing that rumor, were invited by the Director to actually appear in Land of the Dead.

Though this reviewer enjoyed the prospect of George A. Romero achieving the privilege of producing a large scale epic, the prospect of returning to his roots with subsequent sequels is applauded. Land of the Dead does have its merits, having reached a more mainstream audience, spectacular special effects, vibrant camera work, and an impressive cast of thespians. This feature also boasted an impressive return on its initial investment, proving the Director had it within him all along, the ability to deliver a film of Hollywood caliber.

Land of the Dead was nominated for two Saturn Awards, for Best Makeup and Best Horror Film, as well as three nominations for the Director's Guild of Canada Awards, for Outstanding Production Design, Outstanding Sound Editing, and Outstanding Picture Editing.

The only real pitfalls within this feature, is the essence for which Romero is ultimately revered, and that is character development. There are simply too many characters within this feature to develop any real sense of knowing them in the way that we do in his other chapters of the series. Much of this film focuses upon the glamor and special effects, a fact that may indicate Romero's return to smaller venues with his next projects. Taking this small gripe in mind, Land of the Dead is still a must see for any fan of the Zombie and Horror genres, as well as any fans of film in general.