By building on previous films Romero continues to tell the bloody tale where humans must find a way to to survive among an increasing number of hungry dead.  The story takes place in present day, years after the outbreak that murdered millions of people, where an enclave have barricaded themselves from the zombies.  This enclave periodically sends hired soldiers to search for equipment, food, and other necessary items for healthy living.  When these soldiers drive out on their missions they bring a tank the size of a semi with high tech equipment called the Dead Reckoning that serve as a tool against frequent zombie attacks.  The story begins where Riley (Simon Baker) is on one of these gathering missions where he detects some zombies communicating in a small abandoned town, which troubles him.

Riley is the commander of the group and it is his last day working for the enclave's military force gathering items.  Nonetheless, he still demands that his group follows the rules of engagement, but he has trouble controlling the unruly Cholo (John Leguizamo) who often does as he likes.  It is also Cholo's last day working outside the enclave.  The two are polar opposites where Cholo is an attention seeking egoist with the behavior of a thug who could care less about people while Riley is a caring loner with natural charisma that easily gains followers including Charlie (Robert Joy) and Slack (Asia Argento).  An obvious tension exists between the two, as Riley follows his own way while Cholo is a mere lap dog for Kaufman (Dennis Hopper) who is the powerful despot of the enclave for which they work.  

Cholo desires to move into the luxurious Fiddler's Green within the enclave, an immense skyscraper for rich and powerful, which has all the necessities and comforts people can dream of in order to forget the unforgiving world outside.  He has saved up all of his capital in order to leave the poverty outside the Fiddler's Green, but Kaufman enlightens him that he is not a desired element within the luxurious society.  In rage Cholo escapes the enclave, as he also steals the Dead Reckoning and threatens to blow up the Fiddler's Green unless he is paid five million dollars.  Kaufman requests Riley's cooperation to prevent Cholo from destroying Fiddler's Green and bringing back the Dead Reconing.  In the middle of the blackmailing situation it seems as if the zombies have begun their own siege of the enclave, as they seem both motivated and organized when they devour those who oppose them.

Land of the Dead has some captivating similarities with Dawn of the Dead (1978) when Romero offered an intriguing illustration of commercial society and philosophical existentialism through some survivors in a shopping mall.  Here Romero offers a clever societal criticism where he openly displays humanity's inability to cooperate, as greed and other personal desires prevent people from creating a safe society.  In the light of the thinking human, the zombies are brain-dead creatures, a mere shadow of what they were when alive.  However, Romero leaps and crosses the borders to displays how selflessly these flesh desiring dead approach the living sharing their entrails with a common goal despite being unable to form complex thoughts.  He even suggests through the comparison between the humans and the zombies that mankind's ability for complex thoughts and problem solving might also be humanity's demise.  In addition, Romero displays the other side of the coin, as cerebral activity on a high level can also be a useful tool for continued existence in peace.  

George Romero finds an adequate amount of financing for this film, which means that he can go beyond what he created in the previous films.  For example, the gore ceaselessly continues until the final scene and he could hire a cast with proven talent that could strengthen subplots through terrific performances.  Romero could also be more inspirational in his way of creating the horrifying scenes while many of these scenes also offer subtle and dark humor.  One of the more amusing scenes is when two zombies play wishbone with a human hand and none of the zombies win.  Overall, Romero does a very good job bringing this story to the audience, as it offers much fright, entertainment, and some interesting notions to ponder in the light of the rivers of blood that leave the screen.

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COUNTRY

Canada / France / USA

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