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John Allman

If you’ve ever wandered the aisles at the video store or surfed the DVR pay-per-view options and seen a bunch of movies that you’ve never heard of, chances are John has watched them. Why? He loves movies. All kinds of movies. Good, bad, so-bad-they’re good, even the truly unwatchable ones. He mostly loves horror and science-fiction and drive-in exploitation movies that most upstanding model citizens wouldn’t dare watch. Then he writes up his thoughts so you can decide - watch, don’t watch or avoid at all costs. Sometimes he even gets to talk to the cool folks who make some of your favorite films.

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Survival of the Dead

Posted Sep 1, 2010 by John Allman

Updated Sep 1, 2010 at 07:32 AM

Survival of the Dead
Genre: Horror/Sequel
Directed by: George A. Romero
Run time: 90 minutes
Rating: Unrated
Format: Blu-Ray

The Lowdown: We’re 42 years removed from the original “Night of the Living Dead,” and guess what, director George A. Romero is still making zombie movies.

Normally, that would be cause to rejoice for fans of the shambling flesh-eaters.

But “Survival of the Dead,” Romero’s sixth entry in his undying franchise, and third since 2005, shows serious signs of decomposition. The plot is ragged, the acting is ragged, even the zombies seem tired, or maybe it’s just that no one really seems afraid of them anymore.

As with many Romero movies, the first two criticisms don’t really count. You watch, and enjoy, a Romero movie for many reasons, namely it’s a Romero movie, it’s usually got some great gore and he’s like family by this point . Hell, most fans have practically grown up watching each of his films at pivotal points in their lives. But you don’t expect to get Oscar-caliber acting or a plot that produces many surprises.

But this whole notion of not very scary zombies might be a deal breaker. Even in “Land of the Dead” and “Diary of the Dead,” which for the record, I think I liked “Diary” more than “Land,” even if neither of them lived up to “Night,” “Dawn” or “Day,” the zombies were scary, man. They were aggressive in their appetite for flesh. They still shuffled around like drunks stranded in the town square, but they got real mean and vicious real quick when someone with a pulse wandered nearby.

In “Survival,” people don’t even flinch when a zombie approaches. They shrug their shoulders, pull out a gun, or a flare, or whatever is nearby, and casually kill the living dead as if this was an everyday occurrence that had become almost an inconvenience.

I want to be afraid of the zombies. I want the characters on screen to be afraid of the zombies too. That’s the whole point, right?

But the zombies are no longer scary in “Survival,” it’s the people you have to watch out for. While that’s not an uncommon issue in a Romero film, “Survival” bears a striking resemblance to “Day of the Dead” in that very few, if any, of the characters are likable. You don’t really have anyone to root for.

There’s the smug, cocksure military commando, Sarge “Nicotine” Crockett, who has gone AWOL with his troops. He’s good for a quip, has a cheesy porn ‘stache and looks like trouble, but he’s completely untrustworthy. There’s his squad of soldiers, which includes a brassy lesbian and an oversexed single guy that you know isn’t long for the world. [Fun fact: The commando, Alan Van Sprang, is the first official carry-over character in a Romero Dead movie.]

There’s the kid, barely 21, who just shows up in the woods with no explanation after the soldiers kill off a gaggle of rednecks. That the kid gets asked to tag along makes no sense for a roving, renegade band of mercenaries.

Then there’s the O’Flynn’s and the Muldoons, two rival families who have co-existed for years on Plum Island, living like its 1810 instead of 2010. One family is convinced that a cure to the sickness causing people to turn dead will be found. The other family is convinced that dead is dead and anyone bitten or killed must be destroyed.

The patriarchs of the two families are both unlikable guys who think that their way or the highway is the only way.

What would have been a more interesting, and probably entertaining premise, and one that would have mirrored Romero’s title, would have been one family on the island trying to protect its members who had fallen victim to the dead from the other family intent on destroying them. The irony of fighting to keep them un-alive, if you will, against an oppressive force would have pulled more readily from recent events, particularly in these post-9/11, terrorists in our midst, often erroneous profiling times that we find ourselves.

For what it is, “Survival” is neither an abysmal failure or a bonafide classic. It’s a mildly enjoyable zombie romp from the grandfather of zombie romps in an age when younger, sometimes more daring, filmmakers are adding their own stamp to the zombie genre, and a film that exposes Romero’s style for what it is – a consistent shamble forward, much like the dragging footsteps of his beloved living dead, that doesn’t waiver or ever change.

The Stuff You Care About:
Hot chicks – Yes.
Nudity – Brief.
Gore – Yes.
Drug use – No.
Bad Guys/Killers – As with most of Romero’s catalog, it’s a toss-up between the zombies and the people trying to survive as to who is really worse.
Buy/Rent – Hardcore fans, buy it. Everyone else, rent it.
Blu-Ray Bonus Features – This is a definite case of the extras trying to compensate for a lackluster feature. There’s the requisite audio commentary, but with Romero, it’s actually OK; the very thorough, 76-minute documentary, “Walking After Midnight”; the short film, “Sarge”; a collection of 13 brief interviews, clips, etc., called “A Minute of Your Time”; a nine-minute interview with Romero; a 22-minute Fangoria interview with Romero; a two-minute introduction to the film by Romero (which I actually really enjoyed); storyboard comparisons; short “How to Create Your Own Zombie Bite” featurette; and a four-minute HDNet preview for “Survival.”
On the Web – http://www.magnetreleasing.com/survivalofthedead/
Release Date – Aug. 24, 2010