 |
Friday, June 24, 2005
You can't keep a good zombie movie with social commentary down
Thirty-six years after shocking audiences and changing the face of American horror with "Night of the Living Dead," and 20 years after his ambitious but budget-starved third installment "Day of the Dead," George A. Romero returns to the genre he indelibly re-created with the fourth (and surely final) film in his series. This time he has the budget to see his grand vision to the screen.
 | MOVIE REVIEW | ||
| |||
View all photosA pocket of mankind has found refuge in a (literally) gated community, a veritable feudal kingdom called Fiddler's Green where class structure is strictly enforced by its corporate despot (Dennis Hopper). The rich and powerful live in luxury in a glowing glass tower while the underclass is confined to the slums. A militia keeps the poor contained and the city protected from "the stenches" (as the rotting undead are called).
Riley (Simon Baker), the leader of the raiding party that scavenges zombie-infested towns for supplies, is fed up with the inequity. No rebel, he's about to abandon the city for the zombie-less frontier of Canada when he's drafted for one last assignment. His second in command (John Leguizamo) has stolen the raiding party's armed and dangerous tank and holds the city for ransom.
To complicate things, the zombies are evolving. They start to learn, to communicate and to organize, and they target the great glass tower as prime noshing grounds.
If Fiddler's Green is America's class disparity through Romero's satirically warped looking glass, then the zombies are the Third World scratching at the borders. Yes, you can only take the metaphors so far, but loaded dialogue like "We don't negotiate with terrorists" is constantly delivered with more gusto than necessary (Romero's direction of actors isn't particularly delicate).
Romero embraces the advancements of make-up effects, animatronics and computer-generated imagery enhancements, but at heart he's an old-fashioned storyteller who relies on simple devices. While there is no shortage of slow, shuffling zombies pulling fresh meat from the body human in inventively gory flourishes, the scenes of mass chaos as mankind devours itself -- class conflict gone cannibalistic -- are what define the film.
The social commentary isn't subtle, but Romero delivers the goods so effectively that many won't even notice.
My web site
My Yahoo!
Google
· Bumbershoot films: A deluge of short movies
· DVDs: 'Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?'
· Seattle Film Events
· Limited Movie Runs
· Parents' Film Guide
· DVDs: 'Joy House'
· 'Traitor' is a smart, tough thriller
· Studios scramble in wake of 'Harry Potter' delay
· DVDs: 'Son of Rambow'
· DVDs: 'What Happens in Vegas'
· DVDs: 'The Small Back Room'
· DVD Review: 'Constantine's Sword'
more· 'The Burning Plain' debuts at Venice film festival
· Lindsay Lohan lashes out at father on blog
· German studio offers 'Valkyrie' extras settlement
· Valentino walks red carpet for his documentary
· Kitano examines cruel art in Venice entry
more
101 Elliott Ave. W.
Seattle, WA 98119
(206) 448-8000
Home Delivery: (206) 464-2121 or (800) 542-0820
seattlepi.com serves about 1.7 million unique visitors
and 30 million page views each month.
Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com
Send investigative tips to iteam@seattlepi.com
©1996-2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Terms of Use/Privacy Policy
