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quietearth [Film Festival 09.27.09] post apocalyptic zombies movie review

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Year: 2009
Directors: George A. Romero
Writers: George A. Romero
IMDB: link
Trailer: link
Review by: quietearth
Rating: 6 out of 10

What's that? A 6 out of 10 for a film which has been panned so badly, the master himself even said on stage "we'll see if you like it"? A film so atrocious, every aspect of it, and I mean every, was so horrific that my Austin partner in crime got a headache from watching it? A film so terribly rendered that George has clearly taken a step backward into "who gives a f***" land and, I would guess, just wants to make a few bucks as he's missed out on the entire sub-genre he created? I walked into that screening knowing full well it was going to be terrible, and the man has certainly undone any effort he put in his last 2 outputs and created something so haphazardly put together that it was actually kind of good.


Let's just start at the beginning. This zombie universe is a tangential one which follows a character created in Diary of the Dead to an island filled with Irish family feuding McCoy types. Their accents were unbelievable, not to mention the fact that the supposed thick Irish drawl still exists in this age off of Delaware, and their acting was amateurish and over the top. And we're just getting started.

All the other actors were pretty bad, from the leads down to the extras. The words that came out of their mouths were poorly written, and the direction was so clearly unrefined, it was as if they had only done one take for each scene.

The zombie makeup, so clearly advanced in Diary of the Dead, was nowhere to be seen. Many of the zombies clearly looked like a simple layer of powder had been applied, as if this were a z-grade zombie film. Worse yet, jarring, grade school CGI was used for some of the better zombie kills.

None of the characters were likeable, and their backgrounds were thinly developed, if at all. Yet somehow, I still wanted to see what would happen in the next scene.

You're probably wanting examples of all the points I'm making, but there's no need. The entire film is the example. The lack of care on the film makers part, mixed with my non-existent expectations created a situatiion in which I actually found it decent. Don't get me wrong, I can't recommend this film. But it really doesn't matter anyways, you're still going to watch it.

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Menno (2 years ago) Reply

O no! You're kidding. I was afraid of it but now it's true. Damn. But you're right: still gonna watch it.

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Derek OBrien (2 years ago) Reply

How disappointing, that the only continuing horror franchise with its creator still at the helm would sink to depths such as you describe, with not even the dubious novelty of a "zombies in space/the future/in the hood" that other franchises offer in lieu of genuine creativity.
And yes, I will watch, with expectations at ground level.

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hysteria (2 years ago) Reply

I feel like crying...

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FICTIS (2 years ago) Reply

Land was horrible, Diary was even worse so that figures. I miss the Romero from DOTD... Sooooo much....

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projectcyclops (2 years ago) Reply

Oh dear... still going to see it though.

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agentorange (2 years ago) Reply

Ha! Now I really can't wait to see this.

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Anonymous (2 years ago) Reply

hahaha. your right I'm still going to watch it!!

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rek (2 years ago) Reply

After Diary I swore I'd never see another Romero movie again. And I won't.

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Anonymous (2 years ago) Reply

but what about the deep and brilliant social commentary?

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hysteria (2 years ago) Reply

Maybe it's a social commentary on how most of the movies these days seem to be crappy imitaitions or remakes without the same passion or soul of the originals... Oops, did I say movies... i meant everything!

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Anonymous (2 years ago) Reply

The IMDb link is wrong.

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Zombieland_Rules (2 years ago) Reply

I think if George Romero took a crap and filmed it, Harry Knowles would still program it at his festival. Maybe Toronto too.

Romero is a God, but his time is clearly over. Stop supporting this crap and let's get some new blood in the system.

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Kevin (2 years ago) Reply

Meh... I've watched worse zombie films before and I'll probably watch worse ones afterwards. I'll still give it a go.

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Uncle B (2 years ago) Reply

I felt Romero ripped me off when I purchased Diary. It couldn't have possibly been worse than Land, how wrong I was. Land was light years better than Diary and I imagine Diary will probably end up being better than Survival. Romero is just in it for the money and to have a pulpit for his political/social reteric.

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audrey wade (2 years ago) Reply

now quite like land but i think because i put the fact that it was a romero film out of my head and dont have much to say about diary but i bought it regardless as i probebly will with this one just to add to the collection .

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MaulLove (2 years ago) Reply

I saw Survival of the Dead today and thought it was better than Diary but worse than Land. The characters constantly made choices that made absolutely no sense. There were a few grandpa technology moments as well, although not as many as in Diary.

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Martin Rareman (2 years ago) Reply

Wake up and smell the secrets guys! This is 'Survival of the Film-maker'. The man's gotta eat, he would be stupid to invest his little royalties from previous projects, knowing the thing will be on the www before you can say 'bluray'.

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Gary Flimflam (1 year ago) Reply

Can't believe it...Land was actually a stronger film than this.
And Land was fairly weak.
This film is ok...better than Diary...but the script is weak (the characters have a nasty habit of repeating the same lines of dialogue back to themselve) and even the gore gags are not up-to-par.
And what's a Romero film without gags?
Seems like KNB wasn't willing to work pro-bono this time out.
On the plus side, there was no Big Daddy, so you can't go wrong there.
Like Land, this gets a C to C-.

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RealZombieFan (1 year ago) Reply

I am stunned that anyone considering him/herself a fan of this genre could find a single redeeming quality in the over-commercialized Land of the Dead! Diary of the Dead was a return to the true Romeroan spirit that underlies the zombie mythology. These movies are not about the gore: if you want that, watch the mindless Rob Zombie type crap. Diary was fantastic, so if others are comparing Survival to that, then I am looking forward to viewing it. I am disappointed that the genre has seemed to pander of late to those who think zombie films are nothing more than a series of gory scenes interupted by the occasional piece of laughable apocalyptic dialogue. These movies are becoming nothing more than the violent equvalent of pornography--not at all what made Romero the well-known artist he remains. Make more films like Diary and far, far fewer like Land or the assinine remake of Day of the Dead.


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