Review: Survival of the Dead (2010)

"Maybe George Romero is just happy with middle of the road film making these days..."

Cast Members of Note- Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Munroe, Alan Van Sprang, and a bunch of other Irish people named O'Shea and Flannery. Directed by- George Romero

SOTD is the newest entry in George Romero's Dead Series. This time around we have a group of misfit soldiers gone AWOL that need a place to hide out, who happen to learn via the Internet (?!?) that there's an island waiting just for them, to keep them safe and sound from the Zombie Apocalypse and the dangers of an impending court-marshal

I'd rather face the Court-martial.

Little do they know that Safety Island is full of feuding Irish folk, who really like killing each other, and are trying to train the zombies to eat other things besides humans. Doesn't sound so safe to me... then again I don't trust the Irish. Never have. Sorry Grandma, I never trusted you! The point is, why get in the middle of an old Irish feud, Zombie Apocalypse or not?

Aren't zombie kids cute? Apparently they're trainable too...

It's not long before the stupid people and their stupid ideas get everyone into a heap of zombie trouble, and it's up to the soldier boys to crack wise and kick some zombie ass. If you have ever seen a Romero zombie flick, there really isn't much more too it than that. You know the drill; a wandering group of people encounter tons of zombies and face moral dilemmas that wake us up to the ills of society, and in the end we the audience learn a little something about how humanity sucks. That's a Romero zombie flick for ya.

What a great shot of zombies dueling. Who knew they could duel?

If you like Romero's zombie style, the newest addition to his fold should satisfy you. It's a decent enough time killer that delivers the zombie goods, though not in very spectacular fashion. I guess with his most recent movies, I'm a little tired of the social commentary bit. I LOVED Land of the Dead, but Diary of the Dead gave me fucking fits for various reasons. This one lands right in the middle of those two for me.

I love George Romero. He seems like a cool guy, he doesn't take anyone's shit, and he's made some all-time Classic Horror movies... what's not to love? There's a part of me though, that wishes he would just give us an all out zombie bloodbath of a movie, and stop trying to be topical. It's not really maverick filmmaking anymore like it was in the 60's, 70's, or even the 80's, because today's audience "already knows" everything, and to me it feels like preaching that falls on deaf ears.

Also, I have to say that this movie's hero, played by Alan Van Sprang, is nowhere near as bad-ass as his character on The Tudors (Showtime.) He's awesome on that show, and not just because the eye patch looks cool. While we're on the subject, King Henry VIII had some issues. Just sayin'.

Van Sprang as the one-eyed assassin.

After a worldwide Zombie Apocalypse that has basically crippled the planet, are you telling me that the Internet is still up and functional, and that people are still updating their Twitter accounts? Pirate radio or local TV I can buy, but to me it seems as if keeping the Internet alive and functional would be near impossible. Hell, I can barely get online half of the time now, and my cable company swears everything is working "right."

This is basically how Comcast treats me.

Shoot them. Shoot them all. Why in the hell would you want to attempt to train millions of zombies to eat animals, instead of just putting one in their heads? Do you know how long that would take, how dangerous it would be, and how much wasted effort would be needed? Kill them, and when a human dies, put one in their head to avoid the inevitable.

Tim McGraw goes in for the zombie kiss.

SOTD is filled with most of your typical zombie movie gore; gut munching, flesh ripping, blood spraying, exploding heads, etc... it's just about in line with what you have come to expect from Romero and his Horror flicks for the most part.

Just kiss her, man!

Nope. This one is sexless save for one brief scene of a lesbian playing with herself while fully clothed. What a tease. Romero has never been known for making boob-filled sex romps anyhow, so it's nothing we expected anyhow

George Romero is not making the best zombie movies around anymore. Also, rehabilitation is bullshit. Pedo's, rapists, rabid dogs, zombies... just put them down and move on.

Someone needs to Old Yeller this bitch!

Better than the annoying Diary of the Dead, but not as good as Land of the Dead (which I can't help but watch every time it's on cable), SOTD is a decent watch that should (might) satisfy most zombie lovers out there. It was a little on the campy side of things for me, as I prefer my zombie movies either creepy and gory, or funny, not both. Still, it felt mostly like a Romero movie, and although it's only the 5th best of the series (of 6), it's worth a watch.

D

What cute little lasses, or whatever the Irish slang for girl is.